May 30, 2025 4:44 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The Trump administration is dropping plans to terminate leases for 34 offices in the Mine Safety and Health Administration. A Department of Labor spokesperson confirmed the move Thursday within the agency responsible for enforcing mine safety laws. Earlier this year, the Department of Government Efficiency, created by President Donald Trump, had targeted federal agencies for spending cuts. That included terminating leases for three dozen MSHA offices. Some MSHA offices are still listed on the chopping block on the DOGE website, but the Labor Department statement did not indicate whether those closings will move forward. MSHA is required to inspect underground mines quarterly and surface mines twice a year.
May 30, 2025 4:42 am
(AP) — President Donald Trump held a rally in West Mifflin on Friday to celebrate a details-to-come deal for Japan-based Nippon Steel to invest in U.S. Steel, which he says will keep the iconic American steelmaker under U.S.-control. Though Trump initially vowed to block the Japanese steelmaker’s bid to buy Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel, he changed course and announced an agreement last week for what he described as “partial ownership” by Nippon. It’s not clear, though, if the deal his administration helped broker has been finalized or how ownership would be structured. Trump stressed the deal would maintain American control of the storied company, which is seen as both a political symbol and an important matter for the country’s supply chain, industries like auto manufacturing and national security. Trump, who has been eager to strike deals and announce new investments in the U.S. since retaking the White House, is also trying to satisfy voters, including blue-collar workers, who elected him as he called to protect U.S. manufacturing. U.S. Steel has not publicly communicated any details of a revamped deal to investors. Nippon Steel issued a statement approving of the proposed “partnership” but also has not disclosed terms of the arrangement. In the absence of clear details or affirmation from the companies involved, the United Steelworkers union, which has long opposed the deal, this week questioned whether the new arrangement makes “any meaningful change” from the initial proposal.
May 30, 2025 2:29 am
The PA Trolley Museum partnered with the Penn Environment Research and Policy Center to promote the use of solar energy and how it has particularly benefitted the trolley museum. Wanda Wilson from Penn Environment said that her organization is touring Pennsylvania, educating businesses, non-profits and churches on how the use of solar energy can redirect funds spent on electricity to other needs in their organizations. Scott Becker, Executive Director and CEO of the PA Trolley Museum spoke of how the savings have benefitted the museum. All of the trolleys that run rider tours are powered by electricity. The education center, display center and maintenance shop are all powered by solar electricity. The solar program began in 2009 when approximately 35 solar panels were installed. A Pennsylvania Energy Harvest Grant and Swanson Family Grant have now allowed the museum to install 937 solar panels on the rooftops of the education center and display center. According to Becker, the solar energy program allowed the museum to pay just $850 in electrical bills last year. He said that it was a savings of $70,000.
May 29, 2025 5:47 pm
NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs’ former personal assistant testified that the hip-hop mogul sexually assaulted her, threw her into a swimming pool, dumped a bucket of ice on her head and slammed her arm into a door during a torturous eight-year tenure. The woman testified Thursday at Combs’ sex trafficking trial under the pseudonym “Mia.” She has alleged that he put his hand up her dress, forced her to perform oral sex and climbed into her bed to have sex with her against her will. She touched on the allegations briefly at the start of her testimony and is expected to discuss them in detail as her questioning continues. (Photo: AP)
May 29, 2025 5:43 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Ford is recalling more than a million vehicles due to a software issue that can cause the rear-view camera to malfunction, increasing the chance of an accident, government auto regulators said. The software error, which Ford reported to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration earlier this month, may cause the rear-view camera image to delay, freeze or not display when the vehicle is in reverse. The problem will be fixed by a dealer or via an “over-the-air” update, expected to be available sometime in the third quarter of 2025.
