Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published July 23, 2024 12:36 P.M.

(Hopewell Township, Pa) The Hopewell Township supervisors are advertising for bids for the Hopewell Community Park. On Tuesday morning, Parks and Recreation Director Brad Batchelor  told Beaver County Radio playground equipment is on order and the township is looking for a contractor for the project. Batchelor said that a handicap accessible merry go round will be installed once  the project starts.

In this image taken from body camera video released by Illinois State Police on Monday, July 22, 2024, former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, left, points his gun at Sonya Massey, who called 911 for help, before shooting and killing her inside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. (Illinois State Police via AP)

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Sonya Massey ducked and apologized to an Illinois sheriff’s deputy seconds before he shot the Black woman three times in her home, with one fatal blow to the head, as seen in body camera video released Monday.

An Illinois grand jury indicted former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, 30, who is white, last week. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

The video confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled from across a counter at Massey to set down a pot of hot water. He then threatened to shoot her, Massey ducked, briefly rose, and Grayson fired his pistol at her.

Authorities said Massey, 36, had called 911 earlier to report a suspected prowler. The video shows the two deputies responded just before 1 a.m. on July 6 at her home in Springfield, 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. They first walked around the house and found a black SUV with broken windows in the driveway.

It took Massey three minutes to open the door after the deputies knocked, and she immediately said, “Don’t hurt me.”

She seemed confused as they spoke at the door, and she repeated that she needed help, referenced God and told them she didn’t know who owned the car.

Inside the house, deputies seemed exasperated as she sat on her couch and went through her purse as they asked for identification to complete a report before leaving. Then Grayson pointed out a pot sitting on a flame on the stove.

“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” he said.

Massey immediately got up and went to the stove, moving the pot near a sink. She and Grayson seemed to share a laugh over her pan of “steaming hot water” before she unexpectedly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

“You better (expletive) not or I swear to God I’ll (expletive) shoot you in your (expletive) face.” He then pulled his 9mm pistol and demanded she drop the pot.

Massey said, “OK, I’m sorry.” In Grayson’s body camera footage, he pointed his weapon at her. She ducked and raised her hands.

Grayson was still in the living room, facing Massey and separated by a counter dividing the living room and kitchen. Prosecutors have said the separation allowed Grayson both “distance and relative cover” from Massey and the pot of hot water.

After Grayson shot her, Grayson discouraged his partner from grabbing a medical kit to save her.

“You can go get it, but that’s a headshot,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do, man.”

He added: “What else do we do? I’m not taking hot (expletive) boiling water to the (expletive) face”

Noting that Massey was still breathing, he relented and said he would get his kit, too. The other deputy said, “We can at least try to stop the bleeding.”

Grayson told responding police, “She had boiling water and came at me, with boiling water. She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.”

During a Monday afternoon news conference, the family’s lawyer, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, called Grayson’s “revisionist” justification “disingenuous.”

“She needed a helping hand. She did not need a bullet to her face,” Crump said of Massey.

Asked why Massey told Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Crump said she had undergone treatment for mental health issues. He noted that she invoked God’s name from the beginning of the encounter and asked for her Bible after the deputies stepped inside.

During Massey’s funeral on Friday, Crump said the video, which he and the family had already viewed, would “shock the conscience of America.”

Massey’s father, James Wilburn, demanded the county court system be completely open with its investigation and prosecution and transparent with the public.

“The only time I will see my baby again is when I leave this world,” Wilburn said. “And I don’t ever want anybody else in the United States to join this league.”

Grayson, who was fired last week, is being held in the Sangamon County Jail without bond. If convicted, he faces prison sentences of 45 years to life for murder, 6 to 30 years for battery and 2 to 5 years for misconduct.

His lawyer, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for Massey’s family “as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss.”

“When we call for help, all of us as Americans – regardless of who we are or where we live – should be able to do so without fearing for our lives,” Biden said. “Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”

Massey’s death is the latest example of Black people killed in recent years by police in their homes.

In May, a Hispanic Florida sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Roger Fortson, when the Air Force senior airman opened the door of his home in Fort Walton Beach armed with a handgun pointed down. The deputy, Eddie Duran, was fired.

In 2019, a white Fort Worth, Texas, officer fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through a rear window of her home after responding to a nonemergency call reporting that Jefferson’s front door was open. Aaron Dean, the former officer, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.

In 2018, a white Dallas police officer fatally shot Botham Jean, who was unarmed, after mistaking his apartment for her own. Amber Guyger, the former officer, was convicted of murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Crump has represented families in each case as part of his effort to force accountability for the killings of Black people at the hands of police. Crump also has represented relatives of Earl Moore, a Springfield man who died after he was strapped face down on a stretcher in December 2022. Two emergency medical professionals face murder charges in that case.

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AP writer Sophia Tareen contributed from Chicago.

A Delta Air Lines jet leaves the gate, Friday, July 19, 2024, at Logan International Airport in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Delta Air Lines struggled for a fourth straight day to recover from a worldwide technology outage caused by a faulty software update, stranding tens of thousands of passengers and drawing unwanted attention from the federal government.

