December 11, 2025 4:57 am
RANDOLPH, Minn. (AP) — Farmers in the U.S. are feeling the strain from trade disputes, particularly with China. President Donald Trump has announced $12 billion in aid to help them, but many farmers say it’s not enough. Gene Stehly, a South Dakota farmer, believes the aid is insufficient to cover losses from low commodity prices and declining sales. Farmers like Charlie Radman and Bryant Kagay express frustration, saying they need more certainty and new markets, not just temporary payments. The aid is seen as a stopgap, with many farmers wanting solutions to rising costs and market access beyond China.
December 11, 2025 4:10 am
The methods used to distribute opioid settlement funds in Washington County has come under criticism once again. This time it is the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania leveling the complaint. The Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust is the committee that oversees Pennslyvania’s opioid settlement trust fund. According to the Observer Reporter, in a meeting on December 4, the committee rejected eight applicants and put nine other applicants under review. Singling out Washington County, the committee has decided to assign a liaison to monitor the awarding of future grants. Eight grants were considered non-compliant. The county now has the option to take back that grant money, or proceed to award those grants, however that money would come from county funds and not opioid settlement funds. This decision comes on the heels of criticism by the Washington County Drug and Alcohol Commission asking for clarity on the distribution of opioid settlement funds and the reasoning behind establishing a drug and alcohol treatment division in the county’s Human Services department.
December 11, 2025 2:50 am
Two people are wanted by police in Canton Township after a decomposed body was found last year in the home where they were living. Authorities say the couple was living with the body of 64-year-old Michael Bebout for some six months. On Wednesday, police filed charges against James and Debbie Bebout. Authorities say the couple was continuing to cash his Social Security checks, and deposited more than $20,000 from Michael Bebout’s government benefits into their accounts while his body lay in his bed. Police were called to the home in January, after James Bebout reported he thought his brother was dead. According to the criminal complaint, James told officers he found Michael “stiff as a board” when he went to give him breakfast. When officers checked the bedroom, they found only skeletal remains. James and Debbie Bebout are now charged with theft, conspiracy and abuse of a corpse. The two are wanted and believed to be in the Washington County area.
December 11, 2025 2:27 am
A Washington County jury deliberated about nine hours before returning a mixed verdict in the case against Jose Zaragoza of Washington. Zaragoza was accused of strangling and attempting to kidnap the mother of their child. The incident occurred in the parking lot of the Giant Eagle in South Strabane Township. Prosecutors wound up testimony with police accounts of their interaction with the victim Liliana Escobar both at the scene and in subsequent interviews during the investigation. Zaragoza took the stand in his own defense. His account was 180 degrees opposite of the victim. He says that he reached into the car to try and hug Escobar. Her reaction caused him to put his hand over her mouth and nose and her throat as he tried to back away from her reaction to his hug. When asked why he drove off after he offered to call police for help from his cell phone and strangers arrived to the victim’s cries for help, he said that he did not want to get into trouble. The jury returned a not guilty verdict on two counts, but rendered a deadlocked verdict on the remaining two charges. The commonwealth must now decide whether to re-try him on the two deadlocked verdicts. Zaragoza remains in the Washington County Jail.
December 10, 2025 5:44 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — A judge has ruled that secret grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein’s 2019 sex trafficking case can be made public. The judge Wednesday joined two other judges in granting the Justice Department’s requests to unseal material from investigations into the late financier’s sexual abuse. U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman in New York reversed his earlier decision to keep the material under wraps, citing a new law that requires the government to open its files on Epstein and his longtime confidant Ghislaine Maxwell. The judge previously cautioned that the 70 or so pages of grand jury materials slated for release are hardly revelatory. On Tuesday, another Manhattan federal judge ordered the release of records from Maxwell’s 2021 case. (Photo: AP)
December 10, 2025 5:39 pm
(AP) – Federal health officials have expanded an outbreak of infant botulism tied to ByHeart baby formula to include any illnesses reported since the company began production in 2022. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that at least 51 babies in 19 states have been sickened since 2023. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said new cases include any infants with botulism who consumed ByHeart formula since the product’s release. The outbreak was announced on Nov. 8. ByHeart recalled all of its products sold in the U.S. and around the world on Nov. 11th. (Photo: AP)
December 10, 2025 4:12 pm
(AP) – The Federal Reserve reduced its key interest rate for the third time in a row Wednesday but signaled that it may leave rates unchanged in the coming months, a move that could attract ire from President Donald Trump, who has demanded steep reductions to borrowing costs. In a set of quarterly economic projections, Fed officials signaled they expect to lower rates just once next year. Wednesday’s cut reduced the rate to about 3.6%, the lowest it has been in nearly three years. Lower rates from the Fed can bring down borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards over time, though market forces can also affect those rates.
December 10, 2025 5:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he’s still weighing whether to release the full video of an attack on an alleged drug boat that killed two survivors. Hegseth provided a classified briefing Tuesday to congressional leaders alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top national security officials. Hegseth is facing demands from Congress that he release the video amid a deepening investigation into the strikes. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the briefing “very unsatisfying” and said every lawmaker has a right to see the video. Congress is threatening to withhold travel funding for Hegseth unless the Pentagon provides the unedited video.
December 10, 2025 5:04 am
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Opponents of Missouri’s new congressional map have submitted thousands of petition signatures calling for a statewide vote on the plan backed by President Donald Trump. Organizers of the petition drive said they turned in more than 300,000 signatures Tuesday to the secretary of state’s office. That’s well more than the roughly 110,000 signatures needed to suspend the U.S. House districts from taking effect until a public vote can be held next year. But the signatures still must be formally verified by election authorities. Republicans hope the new voting districts could help their party win additional seats in Congress in next year’s midterm elections.
December 10, 2025 4:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela as tensions mount with the government of President Nicolás Maduro. Using U.S. forces to take control of a merchant ship is incredibly unusual and marks the Trump administration’s latest push to increase pressure on Maduro. The seizure Wednesday was led by the U.S. Coast Guard and supported by the Navy. That’s according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Video posted to social media by Attorney General Pam Bondi shows people fast-roping from a helicopter to the deck and later moving around with their weapons drawn.
