(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – In this Nov. 18, 2020 file photo, a woman, wearing a protective face mask due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, wheels a cart with her purchases out of a Walmart store, in Derry, N.H. Shoppers on Walmart.com who pay a $98-a-year membership fee will get free shipping on orders of any size starting Friday, Dec. 4. Walmart announced the membership perk on Wednesday, Dec. 2 doing away with a previous requirement that orders amount to at least $35 to qualify for free shipping. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency’s Office in Harrisburg on Wednesday, the administration of Governor Josh Shapiro is letting Pennsylvanians know that when you are looking for a gift, prepare for a future emergency. According to the release, here are some items that are gifts can keep you safe in either your house or your vehicle: 

• Water (one gallon per person for at least 3 days) 

• Nonperishable food (enough for several days) 

• First-aid kit 

• Extra phone charger 

• Flashlight with extra batteries 

• Basic tools 

• Battery-powered or hand crank radio 

• Manual can opener 

• Extra clothes/shoes 

• Blankets/sleeping bags 

• Hygiene items 

• Whistle 

• Paper maps 

• Trash bags 

• Duct tape 

• Jumper cables 

• Ice scraper/snow brush 

• Shovel 

• Kitty litter/sand for traction 

Pennsylvania State Fire Commissioner Thomas Cook suggests that since fires in homes can increase this holiday season, to get a fire extinguisher or an alarm to either track carbon monoxide or smoke. 

(Photo Provided with Release)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Data from AAA shows that almost one hundred and twenty million Americans will be traveling during the holidays at the end of the year. According to a release from AAA on Wednesday, a projection of 119.3 million people will go from home to their destination in a span of fifty miles or more between Saturday, December 21st to Wednesday, January 1st. This number sets a record from five years ago, and the release states that three million people will be traveling this year in comparison to last year. 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Suspect Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pa. (Janet Klingbeil via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — The man charged with killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was not a client of the medical insurer and may have targeted it because of its size and influence, a senior police official said Thursday.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told NBC New York in an interview Thursday that investigators have uncovered evidence that Luigi Mangione had prior knowledge UnitedHealthcare was holding its annual investor conference in New York City.

Mangione also mentioned the company in a note found in his possession when he was detained by police in Pennsylvania.

“We have no indication that he was ever a client of United Healthcare, but he does make mention that it is the fifth largest corporation in America, which would make it the largest healthcare organization in America. So that’s possibly why he targeted that company,” said Kenny.

UnitedHealthcare is in the top 20 largest U.S. companies by market capitalization but is not the fifth largest. It is the largest U.S. health insurer.

Mangione remains jailed without bail in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested Monday after being spotted at a McDonald’s in the city of Altoona, about 230 miles (about 370 kilometers) west of New York City. His lawyer there, Thomas Dickey, has said Mangione intends to plead not guilty. Dickey also said he has yet to see evidence decisively linking his client to the crime.

Mangione’s arrest came five days after the caught-on-camera killing of Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel.

Police say the shooter waited outside the hotel, where the health insurer was holding its investor conference, early on the morning of Dec. 4. He approached Thompson from behind and shot him before fleeing on a bicycle through Central Park.

Mangione is fighting attempts to extradite him back to New York so that he can face a murder charge in Thompson’s killing. A hearing has been scheduled for Dec. 30.

The 26-year-old, who police say was found with a “ ghost gun ” matching shell casings found at the site of the shooting, is charged in Pennsylvania with possession of an unlicensed firearm, forgery and providing false identification to police.

Mangione is an Ivy League graduate from a prominent Maryland real estate family. In posts on social media, Mangione wrote about experiencing severe chronic back pain before undergoing a spinal fusion surgery in 2023. Afterward, he posted that the operation had been a success and that his pain had improved and mobility returned. He urged others to consider the same type of surgery.

On Wednesday, police said investigators are looking at his writings about his health problems and his criticism of corporate America and the U.S. health care system.

Kenny said in the NBC interview that Mangione’s family reported him missing to San Francisco authorities in November.

(File Photo of Congressman Chris Deluzio)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Washington, D.C.) According to a release from Congressman Chris Deluzio’s Office, the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024 was passed. The release notes that this bill helps to both develop and conserve water.  Deluzio is also working to ensure that the Montgomery Locks and Dam Project will get the required money to be finished.

(File Photo of a work zone, name of caption of photo: PennDOT, PSP, PTC, Construction Industry Highlight National Work Zone Awareness Week)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) PennDOT announced that the Grand Avenue ramp to I-79 going north will be closed weather permitting on Saturday, December 14th. Work to repair decks on the ramp will take place from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. that day. The traffic also will take a detour during this closure.

(File Photo: Source Photo: Norfolk Southern Railroad ceo Alan Shaw speaks during an interview Wednesday, June 21, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Midland, PA) According to a release on Thursday from Terrence Smith, the CEO of The Midland Innovation and Technology Charter School, it was announced that the Midland school received a grant of $20,000 from Norfolk Southern Corporation. Smith notes that the money will go to a new welding lab that will help students to use hands-on learning for the technical education path of courses that the school provides Smith also states that the grant comes along with two Norfolk Southern initiatives started last year to encourage community needs and safe living. These programs are the Safety First Grant Program and the Thriving Communities Grant Program. 

(File Photo of Center Township Police Car)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Center Township, PA) Center Township is looking for more police officers that can work part-time, and today is the final day for those to get their application. If you are at least nineteen years old and have finished Act 120 training with a validated license for a motor vehicle in Pennsylvania, you can be eligible. Applications are at the Center Township Municipal Building from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today and must be completed and returned by 4 p.m. on April 3rd, 2025.

(File Photo of Conway Fire Department and Truck)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) The fire chief of Conway is no longer in his position. Daniel Bryne was removed after an overwhelming vote was taken by members of the department. According to sources, Bryne still came to events held by his department even though he had been suspended. Bryne took his resignation at first and then returned. Bryne then accepted his suspension and did not take it seriously. The Conway Fire Department now has a new chief and assistant chief after this move was taken.