(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Department of Education)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from the Pennsylvania Department of Education in Harrisburg yesterday, they released the results of the 2024-25 administration of state assessments, including the Pennsylvania System for School Assessment (PSSA), Pennsylvania Alternate System of Assessment (PASA), Pennsylvania Keystone Exams, and Access for English Language Learners, and here is what they found:

• PSSA proficiency rates in Math increased for the second consecutive year from 40.2 percent to 41.7 percent. PSSA proficiency rates in English Language Arts decreased from 53.9 percent to 49.9 percent. Due to the adoption of updated Science standards adopted in Pennsylvania, assessment scores in Science were waived, and only participation rates were reported.
• Keystone Algebra proficiency rates increased from 41.6 percent to 44.3 percent over the past year. Both Keystone Literature and Biology assessments saw a 1.1 percent decrease, from 63.2 percent to 62.1 percent and 50.5 percent to 49.4 percent, respectively.
• English learner growth and attainment increased from 31.7 percent in 2023-24 to 32.4 percent in 2024-25, the largest improvement historically seen in Pennsylvania.
• PDE also released yesterday the 2024-25 metrics from the Future Ready PA Index, a collection of school progress measures related to school and student success. The Index includes a range of assessment, on-track, and readiness indicators, to more accurately report student learning, growth, and success in the classroom and beyond.
• Highlights include: four-year graduation rates increased from 87.6 percent in 2023-24 to 88.0 percent in 2024-25, the third consecutive year of increase; regular attendance increased to 79.6 percent, the second consecutive year of increase, despite regular attendance rates decreasing nationally since 2023; and the Career Standards Benchmark remained stable at 91.3 percent.
• Data showed that schools that administered PA Firefly or Classroom Diagnostic Tools (CDT) at least once prior to online testing had an average overall proficiency 5.5% higher than schools that did not. Created as part of the Shapiro Administration’s efforts to help teachers spend less time testing and more time teaching, PA Firefly is a free, fully online benchmark tool teachers can use to help assess how well students are mastering material that will be tested on state assessments before the end of the school year. PA Firefly is the only benchmark tool aligned to Pennsylvania standards.
• PSSAs are administered in grades 3-8 for English Language Arts and Mathematics, as well as grades 5 and 8 for Science & Technology. PASAs are alternate exams for qualifying students with Individualized Education Plans (IEP). Keystones are end-of-course exams in Algebra I, Literature, and Biology. Access for English Language Learners is a summative English language proficiency assessment taken annually by K-12 English learners.
• For more information on the Pennsylvania Department of Education, please visit the Department’s website or follow PDE on Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, and Pinterest.

(File Photo of State Representative Roman Kozak)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) State Representative Roman Kozak (R-Beaver) issued this statement yesterday following the House passing a General Appropriations bill for the fiscal year of 2025-2026: “This week, more than four months after the deadline, we were called to Harrisburg for a series of votes to finalize our state budget. As with every compromise, there are parts of this budget deal that I’m concerned about, and others that I’m proud to support. First and foremost, I’m happy to report the General Assembly will be repealing the regulations that put us into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). RGGI is responsible for Pennsylvania losing out on 22,000 energy jobs and nearly $8 billion in economic development. With RGGI out of the way, we can work toward ensuring the reliability of our power grid and driving down energy costs for our families. However, I still have serious concerns about how much this budget spends. The budget deal that passed this week accounts for more than $50 billion in spending for the current fiscal year. That’s an increase of nearly 5% over last year’s spending, which works out to more than $2.2 billion. This plan nearly empties the General Fund surplus to plug the hole in revenue. That’s not sustainable budgeting. Most of the money we’re appropriating in this budget will be expected next year, but the money taken out of the General Fund surplus will not magically reappear. That means we would either need to make cuts or raise taxes moving forward. The good news is the policy improvements included in this deal have the potential to significantly grow our economy, starting with the energy sector. Now that unnecessary carbon taxes are off the table, we can jumpstart our energy production and, hopefully, welcome more families and businesses to our Commonwealth.”