The airline’s chief executive said it would take “another couple days” before “the worst is clearly behind us.” Delta’s chief information officer said Monday that the airline was still trying to fix a vital crew-scheduling program.

Other carriers were returning to nearly normal levels of service disruptions, intensifying the glare on Delta’s relatively weaker response to the outage that hit airlines, hospitals and businesses around the world.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to Delta CEO Ed Bastian on Sunday about the airline’s high number of cancellations since Friday. Buttigieg said his agency had received “hundreds of complaints” about Delta, and he expects the airline to provide hotels and meals for travelers who are delayed and to issue quick refunds to customers who don’t want to be rebooked on a later flight.

“No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent,” Buttigieg said. He vowed to help Delta passengers by enforcing air-travel consumer-protection rules.

Bastian said in a video for employees that he told Buttigieg, “You do not need to remind me. I know, because we do our very best, particularly in tough times, taking care of our customers.”

Delta has canceled more than 5,500 flights since the outage started early Friday morning, including at least 700 flights canceled on Monday, according to aviation-data provider Cirium. Delta and its regional affiliates accounted for about two-thirds of all cancellations worldwide Monday, including nearly all the ones in the United States.

United Airlines was the next-worst performer since the onset of the outage, canceling nearly 1,500 flights. United canceled only 17 Monday flights by late morning, however.

Other airlines that were caught up in the first round of groundings also returned mostly to normal operations by Monday. That included American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air.

Bastian, the Delta CEO, said in a message to customers Sunday that the airline was continuing to restore operations that were disrupted. One of the tools Delta uses to track crews was affected and could not process the high number of changes triggered by the outage.

“The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our re-accommodation capabilities,” Bastian wrote. Loads are the percentage of sold seats on each flight.

Airlines have large, layered technology systems, and crew-tracking programs are often among the oldest systems. When the outage began Friday, it also affected systems used to check in passengers and make pre-flight calculations about aircraft weight and balance, airlines reported. United and American reported intermittent problems communicating with crews in the air, contributing to their decisions to briefly ground all flights.

Some airlines, including Southwest and Alaska, do not use CrowdStrike, the provider of cybersecurity software whose faulty upgrade to Microsoft Windows triggered the outages. Those carriers saw relatively few cancellations.

Delta, however, said that “upward of half” its IT systems are Windows-based. The airline said the outage forced IT employees to manually repair and reboot each affected system and synchronize applications so they start working together.

“It is going to take another couple of days before we are in a position to say that … the worst is clearly behind us,” Bastian told employees Monday. “Today will be a better day than yesterday, and hopefully Tuesday and Wednesday will be that much better again.”

On the same video, Delta Chief Information Officer Rahul Samant said two applications were particularly difficult to restart on Friday: One that manages traffic at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta’s biggest hub, and another that assigns pilots and flight attendants to flights.

Technicians had gotten the crew-scheduling program running, “but we have a catch-up to do,” and new issues keep arising, Samant said.

Atlanta-based Delta said it is offering waivers to make it easier for customers to reschedule trips.

That was of little help to Jason Helmes, a fitness coach who was trying to get home to Detroit from Denver. His flight on Sunday was delayed three times before it was canceled; by the time the plane finally pushed back from the gate, the pilots were at the end of their legally allowed shift.

“Everyone was just stranded. No information on hotels. No information on what to do next,” Helmes said. “They said, ‘Go down to the luggage carousel, your luggage should be there.’ There were thousands of bags down there. I found my luggage — I got lucky.”

Helmes said Delta offered to rebook him on Wednesday, but he worried that flight would also be canceled. He booked a Tuesday flight home on Frontier Airlines — one of the carriers that has largely recovered. He is saving his receipts, including a hotel room, in hopes that Delta will reimburse him.

“For the last 10 years, I’ve been exclusively on Delta,” he said. “This has me double-thinking about that.”

Delta’s meltdown is reminiscent of the December 2022 debacle that caused Southwest Airlines to cancel nearly 17,000 flights over a 15-day stretch. After a federal investigation of Southwest’s compliance with consumer-protection rules, the airline agreed to pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement with the Transportation Department.

Southwest’s breakdown started during a winter storm, but the airline’s recovery took unusually long because of problems with a crew-scheduling system — a striking similarity to Delta’s current mess.

The airline industry might be the most visible victim of the worldwide tech problems caused by the faulty software update from Texas-based cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Microsoft said the glitch affected 8.5 million machines. CrowdStrike says it has deployed a fix, but experts say it could take days or even weeks to repair every affected computer.

[July 22, 2024] — The American Red Cross urges donors to give blood or platelets now to reinforce the blood supply as much as possible before the summer winds down. Type O blood donors and those giving platelets are especially needed to help keep hospital shelves stocked through August. 

Donors remain critically needed to support the Red Cross delivery of vital blood products, which are in demand around-the-clock as hospitals work to save lives this summer. When fewer people answer the call to donate, the blood supply can quickly shrink. Help safeguard necessary care for patients − book a time to give blood or platelets by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.  

In thanks, those who come to give Aug. 1-31, 2024, will get a $20 Amazon.com Gift Card by email. See RedCrossBlood.org/Help for details. 

