(File Photo of the Beaver Falls Library that will be receiving $500,000 to perform extensive repairs and renovations.)

(Beaver Falls, Pa.) State Rep. Roman Kozak (R-14) and Sen. Elder Vogel Jr. (R-47) announced $6 million in state funding has been awarded for critical improvement projects in the 14th Legislative District. This funding, provided through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP), is aimed at fostering growth and development in the region.

“I’m grateful to see these important local projects receive state support,” Kozak said. “This funding represents a meaningful investment in our community’s future, strengthening our institutions, supporting economic growth and preserving valued spaces. I appreciate the commitment to advancing projects that will benefit residents, bolster opportunity and contribute to long-term stability and success across our region.”

“I am pleased to have worked alongside Rep. Kozak to help get state funding for these crucial community projects,” Vogel said. “It’s projects like these that make it possible for our area to remain successful and sustainable for future generations.”

The funding will be distributed as follows:

• Carnegie Free Library of Beaver Falls: $500,000 to perform extensive repairs and renovations.
• Geneva College: $1.5 million to update Geneva’s Old Main.
• Mitsubishi Electric Power Products: $4 million to construct a new advanced switchgear factory.

The RACP is a Commonwealth grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the design, acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects.

A Taco Bell fast food restaurant is shown Tuesday, July 14, 2026, in Taylor, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

ATLANTA (AP) — Federal health officials have identified lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations across five U.S. states as a source of the widespread outbreak of diarrhea-causing parasite cyclospora.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention late Thursday warned consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. A record number of cyclospora cases have been reported in more than 30 states, and experts have said not every recent U.S. illness might be caused by a single source.

A Food and Drug Administration investigation identified a single supplier of the lettuce. The federal warnings to consumers did not identify the company, but a federal official who was briefed on the investigation and not authorized to discuss it told The Associated Press it was Taylor Farms of Salinas, California.

Taylor Farms, which has been tied to foodborne outbreaks in the past, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“FDA is working with the supplier of iceberg lettuce to determine if potentially contaminated shredded iceberg lettuce remains on the market,” including in other states, the CDC said. “Taco Bell has committed to stop using any lettuce from the supplier identified by FDA’s traceback investigation.”

In a statement, federal health officials stressed that other “brands, restaurants, retailers, or distribution channels” could be identified as the investigation continues.

CDC, FDA and public health officials in several states have been investigating a multistate outbreak of cyclospora infections.

More than 30 states have reported infections this year, and current data from them shows the number of infections surpassing the record U.S. mark of about 4,700 set in 2019. The illness is not usually life threatening and is typically treated with antibiotics.

On Tuesday, ahead of the federal government’s confirmation, Taco Bell issued a statement saying it had “voluntarily and temporarily removed limited ingredients at select restaurants as a precautionary measure. We will continue to closely monitor the situation and follow the guidance of public health authorities.”

Cyclospora is a microscopic, spherical parasite that commonly causes watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Outbreaks tend to occur most often in the late spring and summer.

The heat-loving parasite infects the bowels and spreads through feces. In the past, people have been infected by consuming fruits or vegetables that were exposed to feces-contaminated irrigation water.

The illness, called cyclosporiasis, is less common than foodborne illnesses caused by other germs, including salmonella and E. coli. Many cases are never linked to a specific food or other source and, for years, few U.S. cyclospora outbreaks were reported. But the number started rising about a decade ago, with a particularly notable spike in 2018 and 2019.

Experts say it’s likely that cyclospora cases historically were underreported, in part because some common tests used to check for food poisoning have not been geared to detect cyclospora. They attribute the increasing trend in cases to climate change and better detection.

Taylor Farms also was tied to a 2013 cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to salad mix and a 2024 E. coli outbreak tied to onions served at McDonald’s.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump’s teleprompter operator is on unpaid leave after reports that he used his inside knowledge to make bets about the president’s speeches on the online prediction market Kalshi, the White House said Thursday.

The firm’s enforcement chief said Kalshi contacted federal regulators about bets allegedly made about what the president would say in public addresses.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president is aware of the situation, which she described as “unfortunate” and “a disgrace.”

“The White House has extremely strict ethical guidelines with respect to issues like this,” Leavitt told reporters, saying the aide is on unpaid leave.

ABC News reported Thursday that Gabriel Perez, who has been operating Trump’s teleprompter since 2016, used his inside knowledge to win more than $100,000 betting on what the president would say in big speeches, including the State of the Union address earlier this year.

Robert Denault, Kalshi’s lawyer and head of enforcement, said on X that the “Kalshi surveillance team promptly flagged, investigated and referred these trades” to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission that has regulatory authority over such matters.

His statement did not name Perez.

“We have been assisting regulators on this matter and provided all evidence that we collected, as we do with any referral,” Denault added.

ABC based its report on multiple sources who have knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details.

The ABC report described suspicious activity on Kalshi’s “Mentions” market, in which users can place bets on what phrases and specific words might be used in public speeches. Kalshi recently began requiring users to disclose their place of employment, and the platform’s policy prohibits betting based on information that users gain because of their job.

Attention on members of the administration profiting from the presidency has reached all the way to Trump himself.

