December 8, 2025 5:15 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — President Donald Trump is claiming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy “ hasn’t read” a U.S-authored peace proposal aimed at ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Trump was critical of Zelenskyy after U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators completed three days of talks aimed at trying to narrow differences on the U.S. administration’s proposal. In an exchange with reporters on Sunday, Trump suggested the Ukrainian leader is holding up the talks from moving forward. The president told reporters: “Russia is, I believe, fine with it, but I’m not sure that Zelenskyy’s fine with it.”
December 8, 2025 5:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery’s friendly agreement to sell itself to Netflix just got upended by a hostile actor. Paramount made Warner shareholders a higher offer on Monday and touched off what is likely to be a lengthy fight in the latest episode of media industry consolidation. Paramount’s all-cash offer is worth about $74.4 billion, while Netflix agreed to buy Warner for $72 billion in cash and stock. Both offers will face regulatory scrutiny, and President Donald Trump has promised to weigh in. Shareholders have until Jan. 8, 2026, to vote on Paramount’s offer.
December 8, 2025 5:14 am
Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett has launched a campaign for the U.S. Senate in Texas. Crockett’s announcement Monday came after fellow Democrat and former Rep. Colin Allred ended his Senate campaign to run for a House seat. Texas is critical to Democrats’ long-shot hopes of reclaiming a Senate majority in next year’s elections, and GOP incumbent John Cornyn is facing the toughest primary race of his 24-year Senate career against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and two-term Rep. Wesley Hunt. Crockett still faces state Rep. James Talarico for the Democratic nod. Crockett has a national profile as one of Congress’ most outspoken Democrats and a frequent target of GOP attacks.
December 8, 2025 5:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge has dealt a setback to Justice Department efforts to seek a new indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly has temporarily barred prosecutors from using evidence they’d relied on when they initially secured criminal charges. The ruling doesn’t preclude the government from trying again soon to indict Comey. But it does suggest prosecutors may have to do that without citing communications between Comey and a close friend and associate, Columbia University law professor Daniel Richman. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment Sunday.
December 8, 2025 5:13 am
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — State and federal authorities are monitoring online criticism and protests against the immigration crackdown in New Orleans. Records reviewed by The Associated Press show the state’s fusion center is tracking message boards for threats to agents and compiling updates on public sentiment. Officials have released few details about the arrests made as part of the operation called the “Catahoula Crunch.” Local leaders are calling for transparency, saying they’ve been kept in the dark. Immigration authorities claim the sweeps target “criminal illegal aliens,” but records show less than a third of those arrested had criminal records.
December 8, 2025 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is giving farmers some $12 billion in aid to help as they struggle to sell their crops while getting hit by rising costs. The move Monday comes after the president raised tariffs on China as part of a broader trade war. China has since agreed to buy more U.S. soybeans, but sales have so far been slow. Farmers have backed Trump politically but his aggressive trade policies and frequently changing tariff rates have come under increasing scrutiny. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said farmers will get the money by the end of February. Payments will be limited to no more than $155,000.
December 8, 2025 5:03 am
Two dogs were rescued from a snowy roof in Washington County. According to the Washington Area Humane Society, the dogs were found at an abandoned home on the 5000 block of Prospect Pike in Morris Township. Firefighters with the Morris Township Fire Department said they cleared brush and trees to safely set up ladders to get to the animals. The humane society is asking the owner, or anyone who knows the owners, to call 724-222-7387.
December 8, 2025 4:58 am
Washington Police have arrested a city man following a domestic-related incident downtown Sunday evening. Police say 65 year old William Coles has been charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and prohibited possession of a firearm. Police say they were called to N. Main Street just after 7:30 p.m. for a report of shots fired and a man experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. He was taken into custody and transported to the Washington County Jail. He is to undergo a mental health evaluation. Police say they shut down the roadway in that area and Washington and Jefferson College issued a shelter-in-place alert for its campus community.
December 8, 2025 2:55 am
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt certified the results of Pennsylvania’s 2025 municipal election Monday after county officials confirmed the accuracy of their reported results through two pre-certification audits. “After reviewing the certified results from all 67 counties, I have formally certified the outcome of the Nov. 4 municipal election,” Schmidt said. “I extend my thanks to county election officials, who spent the last few weeks diligently counting eligible votes and confirming that Pennsylvania held yet another free, fair, safe, and secure election.” Roughly 42.45% of registered Pennsylvania voters cast a ballot in the November election, which is well above the 36.77% turnout for the 2023 municipal election. Schmidt emphasized that counties again successfully conducted two audits of their vote tallies before they certified their results. “Both audits confirmed the accuracy of the reported results, again showing Pennsylvanians that they can have confidence in the accuracy and integrity of our electoral system,” Schmidt said. The two audits take different approaches to reach the same goal: confirming whether all results have been reported correctly. One audit is a statutorily required statistical recount in each county of a random sample of at least 2% of all ballots cast – or 2,000 ballots, whichever is fewer. All counties must perform this audit after every election. The other is a statistically based risk-limiting audit, known as an RLA. RLAs involve randomly chosen counties hand-tallying votes for one randomly chosen statewide race in randomly selected batches of ballots.
December 7, 2025 6:45 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended U.S. military strikes on alleged drug cartel boats, saying President Donald Trump has the right to take military action “as he sees fit.” The comments were made Saturday at a national security forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. It comes as the Trump administration faces intense questioning over the deadly strikes and whether they violate international law. Hegseth also compared Trump to Reagan, saying the current president is the “true and rightful heir” to Reagan.