How to donate blood

Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enable the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

Blood and platelet donors can save time at their next donation by using RapidPass® to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, before arriving at the blood drive. To get started, follow the instructions at RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass or use the Blood Donor App.

Amplify your impact − volunteer!  

Another way to support the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross is to become a volunteer blood donor ambassador at Red Cross blood drives. Blood donor ambassadors help greet, check in and thank blood donors to ensure they have a positive donation experience.  

FILE – Emissions rise from the smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal power plant as the suns sets, near Emmett, Kan., Sept. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Cleveland-Cliffs announced Monday it will produce electrical transformers in a $150 million investment at a West Virginia facility that closed earlier this year.

The company hopes to reopen the Weirton facility in early 2026 and “address the critical shortage of distribution transformers that is stifling economic growth across the United States,” it said in a statement.

As many as 600 union workers who were laid off from the Weirton tin production plant will have the chance to work at the new facility. The tin plant shut down in February and 900 workers were idled after the International Trade Commission voted against imposing tariffs on tin imports.

The state of West Virginia is providing a $50 million forgivable loan as part of the company’s investment.

“We were never going to sit on the sidelines and watch these jobs disappear,” West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said in a statement.

The Cleveland-based company, which employs 28,000 workers in the United States and Canada, expects the facility will generate additional demand for specialty steel made at its mill in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In a statement, Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ president, chairman and CEO, said distribution transformers, currently in short supply, “are critical to the maintenance, expansion, and decarbonization of America’s electric grid.”

The tin facility was once a nearly 800-acre property operated by Weirton Steel, which employed 6,100 workers in 1994 and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003. International Steel Group bought Weirton Steel in federal bankruptcy court in 2003. The property changed hands again a few years later, ultimately ending up a part of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, which sold its U.S. holdings to Cleveland-Cliffs in 2020.

Weirton is a city of 19,000 residents along the Ohio River about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Pittsburgh.

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced $396 million in new competitive grant funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to help Pennsylvania manufacturers lead the way in clean manufacturing. The program will create good jobs, benefit historically disadvantaged communities, and ensure that Pennsylvania manufacturing continues to create in-demand goods for the American and global markets. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding comes from the IRA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program, which supports industrial decarbonization projects.

“Nobody is more equipped to lead the next generation of industry and manufacturing than Pennsylvanians. This grant is a game-changing investment that will support greenhouse gas-reducing projects, create good jobs, and bolster economies across the Commonwealth,” said Senator Casey. “I will keep fighting for investments that secure the Commonwealth as our Nation’s industrial backbone.”

The CPRG grant funding will go towards the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) initiative. RISE PA supports industrial and manufacturing projects that reduce carbon emissions and benefit the health, safety, and economies of surrounding communities.

Senator Casey has long fought to ensure that the Commonwealth remains an industrial and manufacturing powerhouse. After learning that RISE PA could reduce 9,176,810 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050 and infuse tens of billions of dollars into Pennsylvania economies, Senator Casey urged EPA Administrator Michael Regan to fund the initiative. RISE PA will support industrial decarbonization projects on a tiered basis, allowing for a diverse array of projects to be eligible for funding. These projects, including low-emission steel production, will not only bolster Pennsylvania’s historically robust industrial economy, but will cement the Commonwealth’s role as a clean industrial manufacturing leader worldwide.

Senator Casey has fought relentlessly to ensure that Pennsylvania can benefit from investments in American industrial and manufacturing initiatives. Casey fought to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which included tax credits for individuals and companies manufacturing or deploying clean energy technologies to help lower costs and secure our energy independence. The landmark legislation created clean industrial jobs, apprenticeships, and opportunities for economies across the Nation to benefit from clean industrial and manufacturing initiatives.

Gas prices are two cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.758 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                         $3.758
Average price during the week of July 15, 2024                                               $3.773
Average price during the week of July 24, 2023                                               $3.734

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.651      Altoona
$3.840      Beaver
$3.899      Bradford
$3.574      Brookville
$3.665      Butler
$3.685      Clarion
$3.702      DuBois
$3.693      Erie
$3.762      Greensburg
$3.790      Indiana
$3.771      Jeannette
$3.852      Kittanning
$3.825      Latrobe
$3.748      Meadville
$3.924      Mercer
$3.711      New Castle
$3.606      New Kensington
$3.838      Oil City
$3.755      Pittsburgh
$3.698      Sharon
$3.807      Uniontown
$3.896      Warren
$3.736      Washington

Trend Analysis:
The national average for a gallon of gas fell two cents to $3.50 since last week. Lower oil costs and lower demand are helping to decrease gas prices. Today’s national average is still five cents more than a month ago but nine cents lower than a year ago.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand plummeted from 9.39 million barrels per day to 8.78 last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks fell from 231.7 to 229.7 million barrels.  Gasoline production took a slight hit, likely from Hurricane Beryl, dropping from an average of 10.3 million barrels daily to 9.5.

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate rose $2.09 to settle at $82.85 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories decreased by 4.9 million barrels from the previous week. At 440.2 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.