October 23, 2025 5:38 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate on Thursday rejected dueling partisan bills to pay federal workers during the government shutdown, with both Republicans and Democrats deflecting blame as many employees are set to miss their first full paycheck at the end of this week. Republicans objected as Democrats proposed a voice vote on their legislation to pay all federal workers and prevent President Donald Trump’s administration from mass firings. Democrats then voted down a Republican bill to pay employees who are working and not furloughed. The back and forth on day 23 of the government shutdown comes as the two parties are at a protracted impasse.
October 23, 2025 10:30 am
NEW YORK (AP) — The head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and a player for the Miami Heat have been arrested along with more than 30 other people in a takedown of two sprawling gambling operations that authorities said leaked inside information about NBA athletes and rigged poker games backed by Mafia families. Portland coach Chauncey Billups was charged Thursday with participating in a conspiracy to fix high-stakes card games tied to La Cosa Nostra organized crime families that cheated unsuspecting gamblers out of at least $7 million. Heat guard Terry Rozier was accused in a separate scheme of exploiting private information about players to win bets on NBA games.
October 23, 2025 5:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has pardoned Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, who created the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange. Zhao served prison time after failing to stop criminals from using the platform to move money connected to child sex abuse, drug trafficking and terrorism. The pardon announced Thursday caps a monthslong effort by Zhao, a billionaire commonly known as CZ in the crypto world. He and Binance have been key supporters of some of the Trump family’s crypto enterprises. Zhao said in a social media post that he was “deeply grateful” to Trump. The president said he didn’t believe he’d ever met Zhao, but that “a lot of people say that he wasn’t guilty of anything.”
October 23, 2025 5:04 am
CHICAGO (AP) – National Guard troops won’t be deploying in the Chicago area anytime soon unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes. A judge in the case extended her temporary restraining order indefinitely. In Portland, Oregon, it will be at least days. And federal appeals judges are weighing whether hundreds of California National Guard members should remain under federal control. President Donald Trump’s push to send the military into Democratic-run cities – despite fierce resistance from mayors and governors – has unleashed a whirlwind of lawsuits and overlapping court rulings.
October 23, 2025 5:01 am
(AP) – The Pentagon says a “new press corps” of 60 journalists who had agreed to follow a new media policy will be welcomed into the building to cover the U.S. military. Defense secretary Pete Hegseth’s staff wouldn’t say who the reporters were, although several smaller conservative outlets like Gateway Pundit and the National Pulse were among them. Podcaster Tim Pool will also join. Virtually all mainstream journalism outlets last week refused to sign Hegseth’s new policy, which they said would restrict them to only soliciting news he had approved. They turned in their access badges.
October 23, 2025 4:59 am
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has launched its ninth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing three people in the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the strike on social media Wednesday night. It further expands the Trump administration’s campaign against drug trafficking in South America. Wednesday’s strike followed a strike Tuesday night, also in the eastern Pacific, that killed two people. The attacks were departures from the seven previous U.S. strikes that had targeted vessels in the Caribbean. They bring the death toll to at least 37 from attacks that began last month.
October 23, 2025 4:48 am
BULLSKIN TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A winning Cash 5 lottery ticket was sold in Fayette County. Pennsylvania Lottery officials say the ticket with Quick Cash matched all five balls drawn, 23-34-36-37-39, to win $300,000 in Tuesday’s drawing. Honey Bear Mart in Bullskin Township will earn a $500 bonus for selling the winning ticket. Officials urge anyone with a jackpot-winning Cash 5 with Quick Cash ticket to contact the nearest Pennsylvania Lottery office for further instructions or call 1-800-692-7481. More than 7,300 other Cash 5 with Quick Cash tickets won lower-tier prizes in Tuesday’s drawing.
October 23, 2025 4:45 am
Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services says it’s pushing back the start of the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, by a month. The move is the result of the federal government shutdown. The LIHEAP program helps more than 300,000 Pennsylvania families during the colder months. Applications are now expected to open in December. “I urge Congress and the White House to recognize the serious consequences that limiting heating assistance will have on the health and safety of people in Pennsylvania. Congress must come together for a solution that protects people most at risk,” said Secretary of the Department of Human Services Dr. Val Arkoosh. If you need immediate help, many utility companies offer their own assistance programs.
October 22, 2025 5:23 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) — The most widely used COVID-19 vaccines may offer a surprise benefit for some cancer patients by boosting their immune systems to help fight tumors. Research reported Wednesday in the journal Nature found that people with advanced lung or skin cancer lived longer if they received a Pfizer or Moderna shot within 100 days of starting a type of immunotherapy. The mRNA in these vaccines appears to enhance the immune system’s response. Now the research team is preparing a more rigorous study of the potential connection, to see if mRNA vaccines should be deliberately paired with cancer drugs called checkpoint inhibitors. (Photo: AP)
October 22, 2025 5:02 am
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s plan to cut record beef prices by importing more meat from Argentina is running into heated opposition from U.S. ranchers who are enjoying some rare profitable years and skepticism from experts who say the president’s move probably wouldn’t lead to cheaper prices at grocery stores. Major ranching and farming groups all criticized Trump’s idea because it would likely hurt American ranchers and feedlot operators. And agricultural economists say that Argentine beef accounts for such a small slice of beef imports that even doubling that wouldn’t change prices much.
