(File Photo of the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) The Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection recently sampled homes in the area with service lines of lead. The level of lead in the locations that were sampled was over the normal level in five of those homes with lead in some drinking water. According to a release from the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, here are some steps to reduce lead exposure in water:

1. Run your water to flush out lead. Run water for 60 seconds to flush lead from interior plumbing or until it becomes cold or
reaches a steady temperature before using it for drinking or cooking, if it hasn’t been used for several hours.
2. Use cold water for cooking and preparing baby formula. Do not cook with or drink water from the hot water tap; lead
dissolves more easily into hot water. Do not use water from the hot water tap to make baby formula.
3. Do not boil water to remove lead. Boiling water will not reduce lead.
4. Look for alternative sources or treatment of water. You may want to consider purchasing bottled water or a water filter.
Read the package to be sure the filter is approved to reduce lead or contact NSF International at 800NSF-8010 or
www.nsf.org for information on performance standards for water filters. Be sure to maintain and replace a filter device in
accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions to protect water quality.
5. Test your water for lead. Call the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa at 724-375-5525 to find out how to get your water tested for lead.
6. Get your child’s blood tested. Contact your local health department or health care provider to find out how you can get your
child tested for lead, if you are concerned about exposure.
7. Identify and replace plumbing fixtures containing lead. New brass faucets, fittings, and valves, including those advertised
as “lead-free” may contribute lead to drinking water. Until 2014, the law allowed end-use brass fixtures, such as faucets,
with up to 8% lead to be labeled as “lead-free.”

You can also call 724-375-5525 for more information.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: A member of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s state police protective detail stands on duty behind an entrance at the governor’s official residence in Harrisburg, Pa., Tuesday, May 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Scolforo)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A man accused of trying to burn down Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ‘s official residence is seeking to delay his next scheduled court appearance because he is receiving mental health treatment, his lawyer said Friday.

The suspect, Cody Balmer, had been scheduled to appear in court next Wednesday for a hearing to determine whether prosecutors have enough evidence against Balmer to take the case to trial.

But Mary Klatt, the chief public defender of Dauphin County, said Balmer’s hearing will be postponed because he is receiving treatment.

“Everyone wants to ensure Mr. Balmer is mentally fit when this matter comes before the Court,” Klatt said in an email to The Associated Press.

Balmer is currently being held at the state prison in Waymart, the only state prison with a mental health unit for men, according to the state Department of Corrections.

Balmer, 38, is charged with attempted homicide, arson and other offenses for setting a fire that tore through a section of the state-owned residence’s first floor and forced the governor, his wife, children and members of his extended family to flee in the middle of the night, hours after they celebrated the Jewish holiday of Passover with a Seder in the residence.

Shapiro, who is Jewish, is viewed as a potential White House contender for the Democratic Party in 2028.

Balmer told police that he had intended to attack the governor with a hammer if he had encountered him that night, police said in a court filing. No one was injured in the blaze, which fire officials say caused millions of dollars in damage to the heavily protected residence.

Balmer has not entered a plea.

Balmer has been held without bail since turning himself in to state police after the April 13 fire. Klatt has said he would be evaluated to see if he is competent to stand trial.

Balmer’s mother and brother say he suffers from mental illness, something that Balmer denied in one brief court appearance. Authorities say Balmer expressed hatred for Shapiro.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – The United States Steel logo is pictured outside the headquarters building in downtown Pittsburgh, April 26, 2010. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Friday that U.S. Steel will keep its headquarters in Pittsburgh as part of what he called a “planned partnership” that seemed to signal that he’ll approve a bid by Japan-based Nippon Steel to make a big investment in the iconic American steelmaker, if not buy it outright.

Still, Trump’s statement left it vague as to whether he is approving Nippon Steel’s bid after he vowed repeatedly to block the deal to prevent U.S. Steel from being foreign-owned.

More recently, Trump suggested that Nippon Steel would invest in U.S. Steel, not buy it, and one union official suggested Friday that the federal government will have a role in the company’s management going forward. But investors seemed to take Trump’s statement as a sign that he’s approving some sort of merger, sharply pushing up U.S. Steel’s shares, and the companies issued approving statements.

Nippon Steel said the partnership is a “game changer — for U.S. Steel and all of its stakeholders, including the American steel industry, and the broader American manufacturing base.” U.S. Steel said it “will remain American, and we will grow bigger and stronger through a partnership with Nippon Steel that brings massive investment, new technologies and thousands of jobs over the next four years.”

