U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is in no position to give economic advice until she goes to college and comes out with an economics degree. At a press briefing at the World Economic Forum, Mnuchin took a swipe at the 17-year-old environmental campaigner for her recommendation that the public and private sectors should divest from fossil fuels. When asked how that would affect the U.S. economic model, Mnuchin took a swipe at Thunberg, asking if she was an economist and saying it “was a joke.” He said that “after she goes and studies economics in college, she can come back and explain that to us.”

Slightly more people believe President Donald Trump should be removed from office as a result of the Senate impeachment trial than those who say he should stay, but most agree the president has either done things that are illegal or unethical, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. Fifty-one percent of U.S. adults said the trial should end with Trump’s removal, while 46% said he should remain in office, according to the survey conducted from Jan. 6-19 among 12,638 U.S. adults on Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panel. The poll carried a margin of error of plus or minus 1.3 percentage points.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty is under investigation for allegedly assaulting a 13-year-old boy during a photo shoot. Chris Greenwell and his son Brandon met Gritty at an event for season ticket holders on Nov. 19. Brandon patted Gritty on the head after he and his father posed for a photo with the mascot in Wells Fargo Center. Greenwell says that as Brandon walked away, Gritty ran out of his chair and “punched my son as hard as he could.” Officials at Comcast Spectacor, the company that owns the Flyers, says it conducted an investigation but couldn’t verify Greenwell’s account. Greenwell told the newspaper that he only wants an apology and something special for his son.

Mr. Peanut, the 104-year old mascot of the Planters snack food company, has died after sacrificing himself in what appears to be a traumatic road accident. Sounds like the perfect setup for a Super Bowl commercial! Planters made the announcement in a series of tweets and news releases Wednesday. And lest you think Planters would turn their mascot into a wad of chunky peanut butter for no reason, the company confirmed his death has something to do with a commercial that will run during the Super Bowl. In a preview of the ad, Mr. Peanut appears to save actors Wesley Snipes and Matt Walsh after the Nutmobile veers off a cliff. Mr. Peanut lets go of a branch to save his friends from plummeting to their deaths. We’ll have to wait till February 2nd to find out the cliffhanger ending.

NEW YORK (AP) — A host of the nightly PBS “NewsHour” that for decades offered a thoughtful take on current events has died. Jim Lehrer was 85. Like longtime partner Robert MacNeil, Lehrer saw broadcast journalism as a service, its main goal to help the public understand events and issues. The two began the nightly reports on PBS in 1975, and the program was later expanded to an hour. It features detailed reports and discussions of politics, international relations, science, and even the arts. MacNeil stepped down from the show in 1995. Lehrer was also a frequent moderator of presidential debates.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — George Herbert Walker III, who was a cousin of two presidents, a former U.S. ambassador to Hungary and a prominent St. Louis businessman and philanthropist, has died. The church handling his memorial service says Walker died Saturday. A cause of death was not disclosed. He was 88. Walker was a cousin of presidents George Bush and George W. Bush. He served as ambassador to Hungary from 2003 to 2006. Walker was the longtime leader of a financial services company in St. Louis and was active in St. Louis betterment organizations. A memorial service will be Feb. 22.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is lifting protections for some of the nation’s millions of miles of streams, arroyos and wetlands, as it nears completion on one of its most far-reaching environmental rollbacks. The changes announced Thursday were promised by President Donald Trump during his first weeks in office and will scale back which waterways qualify for protection against pollution and development under the half-century-old Clean Water Act. The administration says it is providing “regulatory certainty and predictability for American farmers, landowners and businesses.” But environmental advocates and public health officials say the changes will make it harder to maintain a clean water supply for the American public.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main political rival Benny Gantz have been invited to Washington next week to discuss the “prospect of peace” with the Palestinians. He spoke at a meeting with Netanyahu after addressing an international Holocaust forum in Jerusalem

LONDON (AP) — The World Health Organization says a viral illness in China that has sickened hundreds of people is not yet a global health emergency. The decision came after Chinese authorities moved to lock down three cities on Thursday and canceled major events in the capital, Beijing, during the Lunar New Year holiday period to try to contain the new virus. The United Nations health agency announced the decision after independent experts spent two days assessing information about the spread of the newly identified coronavirus. WHO defines a global emergency as an “extraordinary event” that constitutes a risk to other countries and requires a coordinated international response.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Most of the public meeting for the Beaver County Commissioners went swiftly and smoothly on Thursday, January 23.

The brightest beam of the under-10 minute session was the honoring of Kevin Daniel, an Emergency Services worker who had worked for 30 years until his retirement from that post on Thursday. Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp, along with the rest of the Board and a few co-workers took the time to acknowledge his long list of service and thanking him for it:

 

On the flipside, the lone bump in the road for the Commissioners was in regard to ZERO bids being made to print the Calendar of Events pamphlet for Beaver County Tourism:

 

The next public meeting is scheduled for February 13 at 10:00 AM.