May 19, 2025 4:23 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans advanced their massive tax cut and border security package out of a key House committee during a rare Sunday night vote. But there’s more work to do. Deficit hawks who had blocked the measure two days earlier are still dissatisfied and want steeper spending cuts. While the Budget Committee advanced the package, 17-16, four of the conservatives simply voted “present” as negotiations continue. It all points to a difficult week ahead for Speaker Mike Johnson, who is determined to push the package forward in a House vote ahead of his Memorial Day deadline.
May 19, 2025 4:19 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says Russia and Ukraine will “immediately” begin ceasefire negotiations. Trump spoke on Monday after separate calls with the leaders of both countries meant to spur progress toward ending the three-year war. The conversations did not appear to yield a major breakthrough. It was not clear when or where any talks might take place or who would participate. Trump made the announcement days after the first direct engagement between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since 2022. Those negotiations on Friday in Turkey brought about a limited exchange of prisoners but no pause in the fighting.
May 19, 2025 4:16 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Joe Biden’s office says he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The finding came after the 82-year-old reported urinary symptoms, which led doctors to discover a nodule on his prostate. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer on Friday, with the cancer cells having spread to the bone. His office said Sunday this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, but the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive, which allows for effective management. Biden and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.
May 19, 2025 4:14 am
LONDON (AP) — The United Kingdom and the European Union are expected to seal new deals on fishing rights and defense as officials meet in London to discuss closer ties. Monday’s meeting is their first official summit since Brexit. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is meeting with top EU officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. British media reported that officials would announce an agreement on fishing access for EU boats in U.K. waters, as well as details on a defense and security partnership. There are hopes the deals could improve the U.K. economy, which has been hit by a drop in EU trade caused by increased costs and red tape after Britain left the bloc in 2020.
May 19, 2025 4:11 am
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV and U.S. Vice President JD Vance are meeting ahead of a flurry of U.S.-led diplomatic efforts to make progress on a ceasefire in Ukraine. Vance’s motorcade was seen entering Vatican City just after 7:30 a.m. Monday. Vance is a Catholic convert who had led the U.S. delegation to the formal Mass opening the pontificate of the first American pope. The Vatican has been largely sidelined during the first three years of Russia’s war and is offering to host any peace talks while continuing humanitarian efforts to facilitate prisoner swaps and reunite Ukrainian children taken by Russia.
May 19, 2025 12:03 am
A group swim in the Monongahela River turned tragic Saturday morning. Just before 11:00 am, 12-year-old Rontae Lester disappeared in the water while swimming near First Street in Donora. Emergency agencies responded to a 911 call from one of the friends in the group. Divers found Lester’s body on the riverbed approximately 3:30 pm Saturday afternoon. Washington County Coroner Tim Warco indicated the youth was pronounced dead at the scene. Numerous emergency units assisted. The incident is being investigated by the Donora Borough Police Department. (PHOTO:Charleroi Fire Department Facebook Page)
May 19, 2025 3:54 am
WEST NEWTON, Pa. —(WPXI)- A vehicle was pulled from the Youghiogheny River in West Newton on Sunday. First responders were initially sent to search the river near the intersection of Lowber Road and Sutersville Road on Saturday evening. Firefighters and boat crews returned on Sunday morning, eventually bringing a white KIA SUV, which had been fully submerged, to the shore. A West Newton police officer said that there was no one in the SUV when it surfaced. The investigation into how the SUV got into the river is ongoing.
May 19, 2025 3:59 am
CRAFTON, Pa. —(WPXI)- Crafton Police are looking for a man they say attempted to kidnap a woman. Officers say Christian Spruill, 35, originally from the North Carolina area, has been terrorizing a Crafton woman for the past month. He escalated, investigators say, when he tried to kidnap her. According to a criminal complaint, police responded to a crash at the intersection of Fountain Street and Sycamore Street at 10:27 p.m. on Saturday. A red Toyota 4 Runner had crashed through a fence, over a hillside and outside a house. Police said the victim was forced into that vehicle by Spruill but was able to escape after the crash. She waved down officers for help. K-9s, drones and officers searched a nearby wooded area for Spruill but could not find him. He is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs about 160 pounds. He is 35 years old. Police say he is homeless, so they believe he is wandering around the Pittsburgh area. Anyone with information on Spruill’s location is asked to call 911 or the Crafton Police Department .
May 19, 2025 3:57 am
PITTSBURGH —(WPXI)- Antisemitic fliers were spread throughout Squirrel Hill. Pittsburgh Police said they have received multiple reports about antisemitic messages being placed throughout the neighborhood. Different versions of the fliers were sealed in clear bags and weighted with kernels of corn. Officers believe this was so the bags could be thrown from a moving vehicle. Witnesses gave various descriptions of the suspect vehicle and the driver, but the most common description was that it was a man with red hair. Anyone with information is asked to call police.
May 18, 2025 6:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has ripped into Walmart, saying on social media that the retail giant should eat the additional costs created by his tariffs. As Trump has jacked up those import taxes, he’s tried to assure a skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional expenses. Most economic analyses are deeply skeptical of those claims and have warned that the tariffs would worsen inflation. Walmart said on Thursday that everything from bananas to children’s car seats could increase in price.
