Sheetz and Liquid Death are teaming up for a debut of sandwiches sliced with a chainsaw for the first time ever for one day only

(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.

President Donald Trump announces trade deal with Japan that lowers threatened tariff to 15%

(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.”

US Olympic and Paralympic officials bar transgender women from competing in Olympic women’s sports

(File photo: Source for Photo: FILE – The Olympic rings are reinstalled after being taken down for maintenance ahead of the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics in the Odaiba section in Tokyo, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has effectively barred transgender women from competing in women’s sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an “obligation to comply” with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump.

The new policy, announced Monday with a quiet change on the USOPC’s website and confirmed in a letter sent to national sport governing bodies, follows a similar step taken by the NCAA earlier this year.

The USOPC change is noted obliquely as a detail under “USOPC Athlete Safety Policy” and references Trump’s executive order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” signed in February. That order, among other things, threatens to “rescind all funds” from organizations that allow transgender athlete participation in women’s sports.

U.S. Olympic officials told the national governing bodies they will need to follow suit, adding that “the USOPC has engaged in a series of respectful and constructive conversations with federal officials” since Trump signed the order.

“As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations,” USOPC CEO Sarah Hirshland and President Gene Sykes wrote in a letter. “Our revised policy emphasizes the importance of ensuring fair and safe competition environments for women. All National Governing Bodies are required to update their applicable policies in alignment.”

The National Women’s Law Center put out a statement condemning the move.

“By giving into the political demands, the USOPC is sacrificing the needs and safety of its own athletes,” said that organization’s president and CEO, Fatima Goss Graves.

The USOPC oversees around 50 national governing bodies, most of which play a role in everything from the grassroots to elite levels of their sports. That raises the possibility that rules might need to be changed at local sports clubs to retain their memberships in the NGBs.

Some of those organizations — for instance, USA Track and Field — have long followed guidelines set by their own world federation. World Athletics is considering changes to its policies that would mostly fall in line with Trump’s order.

A USA Swimming spokesman said the federation had been made aware of the USOPC’s change and was consulting with the committee to figure out what changes it needs to make. USA Fencing changed its policy effective Aug. 1 to allow only “athletes who are of the female sex” in women’s competition and opening men’s events to “all athletes not eligible for the women’s category, including transgender women, transgender men, non-binary and intersex athletes and cisgender male athletes.”

The nationwide battle over transgender girls on girls’ and women’s sports teams has played out at both the state and federal levels as Republicans portray the issue as a fight for athletic fairness. More than two dozen states have enacted laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some policies have been blocked in court after critics challenged the policies as discriminatory, cruel and unnecessarily target a tiny niche of athletes.

The NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes to limit competition in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth. That change came a day after Trump signed the executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports.

Female eligibility is a key issue for the International Olympic Committee under its new president, Kirsty Coventry, who has signaled an effort to “protect the female category.” The IOC has allowed individual sports federations to set their own rules at the Olympics — and some have already taken steps on the topic.

Stricter rules on transgender athletes — barring from women’s events anyone who went through male puberty — have been passed by swimmingcycling and track and field. Soccer is reviewing its eligibility rules for women and could set limits on testosterone.

Trump has said he wants the IOC to change everything “having to do with this absolutely ridiculous subject.” Los Angeles will host the Summer Games in 2028.

Families of the Idaho students Bryan Kohberger stabbed to death are set to see him sentenced

(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.

Witkoff plans to visit the Mideast in push for Gaza ceasefire, State Department spokesperson says

(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.

Technical issue causes power outage of 911 call systems that happened in Pennsylvania on July 12th, 2025

(File Photo of the Beaver County Emergency Services Center Building)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) According to a preliminary report, a power outage of 911 call systems that happened in Pennsylvania on July 12th, 2025 was caused by a technical issue. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency provided an update on this matter on Tuesday by saying Next Generation 911 had an issue with their operating system. The non-emergency number in Beaver County is still available to call anytime if this incident happens again. That number is 724-775-1700.

Police in Pittsburgh looking for a seventy-seven-year-old man who was previously seen in Polish Hill before he disappeared

(Photo Courtesy of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Detectives from the Special Victims Unit of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police in Pittsburgh are looking for Pastor Rodriguez Rivera, Jr., a seventy-seven-year-old man who went missing. Rivera was previously seen in Polish Hill. According to police, Rivera was last seen Sunday in the 1000 block of Herron Avenue. He has a description of brown eyes, white and gray hair, 5 foot, 7 inches tall and 130 pounds. A photo of Rivera can be seen below. The Public Safety Department of Pittsburgh also confirms that Spanish is is the language Rivera would prefer you speaking to him in, even though he speaks in both Spanish and English. That same department also noted that both confusion and memory that is poor are what Rivera may be suffering from at this time. If you see Rivera, contact either 911 or 412-323-7141.

Aliquippa man arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol on the 1500 block of Kennedy Boulevard in Aliquippa

(File Photo of a Police Siren Light)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Aliquippa, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that a man from Aliquippa was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Aliquippa on Sunday. Sixty-three-year-old Kevin Kimbrough was stopped by police during a traffic stop on the 1500 block of Kennedy Boulevard. According to police, Kimbrough was arrested for driving under the influence and his charges are pending.

Man from Austintown, Ohio arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Big Beaver Borough

(File Photo of Handcuffs)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Big Beaver Borough, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that a man from Austintown, Ohio was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Big Beaver Borough on Tuesday. Fifty-one-year-old Victor Munz was found by police behind the wheel of his vehicle passed out on the 1 block of Arthur Street. According to police, Munz was arrested for driving under the influence and his charges are pending. 

Pennsylvania State Police asking Pennsylvania health care providers to look into their employment records after woman taken into custody for working as an unprofessional nurse in Pennsylvania

(File Photo of Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Badge)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Washington, PA) According to a release from the Pennsylvania State Police, their Bureau of Criminal Investigation is asking healthcare agencies and providers in the state to review their employment records. This is because they are currently investigating activities that were fraudulent by Shannon Nicole Womack, who is now in custody for allegedly pretending to be a nurse at nine Pennsylvania healthcare facilities. According to investigators, Womack allegedly used at least ten aliases in various parts of Pennsylvania. These names are as follows, according to a release from the Pennsylvania State Police.

  • Shannon Nicole Parham
  • Shannon Nicole Abiola
  • Shannon Nicole Armstrong
  • Shannon Abiola-Parham
  • Shannon Nicole Grimes
  • Shannon Nicole Womack
  • Shannon Nicole Lawson
  • Shannon Nicole Lethco
  • Shannon Nicole Robinson
  • Shannon Lee Lawson

If one of those names match records of employment at a facility of a provider in Pennsylvania, call 724-223-5200, which is the phone number for Pennsylvania State Police in Washington, Pennsylvania.