FILE – People attend a rally as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility, Friday, March 31, 2023, by the Capitol in Washington. Schools and colleges across the U.S. would be forbidden from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes under a proposal released Thursday, April 6, from the Biden administration, but teams could create some limits in certain cases, for example, to ensure fairness. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new rule proposed by the Biden administration would prevent schools and colleges from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes, but it would allow certain exceptions to promote fairness or reduce injuries. The proposal sends a political counterpunch toward a wave of Republican-led states that have sought to ban trans athletes from competing in school sports. If finalized, it would become enshrined as a provision of Title IX, the landmark gender equity legislation enacted in 1972. It must undergo a lengthy approval process, however, and it’s almost certain to face challenges from opponents.

A hiring sign is displayed at a restaurant in Prospect Heights, Ill., Tuesday, April 4, 2023. On Friday, the U.S. government issues the March jobs report. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s employers added a solid 236,000 jobs in March, suggesting that the economy remains on solid footing despite the nine interest rate hikes the Federal Reserve has imposed over the past year in its drive to tame inflation. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, just above the 53-year low of 3.4% set in January. At the same time, some of the details of Friday’s report from the Labor Department raised the possibility that inflationary pressures might be easing and that the Fed might soon decide to pause its rate hikes. Average hourly wages in March were up 4.2% from 12 month earlier, down sharply from a 4.6% year-over-year increase in February.

FILE – Coolio appears at the 2015 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on June 25, 2015. Coolio, the rapper who was among hip-hop’s biggest names of the 1990s with hits including “Gangsta’s Paradise” and “Fantastic Voyage,” died last year because of fentanyl, his manager said Thursday, April 6, 2023. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Los Angeles County coroner’s office says “Gangsta’s Paradise” rapper Coolio suffered an accidental death from the effects of fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine last year. The agency on Thursday also cited cardiomyopathy, a disease that makes it more difficult for the heart to pump blood to the body, as a “significant condition.” Investigators also determined Coolio’s severe asthma and cigarette smoking played a role in his death. Coolio’s former longtime manager Jarez Posey also confirmed the cause of death Thursday. Coolio died at the Los Angeles home of a friend on Sept. 28, 2022. He was 59.

FILE – Daniel Werfel testifies before the Senate Finance Committee during his confirmation hearing to be the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner, Feb. 15, 2023, in Washington. The IRS released details Thursday, April 6, on how it plans to use the $80 billion it’s getting to improve operations, promising investments in new technology, hiring more customer service representatives and expanding its ability to audit high-wealth taxpayers. Contrary to unfounded alarmist talk from Republicans, it won’t include spending for new IRS agents with guns, says IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS is outlining how it plans to use an infusion of $80 billion for improved operations. The agency is pledging to invest in new technology, hire more customer service representatives and expand its ability to audit high-wealth taxpayers. The money comes from the Democrats’ landmark climate change and health care bill that was signed by President Joe Biden last summer. Some Republicans have suggested, without evidence, that the money would help create a mob of armed auditors to harass middle-class taxpayers. But new IRS Commissioner Daniel Werfel says the plan won’t include spending for new agents with guns.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published April 6, 2023

(Rochester, PA) A male wanted on domestic violence charges  was believed to be in a Rochester home 286 Jefferson Street in Rochester Borough Tuesday night.  DA David J. Lozier said a search warrant was issued for the home after the police asked for assistance from the ESU so they could enter the residence. They asked that the ESU assist them because the suspect was known to have firearms in the past. DA Lozier said the man barricaded himself in the house and they spent 4 hours trying to get him to surrender, they found him after they entered the home. Five persons for harboring a fugitive and the fugitive were charged, arraigned on $100,000 bond each, approved by the district justice in Aliquippa and jailed.

