(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – This March 22, 1995, file photo shows the interior of the execution chamber in the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. Activists widely expected President Joe Biden to take swift action against the death penalty as the first sitting president to oppose capital punishment, especially since an unprecedented spate of executions by his predecessor ended just days before Biden took office. Instead, the White House has been mostly silent. (AP Photo/Chuck Robinson, File)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) Bipartisan momentum is building around a bill that would abolish the death penalty in Pennsylvania. Kathleen Lucas with Pennsylvanians Against the Death Penalty says Republican Representative Russ Diamond, known for his conservative views, introduced House Bill 888 with support from both parties. Lucas notes that while no vote has been scheduled yet, the bill represents a significant step toward ending capital punishment in Pennsylvania. Lucas points out the state’s moratorium on the death penalty, first issued by Governor Wolf, remains active under Governor Josh Shapiro. She adds that a similar bill, House Bill 999, cleared the House Judiciary Committee last session and had been introduced before by Representative Chris Rabb. Pennsylvania’s death row declined from 246 people in 2001 to 175 by mid-2016.

(File Photo of Police Siren Lights)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Erie County, PA) Two men from Pittsburgh have died after they drowned accidentally in Lake Erie on Saturday. According to the Erie County Coroner, the body of fifty-one-year-old Ronald Young Jr. was recovered by emergency crews near the Walnut Creek Access Area in Fairview. The body of forty-nine-year-old Richard Bofo was found close to Avonia Beach. Before they passed away, the two men were boating. Both deaths were ruled to be from accidental drownings and asphyxiation. The Erie County Coroner also confirms that before the two men were found dead on Saturday in Lake Erie, they were previously reported missing.

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: police car lights at night in city with selective focus and bokeh background blur) Credit for Photo: Courtesy of Getty Images/iStockphoto/z1b)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) A man from Pittsburgh got accused of hitting a ten-month-old baby into a bedpost, injuring its head. Dominic Pinnick got formally charged for his actions on Sunday night and the bond was denied by a judge citing Pinnick being a flight risk potentially and the seriousness of the alleged crime. Police went to a house on Kedron Street on Friday when it was reported that a baby fell from a bed. Pinnick, the boyfriend of the mom of the baby, allegedly hit the head of the baby in the bedroom around three or four times on the wooden canopy bed posts in it. Pinnick has charges including three counts of aggravated assault charges and criminal attempted homicide. The baby was previously in critical condition.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE—In this file photo from May 5, 2021, a vehicle speeds by a hiring sign offering a $500 bonus outside a McDonalds restaurant, in Cranberry Township, Butler County, Pa. Pennsylvania will resume work search requirements in July for hundreds of thousands of people receiving unemployment compensation, a top Wolf administration official said Monday, May 24, 2021. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) According to a release from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, that department released its preliminary employment situation report for June of 2025 on Friday. The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania went to 4% after going up a tenth of a percentage point. That unemployment rate in Pennsylvania was below or at the national average unemployment rate for the twenty-sixth month in a row. The unemployment rate in the United States during June of 2025 was 4.1%, dropping one tenth of a percentage point.

(File Photo: Caption for Photo:PennDOT, PSP, PTC, Construction Industry Highlight National Work Zone Awareness Week)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Baden, PA) According to an announcement from PennDOT on Wednesday, a void is located under a lane on northbound Route 65 in Baden at the State Street intersection. Until further notice, that road is now down to one lane of traffic. You cannot go onto State Street from Ohio River Boulevard until the road is finished being repaired. PennDOT encourages drivers to take other routes until northbound Route 65 in Baden is back to normal.

(File Photo of Congressman Chris Deluzio)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Carnegie, PA) According to a release from Congressman Chris Deluzio’s office, $194,000 in NeighborWorks America Flexible Impact Grants went to NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania network sites. This announcement came on Friday and these sites for networks have their headquarters in the 17th Congressional District of Pennsylvania. This grant will help new homeowners by making jobs, decreasing housing costs, and by building communities that are both stronger and safer.

(File Photo of Police Siren Light)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Aliquippa, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that a woman from Lauderhill, Florida was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Aliquippa on July 12th, 2025. Forty-seven-year-old Sayeeida Taylor was found by police on the 100 block of Franklin Avenue before being arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. That is all the information that we have at this time.

(File Photo of Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Badge)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Monaca Borough, PA) Pennsylvania State Police in Beaver report that a man from Oakdale, Pennsylvania was arrested for possessing drugs in Monaca Borough on July 12th, 2025. Twenty-four-year-old Noah Kumpfmiller was found by police with drugs on the 200 block of 17th Street. That is all the information that we have at this time.

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: Smoke emission from factory pipes)

(Reported by Danielle Smith of Keystone News Service)

(Harrisburg, PA) The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is asking the public to weigh in on a federal E-P-A proposal to curb methane emissions from oil and gas sites. Methane is a greenhouse gas over 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, and is thought to be a driver of climate change. Barbara Jarmoska, former head of the Responsible Decarbonization Alliance, says the E-P-A plan is built on Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act efforts. Its federal funding has been cut, but people can still review the plan and share their feedback during the public comment period. She notes the E-P-A’s proposal would decrease pollution, improve air quality and create jobs. She says leaking methane is often accompanied by other volatile organic compounds that pose serious health risks. She lives next to the Loyalsock State Forest, in the heart of Pennsylvania General Energy’s large fracking operations – so close, she says, that P-G-E tested her drinking water before drilling began. The public comment period ends July 30th.