January 24, 2025 4:58 am
President Donald Trump is criticizing California water policy as he prepares to tour wildfire damage in Los Angeles. Since the fires broke out Jan. 7, Trump has accused the state of sending too much water to the Pacific Ocean instead of south toward Los Angeles. But the federally managed Central Valley Project doesn’t carry water to the nation’s second most-populous city and mostly supplies farms. The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California says it has ample storage to meet the region’s water needs.
January 24, 2025 5:00 am
DALLAS (AP) — President Donald Trump has ordered the release of thousands of classified governmental records related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The executive order Trump signed Thursday also aims to declassify the remaining federal records relating to the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. The order is among a flurry of actions Trump has quickly taken as he begins a second term. Only a few thousand of the millions of governmental records related to the JFK assassination have yet to be fully declassified.
January 24, 2025 5:02 am
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents’ immigration status. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle ruled on Thursday in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. The states argue that the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship. Coughenour called Trump’s order “blatantly unconstitutional.”
January 24, 2025 5:04 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, paid $50,000 to the woman who accused him of sexual assault in 2017. That’s according to answers he provided to a senator during his confirmation process that The Associated Press has obtained. The answers were provided to Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren in response additional questions she had for Hegseth as part of the vetting process. Hegseth attorney Timothy Parlatore declined to comment on the dollar figure Thursday. Hegseth told police at the time that the encounter had been consensual and denied any wrongdoing. The news of the payment comes the same day the Senate advanced Hegseth’s nomination along a party-line vote.
January 24, 2025 2:24 am
The Washington County Local Share Account Review Committee is recommending a total of 67 projects to receive more than $10 million. The grants come from a portion of gaming revenue generated at the Hollywood Casino at the Meadows. The list includes local governments, non-profits and other eligible entities throughout Washington County. Washington County Commissioners Chairman Nick Sherman says “from improvements to parks and facilities to upgrades in municipal sewage and classroom environments, these diverse recommendations will enhance our communities by completing and jump-starting essential projects”. Officials say the grants will be leveraged by more than $68.3 million in additional funding. Among the projects: $500,000 to the Washington Wild Things for upgrades at their ballpark, $500,00 to the Canonsburg Education and Cultural Institute for an auditorium development project, $438,000 to the Carroll Township Authority for the nearly $3-million Ginger Hill sewer extension, and $400,000 for a Lemoyne Community Center expansion project. The Board of Commissioners are expected to act on the recommendation at their February 6 public meeting. For the complete list of recommendations, Click Here.
January 23, 2025 5:16 pm
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order ending the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship regardless of the parents’ immigration status. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour in Seattle ruled on Thursday in the case brought by the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon. The states argue that the 14th Amendment and Supreme Court case law have cemented birthright citizenship. Coughenour called Trump’s order “blatantly unconstitutional.”
January 23, 2025 5:20 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has confirmed Donald Trump’s pick to lead the CIA. John Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term and is the first person to have held that position and the top post at the CIA, the nation’s premier spy agency. Ratcliffe is the second of Trump’s nominees to be confirmed, following Marco Rubio as secretary of state. Ratcliffe told senators at a hearing last week that the CIA must do better when it comes to using technology like artificial intelligence to confront adversaries including Russia and China.
January 23, 2025 5:18 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has advanced the nomination of Pete Hegseth as President Donald Trump’s defense secretary. Thursday’s vote pushed Hegseth toward confirmation, despite grave objections from Democrats and stirring unease among Republicans over his behavior and qualifications to lead the U.S. military. Two Republicans, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, broke ranks to oppose Hegseth. The former combat veteran and Fox News host faces allegations of excessive drinking and aggressive actions toward women, which he has denied. A final confirmation vote is expected Friday. (Photo: AP)
January 23, 2025 9:40 am
Two people were killed in a fire in Wharton Township. Fayette County dispatchers said the fire happened on Fike Hollow Road at around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday. Fayette County Coroner Dr. Bob Baker said Donald Brewer, 70, and Patricia Brewer, 68 were both pronounced dead at the scene. Their cause and manner of death have not been released at this time. This is the latest in a series of fatal fires. Also on Thursday morning, one person was killed and four were injured after a massive house fire in Upper St. Clair. The cause of that fire is also under investigation. And – Wednesday morning, 68-year-old Kimberly Haines died in a fire at the Thomas Campbell Apartments in South Strabane Township. One other person was injured and taken to a hospital. Authorities say that fire is also under investigation, but they believe it was started by Haines smoking around oxygen equipment. On Monday, a woman was killed and a man hospitalized after a fire at a home in Crafton. An individual also died in a house fire in Rankin over the weekend.
January 22, 2025 1:48 am
One person has died and another taken to a hospital after a fire broke out around eight o’clock Wednesday morning in the Thomas Campbell Apartments in the 800 block of Beech Street in South Strabane Township. The Washington County Coroner’s Office says 68-year-old Kimberly Haines was found in her apartment on the fourth floor where the fire broke out. South Strabane Fire Chief Jordan Cramer tells WJPA that the fire is under investigation, but their initial thoughts are that Haines may have started the fire by smoking. This fire is reminiscent of another fatal fire in the building three years ago. Cramer says he took over the chief’s position a few months after that fire and his department worked closely with Thomas Campbell officials to upgrade its safety features, and since, then many upgrades have been made, like the installation of a state of the art fire alarm system and a state of the art sprinkler system. Cramer says if those safety features had not been in place, Wednesday’s fire could have been much worse.
