Story by Curtis Walsh – Beaver County Radio. Published July 23, 2025 5:35 P.M.

(Pittsburgh, Pa) On a warm Wednesday afternoon, flights were arriving and departing Pittsburgh International Airport as usual. What wasn’t the usual was continued construction taking place on a new terminal to replace the aging 1992 facility. The new PIT terminal is getting close to completion and those in charge say they expect it to open by the end of the year.

 

Beaver County Radio was given a special tour of the construction site Wednesday afternoon and learned what to expect.

One big goal that those in charge of the project have is the service that the terminal provides. “When people come to airports they are stressed, we want this facility to serve people.”

Siri Betts Sonstegard, the Senior Vice President Experience Designer, says that the new facility will be accessible to everyone. Whether you are in a wheelchair or taking care of babies and children, the new experience will be much more friendly to all.

Currently, the airport TSA checkpoint operates 6 lanes and has TSA officers watching for anyone who backtracks. Some security protocols also require people to do things such as take off shoes and open laptop cases.

Sonstegard says the new checkpoint will be “one big checkpoint” that features 12 lanes and new cutting edge technology. Travelers will no longer have to perform tasks that include taking shoes off and others. A new door system will also prevent people from backtracking. There will also be a “reduce stress” zone following the TSA check with benches and tables to relax.

 

Another new addition that Sonstegard highlighted is the “thoughtful send off” area. The area is designed to feel like a living room where travelers can say goodbye to friends or families in a comfortable environment.

Those who are arriving to the airport after a flight will be similarly greeted with an area including tables and seating along with a locally based coffee stand.

Paul Hoback, a Beaver County resident who is the Chief Development Officer, highlighted numerous other aspects of the project. He noted that they wanted to have three things that define Pittsburgh to be the center focus of the experience. Those three things are nature, community, and technology.

Four outdoor terraces will help serve as the nature role, featuring soil, bushes, and trees to provide a relaxing area that two of which will be open to both travelers and visitors. Hodak says they hope to even have public events in the spaces.

He also mentioned that sustainability has been a focus, revealing that the terraces will take advantage of rainwater that will be captured through a system on the terminal roof.

In addition to the terraces, windows will also help with the nature concept. Large windows are installed throughout most of the upper half and ceilings of the facilty providing an array of natural light.

Among the other new technology being implanted is a new baggage system. The current 33 year old system consists of over 8 miles of track and is very loud. The new system which is currently undergoing testing is quicker and almost silent.

The heart of Pittsburgh will be on display throughout the terminal with a theme that locals will immediately spot. The color scheme throughout the facility is black and gold, and an audio system installed on the escalators will play “sounds of Pittsburgh” which will be audio from Pittsburgh sports.

Volunteers were recently requested to take part in a trial run of terminal operations. To the organizers suprise, over 18,000 people have signed up for the job. The test run will take place on September 20th and 2000 participants will be selected.

The project is at 92% completion and Paul Hoback says he expects the terminal to be open by the fourth quarter of 2025. He adds “it would be irresponsible” to name a specific date at this point.

As for the old facilities, he says there are ideas out there and multiple potential outcomes to be decided.

Speaking one on one with Hoback, he told Beaver County Radio “this is Beaver County’s airport, this is Allegheny County’s airport, this is Butler County’s Airport, Washington County’s airport”, “this is our hometown Airport and we want to make sure that those people are proud.”

When Beaver County Radio asked Hoback what he is most excited for when the new terminal opens, he quickly said “the faces”, alleging that those who enter the facility will be happy and proud of the new Pittsburgh International Airport.

(File Photo of Congressman Chris Deluzio)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Carnegie, PA) According to a release from Congressman Chris Deluzio’s office, on Saturday, July 19th, 2025, Deluzio joined a rail safety roundtable with Congressman Mike Rulli, union rail workers, and stakeholders from Beaver County and Eastern Ohio. The conversation held in Columbiana, Ohio touched on the approach of the Trump administration to rail safety, rail safety legislation that is pending and issues of worker safety like inspections. Two U.S. House members that were representatives of the district impacted by the 2023 East Palestine train derailment and train workers were also brought together. The site of the conversation was about ten miles away from the site of that 2023 derailment in East Palestine.

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Essential Utilities, Inc. and Aqua Pennsylvania)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Bryn Mawr, PA) According to a release from Essential Utilities, Inc., the company announced Tuesday that its Aqua Pennsylvania Subsidiary finalized a $37.75 million purchase of the City of Beaver Falls wastewater system. Around 3,200 members in the City of Beaver Falls are served by this water system. Treatment service and bulk transmission for about 3,800 Equivalent Dwelling Units will be in Big Beaver Borough, Eastvale Borough, North Sewickley Township, Patterson Township, Patterson Heights Borough, White Township and West Mayfield Borough. On June 18th, 2025, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission made an approval of this sale.

