May 8, 2026 4:48 am
Washington City Council worked through a day to day business agenda at their voting meeting on Thursday. Council approved the Washington County American Spirit Grant and will use the funds to replace the flagpole in front of City Hall. Council authorized a $270,000 grant from the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County as a match commitment toward the Pennsylvania Greenways, Trails and Recreation Programs grant for the rehabilitation of the tennis and pickleball courts project. They also approved the Washington Business District Authority’s plans for Makers Markets that will occur the third Thursday of the month from June through October. The location of the events will be at the corner of Main and Chestnut Streets. Council also recognized Robert Miklic and James Sadler with the Pride of Washington award. The two men came upon a woman in physical distress. They rendered aid to her until an ambulance arrived to transport her to the hospital. Miklic was there for the presentation and thanked council for the recognition. He declined to elaborate on the event.
May 7, 2026 4:58 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defense announced that the country’s air defenses are “actively engaging” with a missile and drone attack as the Iran war’s shaky ceasefire was again challenged. The ministry advised residents not to approach, photograph or touch “any debris or fragments that have fallen as a result of successful air interceptions” early Friday. Hours earlier, the U.S. military said it had intercepted Iranian attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday night and “targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces.” President Donald Trump told reporters in Washington that the ceasefire was holding despite the violence.
May 7, 2026 5:01 am
ROME (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni to ease tensions over the war with Iran. President Donald Trump’s tariffs and his criticism of Europe’s stance on the conflict have strained relations. Rubio’s trip began Thursday with a meeting with Pope Leo XIV. Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani aim to maintain Italy’s strategic partnership with the U.S. while resisting pressure over the Iran conflict. Italy opposes the war and has declined to allow U.S. bombers to land without parliamentary approval.
May 8, 2026 4:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court has ruled against the new global tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court. A split three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York found the 10% global tariffs were illegal after small businesses sued. The court ruled 2-1 Thursday that Trump overstepped the tariff power that Congress had allowed the president under the law. The tariffs are “invalid″ and “unauthorized by law,” the majority wrote. At issue are temporary 10% worldwide tariffs the Trump administration imposed after the Supreme Court in February struck down even broader tariffs the president had imposed last year on almost every country on Earth.
May 8, 2026 4:59 am
MADRID (AP) — Spanish authorities are preparing to receive over 140 passengers and crew from a hantavirus-stricken cruise ship headed for the Canary Islands. Health officials plan careful evacuations when the ship arrives in Tenerife this weekend. At least three passengers have died, and several others are sick. The United States and the U.K. are arranging flights to repatriate their citizens. The World Health Organization says the risk to the wider public is low. Health authorities are tracking passengers who disembarked before the outbreak was detected. None of the remaining passengers or crew is currently symptomatic.
May 8, 2026 5:49 pm
(AP) – The NFL and the NFL Referees Association have agreed on a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement that avoids a potential work stoppage and use of replacement officials. The deal runs through the 2032 NFL season. The league began the on-boarding process for replacement officials last month because negotiations weren’t progressing. But they won’t be necessary. A stalemate in 2012 resulted in a 110-day lockout and replacement referees were used.
May 7, 2026 2:31 am
A Washington County woman says she lost more than $40,000 in a long-running sweepstakes scam that police now believe may have evolved into a money laundering operation. Seventy-eight-year-old Joyce Hennick says it started with a phone call telling her she had won five-point-five-million-dollars plus a Mercedes and an F-150, but in order to get the money and prizes, she had to pay all the taxes and fees up front. Police say the demands continued for more than two years, with dozens of phone calls every day. scammers convinced Hennick to open multiple bank accounts and send money in various ways, and at one point, police say, cash even started arriving in her mailbox hidden inside magazines, leading them to believe it had also turned into a money laundering scheme as well. Police say arrests in scams like these are rare, but they say Hennick kept detailed records so they’re hopeful that will be helpful.
May 7, 2026 2:54 pm
One person was killed in a head-on crash on Interstate 70 westbound between the Taylorstown and Claysville exits. The Washington County Coroners Office identified the driver as 23 year old Joshua Hopkins of Austin, Texas. State police say the crash happened approximately 1:30 pm Thursday afternoon when Hopkins’ eastbound Ford Focus crossed the grass median and into westbound traffic, slamming head-on into a tractor-trailer. Hopkins was pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver was treated for minor injuries. The westbound lanes in that area were closed for a few hours until one lane was re-opened around 4 pm. Traffic backed past the Chestnut Street exit for another two hours.
May 7, 2026 8:57 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. jobless claim applications rose last week but remain at historically low levels despite elevated inflation and other economic headwinds. The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 2 rose by 10,000 to 200,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 205,000 new applications analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting. The previous week’s new claims figure, which was the fewest since 1969, was revised up by 1,000 to 190,000. Weekly filings for unemployment benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs. The total number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits for the previous week ending April 25 declined by 10,000 to 1.77 million.
May 7, 2026 2:42 am
UPMC Washington has earned an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group, an independent national nonprofit watchdog focused on patient safety. This recognition follows the hospital’s “A” grade in fall 2025, reflecting sustained performance in key measures designed to prevent errors, accidents, injuries and infections. The Leapfrog Group assigns letter grades ranging from “A” to “F” to general hospitals across the country using evidence‑based measures focused exclusively on patient safety. “Earning an ‘A’ once again is a testament to the extraordinary commitment of our team and their continuous focus on patient safety,” said Brook Ward, president of UPMC Washington and UPMC Greene. “I am incredibly proud of our physicians, nurses and staff for the care they provide every day. Their dedication to delivering exceptional, safe care is what our patients and community count on.. An ‘A’ Grade is a strong sign that UPMC Washington is deeply committed to protecting patients from harm,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “We commend the leadership, board, clinicians, staff and volunteers for the role each played in earning this distinction.” The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade is the only national hospital ratings program focused solely on preventable medical errors, infections and injuries. The program is peer‑reviewed, fully transparent and free to the public, with grades updated twice annually in the fall and spring.
