October 15, 2025 6:11 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The government shutdown is entering a third week, and Democrats say they’re not intimidated by President Donald Trump’s efforts to fire thousands of federal workers or by his threats of more firings to come. In fact, Democrats appear emboldened. And they’re showing no signs of caving as they return to Washington from their home states. Senate Democrats, in votes Tuesday and Wednesday, again rejected a Republican bill to open the government. Republicans are now planning additional votes on individual spending bills, starting Thursday with the defense legislation that would fund salaries for the military. It’s unclear whether Democrats will support it.
October 15, 2025 6:07 pm
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from firing workers during the government shutdown, saying the human cost “cannot be tolerated.” U.S. District Judge Susan Illston in San Francisco on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order halting the job cuts, saying she believes evidence would show the cuts were illegal. The White House budget office said Friday that mass firings of federal workers had started. That announcement prompted labor unions for federal employees to ask the judge to block the Republican administration from issuing new layoff notices and implementing those already sent out. Emails sent to the White House and the Office of Management and Budget after the judge’s ruling haven’t been returned.
October 15, 2025 1:27 pm
Multiple fire departments were called to a house fire at 719 Fallowfield Avenue in Charleroi Wednesday morning just after eleven o’clock. Authorities say the call initially came in as a house fire with entrapment, but officials say everyone inside was able to get out safely, although one individual did suffer a minor burn. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
October 15, 2025 10:25 am
South Strabane Township Police have announced an emergency road closure for Cameron Road at Route 19 because of a water main break. Police say repairs are underway but it is unclear how long it may take or when the roadway may reopen. Police are asking motorists to try and avoid the area if possible. Only local traffic will be permitted beyond East Beau Street.
October 15, 2025 9:59 am
SOUTH FAYETTE TOWNSHIP, Pa. – A crash early Wednesday morning has left one person dead. It happened around 3:30am in the northbound lanes of I-79 in South Fayette Township. The vehicle went into the rear of a tractor-trailer stopped along the shoulder on the ramp to the Bridgeville rest stop. The crash left only one lane getting by northbound and led to significant traffic delays for the morning rush.
October 15, 2025 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The ongoing government shutdown has delayed the announcement of the annual Social Security cost-of-living increase. This announcement, originally scheduled for Wednesday, is now set for Oct. 24. The delay affects millions of beneficiaries who rely on these adjustments to plan their finances. The Senior Citizens League and AARP are projecting a 2.7% increase. Many retirees worry this won’t cover rising costs. Some lawmakers propose using a different index to calculate these increases since they don’t factor in health care expenses. The agency plans to notify recipients of their new benefits in December. The program faces financial challenges, with a trust fund shortfall expected by 2034.
October 15, 2025 5:00 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is taking up a major Republican-led challenge to the Voting Rights Act, the centerpiece legislation of the civil rights movement, that could gut a key provision of the law that prohibits racial discrimination in redistricting. The justices on Wednesday are hearing arguments for the second time in a case over Louisiana’s congressional map, which has two majority Black districts. A ruling for the state could open the door for legislatures to redraw congressional maps across the South, potentially boosting Republican electoral prospects in the closely divided House of Representatives by eliminating majority Black and Latino seats that tend to favor Democrats. The court’s conservative majority has been skeptical of considerations of race.
October 15, 2025 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new AAPI Data/AP-NORC poll finds that after months of aggressive immigration enforcement measures from the Trump administration, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander adults are more likely to disapprove of President Donald Trump’s handling of immigration than they were in March. The findings come as federal immigration agents expand a crackdown in the Chicago area, where more than 1,000 immigrants have been arrested since last month. A solid majority of AAPI adults also say the Republican president has overstepped on deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. Most also oppose several specific tactics used by the administration, such as deploying the military or National Guard to carry out arrests or deportations.
October 15, 2025 4:58 am
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Officials in Alaska are rushing to find housing for people from tiny coastal villages devastated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong. But the remote location and severe damage are limiting their options as they race against other impending storms and the onset of winter. High winds and storm surge seawater battered low-lying, isolated Alaska Native communities in the southwestern part of the state over the weekend. The Coast Guard plucked two dozen people from their homes after the structures floated out to sea in high water, three people were missing or dead, and hundreds of people were staying in school shelters — including one with no working toilets, officials said. Across the region more than 1,500 people were displaced.
October 15, 2025 4:56 am
CHARLEROI, Pa. — A man who was stuck in a hole caused by a trench collapse thanked the dozens of emergency responders who saved his life. Vincenzo Lopez said, “I owe you my future; every day it is because of you.” Lopez was working on a sewer line break on McKean Avenue in Charleroi when the trench collapsed, trapping him in waist-deep dirt. Charleroi’s Fire Chief Robert Whiten says – when he first saw Lopez in the hole – he knew he was going to need backup. Whiten says emergency responders from 40 different agencies rushed to help – including the PA Urban Search and Rescue’s Strike team, which played a critical role in the rescue. For the 5 hours he was trapped. Lopez was eventually able to climb out of the hole with only an ankle injury and a chipped tooth. Lopez is already back at work and says that while he hasn’t gone back to working in ditches yet, he says he’s not afraid.
