(File Photo: Source for Photo: People dance to Akwaaba Ensemble during a Juneteenth celebration at the African Burying Ground Memorial Park Thursday, June 19, 2025, in Portsmouth, N.H. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) Most national banks and the United States Postal Service will be closed tomorrow, (June 19th) in observance of Juneteenth.

Juneteenth, which is known as America’s Second Independence Day, has been commemorated as a federally-recognized holiday since 2021, and it provides millions of Americans with a paid day off and the opportunity to commemorate the end of slavery.

According to a report from the Beaver County Times, here are some of the openings and/or closings for Juneteenth tomorrow:

• According to the U.S. Postal Service’s website, all post offices will be closed for retail transactions and there will be no regular residential or business mail deliveries on Friday, June 19th.
• Priority Mail Express is available all year, which includes federal holidays.
• Most branches of national banks such as Bank of America, CitiBank and Wells Fargo, among others, will be closed on June 19th because of the holiday.
• UPS pickup and delivery services will be available on Juneteenth, according to the company’s website. UPS Store locations will also be open. Check with your local store for specific hours of operation.
• FedEx pickup and delivery services will be available on June 19th, according to the company’s website. FedEx Office locations will also be open.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: A man stands beside a fishing pole along the shore as cargo ships and commercial vessels are seen in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Iran on Wednesday that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country, immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington, according to details released by both countries.

The initial deal to end the war takes “immediate effect” after leaders from both countries signed it, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped mediate the agreement, said online.

The agreement calls for a permanent end to hostilities and starts a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear program, though Trump left the door open to resume attacks. It appears to offer Iran several benefits up front while extracting little in return.

The deal has been shrouded in secrecy and confusion for days. U.S. officials refused to disclose the terms even after saying Trump and Vice President JD Vance digitally signed it over the weekend. Trump signed a physical copy Wednesday while dining with French President Emmanuel Macron at Versailles, the palace where many historic agreements have been signed over the centuries, ending wars or territorial disputes.

The White House had planned a signing ceremony on Friday in Switzerland, but its fate is now uncertain, with conflicting information from the U.S., Iran and Pakistan.

“It’s signed,” Trump said as he left the dinner at Versailles, which followed his trip to the Group of Seven summit in France.

In a video posted online by a White House aide, Trump was seen seated at a table next to Macron signing a paper copy of the agreement. Trump then handed the document and pen to Secretary of State Marco Rubio as people in the room applauded.

“This was not easy,” Trump said right before he signed it, according to a video posted to social media by Macron.

In Tehran, a stone-faced President Masoud Pezeshkian signed the deal on behalf of Iran, according to the state-run IRNA news agency, which posted an image of him holding up the deal with his signature and Trump’s.

Text of the agreement still has not been formally released by the Americans. U.S. officials dictated draft language to journalists after days of secrecy, speaking on condition of anonymity. Iranian state media has released text that largely tracked what the U.S. put out.

The deal will stop the fighting and start more negotiations

Much of the agreement would restore the status quo before the war, including ending hostilities, restarting talks between the U.S. and Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial passage for the world’s oil and natural gas whose closure created a historic energy crisis.

The agreement opens the strait without tolls for two months, but does not preclude fees in the future, according to the drafts from both countries.

In return, the U.S. will move to waive, but not eliminate, some wide-ranging sanctions against Iran.

The deal also affirms a commitment to Lebanon’s territorial integrity in the face of Israel’s invasion against the Hezbollah militant group. That is one of the most delicate parts of the agreement because Israel has maintained it will continue to defend itself and to occupy vast swaths of Lebanon. Iran has said Israel must withdraw under the deal, a condition Israel has already rejected.

The U.S. and Israel went to war Feb. 28 in part to prevent Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon. Trump has cited various goals for the war, including at times vowing it would end Iran’s nuclear and missile programs and its support for Hezbollah and other proxy groups. He also suggested it could lead to toppling the Iranian government.

The interim deal falls short of all those goals, but Trump hailed it as “very strong.”

He also opened the door to abandoning it: “It’s a memorandum of understanding, and if I don’t like it, we’ll go back to shooting at them, dropping bombs.”

The U.S. agreement to immediately allow Iran to sell its oil freely and the offer to eventually lift all sanctions are major concessions that go beyond the terms of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Trump withdrew America from that Obama-era pact in his first term, declaring it the “worst deal ever.”

Iran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful, though it is the only country to enrich uranium to 60% purity without a weapons program, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The interim deal calls for the IAEA to monitor the “downblending” of that uranium in Iran, without elaborating.

The accord likely will draw intense opposition in Washington, and it appears to be a major setback for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has come under criticism at home from the media, his opponents and even some allies as details emerge.