On Thursday, his media company announced it would charge for special high-speed access to Truth Social posts, including possibly his own affecting national security and financial markets.

In his most recent financial disclosures, Trump reported making $1.2 billion from his crypto businesses in 2025, raking in profits while his investors suffered losses in marketplaces that Trump has sought to shield from tighter federal regulation.

Trump got more than $500 million from his World Liberty Financial business selling new crypto products, including “governance tokens,” according to the required annual disclosure report with the Office of Government Ethics. It also showed another crypto business, CIC Digital LLC, took in more than $600 million from sales of souvenir-type “meme” coins stamped with his face. Both the tokens and the coins have plunged in value since the sales.

The president has also profited from merchandising deals and high-dollar political and official events at his properties, significantly increasing his net worth since returning to power.

Trump’s aides have stood by his personal and family business practices.

“The president is abiding by all conflict-of-interest laws that are applicable to the president,” Leavitt said earlier this year. It’s “absurd for anyone to insinuate that this president is profiting off of the presidency.”

Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) today released its preliminary employment situation report for June 2026.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate was down one-tenth of a percentage point over the month to 4.1 percent in June. The PA rate remained one-tenth of a percentage point below the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.2 percent, which was also down a tenth of a point over the month.

The Commonwealth’s unemployment rate declined by two-tenths of a point from its June 2025 level of 4.3 percent. The United States’ rate was up one-tenth over the past 12 months.

Pennsylvania’s civilian labor force — the estimated number of residents working or looking for work — was up 17,000 over the month to a record high 6,643,000 in June. Employment rose to a record high while unemployment fell 6,000 over the month.

Pennsylvania’s total nonfarm jobs were up 1,000 over the month to a record high of 6,209,600 in June. Jobs increased in seven of the 11 industry supersectors. The largest volume gain was in leisure & hospitality while the largest decline was in professional & business services. Education & health services rose to a record high level. Over the year, jobs were up 34,500 with gains in six of the 11 supersectors. The largest volume gain from last June was in education & health services (+28,400).

FILE – Bethany Gill winds a clock in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court chamber, Dec. 13, 2024, in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Marc Levy, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — It’s an idea whose time, as it were, may have come — again.

The twice-yearly changing of the clocks in the United States could be a thing of the past if legislation currently in Congress that calls for permanent daylight time makes it through. But even as annoying as some find the back-and-forth of the time shift in the spring and the fall, that doesn’t necessarily mean sticking to one would go over well. America has tried it before, most recently in the 1970s, and it didn’t last.

Now it’s a new era, one full of people working at home who didn’t before — and advances in sleep science that tell a more nuanced tale.

Could this time (shift) be the charm?

What’s going on this time around?

The House of Representatives on Tuesday voted overwhelmingly to pass a bill that makes the shift to daylight saving time, when clocks are moved forward one hour, become permanent.

Currently, the shift is forward in spring and back to standard time in fall as a way to give people more daylight time in the summer evenings. But the semi-annual change has few fans – an AP-NORC poll last year found that only 12% of American adults were in favor of it, while almost half opposed it. Proponents of a single time include the American Medical Association and American Academy of Sleep Medicine — outfits to whom daily rhythms are deeply important.

President Donald Trump has indicated he’s supportive, but it’s unclear whether the legislation will pass any time soon. It faces roadblocks in the Senate, where some Republicans are strongly opposed.

Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, a member of Republican leadership, has been outspoken against the change, saying last year that enacting it would “make winter a dark and dismal time for millions of Americans.”

What’s the big deal with changing it?

While people may not like making the change, history shows they also don’t like living with even less morning light in the winter months, when daylight hours are shorter than in summer.

In 1973, Congress passed a law instituting permanent daylight saving time for what was supposed to be a trial period from January 1974 to April 1975. It lasted until October, when it was repealed after public outcry. Among the concerns was worry that schoolchildren would have to start the school day without daylight. These days, some school starting times have started to shift later.

Kevin Birth, a professor of anthropology at Queens College whose research focuses on cultural concepts of time, was in elementary school in Syracuse, New York, at the time and remembers it vividly. “I had to get up for school and it was like it was midnight,” he said. “It was just pitch black and it remained pitch black into the school day.”

If the U.S. decides to try it again, he said, more has to change than just the clocks. The time zones across the country would need to be adapted as well. The current four zones wouldn’t be adequate – they cover so much ground that sunrise comes at different times in western and eastern parts of each zone.

Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds is concerned about that. He said that it would be dark past 9:30 a.m. in some areas of his state. “You’d be sending kids to school in the dark,” he said.

__

Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published July 17, 2026 8:17 A.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) Shortly before 1am Friday morning, officers with the Aliquippa Police Department along with Hopewell Township Police were dispatched to the parking lot of Wawro’s Bar in the 400 block of Franklin Avenue following a report of shots fired, according to a release from the Aliquippa Police Department.

Two adult males were said to be engaged in a verbal altercation in the parking lot of Wawro’s. The State Constable reported hearing a single gunshot and was able to immediately identify the individual he believed had fired the weapon.

Based on the information obtained during the initial investigation, officers took the suspect identified as Tyler Jeter, 36 of Aliquippa, into custody without incident.

No injuries were reported. Criminal charges have been filed against Jeter.