(File Photo of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, Pennsylvania broke its year-old record of gambling revenues by over $500 million since July of 2024. $2.48 billion in revenue is coming from gaming online instead of going to the slot machines, which according to Pennsylvania state officials, makes a revenue of about $2.44 billion. The record for gambling revenue is now $6.4 billion in Pennsylvania. This record comes from those two options for games as well as coming from terminals for video games, casino table games, betting on sports and fantasy sports contests. 

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Sheetz)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Altoona, PA) According to a release from Sheetz, Sheetz is teaming up with Liquid Death for a first-of-its-kind experience involving chainsaws that is happening in a select Pittsburgh Sheetz location for one day only. This deal will happen from 2-5 p.m. there on Friday, July 25th. If you order a Made to Order Sandwich and a 19.2-ounce mountain water, sparkling water, or iced tea from Liquid Death that day there, your sandwich will be sliced with an actual chainsaw. Influencer Jenna Ceriani, who is known as Chainsaw Jenna, will be on site cutting these sandwiches with a chainsaw. You can visit the link shown here for the exact location of this event.

Click this link to find out more: Chainsaw-Sliced Sandwich Experience

Customers who purchase a Made to Order sandwich at any of the more than locations of Sheetz will get $2 off a Liquid Death 19.2-ounce tea or water. There is a one redemption per customer limit. This offer must be included in the Sheetz app under the tab titled OFFERZ.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: President Donald Trump speaks during a reception for Republican members of Congress in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced a trade framework with Japan on Tuesday, placing a 15% tax on goods imported from that nation.

“This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding that the United States “will continue to always have a great relationship with the Country of Japan.”

The president said Japan would invest “at my direction” $550 billion into the U.S. and would “open” its economy to American autos and rice. The 15% tax on imported Japanese goods is a meaningful drop from the 25% rate that Trump, in a recent letter to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, said would be levied starting Aug. 1.

Early Wednesday, Ishiba acknowledged the new trade agreement, saying it would benefit both sides and help them work together.

With the announcement, Trump is seeking to tout his ability as a dealmaker — even as his tariffs, when initially announced in early April led to a market panic and fears of slower growth that for the moment appear to have subsided. Key details remained unclear from his post, such as whether Japanese-built autos would face a higher 25% tariff that Trump imposed on the sector.

But the framework fits a growing pattern for Trump, who is eager to portray the tariffs as win for the U.S. His administration says the revenues will help reduce the budget deficit and more factories will relocate to America to avoid the import taxes and cause trade imbalances to disappear.

The wave of tariffs continues to be a source of uncertainty about whether it could lead to higher prices for consumers and businesses if companies simply pass along the costs. The problem was seen sharply Tuesday after General Motors reported a 35% drop in its net income during the second quarter as it warned that tariffs would hit its business in the months ahead, causing its stock to tumble.

As the Aug. 1 deadline for the tariff rates in his letters to world leaders is approaching, Trump also announced a trade framework with the Philippines that would impose a tariff of 19% on its goods, while American-made products would face no import taxes. The president also reaffirmed his 19% tariffs on Indonesia.

The U.S. ran a $69.4 billion trade imbalance on goods with Japan last year, according to the Census Bureau.

America had a trade imbalance of $17.9 billion with Indonesia and an imbalance of $4.9 billion with the Philippines. Both nations are less affluent than the U.S. and an imbalance means America imports more from those countries than it exports to them.

The president is set to impose the broad tariffs listed in his recent letters to other world leaders on Aug. 1, raising questions of whether there will be any breakthrough in talks with the European Union. At a Tuesday dinner, Trump said the EU would be in Washington on Wednesday for trade talks.

“We have Europe coming in tomorrow, the next day,” Trump told guests.

The president earlier this month sent a letter threatening the 27 member states in the EU with 30% taxes on their goods to be imposed starting on Aug. 1.

The Trump administration has a separate negotiating period with China that is currently set to run through Aug. 12 as goods from that nation are taxed at an additional 30% baseline.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would be in the Swedish capital of Stockholm next Monday and Tuesday to meet with his Chinese counterparts. Bessent said his goal is to shift the American economy away from consumption and to enable more consumer spending in the manufacturing-heavy Chinese economy.

“President Trump is remaking the U.S. into a manufacturing economy,” Bessent said on the Fox Business Network show “Mornings with Maria.” “If we could do that together, we do more manufacturing, they do more consumption. That would be a home run for the global economy.”

