Fewer than half the furloughed IRS employees recalled during the shutdown to handle tax returns and taxpayers’ questions and send out refunds, without pay, reported for work as of Tuesday, according to congressional and government aides. About 30 percent of the 26,000 recalled workers have sought permission under their union contract to be absent from work, IRS officials told House committee staff in a briefing Thursday.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says delays at East Coast airports amid a partial federal government shutdown are another symptom the “federal madness” caused by Republican President Donald Trump. The Democrat says the delays are hurting the economy and impacting airport safety and security. The FAA announced LaGuardia Airport in New York and Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey were both experiencing delays in takeoffs due to staffing problems at two air traffic control facilities.

Former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone says he believes he’s being “persecuted” because of his friendship with President Donald Trump. Stone spoke to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his InfoWars radio show after his arrest on Friday. He didn’t provide any details to support his accusation that he is being persecuted.

A HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP MAN HAS ANNOUNCED HIS CANDIDACY FOR THE COUNTY’S RECORDER OF DEEDS. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS MORE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

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An Eastern Pennsylvania man says his emotional support alligator helps him deal with his depression. Sixty-five-year-old Joie Henney, of York Haven, says his registered emotional support animal named Wally likes to snuggle and give hugs, despite being a 5-foot-long alligator. Philly.com reports Henney says he received approval from his doctor to use Wally as his emotional support animal after not wanting to go on medication for depression.

A Beaver County airman killed last year in Afghanistan has finally been laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Dylan Elchin – a Hopewell graduate and Hookstown resident – was buried Thursday with full military honors. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports more than 300 people attended a short service before the burial. Elchin was eulogized by his commander as an airman who willingly accepted tough assignments, adding that he loved the military and died fighting for freedom and security for his country.

The Wolf administration wants to open a “conversation” about legalizing marijuana in Pennsylvania and announced Thursday that the lieutenant governor will hold a series of town hall-style sessions on the subject…

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, himself an advocate of legalizing recreational use of the drug, said he will hold a listening session in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties in the coming months and otherwise accept comments submitted online or through other means…

No word yet on when the listening tour will arrive in Beaver County.

FIRSTENERGY SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCED WEDNESDAY IT LIKELY WILL NOT SELL ITS TWO BEAVER COUNTY POWER PLANTS. A DEAL HAS BEEN REACHED WITH CREDITORS THAT COULD LIFT THE COMPANY FROM CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY LATER THIS YEAR. THAT MEANS FIRSTENERGY WILL CONTINUE OPERATING THE BRUCE MANSFIELD POWER PLANT AND THE BEAVER VALLEY NUCLEAR POWER STATION UNTIL PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED DEACTIVATION DATES IN 2021.

A FORMER FREEDOM AREA HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL COACH COULD MAKE A PLEA IN HIS CHILD PORN CASE. 59-YEAR-OLD RUSSELL BARLEY OF CHIPPEWA TOWNSHIP IS ACCUSED OF POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. HE WAIVED HIS RIGHT TO A PRELIMINARY HEARING THURSDAY. BARLEY WAS ARRESTED IN OCTOBER AFTER A STATE POLICE INVESTIGATION SHOWED HE HAD CHILD PORN ON HIS HOME COMPUTER. BARLEY ADMITTED TO INVESTIGATORS THAT HE’D BECOME CURIOUS ABOUT CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND DOWNLOADED IT ONTO HIS COMPUTER. AFTER HE WAS CHARGED, BARLEY IMMEDIATELY RESIGNED FROM HIS POSITION AS FREEDOM’S FOOTBALL COACH AND HIS TEACHING JOB AT NESHANNOCK TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT IN LAWRENCE COUNTY. A PLEA COURT HEARING IN THE CASE IS SCHEDULED FOR FEBRUARY 13TH.