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Iran war’s cost at $43.6B in new US estimate

National News

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military’s price tag for the Iran war has grown to $43.6 billion as of Sept. 3, according to a new estimate provided this week to lawmakers. The figure from U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, offers the most up-to-date cost for the conflict since it was launched by the United States and Israel on Feb. 28. A Congressional Budget Office report released Tuesday said the war had cost $38 billion through Aug. 1 and will continue to rack up expenses of about $3 billion a month depending on the conflict’s intensity. The new ...

Pennsylvania unemployment rate dips to 3.7%

Local News

The number of people working in Pennsylvania hit another record high in August while the number of people looking for work dropped, new data from the Department of Labor and Industry shows. It’s the third month in a row state officials have touted a record-breaking number of people working in Pennsylvania. There are, however, some indications that things are not as rosy as they appear. The unemployment rate was down 0.2%, dipping to 3.7%, the lowest rate since May 2024. The unemployment rate was down 0.7% from August 2025. The number of people looking for work in August was down ...

China’s porcelain city carries centuries-old heritage

National News

JINGDEZHEN, China — Chinese porcelain artist Chen Qing has a vivid memory of her grandfather. It was the only time he wrote down the formula for her family’s distinctive red pigment. He asked her mother to memorize it and burned the paper minutes later. The secret has since been passed down orally from one generation to the next. “My mother did not reveal the formula to me until I was over 30,” Chen said. Her family has practiced the craft since around 1860 in Jingdezhen, known as China’s “Porcelain Capital.” It is located in Jiangxi province, about 735 miles ...

Cuba hit with another blackout

National News

HAVANA — Cuba’s power grid collapsed once again on Friday, leaving millions of people across the island without electricity for at least the sixth time since U.S. President Donald Trump cut off fuel to the island in January. The Ministry of Energy and Mines announced the islandwide power outage on its official X account and added that officials had begun “activating service-restoration protocols.” “No one can stand these constant blackouts. There isn’t enough food, there’s no water, there’s no electricity -- you have no idea,” Mercedes Rodriguez, a 60-year-old ...

Man who sought photos of minor girls loses appeal

Local News

A Clearfield County man in prison for attempting to obtain photographs of minors has lost an appeal of his case in which he charged his lawyer with ineffectiveness for not filing pre-trial motions to dismiss the charges against him. The defendant, Reed Eugene Meeker Jr., 43, of Osceola Mills ...