AHN’s Allegheny General Hospital Earns Advanced Certification in Spine Surgery from The Joint Commission

(Credit for Photo: Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Allegheny Health Network)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Allegheny Health Network (AHN) recently announced that Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) in Pittsburgh has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® for Advanced Certification in Spine Surgery (ACSS) by demonstrating continuous compliance with its rigorous performance standards. The Gold Seal is a nationally recognized symbol of quality which reflects a healthcare organization’s commitment to providing safe, high-quality patient care. Allegheny General Hospital is the first hospital in Pennsylvania to receive the designation. 

The certification is offered in collaboration with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and recognizes health systems that deliver exceptional spine surgery care through coordinated, evidence-based treatment and strong collaboration among multidisciplinary teams involved throughout the patient journey, from initial consultation and surgery through rehabilitation and follow-up care.

Organizations must implement evidence-based care and clinical practice guidelines and participate in the American Spine Registry to be eligible for ACSS, which is a national quality improvement registry for spine care. Organizations also needed to collect performance measurement data on surgical site infection rates, new neurological deficits, unplanned return visits to the operating room, and pre-operative and post-operative patient reported outcomes.

AGH was subjected to an unannounced and rigorous onsite review by The Joint Commission during which reviewers evaluated compliance with advanced spine surgery standards related to clinical care, program management, patient safety, and care coordination.

The review process also included on-site observations and interviews with members of the clinical and administrative teams of the hospital.

Oklahoma Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced yesterday that a resident of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of trafficking fentanyl. 

Twenty-four-year-old Edwin Hernandez pleaded guilty to one count before United States District Judge W. Scott Hardy. 

The Court was informed that, on February 2nd, 2022, Hernandez possessed with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl in connection with the guilty plea. 

Judge Hardy scheduled Hernandez’s sentencing for October 27th, 2026.  

Hernandez could face a maximum total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both, provided by the law. 

Cole Young hits a two-run home run in the seventh to lift Mariners to a 3-2 victory over Pirates

(File Photo: Source for Photo: The Seattle Mariners’ Cole Young celebrates a two-run home run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the seventh inning in a baseball game, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Philip G. Pavely)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Cole Young hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning in his first major league game in his hometown to lift the Seattle Mariners to a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.

The 22-year-old second baseman’s drive into the right-field bleachers kept the Mariners in first place in the AL West with a 41-39 record. Young grew up in Pittsburgh’s northern suburbs and starred at North Allegheny High School.

The Mariners’ other run came in the fourth inning when Cal Raleigh led off with a solo shot off Mitch Keller (5-5). That ended a streak of 64 plate appearances since Raleigh’s last homer on April 27.

Raleigh has just eight home runs this season after hitting a major league-high 60 last year. He was on the injured list with an oblique strain from May 14-June 15.

Young’s home run enabled George Kirby (6-7) to end a five-game losing streak and win for the first time in eight starts. Kirby allowed two runs (one earned) in six innings, allowing eight hits, striking out five and walking two.

Andrés Muñoz pitched a perfect ninth for his 14th save.

Keller remained winless in his last five starts as he gave up three runs and seven hits in six-plus innings with four strikeouts and one walk.

The Pirates took a 2-0 lead on an RBI single by Marcell Ozuna in the second inning and a throwing error by third baseman J.P. Crawford in the third.

Crawford and Josh Naylor had two hits each for the Mariners. The Pirates got two hits each from Brandon Lowe and Nick Gonzales.

Up next

Mariners RHP Bryan Woo (6-5. 3.94 ERA) faces RHP Braxton Ashcraft (6-3, 3.18) on Wednesday night.

Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin to start rehab at Double-A Altoona after forearm strain

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Pirates’ Konnor Griffin singles off Minnesota Twins pitcher Taj Bradley, driving in a run during the first inning of a baseball game in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday night with Double-A Altoona, the club said.

Griffin has been sidelined since May 31 with a right forearm strain. He made his major league debut with the Pirates on April 3 and was signed to a nine-year, $140-million contract five days later.

Griffin, 20, is hitting .270 with four home runs, 22 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 51 games this season. The Pirates do not have a timetable for when Griffin will be activated from the injured list.

“We’re going to take it day by day and just see how he’s responding to everything,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said before Tuesday night’s game against Seattle. “Sounds like yesterday and today went well with the challenging throws on relays and stuff in the hole. Just get him back into game action and see how he’s doing with the arm, rhythm and timing of the at-bats. Look to get him back up here soon, hopefully.”

Further imaging on right-hander Jared Jones’ right elbow revealed no damage. Jones left Sunday’s game in the third inning after he was hit on the elbow by a line drive from Colorado’s JT Rumfield.

If Jones gets through a bullpen session without incident on Wednesday, he will start against Cincinnati on Saturday, the team said.

2026 Farmers Market Voucher Distribution Schedule Announced

(File Photo)

Story by Beaver County Radio Staff, 6/24/26 @7:29 AM

(Monaca, Pa.) The Beaver County Office on Aging has announced the 2026 Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Vouchers Distribution Schedule. Below is the schedule:
Friday, July 10 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Independence Township Community Center
104 School Road, Aliquippa
Monday, July 13 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Rochester River Front Park
Water Street, Rochester
▪Friday, July 17 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Midland School Gymnasium
901 Midland Ave., Midland
▪Monday, July 20 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Salvation Army
514 Franklin Ave., Aliquippa
Monday, July 27 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Pavilion at 8 th Street and Park Road
Ambridge
Friday, July 31 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Geneva College-Northwood Hall, lower lobby
3200 College Ave., Beaver Falls
▪Monday, August 3 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Circle of Friends New Brighton-Madonna Hall
1851 3 rd Ave., New Brighton
▪Friday, August 7 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Circle of Friends Conway
305 11 th St., Conway
▪Monday, Aug. 10 10 a.m.- 2p.m. Koppel Community Park
6 th Avenue and Arthur Street, Koppel

To be eligible you must be a Beaver County resident age 60 and over by December 31, 2026. The income limit is up to $29,526 for 1 person and up to $40,034 for 2
persons.
The Vouchers will be distributed at the designated start time by Circle of Friends.
The Farmers Market Voucher program is brought to you by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in cooperation with the Beaver County Office on Aging.