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Tenaris)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Koppel, PA) According to a release from Tenaris in Koppel yesterday, Tenaris announced yesterday that its subsidiary, Steel Recycling Services, has acquired the Beaver Falls scrap processing yard from SA Recycling. The yard is located adjacent to Tenaris’s steelmaking facility in Koppel, Pennsylvania, and it covers approximately 39 acres. The investment enables Tenaris to integrate its steel production with scrap processing, streamlining and optimizing its production process in the US, and strengthening its domestic manufacturing capabilities. SA Recycling will continue operating the yard during a transition period, until early 2026.

(Photo Courtesy of Gavin Thunberg)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(New Sewickley Township, PA) New Sewickley Fire District went to a barn that caught fire along Herman Road in Fombell just before 4 p.m. yesterday. Police reported a fully involved structure with with an exposure concern after tehy arrived on scene. Crews quickly arrived and ceased the spread to the exposure(s). Here were some of the agencies involved in this incident: New Sewickley Fire District, Franklin Township Volunteer Fire Department, Ellwood City, North Sewickley Volunteer Fire Department, Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company, Butler County, Harmony Fire District, Butler County; as well as EMS Agency(s): Harmony EMS and Allegheny Health Network Squad 957.

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry in Harrisburg yesterday, they announced a $400,000 investment to connect veterans with competitive job opportunities and address barriers to gainful employment. Projects funded through L&I’s Veterans Employment Program (VEP) initiative can help bridge the gap by funding strategies that are innovative and strengthening existing support systems even though many government and community-based programs already work together to help veterans. According to that same release from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, here is some more information about applicants that can be eligible for this investment:

• Eligible applicants include local workforce development boards, non-profit and non-governmental entities, community-based organizations, education and post-secondary institutions, labor organizations, business associations and economic development groups. One grant will go toward a project serving veterans and their spouses across the Commonwealth, while another grant will go toward a program serving veterans and their spouses specifically in Delaware County.
• Applications are due by December 5th, 2025, at 11:59 P.M. This funding opportunity is 100% state funded.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Luigi Mangione is escorted into Manhattan state court in New York, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)

NEW YORK (AP) — Luigi Mangione is still waiting to log in.

Months after a judge said he could have a laptop in jail to review evidence, lawyers for the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson say the device has yet to be delivered.

The delay, Mangione’s lawyers said in a court filing made public Thursday, is putting the 27-year-old suspect in a time crunch with little more than two weeks before an important hearing in his state murder case.

Mangione, also facing a federal death penalty case, has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal jail in Brooklyn, since his December 2024 arrest. He has pleaded not guilty.

A judge approved the defense’s request for a laptop in August, but getting it in his hands has been slow because of modifications required to prevent misuse and the volume of evidence being saved to it.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which is prosecuting the state case, didn’t want him to have a laptop. Federal prosecutors didn’t take a position, and their spokesperson declined to comment Thursday.

“Although the federal court has previously issued a laptop order, there is a lengthy and laborious process that must be completed before Mr. Mangione receives the laptop,” defense lawyer Karen Friedman Agnifilo wrote.

To comply with jail regulations, she said, the laptop had to be sent to an outside technology vendor to disable its connections to the internet, printers and wireless networks — a process that took “many weeks to complete.”

The changes mean the tech-savvy Mangione, a former software engineer, won’t be able to use the laptop to view websites, send messages or post on social media.

Now, the device is with federal prosecutors, who are loading the computer with some of the more than seven terabytes of evidence that has been collected in the case, Friedman Agnifilo said. The rest will be saved to an external hard drive that also will be provided to Mangione.

Such evidence sharing, known as discovery, is routine in criminal cases and is intended to help ensure a fair trial. Defendants often assist their lawyers in reviewing evidence and shaping their defense.

