A Senate panel has approved a rail-safety measure in response to the train derailment earlier this year in East Palestine, Ohio. The Senate Commerce Committee voted to send the bill to the full Senate. The vote was mostly along party lines, with only two Republicans favoring it, which raises questions about whether the bill will ever get to President Joe Biden’s desk. Some Republicans complain that the measure could restrict shipments of coal and oil. The vote came after the CEO of Norfolk Southern railroad promised to compensate East Palestine residents whose homes have declined in value since the derailment in February.

This cover image released by Callaway Arts & Entertainment shows “Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine,” a 600-page book of images from the archives of singer-songwriter. The book, expected in the fall, will include dozens of essays, with novelist Michael Ondaatje, critic Greil Marcus and former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo among the contributors. (Callaway Arts & Entertainment via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Hundreds of rare photos and other images from the archives of singer-songwriter Bob Dylan will be featured in “Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine,” coming out this fall. The new release also will include dozens of essays, with novelist Michael Ondaatje, critic Greil Marcus and former U.S. poet laureate Joy Harjo among the contributors. Callaway Arts & Entertainment announced Thursday that the 600-page book will come out Oct. 24. The founder of Callaway, Nicholas Callaway, said in a statement that “Mixing Up the Medicine” will “introduce the full scope of this artist’s monumental creativity and achievements to a new generation.”

FILE – President Joe Biden speaks at the White House Conservation in Action Summit at the Department of the Interior, March 21, 2023, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

VALHALLA, N.Y. (AP) — President Joe Biden is blasting Republican demands for federal spending cuts as “devastating.” He made his case in a campaign-style speech to voters in Valhalla, New York, on Wednesday. At the same time, lawmakers met in Washington to try to find a path forward to lifting the government’s borrowing limit and avoiding a potentially catastrophic default as soon as June 1. The president showed an increased willingness to discuss possible deficit savings, yet he said that any talks should occur without the risk of the federal government being unable to pay its bills.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., Wednesday, May 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Google has disclosed plans to infuse its dominant search engine with more advanced artificial-intelligence technology. The effort is in response to one of the biggest threats to its long-established position as the internet’s main gateway. The gradual shift in how Google’s search engine runs is rolling out three months after Microsoft’s Bing search engine started to tap into technology similar to that which powers the artificially intelligent chatbot ChatGPT. Google will begin its AI transition in search cautiously, starting with a waitlist available only in the U.S. to people who want to test the new approach. Other AI improvements are coming to Gmail, Photos and the conversational chatbot, Bard.

FILE – Former President Donald Trump speaks at the National Rifle Association Convention in Indianapolis, on April 14, 2023.(AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

Former President Donald Trump dug in on his lies about the 2020 election during a tense CNN town hall. He also downplayed the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, and repeatedly insulted the woman whom a civil jury this week found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming. During the contentious back-and-forth Wednesday night in early-voting New Hampshire, Trump also refused to say whether he wants Ukraine to win the war against Russian aggression and said the U.S. “might as well” default on its debt obligation, despite the potential devastating economic consequences. The former president was cheered on and applauded by an audience of Republican and unaffiliated voters.

NEW CASTLE, Pa. (AP) — Officials say nine railcars from a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in Pennsylvania, with no hazardous chemicals on board and no reported injuries. The rail company said in a statement that the derailment happened late Wednesday outside of New Castle. It says crews responded immediately and are actively working at the site. The New Castle Fire Department said that at least some of the cars that derailed contained paraffin wax, which is used to make candles, and soybeans. New Castle is about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh near the Pennsylvania-Ohio state line.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The usual quick-paced nature of past work sessions was not present on May 9, as the Beaver County Commissioners encountered a slew of concerns, complaints,

The first major issue brought forth was presented by Treasurer Sandie Egley, who in recent days had been fielding phone calls from county citizens in regards to the status of their tax checks. The usual three to four days (per Egley) that it takes for the tax checks to be processed by the Beaver County Treasury has become compounded by the processing by one of the county’s parent banks they affiliate and work with.

“They would like us to scan these and send in an EFT (electronics fund transfer) to them to speed up this process,” Egley stated in regards to conversations with the bank. “I’m not real happy about that, because it will cost the county money to write the program for our standard to be able to link to the bank.” Egley also stated that there will be additional bank fees that will be required with the move, which she estimated would require a monthly budgeted total of $1,000 from the county.

Another major concern was pushed by Public Works director Dan Colville, who spoke to the Commissioners about issues regarding the Community Development building in Beaver Falls. The air conditioning unit for the building was installed atop a twelve-foot-high deck, which according to Colville was installed “completely wrong” and has become impossible to repair because the deck is “starting to rot”. Colville added that any remedy to fix the situation would cost several thousand dollars.

The most extensively discussed issue throughout the work session was the continuing complaints about lacking response time from local ambulances, bringing up the possibility of developing a quick response service for Beaver County. Emergency Management director Eric Brewer discussed the situation openly with Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp, who approached the idea as a potential solution to assist response time for accidents and house calls in the area.

Brewer estimated that the annual cost for operating a QR unit would be roughly $100,000, which would mainly go to the workers operating the unit. However, nothing was cemented at the work session.

The next Commissioners’ work session is scheduled for May 17 at 10:00 AM.

This combo from photos provided by Philadelphia Dept. of Prisons shows from left, Nasir Grant, left, and Ameen Hurst. Authorities searched Tuesday, May 9, 2023, for two inmates, one accused of killing four people, who were gone from a Philadelphia prison for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing. Hurst, 18, and Grant, 24, escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center around 8:30 p.m. Sunday by cutting a hole in a fence surrounding a recreation yard, the Philadelphia Department of Prisons said.(Philadelphia Dept. of Prisons via AP)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — There were no dedicated corrections officers watching the housing unit at a Philadelphia prison where two inmates escaped Sunday night, and there were no armed perimeter guards when they made it through a fence surrounding the prison yard, a correctional officers union official told The Associated Press Tuesday. Authorities are still searching for two inmates — one accused of killing four people — who were gone from a Philadelphia prison for nearly 19 hours before officials knew they were missing. Prison officials say several headcounts conducted Sunday and Monday reportedly showed that all prisoners were accounted for.

As part of the region’s Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) that the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) manages, the organization is hosting a public meeting for Beaver County residents on Thursday, May 11, so they can provide their opinions on local, long-term transportation and infrastructure challenges.

 

The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission is the region’s designated metropolitan planning organization (MPO) and works closely with the ten counties, including Beaver County, located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In June 2019, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission adopted the region’s official long-range transportation plan called SmartMoves for a Changing Region, which included over $35 billion for the region’s transportation priorities over 25 years. As part of the organization’s efforts to periodically update the plan, it hosts meetings for the public to learn about our region’s long-term transportation and infrastructure challenges and provide their opinions on these issues.

 

If a member of the public is not able to attend the meeting, but would still like to provide their opinion on a transportation and/or infrastructure issue that they would like to see addressed, they are invited to submit their comments during the public comment period which runs from May 11-June 9. Members of the public can submit their comments by email at comments@spcregion.org, completing an online form, by fax at 412-391-9160, or mailing comments to Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s address at PO Box 101429, Pittsburgh, PA 15237.

 

WHEN:

Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 2 p.m. 

 

WHO:  

Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission staff members

Beaver County officials

PennDOT representatives

WHERE:

Virtual (click the link below to access the meeting)

https://spcregion.webex.com/spcregion/j.php?MTID=mc0b999ea1c4abb6d0ba16a29b111aa96