Nippon Steel’s nearly $15 billion bid to buy U.S. Steel was blocked by former President Joe Biden on his way out of office and, after Trump became president, subject to another national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

In his statement Friday, Trump said that “after much consideration and negotiation, US Steel will REMAIN in America, and keep its Headquarters in the Great City of Pittsburgh.”

What Trump called a “planned partnership” will add $14 billion to the U.S. economy, he said, although it wasn’t clear what the terms of the deal would be or who would control U.S. Steel under the arrangement. Neither company explained Friday how the partnership would be structured.

Japan’s chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa told reporters Friday that he was closely watching the development. He said Nippon Steel has made a proposal that could win support from U.S. Steel and make a good investment for both Japan and the U.S.

Josh Spoores, the Pennsylvania-based head of steel Americas analysis for commodity researcher CRU, said that, from what he’s seeing, “this ‘partnership’ is a green light for the acquisition.”

Shares of U.S. Steel jumped 21% on the news, and continued rising in aftermarket trading.

U. S. Steel’s board and stockholders approved Nippon Steel’s bid last year. It has been opposed by the United Steelworkers union. The union had no immediate comment Friday.

A union official who defied the United Steelworkers’ leadership to support Nippon Steel’s bid said Friday that the federal government could take on a major role in the deal.

“It’s sounds like the deal’s done,’’ said Jason Zugai, vice president of the United Steelworkers union local at U.S. Steel’s Irvin finishing plant near Pittsburgh.

Zugai said he was “relieved, happy and thankful.’’

He hadn’t seen anything on paper but, he said, his understanding was that Nippon “will make all the profit’’ and the federal government will have “a golden chair’’ that allows it to veto any plans to idle or shut down U.S. Steel plants.

Keeping U.S. Steel’s headquarters had always been part of Nippon Steel’s bid to buy it. To sweeten the deal, Nippon Steel had offered up a $2.7 billion commitment to upgrade U.S. Steel’s two blast furnaces and pledged that it wouldn’t import steel slabs that would compete with the facilities.

Nippon Steel also had pledged not to conduct layoffs or plant closings during the term of the existing labor agreement and to protect the best interests of U.S. Steel in trade matters.

U.S. Steel’s CEO David Burritt warned last September that blocking Nippon Steel’s bid would mean U.S. Steel would “largely pivot away” from investing in its two blast furnaces — one just outside Pittsburgh and one in Gary, Indiana — and it would raise “serious questions” about remaining headquartered in Pittsburgh.

As recently as December, Trump said he was “totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company.”

Then in February, Trump suggested that Nippon Steel wouldn’t buy U.S. Steel, as it had planned, but that it would instead invest in U.S. Steel.

Last month, Trump ordered a new national security review of Nippon Steel’s proposed bid.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: President Donald Trump speaks to reporters before boarding Air Force One at Morristown Municipal Airport in Morristown, N.J., Sunday, May 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that the U.S. will delay implementation of a 50% tariff on goods from the European Union from June 1 until July 9 to buy time for negotiations with the bloc.

That agreement came after a call Sunday with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, who had told Trump that she “wants to get down to serious negotiations,” according to the U.S. president’s retelling.

“I told anybody that would listen, they have to do that,” Trump told reporters on Sunday in Morristown, New Jersey, as he prepared to return to Washington. Von der Leyen, Trump said, vowed to “rapidly get together and see if we can work something out.”

In a social media post Friday, Trump had threatened to impose the 50% tariff on EU goods, complaining that the 27-member bloc had been “very difficult to deal with” on trade and that negotiations were “going nowhere.” Those tariffs would have kicked in starting June 1.

But the call with von der Leyen appeared to smooth over tensions, at least for now.

“I agreed to the extension — July 9, 2025 — It was my privilege to do so,” Trump said on Truth Social shortly after he spoke with reporters on Sunday evening.

For her part, von der Leyen said the EU and the U.S. “share the world’s most consequential and close trade relationship.”

“Europe is ready to advance talks swiftly and decisively,” she said. “To reach a good deal, we would need the time until July 9.”

