April 10, 2025 5:05 am
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The number of people killed when a roof collapsed at an iconic nightclub in the Dominican Republic has surged to 221. Burials and funerals are taking place Thursday for some of the dead, including merengue icon Rubby Pérez who was performing on stage early Tuesday when the cement roof fell onto clubgoers at the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo. The Center of Emergency Operations finalized its search after crews rescued 189 people alive from the rubble. Doctors are warning that some of the two dozen patients who remain hospitalized are still not in the clear, especially eight who are in critical condition.
April 9, 2025 2:15 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing a global market meltdown, President Donald Trump on Wednesday abruptly backed down on his tariffs on most nations for 90 days, but raised his tax rate on Chinese imports to 125%. It was seemingly an attempt to narrow what had been an unprecedented trade war between the U.S. and most of the world to one between the U.S. and China.Global markets surged on the development, but the precise details of Trump’s plans to ease tariffs on non-China trade partners were not immediately clear.
April 9, 2025 5:03 am
BANGKOK (AP) —China has raised tariffs to 84% on goods coming from the U.S. in an additional countermeasure. Last week, China said it would levy 34% tariffs on all U.S. goods. China again vowed to “fight to the end” against Donald Trump’s tariffs in a lengthy policy statement published Wednesday, while arguing that trade between the two countries is in balance as a 104% tax on the country’s exports to the U.S. came into effect. “If the U.S. insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China has the firm will and abundant means to take necessary countermeasures and fight to the end,” according to a statement introducing the white paper from the Ministry of Commerce.
April 9, 2025 10:37 am
BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union member states have voted to approve retaliatory tariffs on $23 billion in goods in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 25% tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. The tariffs will go into effect in stages, with some on April 15 and others on May 15 and Dec. 1. The EU executive commission didn’t immediately provide a list of the goods Wednesday. Members of the 27-country bloc repeated their preference for a negotiated deal to settle trade issues.
April 9, 2025 4:45 am
North Franklin Township Board of Supervisors took action to improve infrastructure and community development in the region. One of the highlights of the meeting was the board’s award of a $771,305.25 contract to Tresco Paving for the construction of the 2025 Road Project. Phase one of the project, which is set to begin this summer, will involve roadwork on several streets, including Vankirk Road, Cleveland Road, Harrison Street, Wilson Street, McKinley Street, Oak Street, Taft Street, Roosevelt Street, Kadon Drive, Milbeck Drive, West Canyon Drive, and Roselawn Drive. Residents impacted by the roadwork will receive a notification letter from the township ahead of the project’s start. Further advancing the township’s plans for recreational improvements, the board also awarded a $670,050.00 contract to Lutterman Excavating, LLC for the construction of the Waterside Park Greenway Project, Phase 1. This project, which is contingent upon final approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), is expected to begin this summer. Chairman of the Board of Supervisors Bob Sabot emphasized that the project will greatly benefit the community by enhancing the township’s parks and green spaces. In other business, there was a $20,000 investment for the installation of overview cameras equipped with license plate readers at two key intersections: West Chestnut Street and Franklin Farms Road, and West Chestnut Street and North Ring Road. This initiative, made possible through a joint agreement between the Pennsylvania State Police and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office, is designed to assist law enforcement in criminal investigations, including burglaries and vehicle crashes. Additionally, the board appointed Michael Hilderbrand to the Township Zoning Hearing Board, filling the vacancy left by George Gillo, who resigned due to personal reasons.
April 9, 2025 1:16 am
Canonsburg, PA-(WPXI)-Viatris will spend as much as $335 million to settle opioid-related claims against the Canonsburg-based pharmaceutical company. The proposed settlement over nine years would come in the form of nine annual payments of between $27.5 million and $40 million to states and local governments that would support opioid-related treatment and other efforts. “While the company’s presence in the U.S. opioids market is very small, the company has agreed to this settlement to provide closure on these matters,” Viatris (Nasdaq: VTRS) said in a statement released Monday. “This settlement is in no way an admission of wrongdoing or liability.” Viatris becomes the latest pharmaceutical company to reach a settlement with states, local governments and others over the opioid crisis. There have been about $50 billion in settlements over the past several years, with the most recent being the $7.4 billion announced in January by Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family. In the Purdue Pharma/Sackler settlement, Pennsylvania will receive $212 million.
April 9, 2025 5:06 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed four executive orders aimed at boosting coal, a reliable but polluting energy source that’s long been in decline. Under the orders, Trump will use his emergency authority to allow some older coal-fired power plants set for retirement to keep producing electricity to meet rising U.S. power demand amid growth in data centers, artificial intelligence and electric cars. Trump has long promised to boost what he calls “beautiful” coal to fire power plants and for other uses, but the industry has been declining for decades.
April 9, 2025 4:55 am
PITTSBURGH — (WPXI) – The federal government has revoked the visas of two current students and five recent graduates from Carnegie Mellon University. Provost James Garrett Jr. and Dean of Students Gina Casalegno sent a letter to the CMU community stating they learned about the revocation late last week. The letter stated, “These incidents understandably raise wider concerns for many in our community, and we take seriously our continued responsibility to ensure that our community is equipped with the information they need to navigate these uncertain times.” The university didn’t say why the students’ visas were revoked. “We understand the sensitivity of this matter and are committed to safeguarding their privacy, which limits the information we can share publicly. At this time, we are not aware of any recent presence of immigration authorities on our campus,” the letter said. It’s not just visas involved. According to CMU, the seven people have had their records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) terminated. The action is part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration and deportation strategy.
April 9, 2025 5:08 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service’s acting commissioner is resigning over a deal to share immigrants’ tax data with Immigration and Customs Enforcement for the purpose of identifying and deporting people illegally in the U.S. Two people familiar with Melanie Krause’s decision confirmed the intended resignation to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about it. The memo signed Monday by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will allow ICE to submit names and addresses of immigrants inside the U.S. illegally to the IRS for cross-verification against tax records.
April 9, 2025 2:55 am
A federal judge has ordered the White House to restore The Associated Press’ full access to cover presidential events. He ruled on a case that touched at the heart of the First Amendment and affirmed that the government cannot punish the news organization for the content of its speech. U.S.. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, an appointee of Donald Trump, ruled that the government can’t retaliate against the AP’s decision not to follow the president’s executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico. The decision handed the AP a major victory at a time the White House has been challenging the press on several levels.
