February 27, 2025 5:49 pm
ROME (AP) — The Vatican says that Pope Francis continues to improve from double pneumonia Thursday, though doctors say he needs more days of “clinical stability” before they revise their guarded prognosis. The 88-year-old pope was able to begin alternating high-flow supplemental oxygen, delivered by a nasal tube, with a mask in a sign of his improved respiratory condition, the Vatican said in a late update. For the second day in a row, doctors did not say Francis was in critical condition. But they said that given the complexity of his lung infection, “further days of clinical stability are needed” before they declare he is out of danger. Francis has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14.
February 27, 2025 5:47 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — A grassroots organization is encouraging U.S. residents not to spend any money on Friday. The People’s Union USA describes it as an act of “economic resistance” to protest what the group’s founder sees as the malign influence of billionaires, big corporations and both major political parties on the lives of working Americans. The group calls the 24 hours of spending abstinence set to start at midnight an “economic blackout,” a term that has since been shared and debated on social media. Other activists and faith-based leaders are organizing boycotts to protest companies that have scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and to oppose President Donald Trump’s moves to abolish all federal DEI programs and policies.
February 26, 2025 5:45 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration says federal agencies should begin planning to eliminate employee positions. The process is known as a reduction in force. Agency leaders must submit their plans by March 13. Trump is setting the stage for what could become a dramatic realignment of the federal government. He’s already downsized the workforce by laying off probationary employees. Now the administration is turning its attention to career officials with civil service protection. Trump foreshadowed this goal in an executive order that he signed with Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur who’s advising the Republican president on overhauling the government.
February 26, 2025 9:08 am
Following a threat on Yik Yak, an anonymous platform used by college students, officials at Washington & Jefferson College say law enforcement from Washington, East Washington, South Strabane, and State Police have sent or will be sending officers to campus and there will continue to be a police presence at large events and gathering times. School officials say they are taking the threat seriously and are aggressively investigating the post, including specifically the identity of the individual who posted the threat. Officials say Yik Yak has received a Magistrate-approved warrant to submit information on the individual and the school is exercising its internal systems to uncover this person’s identity as well. They say they will take action immediately when the perpetrator is known. Officials say that because this person is affiliated with W&J, and because the campus is integrated into downtown and residential Washington, they do not have a way to keep the perpetrator from entering campus, but will take steps to enhance safety on campus. Between now and end-of-business Friday, faculty who wish to do so, are encouraged to move their classes online; staff who wish to work remotely may do so with their supervisor’s permission; students may choose not to attend in-person classes or activities, but should they choose to do so they must inform faculty in advance. Officials say they hope to resume all in-person activity on Monday.
February 26, 2025 4:15 am
South Strabane Township Supervisors have approved a preliminary land development proposal from Epi-Center LLC for the construction of a Active Recreation Sports Complex at 2200 Tanger Boulevard. The proposed plan includes fifteen indoor pickleball courts, several outdoor pickleball courts, and eight basketball courts, which can also serve as volleyball courts. The facility will also feature a restaurant and bar, entertainment spaces and other areas for recreation. Construction is planned to be completed this year with an anticipated opening date at the end of 2025. In other action, the board also approved a Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant worth approximately $85,000 for a new dog park at Community Park.The decision passed with a 3-2 vote, with Supervisors Bull and Rowand dissenting. Bull says that he voted against the dog park for the safety of the residents and the children using the parks due to dogs being able to acquire illnesses. Michelle Wrubelski, Chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Committee, said that the grant will fund the development of a dog park that will be open to everyone, include separate sections for small and large dogs, shade trees, benches, watering stations, and play toys. According to Wrubelski, the township’s estimated cost for constructing the park is between $65,000 and $70,000. South Strabane resident Emily Minor voiced her opposition stating that she is not interested in liability insurance or dog park maintenance, and does not want her taxes to fund a facility where others may come to exercise their dogs.