Under the Obama-era nuclear agreement with Iran that Trump pulled out of, Iran also agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program and promised never to build an atomic weapon in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Major concessions have been offered to Iran

Some concessions to Iran — including the full lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen assets — would happen gradually and be linked to progress in the nuclear talks, according to Pakistani officials. They outlined some of the deal’s major points on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

But in the meantime, the U.S. will issue waivers to sanctions that allow Iran to sell oil freely.

The Islamic Republic’s oil export revenues in 2024 were more than $46 billion. Its main buyer of oil, China, is believed to have bought at below-market prices because of its willingness to ignore the sanctions.

Granting oil waivers at the start of the 60-day talks strips the U.S. of a major point of leverage. Only at the conclusion of the overall deal in 2015 were sanctions on Iran’s oil lifted.

The interim deal also opens the door to ending all sanctions Iran faces from the U.S. and at the U.N. — including those over Tehran’s weapons programs and human rights abuses — though it says the schedule for that will be worked out later. Still, that far surpasses the 2015 deal, which only lifted some sanctions in exchange for Iran drastically reducing its enrichment and stockpile of uranium.

The accord would also provide Iran with at least $300 billion to rebuild — an extraordinary figure and another major benefit for Iran. The money also appears dependent on the progress of further negotiations.

Vance has said Gulf Arab nations would invest that amount. But Gulf countries would likely be reluctant to help Iran after Iranian attacks in the war destroyed oil facilities and other sites in their territory.

Trump reiterated Wednesday that the U.S. would not contribute and said it was up to other countries if they wanted to invest.

The pact would provide relief to the global economy

The initial deal provides a major win for the global economy — the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas once passed before the war began. Since then, Iranian attacks on shipping and the threat to vessels effectively shut the strait.

The strait’s closure drove up energy prices around the world and made many basics, including food, more expensive. Iran let through some vessels that paid tolls, something never done before in the strait, which has long been considered an international waterway. The U.S. later provided military support to get other tankers out, but traffic was nowhere near levels before the war.

The deal also says the U.S. will lift a blockade imposed on Iranian ports and that the strait will return to its prewar traffic levels in 30 days, while acknowledging Iranian mines may need to be destroyed.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Customer checks gas price before she fills up her vehicle’s tank at a gas station in Lincolnshire, Ill., Monday, June 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. gas prices fell below $4 a gallon on average Thursday, but just barely.

It is the first time since March that the average cost for a regular gallon has been that low. Prices fell overnight after President Donald Trump signed an agreement with Iran that calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium and waives U.S.-backed sanctions on the country.

Gas prices are at $3.999 on average in the U.S., according to motor club AAA. The drop below $4 follows a 15% decline in the price of U.S. crude this month.

But fluctuations in gas prices remain across the country. In California, gas prices are averaging $5.64 per gallon, while in South Carolina it’s $3.58 per gallon.

The agreement between the U.S. and Iran calls for a permanent end to hostilities and starts a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear program, though Trump left the door open to resume attacks. It appears to offer Iran several benefits up front while extracting little in return.

Oil prices fell Monday to about $80 for a barrel of U.S. benchmark crude. That compares to $67 per barrel before the war and the price of over $120 a barrel reached earlier in the conflict.

Even as gas prices start to decline, it is anticipated to take weeks or months for oil to start flowing through the Strait of Hormuz again.

Before the war, the strait carried a fifth of the world’s crude oil. Now, it will take time for hundreds of ships trapped in the Persian Gulf to exit through the narrow strait. And Gulf oil producers that throttled back production will need time to get the oil moving again. Analysts also say ship captains may take their time to decide if passage is safe and that the threat of attack from Iran has truly receded.

In addition, refineries typically pay for crude oil a month or more in advance, so even after oil prices drop, they won’t immediately be processing cheaper products.

Fighting over the Strait of Hormuz disrupted not only supplies of crude and refined fuel but also the supply chains for fertilizer, food and even footwear. Businesses expect higher costs to linger, which means their customers might need to prepare for that too.

(Credit for Photos: Headline Photo and Photo Below Courtesy of St. Monica Catholic Church, Beaver Falls Location)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver Falls, PA) A Mass and dinner were held yesterday at St. Monica Catholic Church in Beaver Falls to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the St. Joseph Perpetual Adoration Chapel, the only one of its kind in Beaver County. This chapel was started on June 2nd, 1991 in New Brighton and was made to adore the real presence of Jesus Christ. It eventually moved to the present site of St. Monica Catholic Church in 2013. Adorers and their families shared memories at the dinner and the adorers brought dishes to celebrate. All of the participants also received tickets for door prizes at the dinner, which were also given out to several winners.