Senate approves a war powers resolution in a rebuke to President Donald Trump over Iran conflict for the first time

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate for the first time approved a war powers resolution Tuesday seeking to block U.S. military action against Iran, as lawmakers warily watch President Donald Trump’s efforts to resolve a conflict that the administration launched on its own and now needs Congress to fund.

It was the 10th time the Senate has tried to stop the war, and the outcome, on a vote of 50-48, was a stunning turnaround from past efforts. While the resolution is largely symbolic, and does not carry the full force of law, it reflects the growing concerns from a number of Republican lawmakers in both the House and Senate over both the war and the deal Trump struck with Iran to end it. The House approved the resolution earlier this month.

Trump responded angrily Tuesday night on his Truth Social platform, calling the vote “poorly timed and meaningless” and saying it “provided aid and comfort” to Iran.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said, “Time after time, the vast majority of Senate Republicans sided with Trump and his war instead of the American people.”

Schumer said Americans have paid the price for “Trump’s historic blunder in Iran. It’ll go down in the history books as one of the worst foreign policy forays America has ever made.”

In the past, as many as four GOP senators have voted for the war powers resolutions, and they did so Tuesday — Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. One Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, voted against.

Trump bashed the four Republicans as losers, saying, “These senators have made my job more difficult.”

On this vote, the absence of two Republicans, including Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who was admitted to the hospital recently for an undisclosed matter, left the GOP without a full majority to halt the effort. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., also missed the vote.

The vote comes as the Pentagon is seeking $80 billion from Congress mostly for the Iran war as it backfills munitions and stockpiles.

Cranberry police warning public to stay alert for wanted New Brighton man who fired shot at a New Brighton gas station and escaped to Cranberry Township

(File Photo of Police Siren Lights)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Cranberry Township, PA) Cranberry police are now warning the public to stay alert for a suspect who is still on the run from police after he shot at a car at a Speedway gas station on Fifth Street in New Brighton on Sunday. Thirty-three-year-old Jalen Isaiah Sims of New Brighton is facing a number of charges including two felony counts each of attempted homicide and aggravated assault. According to police, a couple was in their car at a gas pump at Speedway just before 8:30 p.m. when Sims shot the car. He eventually escaped to Cranberry Township. A driver who forced Sims to drive for him ran out of gas in a church parking lot in Cranberry and called 911. Sims is not in custody. However, Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible stated to not approach Sims if you spot him and call either the state police or local police because Bible recommends that people should not apprehend Sims themselves. 

Two Pittsburgh Convenience Store Employees Charged with Food Stamp Trafficking as Part of Nationwide Health Care Fraud Takedown

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced criminal charges yesterday against two defendants, fifty-five-year-old Abdou Jallow and thirty-nine-year-old Alicia Mastrantoni, both of Pittsburgh, in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud the United States Department of Agriculture. The charges stem from the two defendants exchanging Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamp, benefits for cash, which allowed certain beneficiary recipients to use this cash to purchase illegal controlled substances. As alleged in the complaint, Jallow, a manager of a Pittsburgh convenience store, and Mastrantoni, an employee of the same store, exchanged these SNAP benefits for cash for various store customers, many of whom used this cash to purchase illegal controlled substances. Jallow and Mastrantoni tried to conceal the nature of these transactions by using fraudulent universal product codes (UPCs) on the cash register of the store. The store was identified as being involved in fraud through the SNAP benefit transactions, which were significantly high in both dollar amount and volume. It is believed that Jallow and Mastrantoni fraudulently exchanged over $550,000 in SNAP benefits over the course of the investigation. The charges that were filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. The charges announced by Rivetti yesterday are part of a strategically coordinated, nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in charges against 455 defendants, including 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes involving over $6.5 billion in false claims and significant patient harm, including death.

Route 65 Inspection Activities Wednesday, Thursday in Pittsburgh

(File Photo of the Road Work Ahead Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that bridge inspection activities on Route 65 in the City of Pittsburgh will occur today and tomorrow, weather permitting.  

Bridge inspection activities on the Route 65 bridge over Chateau Street and Norfolk Southern rail lines will occur in both directions between the Chateau Street on-ramp and California Avenue lines from 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. each day according to the following schedule: 

Wednesday, June 24th 

  • Northbound Route 65 
  • The on-ramp from Chateau Street to northbound Route 65 will be placed in a stop condition during these inspection activities. 

Thursday, June 25th 

  • Southbound Route 65 

Crews from Michael Baker International will conduct these inspection activities. 

NHL board of governors unanimously approves sale of the Pittsburgh Penguins to Chicago-based Hoffmann Family of Companies

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates after getting his 600th career goal in the NHL during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Hockey Club, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pittsburgh Penguins officially have new owners. In a release yesterday, the National Hockey League board of governors unanimously approved the sale of the Penguins: moving ownership from Fenway Sports Group to the Hoffmann Family of Companies. The transaction is expected to close in the near future. The deal is valued at about $1.7 billion. According to the release, financial terms were not publicly disclosedThe Hoffman Family of Companies, which is based in Chicago, announced an agreement late last year to purchase the Penguins from Fenway Sports Group.