March 18, 2025 4:48 am
North Franklin Township residents can soon expect a new dining option as the Zoning Hearing Board has approved the construction of a Long John Silver’s restaurant. The new restaurant will be located next to the Burger King on West Chestnut Street. According to Barry Blose, Chairman of the North Franklin Township Zoning Board, the vacant lot will soon be transformed into a state-of-the-art facility. The restaurant will offer a modern drive-thru, a seating area for approximately 25 people, and restroom facilities.The new eatery will provide the community with a fast food option that includes all the familiar offerings of Long John Silver’s, while also enhancing the area with a modern design. Long John Silver’s also has reached an agreement with the neighboring Burger King to share their parking lot if their lot has reached capacity. Construction is expected to begin this summer.
March 18, 2025 4:47 am
Peters Township School Directors held a straight forward meeting disposing of day to day business items and approving a draft format for the school calendar two years from now. The draft of the 2026-2027 school year calendar is now available for public comment on the school district’s website. Prior to approval, Director Alex O’Neill suggested that the public’s attention be brought to the calendar, specifically regarding the length of spring break. In two years, the break will only be for 4 school days. By comparison, this year and in the 2025-2026 school year, spring break is scheduled for 6 school days. Directors asked staff to make sure parents are alerted by email to study the change.
March 18, 2025 4:55 am
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic (AP) — The search for a U.S. college student who went missing in the Dominican Republic intensified on Monday after a man questioned by authorities visited the beach where she was last seen and spoke with officials. The 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki vanished before dawn on March 6 in the resort town of Punta Cana. Her parents are now asking officials in the Dominican Republic to officially declare her dead. Sources say the parents sent a letter to police acknowledging there is no evidence of foul play. Authorities are scouring waters in case she drowned. Minnesota student Joshua Riibe has not been named as a suspect but is believed to be the last person to see her. Konanki is an Indian citizen.
March 18, 2025 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed on an immediate ceasefire for energy and infrastructure targets in the Russia-Ukraine war. Ukraine hasn’t responded yet. The White House described the move Tuesday as the first step in a “movement to peace” that it hopes will eventually include a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea and a full and lasting end to the fighting. The White House said negotiations would begin immediately on those steps. Trump and Putin held a call for more than an hour. There’s no indication Putin has backed away from his previous conditions, fiercely opposed by Kiev, to consider a broader ceasefire.
March 18, 2025 5:07 am
A federal judge on Monday was incredulous at the contention by the Trump administration that his directive to turn around deportation flights wasn’t binding because it was made verbally. District Court Judge James E. Boasberg made the demand Saturday night as he temporarily halted deportations under wartime powers President Donald Trump had declared minutes earlier under a rarely used 18th century law. But planes were already en route to El Salvador. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit asked Boasberg to determine if the administration violated his order. But an administration lawyer on Monday wouldn’t answer many of the judge’s questions, saying the judge had no right to the information.
March 18, 2025 5:05 am
The Pentagon says internet pages honoring a Black Medal of Honor winner and Japanese American service members were mistakenly taken down. But it is staunchly defending its overall campaign to strip out content singling out the contributions by women and minority groups, which the Trump administration considers “DEI.” A Defense Department website honoring Black Medal of Honor recipient Army Maj. Gen. Charles Calvin Rogers was taken down last week. Another page that was removed featured the World War II Japanese American 442nd Regimental Combat Team. Both were back online Monday, but thousands of pages have been taken down in efforts to delete material promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.
March 17, 2025 5:03 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he was ending “immediately” the Secret Service protection details assigned to Joe Biden’s adult children, which the former president had extended for six months shortly before leaving office in January. Trump on a social media objected to what he said were 18 agents assigned to Hunter Biden’s protective detail while he is in South Africa this week. He said Ashley Biden has 13 agents assigned to her detail and that she too “will be taken off the list.” Former presidents and their spouses receive life-long Secret Service protection under federal law, but the protection afforded to their immediate families over the age of 16 ends when they leave office.
March 18, 2025 4:58 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel has launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says are “only the beginning” and “a necessary condition for freeing hostages.” The territory’s Health Ministry said the airstrikes killed at least 400 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Tuesday’s surprise bombardment shattered a ceasefire in place since January and threatened to fully reignite the 17-month-old war. Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel’s actions. A senior Hamas official said Netanyahu’s decision to return to war amounts to a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages.
March 18, 2025 5:08 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s two stuck astronauts are finally on their way home after more than nine months in space. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams left the International Space Station in a SpaceX capsule early Tuesday, checking out with two other astronauts. The capsule is due to splash down in the evening off the Florida coast, weather permitting. Their return will close out a dramatic marathon mission that began with a bungled test flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule last June. They expected to be gone just a week or so when they launched and eventually had to switch to SpaceX to get back.
March 18, 2025 4:45 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. still has a major case of French bulldog fever. But a very different breed is chasing dog lovers’ hearts. The comical, controversial Frenchie tops the American Kennel Club’s annual rundown of the nation’s most prevalent purebred dogs for a third year in a row. Next are Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, German shepherds, poodles and other longtime faves. Keep an eye on the cane corso. The powerful, protective breed vaulted from 47th to 14th in the rankings in just a decade. Popularity is seen as a mixed blessing among dog breeders and as an outright scourge by their critics. There’s no disputing that there are plenty of lovable dogs in animal shelters. (Photo: AP)
