December 9, 2025 5:12 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seems likely to expand presidential control over independent federal agencies, signaling support for President Donald Trump’s firing of board members. The court’s conservative majority suggested in arguments Monday it would overturn a 90-year-old decision that has limited when presidents can fire agencies’ board members, or leave it with only its shell intact. Lawyers for the administration are defending President Donald Trump’s decision to fire Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter without cause and calling on the court to jettison the unanimous 1935 decision. The court already has allowed Slaughter and the board members of other agencies to be ousted from jobs even as their legal challenges continue.
December 8, 2025 5:13 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is giving farmers some $12 billion in aid to help as they struggle to sell their crops while getting hit by rising costs. The move Monday comes after the president raised tariffs on China as part of a broader trade war. China has since agreed to buy more U.S. soybeans, but sales have so far been slow. Farmers have backed Trump politically but his aggressive trade policies and frequently changing tariff rates have come under increasing scrutiny. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said farmers will get the money by the end of February. Payments will be limited to no more than $155,000.
December 9, 2025 5:11 am
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The first phase of the U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is nearly complete, after a two-month process plagued by delays and finger-pointing. Now, the key players are to move to a far more complicated second phase, which could reshape the Middle East. President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan lays out an ambitious vision for ending Hamas’ rule of Gaza. If successful, it would see the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision, normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world and a possible “pathway” to Palestinian independence. If it stalls, Gaza could become trapped in instability for years.
December 8, 2025 5:14 am
Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett has launched a campaign for the U.S. Senate in Texas. Crockett’s announcement Monday came after fellow Democrat and former Rep. Colin Allred ended his Senate campaign to run for a House seat. Texas is critical to Democrats’ long-shot hopes of reclaiming a Senate majority in next year’s elections, and GOP incumbent John Cornyn is facing the toughest primary race of his 24-year Senate career against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and two-term Rep. Wesley Hunt. Crockett still faces state Rep. James Talarico for the Democratic nod. Crockett has a national profile as one of Congress’ most outspoken Democrats and a frequent target of GOP attacks.
December 9, 2025 5:51 pm
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (AP) — A Cinnabon worker in Wisconsin has been fired after a racist outburst directed at two customers went viral. A video showing part of the incident was posted on TikTok and shows the white employee cursing and taunting at the customers from behind the counter. The TikTok user who posted video said the incident happened while she and her husband were taking a break from shopping Friday at a mall in a suburb of Green Bay. The Georgia-based cinnamon roll chain said in a social media post on Saturday that the worker was immediately terminated by the franchise owner over the “disturbing video.”
December 8, 2025 5:15 am
NEW YORK (AP) — Warner Bros. Discovery’s friendly agreement to sell itself to Netflix just got upended by a hostile actor. Paramount made Warner shareholders a higher offer on Monday and touched off what is likely to be a lengthy fight in the latest episode of media industry consolidation. Paramount’s all-cash offer is worth about $74.4 billion, while Netflix agreed to buy Warner for $72 billion in cash and stock. Both offers will face regulatory scrutiny, and President Donald Trump has promised to weigh in. Shareholders have until Jan. 8, 2026, to vote on Paramount’s offer.
December 8, 2025 5:44 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is giving farmers some $12 billion in aid to help as they struggle to sell their crops while getting hit by rising costs. The move comes after the president raised tariffs on China as part of a broader trade war. China has since agreed to buy more U.S. soybeans, but sales have so far been slow. Farmers have backed Trump politically but his aggressive trade policies and frequently changing tariff rates have come under increasing scrutiny. Farmers will get the money by the end of February, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said. Trump says his tariffs will help pay for the new program.
December 8, 2025 2:55 am
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt certified the results of Pennsylvania’s 2025 municipal election Monday after county officials confirmed the accuracy of their reported results through two pre-certification audits. “After reviewing the certified results from all 67 counties, I have formally certified the outcome of the Nov. 4 municipal election,” Schmidt said. “I extend my thanks to county election officials, who spent the last few weeks diligently counting eligible votes and confirming that Pennsylvania held yet another free, fair, safe, and secure election.” Roughly 42.45% of registered Pennsylvania voters cast a ballot in the November election, which is well above the 36.77% turnout for the 2023 municipal election. Schmidt emphasized that counties again successfully conducted two audits of their vote tallies before they certified their results. “Both audits confirmed the accuracy of the reported results, again showing Pennsylvanians that they can have confidence in the accuracy and integrity of our electoral system,” Schmidt said. The two audits take different approaches to reach the same goal: confirming whether all results have been reported correctly. One audit is a statutorily required statistical recount in each county of a random sample of at least 2% of all ballots cast – or 2,000 ballots, whichever is fewer. All counties must perform this audit after every election. The other is a statistically based risk-limiting audit, known as an RLA. RLAs involve randomly chosen counties hand-tallying votes for one randomly chosen statewide race in randomly selected batches of ballots.
December 8, 2025 4:58 am
Washington Police have arrested a city man following a domestic-related incident downtown Sunday evening. Police say 65 year old William Coles has been charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and prohibited possession of a firearm. Police say they were called to N. Main Street just after 7:30 p.m. for a report of shots fired and a man experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder. He was taken into custody and transported to the Washington County Jail. He is to undergo a mental health evaluation. Police say they shut down the roadway in that area and Washington and Jefferson College issued a shelter-in-place alert for its campus community.
December 8, 2025 10:45 am
Students at Bentworth Middle School were evacuated and then sent home Monday morning. Superintendent Scott Martin says a haze discovered in the gymnasium was the result of a refrigerant leak. He says students were transferred to the high school auditorium for reunification or to await a bus ride home. No students became ill or were injured. Martin says there did have some issues in regards to parent wanting their child to go home with someone who was not on their emergency list. As a result, he says the district will hold a staff review to identify any issues when it comes to the district’s emergency response protocol.