The Beaver County Democratic Committee released the following announcement:

Rochester, Pa.—The Beaver County Democratic Committee is pleased to announce its 2023 award winners:

 

• Lifetime Achievement Award: Carol Kokoski, committeewoman from Harmony Township with more than 30 years of service
• Rising Star Award: Elizabeth Allen, young Democrat who knocked doors for candidates in Beaver County and Georgia in 2022
• Volunteer of the Year: Ashlee Caul, Chair of the Voter Outreach Committee

 

These hard-working Democrats will be honored during the BCDC’s 2023 awards banquet, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. on April 29, 2023, at The Fez Events Center in Aliquippa. The keynote speaker for the event will be Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta. The theme of this year’s banquet is Democrats Build a More Perfect Union.

 

Tickets, which include dinner and a cash bar, are available via BeaverCountyDemocrats.com or at the Committee’s office at 426 Adams Street in Rochester. Office hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday are from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The deadline to buy tickets is April 16, 2023.

HARRISBURG – Following several PA events where drag performances appealing to children have been held, Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Lawrence/Butler) has proposed legislation in the state House to reclassify drag performances as “adult-oriented business.”

 

The legislation intends to protect children by banning drag shows on public property or in areas that can be seen by minors.

 

“Parents should have peace of mind that their children won’t be exposed to minor-marketed or sexually suggestive drag shows without their consent,” Bernstine said. “In no world should we be allowing these types of shows to occur in public libraries, schools or other public property where minors could see it.”

 

In April 2022, parents at a school district in Lancaster were shocked to learn about after-school X-rated drag shows occurring on school property. In October 2022, a sexually charged drag show for audience members as young as 13 was performed at the Rainbow Room in Bucks County.

 

Bernstine noted that as an adult-oriented business, commonsense limits would be required to protect minors, including location of performance and age of the intended audience, among other considerations.

 

“It’s long been considered rational to protect minors from sexually explicit entertainment — it’s why we require warning labels and ratings on music and movies,” Bernstine said. “Parents would be outraged if schools were playing X-rated movies in the classroom. Banning drag shows from public property is a commonsense safeguard for our kids and parental rights.”

A woman walks past flowers left outside an apartment building where a technology executive was fatally stabbed in San Francisco, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Bob Lee, a technology executive who created Cash App and was currently chief product officer of MobileCoin, was fatally stabbed in San Francisco early Tuesday, April 4, 2023, according to the cryptocurrency platform and police. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Bob Lee, a technology executive who created Cash App and was currently chief product officer of MobileCoin, has been fatally stabbed in downtown San Francisco. The San Francisco Police Department has disclosed little about the stabbing. The department says officers responding to a stabbing in Rincon Hill neighborhood at 2:35 a.m. Tuesday found 43-year-old Robert Lee wounded and he died at a hospital. MobileCoin CEO Josh Goldbard says Lee made large contributions to Android at Google and was the first chief technology officer of Square before coming to MobileCoin.

FILE – Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the New York State Capitol, May 14, 2019, in Albany, N.Y. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and scion of one of the country’s most famous political families, is running for president. Kennedy, a Democrat, filed a statement of candidacy Wednesday, April 6, 2023, with the Federal Election Commission. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and scion of one of the country’s most famous political families, has announced he will run for president. Kennedy filed a statement of candidacy Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission. The 69-year-old’s campaign to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination is considered a long shot. Kennedy, a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of his slain brother, former U.S. attorney general, civil rights activist and Democratic presidential contender Robert F. Kennedy, has become one of the leading voices in a movement described by public health experts and even members of his own family as misleading and dangerous.

A FedEx truck makes deliveries in Mount Lebanon, Pa., on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023. FedEx will combine its air, ground and other divisions as part of a $4 billion cost cutting plan. The delivery company said Wednesday, April 5, that FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Services and other FedEx operating companies will be rolled into Federal Express Corp. by June 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx will combine almost all of its ground, air and other operations by next year as part of a $4 billion cost cutting plan. The package delivery company said Wednesday that FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Services and other FedEx operating companies will be rolled into a single entity by June 2024 in a companywide reorganization. FedEx Freight, the company’s freight transportation services division, will continue as a stand-alone company within Federal Express. The company said in September that its operating expenses were rising and that it was maneuvering to address those costs.