May 29, 2025 5:38 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has audaciously claimed virtually unlimited power to bypass Congress and impose sweeping taxes on foreign products. Now a federal court has said: Not so fast. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that Trump overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare a national emergency and plaster taxes – tariffs – on imports from almost every country in the world. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday allowed the president to temporarily continue collecting the tariffs under the emergency powers law while he appeals the trade court’s decision. (Photo: AP)
May 29, 2025 12:56 pm
CALICO ROCK, Ark. — (AP) — Arkansas authorities are looking at whether a job in the prison kitchen played a role in the weekend escape of a convicted former police chief known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.”Grant Hardin, 56, was housed in a maximum-security wing of the medium-security Calico Rock prison, where he also held a job in the kitchen, Arkansas Department of Corrections spokesperson Rand Champion said Thursday. Authorities have said Hardin escaped Sunday by donning an outfit designed to look like a law enforcement uniform. “His job assignment was in the kitchen, so just looking to see if that played a part in it as well,” Champion told The Associated Press. The kitchen is divided into two shifts of about 25 workers each, according to a 2021 accreditation report that involved an extensive review of the prison. In the kitchen, “tools and utensils were stored on shadow boards with proper controls for sign out/in of all tools,” the report states. “A check of the inventory control sheets found them to be accurate and up to date.” The kitchen is in one of 16 buildings on over 700 acres (280 hectares) of prison land. The sprawling grounds include a garden, two greenhouses, and extensive pasture lands where a herd of more than 100 horses is raised and trained by staff and inmates. Hardin, the former police chief in the small town of Gateway near the Arkansas-Missouri border, was serving lengthy sentences for murder and rape. He was the subject of the TV documentary “Devil in the Ozarks.”
May 29, 2025 12:52 pm
(WPXI) INDIANA COUNTY, Pa. — Pennsylvania State Police say scammers are impersonating the DMV in text messages. Troopers said several Indiana County residents reported receiving suspicious texts from someone claiming to be the “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Motor Vehicles (DMV).” The texts allege they are a “final notice” before “enforcement penalties begin on May 31.” A link is included in the email that is alleged to lead people who open it to a place where they can make a payment on an “outstanding traffic ticket” to avoid penalties. Police say the entire message is a scam and say no one should click on any links in the message. They encourage people to report these messages to their service providers and to delete the message. Troopers are not aware of any financial losses caused by the scam at this time. To prevent the scam from spreading, residents are asked to spread the word and discuss scam risks with family members and friends. Police said a good rule of thumb is to ignore calls, emails or texts that seem suspicious and to contact a family member or local police for more guidance.
May 29, 2025 12:32 pm
LITTLE RIVER, S.C. — (AP) — A 19-year-old has been taken into custody in Illinois and authorities said they plan to charge him in a shooting that hurt 11 people after a party boat cruise in South Carolina. The shooting happened Sunday night on a dock in Little River after a fight on the boat during the three-hour cruise, Horry County Police said. The suspect is expected to be charged with several counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime and then officials will seek to extradite him from Lake County, Illinois, back to South Carolina, police said. The investigation into the shooting continues and more people could be charged, authorities said. Officials said 120 people partied on the boat over the holiday weekend and were leaving on the dock when the shooting happened. Ten people were wounded by gunfire, mostly on the lower parts of their body, and one person was hurt by a falling speaker, authorities said. Investigators think only one person fired shots. They didn’t say what started the dispute on the boat and how it led to the shooting on the dock and also would not say what kind of weapon was used. About 3 miles (5 kilometers) down the Intracoastal Waterway, a North Myrtle Beach police officer accidentally shot himself in the leg as he tried to get a boat into the water to respond to the shooting scene, officials said. Little River is about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Myrtle Beach. The fishing village is known for its docks and marinas where fishing expeditions, casino boats and several dolphin cruises leave daily.
May 29, 2025 12:29 pm
(WPXI) BUTLER, Pa. — Police are investigating an apparent murder-suicide in Butler County. Butler City Police Chief Bob O’Neill says police did a welfare check at 3:44 p.m. on Wednesday in the 100 block of Cottage Hill Avenue. Inside, they found two deceased people: A 66-year-old white woman and a 66-year-old white man, both from Butler. Detectives believe this was a murder-suicide, based on preliminary investigations. The individuals’ next of kin have not yet been located, O’Neill says. The investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released as deemed prudent.