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE -A sign is seen outside of Seminole Hospital District offering measles testing, Feb. 21, 2025, in Seminole, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez), File)

(AP) The U.S. saw a small increase in measles cases this week, an indicator that outbreaks are slowing down, though exposures at a busy airport in Colorado and a Shakira concert in New Jersey are keeping public health experts on their toes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that there are 1,046 confirmed measles cases, up 22 from last week. Texas, where the nation’s biggest outbreak raged during the late winter and spring, confirmed only 10 more cases this past week for a total of 728.

There are three other major outbreaks in North America. One in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 1,795 cases from mid-October through May 20, an increase of 173 cases in a week. Another in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 538 as of Thursday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 1,578 measles cases and three deaths as of Friday, according to data from the state health ministry.

Since the outbreak in the southwest U.S. began, two elementary school-aged children in the epicenter in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico have died of measles. All were unvaccinated.

But that outbreak, which affects Texas, New Mexico and Oklahoma, appeared to be “leveling off” last week, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention incident manager Dr. Manisha Patel said on May 15. But she noted that it’s still “travel season” and there is “a lot of global measles activity right now.”

Other states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Kansas, Michigan, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. Indiana’s outbreak was declared over this week.

Measles is caused by a highly contagious virus that’s airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines, and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. Here’s what else you need to know about measles in the U.S.

How many measles cases are there in Texas?

There are a total of 728 cases across 34 counties, most of them in West Texas, state health officials said Friday.

One more person was hospitalized, for 94 total throughout the outbreak.

State health officials estimated less than 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious. Fifty-six percent of Texas’ cases are in Gaines County, population 22,892, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 408 cases since late January — just over 1.7% of the county’s residents.

The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of “what the child’s doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.” A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6.

How many measles cases are there in New Mexico?

New Mexico added five new measles cases since May 15 for a total of 78.

Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state’s cases are in Lea County. Sandoval County near Albuquerque has six cases, Eddy County has three, Doña Ana County has two and Chaves and Curry counties have one each.

An unvaccinated adult died of measles-related illness March 6. The person did not seek medical care.

How many cases are there in Oklahoma?

Oklahoma held steady Friday with a total of 14 confirmed and three probable cases.

The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases.

How many cases are there in Kansas?

Kansas has a total of 58 cases across 10 counties in the southwestern part of the state, with two hospitalizations. All but two of the cases are connected, and most of the cases are in Gray County.

How many cases are there in Indiana?

All of Indiana’s cases — eight — were in Allen County in the northeast part of the state. The county health department said the cases had no known link to other outbreaks, and there’ve been no new ones since April 21, leading officials declare the outbreak over.

How many cases are there in Michigan?

Michigan has eight confirmed cases of measles, with an outbreak of four connected cases in Montcalm County in the western part of the state that health officials say is tied to the Ontario outbreak.

How many cases are there in Montana?

Montana has 10 measles cases as of Thursday. The state’s only outbreak started in mid-April in southwestern Gallatin County — Montana’s first measles cases in 35 years.

Flathead and Hill counties also have one case each.

Health officials said there is no known local spread of measles, but did note the outbreaks in neighboring North Dakota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

How many cases are there in North Dakota?

North Dakota, which hadn’t seen measles since 2011, is up to 19 cases as of Friday. One person has been hospitalized.

There are six cases in Cass County on the eastern side of the state. The rest are in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border and are not linked to Cass County.

The state health department said four people diagnosed with measles attended classes while infectious at a Williston elementary school, middle school and high school.

How many cases are there in Ohio?

Ohio remained steady Thursday at 34 measles cases and one hospitalization, according to the Ohio Department of Health. That count includes only Ohio residents.

The state has two outbreaks: Ashtabula County near Cleveland has 16 cases, and Knox County in east-central Ohio has 20 — 14 among Ohio residents and the rest among visitors.

Allen, Cuyahoga, Holmes and Defiance counties have one case each.

How many cases are there in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania has 15 cases overall in 2025 as of May 16, including international travel-related cases in Montgomery County and one in Philadelphia.

The outbreak of eight measles cases in Erie County in far northwest Pennsylvania has remained steady since it began in mid-April.

How many cases are there in Tennessee?

Tennessee had six measles cases as of early May. Health department spokesman Bill Christian said all cases are the middle part of the state, and that “at least three of these cases are linked to each other” but declined to specify further. The state also did not say whether the cases were linked to other outbreaks or when Tennessee’s outbreak started.

