FILE – Michael Regan, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, announces the Biden administration is launching a broad strategy to regulate toxic industrial compounds associated with serious health conditions that are used in products ranging from cookware to carpets and firefighting foams during an event at N.C. State University, Oct. 18, 2021, in Raleigh, N.C. The EPA on Tuesday, March 14, 2023, proposed limiting the amount of harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water to the lowest level that tests can detect. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency’s administrator says a proposal for the first federal limits on harmful “forever chemicals” in drinking water could prevent thousands of illnesses. Per- and polyfluorinated substances are a toxic group of compounds knowns as PFAS that are linked to health issues including low birthweight and cancer. The EPA proposes limiting two common types of the compounds to 4 parts per trillion, the lowest level that tests can detect. EPA Administrator Michael Regan says communities “have suffered far too long” from PFAS pollution. Environmentalists praise Tuesday’s proposal as a long-awaited public health protection. If finalized, the proposal would also regulate the combined amount of four other types of PFAS.

A worker organizes items at a Walmart Supercenter in North Bergen, N.J., on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. On Tuesday, the Labor Department reports on U.S. consumer prices for February. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. consumer price increases eased slightly from January to February but still pointed to an elevated inflation rate that is posing a challenge for the Federal Reserve at a delicate moment for the financial system. The government said Tuesday that prices increased 0.4% last month, just below January’s 0.5% rise. Yet excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices rose 0.5% in February, slightly above January’s 0.4% gain. The Fed pays particular attention to the core measure as a gauge of underlying inflation pressures.

This Wednesday, March 1, 2023 photo shows a vial of Eli Lilly’s Humalog insulin in New York. Eli Lilly will cut prices for some older insulins later this year and immediately give more patients access to a cap on costs they pay to fill prescriptions. The moves announced March 1, 2023 promise critical relief to some people with diabetes who can face annual costs of more than $1,000 for insulin they need in order to live. Lilly’s changes also come as lawmakers and patient advocates pressure drugmakers to do something about soaring prices. (AP Photo/Pablo Salinas)

Novo Nordisk will start slashing some U.S. insulin prices up to 75% next year, following a path set earlier this month by rival Eli Lilly. The Danish drugmaker says that pre-filled pens and vials of long-acting and short-acting insulins will see price reductions. They include Levemir, Novolin, NovoLog and NovoLog Mix70/30. Novo also will drop the list price of some unbranded products to match lower prices of branded insulins. The price cuts go into effect Jan. 1. Eli Lilly and Co. said March 2 that it will cut the list prices for its some of its most commonly prescribed insulins.

Gas prices are a penny lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.758 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                          $3.758
Average price during the week of March 6, 2023                                               $3.767
Average price during the week of March 14, 2022                                             $4.378

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.696      Altoona
$3.760      Beaver
$3.849      Bradford
$3.777      Brookville
$3.710      Butler
$3.691      Clarion
$3.744      DuBois
$3.738      Erie
$3.779      Greensburg
$3.780      Indiana
$3.814      Jeannette
$3.802      Kittanning
$3.792      Latrobe
$3.787      Meadville
$3.867      Mercer
$3.660      New Castle
$3.763      New Kensington
$3.796      Oil City
$3.755      Pittsburgh
$3.631      Sharon
$3.684      Uniontown
$3.859      Warren
$3.697      Washington

Trend Analysis:

The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline increased seven cents since last week to $3.47 even though demand and the global cost of oil have fallen recently. The higher prices are mainly due to the switch to summer blend gasoline, which can add five to ten cents per gallon. Today’s national average of $3.47 is three cents more than a month ago but 79 cents less than a year ago.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand declined from 9.11 million to 8.56 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 1.1 million barrels to 238.1 million barrels last week. Although gas demand has declined, fluctuating oil prices have increased pump prices amid tighter supply.

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by 92 cents to settle at $76.66. Crude prices dropped after the Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve indicated that additional interest rate increases are likely. The market is concerned that rising interest rates could tip the U.S. economy into a recession, which would lower oil demand amid reduced economic activity. Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude inventories decreased by 1.7 million barrels to 478.5 million barrels last week.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at gasprices.aaa.com.

A person stands in front of a Meta sign outside of the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Tuesday, March 7, 2023. Facebook’s parent Meta will slash another 10,000 jobs and will not fill 5,000 open positions as the social media pioneer cuts costs. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Facebook’s parent Meta will slash another 10,000 jobs and will not fill 5,000 open positions as the social media pioneer cuts costs. The company said Tuesday it will reduce the size of its recruiting team and then make further cuts in its tech groups in late April, and then its business groups in late May. The Menlo Park, California, company has been investing billions of dollars to realign its focus on the metaverse. In February it posted lower fourth-quarter profit and revenue, hurt by a downturn in the online advertising market and competition from rivals such as TikTok.

President Joe Biden meets Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Naval Base Point Loma, Monday, March 13, 2023, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

SAN DIEGO (AP) — President Joe Biden is expected to sign an executive order aiming to increase the number of background checks to buy guns. The order also seeks to promote more secure firearms storage and ensure U.S. law enforcement agencies get the most from last summer’s bipartisan gun control law. The Democratic president is expected to unveil his latest efforts at curbing gun violence during a speech Tuesday in Monterey Park, California, where a gunman stormed a dance hall and shot 20 people, killing 11, following a Lunar New Year celebration. The bipartisan legislation passed after the killings of 10 grocery store shoppers in Buffalo, New York, and 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas.

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold another Community Resource Open House on March 16, 2023, from 6-8 p.m. at the East Palestine school gym (360 West Grant Street). This will be an opportunity for residents to talk face-to-face and ask questions to representatives of responding agencies. Residents will also have the opportunity to learn more about the scientific equipment that EPA uses to monitor the quality of the air.

At the same time, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania agencies and State Representative Jim Marshall will host a Community Resource Open House for Pennsylvania residents at the Darlington Township Volunteer Fire Department (3590 Darlington Road, Darlington, Penn.).

EPA and Norfolk Southern contractors continue to take soil samples at agricultural, residential, commercial, and recreational properties in both Ohio and Pennsylvania.