April 19, 2025 9:42 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance has met with the Vatican’s No. 2 official as they the sides spar over the U.S. crackdown on migrants. A Vatican statement reaffirmed good relations but noted there was “an exchange of opinions” over current international conflicts and humanitarian situations involving migrants, refugees and prisoners. There was no immediate word if Vance stopped by to greet Pope Francis, who has been resuming some official duties during his recovery from pneumonia. The Holy See has expressed alarm over the administration’s crackdown on migrants and cuts in international aid while insisting on peaceful resolutions to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
April 19, 2025 11:44 am
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — After a deadly shooting at Florida State University, questions are emerging about how the stepson of a beloved sheriff’s deputy tasked with school safety at a middle school became the accused gunman. Political science student Phoenix Ikner was a long-standing member of a sheriff’s office youth advisory council. But when officers rushed to the university’s student union on reports of gunfire, authorities say it was the 20-year-old who used his stepmother’s former service weapon to open fire, killing two men and wounding six others. The chief of safety for Leon County Schools said the allegations underscore that “none of us are immune to tragedy.”
April 20, 2025 6:00 am
(WPXI) – Two people are dead after an early Saturday morning house fire in Findlay Township. Officials tell Channel 11 that a house fire on Poplar Street, near Steubenville Pike, began around 4:30 a.m. At one point, the home was fully engulfed in flames. We’re told that two people died in the fire. Their identities have not been released, pending next-of-kin notifications. Three police officers on scene received medical treatment. One was hurt while jumping out of a window, and two others were treated for smoke inhalation. The fire marshal and Allegheny County police are investigating.
April 19, 2025 4:48 am
ROME (AP) — Iran and the United States are preparing for a second round of negotiations over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program in Rome. The talks Saturday in Italy over Easter weekend again will hinge on U.S. billionaire Steve Witkoff, the U.S. Mideast envoy of President Donald Trump, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Whether the two men find common ground in the high-stakes negotiations could mean success or failure in the talks. At risk is a possible American or Israeli military strike on Iran’s nuclear sites, or the Iranians following through on their threats to pursue an atomic weapon.
April 19, 2025 4:43 am
The Supreme Court has blocked, for now, the deportations of any Venezuelans held in northern Texas under an 18th century wartime law. In a brief order early Saturday, the court directed the Trump administration not to remove Venezuelans held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center “until further order of this court.” Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. The high court acted in an emergency appeal from the American Civil Liberties Union contending that immigration authorities appeared to be moving to restart removals under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798.
April 20, 2025 6:00 am
(WPXI) – The Fayette County District Attorney is seeking the death penalty against a Uniontown couple accused of murdering a toddler. According to WPXI-TV, Celia Nunn, the girl’s mother, and her fiancé, Emmanuel Dennis, are facing first-degree murder charges in the baby’s October 2024 death. Margaret “Maggie” Dunn, according to prosecutors, was beaten to death over several days. When medics were called to the family’s Menallen Township home, they found the 2-year-old face down with vomit on her mouth. The coroner said she’d been dead at least 12 hours. “This child was suffering. Within her final days, she couldn’t even sit up straight but the parents were continuing to punish her, continue to put her in time out and knew they needed to get help for her but thought they’d get in trouble if they did,” he said. Investigators say Dennis admitted to beating the child for several days, including one beating that lasted 5-10 minutes. She had bruises all over her body. Nunn said she was aware of the abuse and that her daughter needed medical attention, but did not take her to the hospital. “At some point, she’d either gone limp or flat out kicked across the hallway upstairs outside of the bathroom,” said Aubele. Dennis reportedly told investigators that Maggie was going through the ‘terrible twos’. He allegedly said he didn’t know his own strength and may have used excessive force when disciplining her. The DA said blaming the ‘terrible twos’ is a notion so disgusting, he won’t even address it. “It is not even worth addressing any assertion [that] this child somehow was acting or behaving differently than any other child. We have just a callous, disgusting attitude that was expressed not only by Mr. Dennis but by the child’s mother. There is just no excuse for it. ” Maggie and her siblings had just arrived to Fayette County with their mother three months before her death. Nunn has given birth to her fourth child in jail.
April 20, 2025 6:00 am
(WPXI) – A teen boy injured in a dirt bike crash in Washington County has died. Jonathan Gillespie, 15, was hit by an SUV while riding a dirt bike at the intersection of West Chestnut and Washington Streets Monday evening. The driver of the SUV gave him CPR until he was flown to UPMC Children’s Hospital with life-threatening injuries. Friday afternoon, Gillespie’s family said he had been taken off life support. Gillespie was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Since the incident, his friends have asked other dirt bike riders to protect themselves. “Please wear a helmet, please wear a helmet, it’s not worth it. You got people that love you, you got a family at home, you have no idea the people this is going to impact,” said Ty Sutton, Gillespie’s friend.
April 19, 2025 4:43 am
PARIS (AP) — President Donald Trump says negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are “coming to a head” and insists that neither side is “playing” him in his push to end the grinding war. The comments from Trump came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned earlier Friday that the U.S. may “move on” from trying to secure a Russia-Ukraine peace deal if there is no progress in the coming days, after months of efforts have failed to bring an end to the fighting.
April 18, 2025 1:40 pm
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Yemen’s Houthi rebels say U.S. airstrikes targeting oil port killed at least 74 people and injured at least 171 others. The overnight strikes on the Ras Isa port sent massive fireballs billowing skyward and left mangled fuel trucks burning. It was the deadliest known American attack yet in U.S. President Donald Trump’s military campaign against the Houthis, which began March 15. The U.S. military’s Central Command declined to comment when asked about civilian casualties. Satellite images of the port provided by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed Friday by The Associated Press showed destroyed tanks and vehicles as oil leaked into the Red Sea.
April 18, 2025 9:14 am
Washington County Acting Controller Heather Sheatler has released an audit her office conducted into last months Real Estate Expo hosted by County Commissioners at Washington and Jefferson College. According to Sheatler, the report and its findings are to “identify the areas of deficiency and/or non-compliance that we fell must be addressed”. The audit presents a detailed breakdown of receipts totalling more than $67,000. It also shows credit card receipts of $4,000 putting total receipts at more than $71,000. There were total disbursements of nearly $123,000 putting the event more than $51,000 over budget. Democratic Commissioner Larry Maggi says American Rescue Plan Act money was used to pay for the event, along with $30,000 that was used from the county’s blight fund. Maggi told WJPA News that he does believe the audit and the letter sent to Sheatler claiming non-payment of bills are connected and called it “politics at its worst”. Sheatler says she does believe the letter and accusations were to discredit her before the primary election. She says the audit has been sent to the State Auditor Generals Office.