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Brian Kohberger appears at the Ada County Courthouse, July 2, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. (AP Photo/Kyle Green, Pool)

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A judge is expected to order Bryan Kohberger to serve four life sentences without parole this week for the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students nearly three years ago.

Wednesday’s sentencing hearing will give the families of Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, Ethan Chapin and Kaylee Goncalves the opportunity to describe the anguish they’ve felt since their loved ones were killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022.

Kohberger was a graduate student at Washington State University when he broke into a nearby rental home through a kitchen sliding door and killed the four friends who appeared to have no connection with him.

Police initially had no suspects, and the killings terrified the normally quiet community in the small, western Idaho city of Moscow. Some students at both universities left mid-semester, taking the rest of their classes online because they felt unsafe.

But investigators had a few critical clues. A knife sheath left near Mogen’s body had a single source of male DNA on the button snap, and surveillance videos showed a white Hyundai Elantra near the rental home around the time of the murders.

Police used genetic genealogy to identify Kohberger as a possible suspect, and accessed cellphone data to pinpoint his movements the night of the killings. Online shopping records showed Kohberger had purchased a military-style knife months earlier, along with a sheath like the one at the home.

Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania about six weeks after the killings. He initially stood silent when asked to enter a plea, so a judge entered a “not guilty” plea on his behalf.

Both the investigation and the court case drew widespread attention. Discussion groups proliferated online, members eagerly sharing their theories and questions about the case. Some self-styled armchair web-sleuths pointed fingers at innocent people simply because they knew the victims or lived in the same town. Misinformation spread, piling additional distress on the already-traumatized community.

As the criminal case unfolded, Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson announced that he would seek the death penalty if Kohberger was convicted. The court-defense team, led by attorney Anne Taylor, challenged the validity of the DNA evidence, unsuccessfully pushed to get theories about possible “alternate perpetrators” admitted in court, and repeatedly asked the judge to take the death penalty off of the table.

But those efforts largely failed, and the evidence against Kohberger was strong. With an August trial looming, Kohberger reached a plea deal. Prosecutors agreed to drop their efforts to get a death sentence in exchange for Kohberger’s guilty plea to four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. Both sides agreed to a proposed sentence of four consecutive life sentences without parole, plus an additional 10 years for the burglary charge. Kohberger also waived his right to appeal any issues in the case.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: White House special envoy Steve Witkoff waits for the arrival of President Donald Trump at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, N.J., en route to attend the Club World Cup final soccer match, Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, planned to head to the Middle East as the U.S. tries once again to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, the State Department’s spokesperson said Tuesday.

Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters that Witkoff was going to the region with a “strong hope” that the U.S. can deliver a ceasefire deal as well as a new humanitarian corridor for aid distribution.

“I would suggest that we might have some good news, but, again, as we know, this could be a constantly changing dynamic,” said Bruce, who didn’t have other details about where Witkoff would be going or what he had planned.

Three U.S. officials said Witkoff is traveling to Europe this week to discuss a range of issues, including Gaza and the push for a ceasefire, but they had no details about Middle East stops and did not share where specifically Witkoff would travel to and when.

The officials were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The State Department press office didn’t respond to messages seeking more details on Witkoff’s travel, and it wasn’t immediately clear what his schedule would be this week.

A breakthrough in talks on a ceasefire deal has eluded the Trump administration for months as conditions worsen in Gaza. The territory had its deadliest day yet for aid-seekers in over 21 months of war, with at least 85 Palestinians killed while trying to reach food Sunday.

The Israeli army has said it fired warning shots, but says the reported death toll was greatly inflated. The United Nations’ food agency accused Israeli forces of firing on the crowd of Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid.

Bruce said the incident that took place while civilians were trying to reach aid entering through the Zikim crossing with Israel is “absolutely horrible” and reinforced why the U.S. is pushing for a new humanitarian corridor to be created as part of any truce.

The sides have held weeks of talks in Qatar, reporting small signs of progress but no major breakthroughs. Officials have said a main sticking point is the redeployment of Israeli troops after any ceasefire takes place.

The U.S. plan calls for a 60-day truce, during which Hamas would release some hostages while Israel would free Palestinian prisoners and allow a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza. During the 60 days, the sides are also to begin negotiations on a permanent end to the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas yields power and is disarmed, while Hamas says it will not release all of the hostages until the war is over. It is seeking assurances that Netanyahu will not resume the war after the 60 days, as he did in March after an early ceasefire expired.

Hamas is holding 50 hostages — 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.