Where else is measles showing up in the U.S.?

Measles cases also have been reported in Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.

Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. The CDC says more than twice as many measles have come from outside of the U.S. compared to May of last year, and most of those are in unvaccinated Americans returning home. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles.

What do you need to know about the MMR vaccine?

The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old.

Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don’t need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from “killed” virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said.

People who have documentation that they had measles are immune, and those born before 1957 generally don’t need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have “presumptive immunity.”

Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to “herd immunity.” But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots.

What are the symptoms of measles?

Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash.

The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC.

Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death.

How can you treat measles?

There’s no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.

(File photo of United States Flag)

(AP) In what had long been celebrated every May 30 to honor America’s fallen soldiers, Memorial Day officially became a federal holiday in 1971, observed on the last Monday in May.

Businesses increasingly have chosen to stay open, leading to what is now one of the biggest retail sales and travel weekends of the year.

Here’s what is open and closed this year on Memorial Day:

GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

Government offices, post offices, courts and schools are closed.

BANKS AND MARKETS

U.S. stock markets and banks are closed Monday.

Most FedEx and UPS pickup and delivery services will also not be available on Memorial Day, though some special services will be accessible.

RETAILERS

Warehouse membership club Costco will be closed on Memorial Day, but the vast majority of retailers will be open, with many trying to lure customers with big promotional sales. Hours may vary by location.

TRAVEL

Memorial Day is also considered the unofficial opening of the summer travel season. Americans are expected to get away in record numbers over the long Memorial Day weekend even as economic and technical worries rattle the U.S. travel industry.

Auto club AAA projects that more than 45 million people — 1.4 million more than last year — will venture at least 50 miles from their homes between Thursday and Monday, with the vast majority going by car. The holiday’s previous domestic travel record of 44 million people was set 20 years ago.

AAA’s fuel tracker shows motorists can expect to pay less for gasoline this year. The U.S. average price on Wednesday was $3.18 for a gallon of regular gas compared to $3.60 a year ago.

AAA projects 39.4 million people will travel by car over the weekend — the highest number for that holiday since AAA began tracking it in 2000 — and that another 3.61 million people will travel by air, a nearly 2% increase over last year’s 3.55 million.

Air safety has been on the minds of travelers after a midair collision in January of a passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter above Washington, D.C. killed 67 people. There have also been some close calls.

In recent weeks, flight delays and cancellations stemming from an air traffic controller shortage and equipment failures at a facility that directs aircraft in and out of the Newark, New Jersey, airport have also made some people reluctant to get on a plane.

(File Photo of Road Construction Ahead Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Rochester, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that beginning Tuesday, May 27th, weather permitting, Route 68 in Rochester will be closed for a project for roadwork improvement. Starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday and going continuously through the middle of October, a part of Virginia Avenue will close to traffic that is long-term between Jefferson Street and Sunflower Road. According to a release from PennDOT District 11, here are the detours for drivers during this work:

Posted Car Detours

South of the Closure

• From Adams Street, turn left onto New York Avenue
• Bear right onto Harmony Avenue
• Harmony Avenue becomes Pennsylvania Avenue
• Turn right onto Grant Street
• Turn left onto Virginia Avenue
• Turn right onto Marion Hill Road
• Follow Marion Hill Road back to Route 68 (Sunflower Road)
• End detour

North of the Closure

• Same detour in the opposite direction

Posted Truck Detours

South of the Closure

• From the Rochester Roundabout, take Brighton Avenue toward North 18/65
• From Brighton Avenue bear left onto West Madison Street
• Turn right onto Delaware Avenue (Route 18)
• From northbound Route 18, turn right onto 13^th Street
• 13^th Street becomes Marion Hill Road
• Follow Marion Hill Road back to Route 68 (Sunflower Road)
• End detour

North of the Closure

• From Route 68 (Sunflower Road), turn onto Marion Hill Road
• Marion Hill Road becomes 13^th Street
• Turn left onto southbound Route 18 (3^rd Avenue)
• Take the left-hand ramp to Route 68 toward (Beaver/Rochester)
• From southbound Route 18 (Delaware Avenue), turn left onto West Madison Street
• Bear right onto Brighton Avenue
• Follow Brighton Avenue to the Rochester Roundabout
• From the roundabout, take Adams Street toward East 68
• End detour