May 11, 2025 5:06 am
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East this week as scheduled won’t include a visit to Israel to discuss the war in Gaza, or talks with Iran about its nuclear program. Instead, Trump will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, three energy-rich monarchies home to existing or planned Trump-branded real estate projects – places where he aims to leverage American economic interests to do what he personally revels in: making business deals. But Trump won’t be able to avoid altogether diplomacy on Gaza or Iran: The Gulf countries hosting him are also interested in easing the regional tensions that emanate from these two places.
May 12, 2025 5:09 am
(AP) – President Donald Trump has signed an executive order meant to try to lower drug costs for American consumers. A White House official said the order also sets a 30-day deadline for the Health Department to broker new price tags for drugs. If a deal is not reached, a new rule will kick in that will tie the price of what the U.S. pays for medications to the lowest price paid by other countries.
May 12, 2025 5:05 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hamas has freed an Israeli-American soldier who was held hostage in Gaza for more than 19 months. The release offered a goodwill gesture toward the Trump administration. The deal could lay the groundwork for a new ceasefire with Israel. Edan Alexander was released to the Red Cross, which transferred him to the Israeli military. His release was the first since Israel shattered an eight-week ceasefire with Hamas in March and unleashed fierce strikes on Gaza that have killed hundreds of Palestinians. Alexander was reunited with his mother before being flown to a hospital in Tel Aviv.
May 12, 2025 5:03 am
VILLANOVA, Pa. (AP) — Church bells rang out for hours in celebration at Villanova University in suburban Philadelphia after one of their graduates was elected the first pope from the U.S. in the history of the Catholic Church. Now known as His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, Robert Prevost graduated from Villanova with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics in 1977. He received an honorary Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa, from the university in 2014. In a letter to students Thursday, Villanova’s president called it a proud and extraordinary day for the Catholic Augustinian university in suburban Philadelphia.
May 11, 2025 6:39 am
GENEVA (AP) — The U.S. and China have resumed crucial tariff talks that have put the global economy on edge, but appeared to have diverging views of where the negotiations presently stand. President Donald Trump said on social media that “great progress” was being made and even suggested a “total reset” was a possibility as the sides took their seats for the second and final scheduled day of discussions in Geneva. Beijing has yet to comment directly, but its official news agency took a tough approach Saturday, saying China will “firmly reject any proposal that compromises core principles or undermines the broader cause of global equity.” No breakthroughs were announced after 10 hours of discussions on the opening day.
May 11, 2025 6:37 am
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV has called for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine and an immediate ceasefire in Gaza with the release of hostages and delivery of humanitarian aid in his first Sunday noon blessing as pontiff. Leo said, “Never again war!” from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday. Recalling the end of World War II 80 years ago, Leo quoted Pope Francis in denouncing the number of conflicts ravaging the globe today, saying it was a “third world war in pieces.” The first American pope also wished all mothers, “including those in heaven,” a Happy Mother’s Day.
May 11, 2025 6:33 am
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he is pleased to see that Russia is finally engaging with finding an end to the war, but there must be a ceasefire before peace talks can start. Calling it a “positive sign,” he said in a post on X Sunday that “the entire world has been waiting for this for a very long time. And the very first step in truly ending any war is a ceasefire.” Russian President Vladimir Putin in remarks to the media overnight effectively rejected the ceasefire proposal and proposed restarting direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday instead.
May 11, 2025 6:30 am
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Palestinian health officials say Israeli strikes overnight and into Sunday killed 11 people in the Gaza Strip, mostly women and children. Two of the strikes hit tents in the southern city of Khan Younis, each killing two children and their parents. Other strikes killed a child, a 16-year-old and a man riding a bicycle. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames Hamas for civilian deaths because the militants are embedded in populated areas. In a separate development, Israel said it retrieved the remains of a soldier killed in a 1982 battle in southern Lebanon.
May 11, 2025 2:23 am
The City of Washington Police have issued a statement stating that city police were called to an incident at the 7th ward playground on Wednesday May 7th at about 6:30 pm for multiple juveniles fighting. Upon police arrival, most of the individuals, including the victim left the scene. The victim did return to police a short time later to make a report of the incident. Police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident, knows the parties involved or has video of the incident to contact them.
May 11, 2025 2:25 am
CANONSBURG, Pa. — A Canonsburg business was raided Thursday after parents reported their concerns to police. An investigation at Canonsburg Vapors began after multiple parents contacted police with concerns about the items their teens were allegedly bringing home from this local vape shop. On Thursday afternoon, the whole parking lot was filled with police cars, as officers from multiple agencies looked for illegal substances that investigators say were being sold at the store. The raid came after a months-long investigation by the Canonsburg Police, the AG’s Office, Homeland Security and the District attorney’s office. Detectives went undercover to get products that they then tested and discovered to be illegal. “During the course of the investigation, we were able to obtain some of the suspected chemicals or packages… It was sent to a crime lab,” Canonsburg Police Chief Al Coghill said. “Of course it was not marketed as what the label said, it was much more potent than the label indicated.” As of Thursday evening, the store remained open.