“Once Mr. Mangione receives the laptop and hard drive, he will need time to meaningfully review” the material before a Dec. 1 hearing on evidence and other issues in the state case, Friedman Agnifilo said.

Mangione’s lawyers are seeking to have prosecutors barred from using certain evidence collected during his arrest, including a 9 mm handgun, a notebook in which authorities say he described his intent to “wack” an insurance executive, and statements he made to police.

Cases at critical points

Thompson, 50, was killed on Dec. 4, 2024, as he arrived at a Manhattan hotel for his company’s annual investor conference.

Surveillance video showed a masked gunman shooting him behind. Police say “delay,” “deny” and “depose” were written on the ammunition, mimicking a phrase used to describe how insurers avoid paying claims.

Mangione, the Ivy League-educated scion of a wealthy Maryland family, was arrested five days later while eating breakfast at a McDonald’s restaurant in Altoona, Pennsylvania, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of Manhattan.

As the anniversary of the killing nears, Mangione’s cases are at critical points.

In September, Judge Gregory Carro threw out Mangione’s state terrorism charges but kept the rest of the case — including an intentional murder charge — in place. A trial date could be set at next month’s hearing.

In the federal case, Mangione’s lawyers want prosecutors barred from seeking the death penalty and want at least some charges dismissed, arguing that authorities prejudiced him by turning his arrest into a spectacle and by publicly declaring their desire to see him executed. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 9.

Wait for laptop continues

As for the laptop, Mangione’s lawyers have been trying to get him one since March.

They told Carro that the amount of evidence being turned over by prosecutors — including video files, documents and other items — was so voluminous, Mangione couldn’t reasonably view it on the jail’s shared computers for inmates. Nor would they be able to go over it all during jail visits, they said.

The district attorney’s office disagreed, arguing that instead of giving Mangione a laptop, his lawyers could simply show him key case material instead.

Carro concluded that he had “no objection” as long as jail officials were on board.

On Aug. 4, the judge in Mangione’s federal case signed an order approving Mangione for a modified, evidence-only laptop and requiring that the jail give him access to it each day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

More than 100 days later, still no laptop.

(File Photo of a Fire Background)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A fire occurred in the Middle Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh late last night. It was reported on the 100 block of Wooster Street shortly after 11:55 p.m. The cause of this fire is unknown at this time. Multiple firefighters were called to help out at the scene and there were no reported injuries.

(Photo of Dr. Maria Gioia Provided with Release Courtesy of Allegheny Health Network)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) According to a release from Allegheny Health Network (AHN), yesterday, they are proud to announce that Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Maria Gioia, will be honored with the Nathaniel Bedford Primary Care Award by the Allegheny County Medical Society (ACMS) at its 2025 Distinguished Awards Celebration. Dr. Gioia was honored at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh yesterday evening and the award she was given recognizes a primary care physician for their care of patients that is described as exemplary, compassionate, comprehensive and dedicated. Dr. Gioia serves as the medical director at Allegheny Health Network Forbes Family Medicine in Monroeville and as the associate program director for its residency program.

(File Photo of a Gavel)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) The Pentagon is now involved in the investigation of fifty-seven-year-old Eric T. Gillespie of Pittsburgh, who was accused of using an online chat platform to attempt to solicit sexual contact with a pre-teenage girl from Lebanon County. Gillespie tried to make attempts to arrange a meeting with the girl after he engaged in a conversation with a Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General agent posed as an adult in an online chat platform often utilized by offenders attempting to arrange meetings with children. WPXI confirms that the Pentagon is looking into both his security clearances and his arrest. Gillespie received four felony charges as well as multiple counts of unlawful contact with a minor for his charges. A spokesperson for Govini, the company that he works for on Butler Street told WPXI that the company placed Gillespie on administrative leave as soon as it learned of the charges he is facing.