January 31, 2025 4:50 am
CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — President Donald Trump’s abrupt freeze of U.S. foreign aid is sending shockwaves through Eastern Europe. It has left pro-democracy groups, independent media, civil society initiatives and local governments scrambling to make ends meet in a region often defined by rivalries between East and West. The U.S. State Department said the 90-day freeze aims to root out waste as Trump aggressively rolls out his “America First” agenda. But many in Eastern Europe fear that the cessation of U.S. funds could expose Washington’s allies and create a vacuum that its foes could gladly seek to fill.
January 31, 2025 4:45 am
FAIRCHANCE, Pa. — (WPXI) – A fire in an abandoned mine in Fairchance, Fayette County has been extinguished, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection said crews should be finished with their restoration work by the end of the week. Neighbors were worried the fire was going to continue to grow and burn out of control, eventually going under North Morgantown Road toward the old Kyle Mine. The DEP told Channel 11 they found out about the fire burning in an abandoned mine in Fairchance on January 6. But, they believe the fire had been burning since September and had gone unreported. On January 17, they awarded an emergency contract to put out the fire. The DEP said the effort to dig, put the fire out, back fill the abandoned mine, and then plant grass and cover the ground with straw cost just less than $27,000. That money comes from the state’s Abandoned Mine Reclamation Program, which gets some of its funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed during the Biden Administration.
January 30, 2025 5:20 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Passengers aboard the American Airlines flight that collided with an Army helicopter and crashed into the Potomac River included athletes returning from the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and their Russian coaches. U.S. Figure Skating said Thursday that several skaters, coaches and their family members were on the flight after attending a development camp that followed the championships that wrapped up Sunday in Wichita, Kansas. There were 60 passengers and four crew members on the American Airlines flight Wednesday and three soldiers aboard the training flight on the Blackhawk helicopter. The Kremlin confirms coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were on the plane. It’s believed there were no survivors.
January 30, 2025 5:18 pm
Police and SWAT responded to a shooting in Bethel Park Thursday afternoon on Chessbriar Drive near Thornwood Drive. In a social media post, Bethel Park police asked the public to avoid the area of Chessbriar Drive and Thornwood Drive, but said the incident is “contained” and there’s no threat to the public. Two nearby elementary schools went on lockdown for a brief period of time out of an “abundance of caution,” but were reopened a short time later.
January 30, 2025 1:32 pm
(WPXI) – Allegheny County police are investigating an officer-involved shooting at an apartment complex in Bethel Park late Wednesday. At 10 p.m., Bethel Park police were attempting to serve a warrant for William Adam, 45, at the Dorchester Apartment Complex. The warrant was in connection to a domestic incident that happened earlier in the day. When officers attempted to enter his apartment, the door was partially barricaded. Allegheny County police said when officers were able to see into the apartment, they saw Adam holding a gun and pointing it in the direction of them. Police said after officers pulled back, Adam entered the hallway of the apartment building multiple times while carrying the gun and was shot by an officer. He was taken to a hospital in stable condition. Allegheny County Police said after consultation with the district attorney’s office, charges including aggravated assault and resisting arrest have been filed against Adam. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
January 30, 2025 7:48 am
Two people were injured in a head-on collision early Thursday morning in Hopewell Township. Washington County 9-1-1 says it happened at 5:30 a.m in the 49-hundred block of Jefferson Avenue. Both drivers were transported to area hospitals by ambulance. Initial reports said one of the drivers was trapped and a medical helicopter was placed on stand-by but was then cancelled. There is no word on the identities or conditions of those injured. The roadway was blocked for some time but reopened by 7 a.m.
January 30, 2025 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has struggled answer questions at his Senate confirmation hearing about how he would reform Medicaid or Medicare, the government health care programs used by millions of disabled, poor and older Americans. Kennedy inaccurately claimed Medicaid is fully paid for by the federal government when states and federal taxpayers fund it. Kennedy’s hearing Wednesday to be the nation’s top health official quickly devolved into an argument over the questions he has raised for years about vaccine safety. Kennedy is seeking to lead a $1.7 trillion agency that will oversee vaccine recommendations as well as food inspections and health insurance for half the country in President Donald Trump’s administration. Kennedy denies he’s anti-vaccine.
January 30, 2025 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve left its key interest rate unchanged Wednesday after cutting it three times in a row last year, a sign of a more cautious approach as the Fed seeks to gauge where inflation is headed and what policies President Donald Trump may pursue. A key reason for the earlier reductions was that hiring weakened in the summer and fall. In a statement Wednesday, the Fed upgraded its assessment of the job market, calling it “solid.” The Fed also appeared to toughen its assessment of inflation, saying that it “remains somewhat elevated.” At a press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell declined to address Trump’s recent comments calling for lower rates.
January 30, 2025 5:02 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s budget office has rescinded a memo freezing spending on federal grants, less than two days after it sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges across the country. The White House said that Trump’s underlying executive orders targeting federal spending in areas like diversity, equity and inclusion and climate change, remained in place. The original Monday evening memo from the Office of Management and Budget sparked uncertainty over a crucial financial lifeline for states, schools and organizations that rely on trillions of dollars from Washington. The White House has been scrambling to explain what would and wouldn’t be subject to a pause in funding.
January 30, 2025 4:59 am
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — A midair collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight from Kansas killed all 67 people aboard the two aircraft. That was the word from authorities Thursday as they scrutinized the actions of the military pilot after the country’s worst aviation disaster in a generation. At least 28 bodies were pulled from the icy waters of the Potomac River after the helicopter apparently flew into the path of the jet late Wednesday while it was landing at Ronald Reagan National Airport near Washington. The plane carried 60 passengers and four crew. Three soldiers were aboard the helicopter.