February 26, 2025 2:47 am
Earlier this year the Southwestern Pennsylvania Area on Aging had to cancel a food program that was born out of the COVID 19 pandemic but remained popular with senior citizens. According to Mary Harris, Executive Director of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Area on Aging, the Grab and Go program was eliminated due to funds being exhausted and no new funding was put in place to keep the program. Harris says that is only a portion of the problem facing agencies on aging across Pennsylvania. Harris says that funding has remained flat for many years causing programs to cease or be put on hold. She is hopeful that Pennsylvania’s congress will pass the additional $20 million that Governor Josh Shapiro has requested for the 2025-2026 budget, but she says the actual need for these agencies is about $105 million more in spending allocations. Harris says these agencies help older Pennsylvanians with personal care, home care support and care giver support, essentially anything that will help a senior age in place in their home. Appoximately 500 senior centers operate across Pennslyvania administering about 100 programs. Harris says that state and federal funding is critical to keep these centers open. Forty of those senior centers could close without additional funding. She says that the best way to help in the funding push, is for seniors, and family members and care givers to reach out to state representatives and senators to let them know how vital the funding is to them. They should also reach out to federal representatives to ask them to support the Older Americans Act.
February 26, 2025 4:45 am
BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — (WPXI) – A case of bird flu was detected in Butler County last week, and it has local farmers concerned. “It’s concerning because that’s my livelihood,” said David Jones, the owner of Jones Farm in Cabot. Jones said he’s taking every precaution to keep his flock safe from the viral infection. Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture confirmed an infection at a backyard flock in Butler County on Feb. 20, with 610 birds affected. It’s not a commercial farm and the location has not been released. This is the first confirmed bird flu case in Butler County since early 2022. So far in 2025, seven commercial folks and eight backyard folks have been affected in nine counties across the state. Agriculture officials say 2,345,170 birds were lost to the virus. For now, Jones is keeping his 275 hens indoors. He plans to do the same thing when he gets 150 more hens next month and 5,000 turkeys in April. Jones is allowing a few workers to have access to his flock and they will continue to wear clean sanitized boots and other protective gear. He also may have a new protocol in place for customers purchasing eggs at his farm.
February 26, 2025 4:55 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans have muscled their budget blueprint to passage, with a push from President Donald Trump. The vote late Tuesday evening is a crucial step toward delivering what he’s called his “big, beautiful bill,” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts. It kickstarts a weeks-long process to draft the details and merge it with the Senate’s package. The vote was 217-215 with all Democrats opposed. But even some Republicans are uneasy. As Elon Musk is tearing through the federal government, Republicans are being hammered at town halls back home. It’s a familiar GOP problem that slashing federal spending is easier said than done, as constituents rely on Medicaid and other programs and services.
February 26, 2025 5:01 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 20 civil service employees resigned Tuesday from billionaire Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, saying they were refusing to use their technical expertise to “dismantle critical public services.” “We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations,” the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. “However, it has become clear that we can no longer honor those commitments.” The employees also warned that many of those enlisted by Musk to help him slash the size of the federal government under President Donald Trump’s administration were political ideologues who did not have the necessary skills or experience for the task ahead of them. The mass resignation of engineers, data scientists, designers and product managers is a temporary setback for Musk and the Republican president’s tech-driven purge of the federal workforce. It comes amid a flurry of court challenges that have sought to stall, stop or unwind their efforts to fire or coerce thousands of government workers out of jobs.
February 25, 2025 4:51 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new federal lawsuit in Maryland is challenging a Trump administration memo giving the nation’s schools and universities two weeks to eliminate “race-based” practices of any kind or risk losing their federal money. The lawsuit was filed by the American Federation of Teachers union and the American Sociological Association. They groups say the Education Department’s Feb. 14 memo violates the First and Fifth Amendments. They say forcing schools to teach only the views supported by the federal government amounts to a violation of free speech, and the directive is so vague that schools don’t know what practices cross the line.
