February 16, 2025 3:27 am
PennDot is planning installation of chevron curve signs along selected roads in Washington, Greene, Fayette and Westmoreland Counties. They will also be performing tree trimming along those roads. The purpose of the installation is to improve safety along roads with distinct curves. According to PennDot, studies show a significant decrease in accidents along curves when drivers have been given early notice. In Washington County, four areas will have roads addressed with signs. PennDot is asking for feedback until February 24. Maps of the proposed sign construction and an area for feedback on the project may be found here. Construction of signs is expected to begin in the spring.
February 15, 2025 8:59 am
PennDot has restored speed limits on certain roads that they temporarily reduced speeds on due to the winter storm. In Allegheny County, speed limits have been restored along Interstates 79, 376 (parkways east and west), 279 ( parkway north), and 579. Speeds are also restored on Rt. 28. In Beaver County restrictions have been lifted on Interstate 376 (Beaver Valley Expressway). In Lawrence County, restrictions remain on Interstates 79 and 376. PennDot is urging motorists to avoid all unnecessary travel. Go to www.511PA.com for updates.
February 15, 2025 4:21 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is taking a blowtorch to the rules that have governed world trade for decades. The “reciprocal’’ tariffs that he announced Thursday are likely to create chaos for global businesses and conflict with America’s allies and adversaries alike. Pointing to America’s massive trade deficits, Trump charges that the playing field is tilted against U.S. companies. A big reason for that, he and his advisers say, is because other countries usually tax American exports at a higher rate than America taxes theirs. Trump has a fix: He’s raising U.S. tariffs to match what other countries charge. Economists don’t share Trump’s enthusiasm for tariffs. They’re a tax on importers that usually get passed on to consumers.
February 15, 2025 4:19 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Federal workers were responding with anger and confusion Friday as they grappled with the Trump administration’s latest effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify for civil service protections. Many of those workers say they had already accepted the administration’s deferred resignation offer, under which they were supposed to be paid until Sept. 30 if they agreed to quit, raising questions about how many others who signed will nonetheless be fired.
February 15, 2025 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators say the crew of the Army helicopter that collided in midair with an American Airlines jet near Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport may have had inaccurate altitude readings in the moments before the crash, and also may not have heard key instructions from air traffic controllers to move behind the plane.National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy says the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggests the crew may have missed the key instruction just before the Jan. 29 collision, in which all 67 aboard the two aircraft were killed.
February 15, 2025 4:12 am
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas-led militants have released three male Israeli hostages, parading them before a crowd in the southern Gaza Strip before handing them over to the Red Cross as part of a shaky ceasefire deal that requires Israel to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange. The Red Cross delivered the three — Iair Horn, 46, a dual citizen of Israel and Argentina; American-Israeli Sagui Dekel Chen, 36; and Rusian-Israeli Alexander (Sasha) Troufanov, 29 — to the Israeli military. All were abducted from Kibbutz Nir Oz, a hard-hit community in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war. They appeared pale and worn, but seemed to be in better physical condition than the three men released last Saturday, who had emerged emaciated from 16 months of captivity.
February 15, 2025 4:09 am
MUNICH (AP) — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has shot back strongly in defense of his stance against the far-right and said his country won’t accept people who “intervene in our democracy,” a day after U.S. Vice President JD Vance scolded European leaders over their approach to democracy. The German leader spoke just eight days before crucial elections in Germany, with polls showing the far-right Alternative for Germany party currently in second. European leaders are trying to make sense of a tough new line from Washington on issues including democracy and Ukraine’s future as the Munich Security Conference enters a second day.
February 14, 2025 5:56 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Investigators say the crew of the helicopter that collided midair with an American Airlines jet near Washington D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport might not have heard an instruction from the air traffic controller to pass behind the plane. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Jennifer Homendy said the recording from the Black Hawk helicopter cockpit suggests the crew may have missed the key instruction just before the Jan. 29 collision, in which all 67 aboard the two aircraft were killed. (Photo: AP)
February 14, 2025 5:06 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Nonprofit organizations across the country were plunged into uncertainty after the White House froze spending on federal loans and grants two weeks ago. The Trump administration’s order created chaos for nonprofits in the poorest, most rural states, like West Virginia. That state’s reliance on federal funds to help address deeply ingrained issues makes it particularly vulnerable to the sweeping actions. An economic development organization had to pause projects revitalizing abandoned coal-era factories and installing solar panels. An organization supporting young adults transitioning from foster care had to freeze funding it planned to use for school mental health support.
February 14, 2025 5:05 am
HONG KONG (AP) — TikTok has returned to the app stores of Apple and Google in the U.S., after President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a TikTok ban. TikTok, which is operated by Chinese technology firm ByteDance, was removed from Apple and Google’s app stores on Jan. 18 to comply with a law that requires ByteDance to divest the app or be banned in the U.S. The popular social media app, which has over 170 million American users, previously suspended its services in the U.S. for a day before restoring service following assurances from Trump that he would postpone banning the app. On Trump’s first day in office, he signed an executive order to extend the enforcement of a ban on TikTok to April 5.
