FILE – A shopper carries bags down Fifth Avenue on Black Friday, Nov. 25, 2022, in New York. Holiday sales rose as shoppers showed some resilience during the most important shopping season despite surging prices on everything from food to rent. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson, File )

NEW YORK (AP) — Holiday sales rose as American spending remained resilient during the critical shopping season despite surging prices on everything from food to rent, according to one measure. Holiday sales rose 7.6, a slower pace than the 8.5% increase from a year earlier when shoppers began spending the money they had saved during the early part of the pandemic, according to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracks all kinds of payments including cash and debit cards. Mastercard SpendingPulse had expected a 7.1% increase. The data released Monday excludes the automotive industry and is not adjusted for inflation, which has eased somewhat but still remains painfully high.

FILE – Zach Bryan performs at the Railbird Music Festival on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, in Lexington, Ky. The chorus against Ticketmaster’s contentious concert pricing practices is growing, numbering among them Zach Bryan and friends.
(Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The chorus against Ticketmaster’s contentious concert pricing practices is growing, including Zach Bryan and friends. The country music artist dropped a live album titled “All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster” on Sunday. Bryan also issued a statement on social media in which he decried “a massive issue with fair ticket prices to live shows lately.” The statement doesn’t mention Ticketmaster by name except in the new album title, though he tagged the company in a separate Instagram post displaying the track listing. A message seeking comment from Ticketmaster was not immediately returned.

FILE – President Joe Biden speaks about manufacturing jobs and the economy at SK Siltron CSS, a computer chip factory in Bay City, Mich., Nov. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — When he ran for the White House, Joe Biden told voters his presidency would be a bridge to the next generation. His first two years on the job have revealed it to be a much more ambitious venture. As he nears the halfway mark on his first term, Biden is pointing to legacy-defining achievements on climate change, domestic manufacturing and progress on the pandemic — all accomplished with razor-thin majorities on Capitol Hill and rather dim views from the public. The 80-year-old president is looking toward an announcement in early spring that he’ll run again despite his age.

An electric vehicle charges at an EVgo fast charging station in Detroit, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Starting Jan. 1, many Americans will qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying an electric vehicle. The credit, part of changes enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act, is designed to spur EV sales and reduce greenhouse emissions. But a complex web of requirements is casting doubt on whether anyone will be able to receive the full $7,500 credit next year. For at least the first two months of 2023, though, a delay in the Treasury Department’s rules for the new credits will likely make the full credit temporarily available to consumers who meet income and price limits. The new law also provides a smaller tax credit for people who buy a used EV.

Will Smith, right, hits presenter Chris Rock on stage while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Taylor Swift was up. Elon Musk was in, out, in and maybe out again. Tom Cruise was back. BTS stepped aside, and so did Serena Williams, and Tom Brady too — oops, scratch that. But the slap? The slap was everywhere — that moment Will Smith smacked Chris Rock at the Oscars and a global audience said, “Wait, did that just happen?” That’s The Associated Press’ top pop culture moment of 2022, but there were so many more. Swift had a big year that kept getting bigger. In movies there were big comebacks: Wakanda and Avatar sequels, and of course Cruise, who turned 60 and had his biggest movie with “Top Gun: Maverick.”

FILE – Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., on April 4, 2022. Pennsylvania voters on Tuesday, Nov. 8, will send dozens of new representatives and senators to the Legislature, thanks to a slew of retirements and new district maps that were revamped by the state’s redistricting commission. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s top elections official is fully certifying results from the November vote after recount petitions in some counties delayed the process. The Department of State said Tuesday that acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman completed certification of all races in the 2022 midterm election on Thursday. The final tally comes less than two weeks before members of Congress and state lawmakers are due to be sworn in on Jan. 3. The state’s next governor, Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro, will be inaugurated on Jan. 17. Recount petitions in at least 27 of the state’s 67 counties caused delays in the certification process.

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Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published December 27, 2022 9:03 A.M.

(New Brighton, PA) New Brighton Police were called to a head-on accident at 2078 Mercer Road Monday afternoon at 4:55 p.m, according to 9-1-1. No injuries were reported when the vehicle struck a telephone pole. No information has been released by New Brighton Police this morning.

(AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio

(Washington D.C.) The Lymphedema Advocacy Group received notification last Friday that the act was passed by the Senate., The House already passed the bill prior to the senate,  which officially means it was passed by Congress. . President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law as soon as it reaches his desk.

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(WASHINGTON, DC) – Today, Representative Conor Lamb (PA-17) announced that he has secured more than $15.2 million to fund 15 Community Project Funding requests through the federal Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Appropriations process.  The $1.7 trillion spending plan has passed the House and Senate and will now head to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

“Once again, the people of PA-17 have had a say in how their federal tax dollars are spent.  As a community, we have prioritized jobs, infrastructure, children, and police.  The people of our district are already working hard on these issues and this federal money is a well-deserved investment in them,” said Lamb.

Lamb championed funding for 15 projects that will directly benefit PA-17, including:

• $1,400,000 for the Allegheny Health Network for the First Steps and Beyond – Fourth Trimester Support program
• $995,000 for the Beaver County CTC Welding Lab Expansion and Upgrade
• $720,000 for Bellevue Borough for Straw Avenue Sanitary Sewer Improvements
• $400,000 for the Bidwell Training Center for the Bidwell Training Center Urban Food Production Training Program
• $991,758 for Crafton Borough for the Broadhead Avenue Sewer Separation Project
• $750,000 for McKees Rocks for Critical Parking for Downtown
• $1,000,000 for PennDOT for the Kittanning Pike Flood Control project
• $3,500,000 for the Moon Transportation Authority Market Place District Transportation Improvements
• $170,000 for the Northern Regional Police Department Police K9 Program
• $800,000 for the Municipality of Penn Hills Rodi Road Streetscape Phase 1
• $999,999 for Scott Township for the Sanitary Sewer Repair Project
• $500,000 for Aliquippa School District for a Student Athletic and Educational Flexible Field House
• $577,000 for the Beaver County District Attorney for the Ten-County SW-PA Rapid DNA Law Enforcement Initiative
• $1,800,000 for the Beaver County Office of Planning and Redevelopment Brodhead Road Corridor Upgrade
• $600,000 for the Early Excellence Project for the Child Care Stabilization project in Allegheny County

In addition to Lamb’s Community Project Funding awards, the $1.7 trillion spending bill includes $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs and $858 billion in defense funding.  Highlights in the bill includes $44.9 billion in emergency assistance to Ukraine and $1.8 billion in new funding to implement the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act.

The bill also provides $30 million to the U.S. Department of Energy to assist in the discovery, identification, and characterization of undocumented orphan oil and gas wells, an issue that Congressman Lamb has worked to prioritize for federal funding, given its enormous impact on Pennsylvania.  There are close to nine thousand (8,840) documented orphan wells in Pennsylvania, primarily concentrated in the western part of the commonwealth – and many more undocumented wells are estimated to exist.

The bill also includes language to reform the Electoral Count Act of 1887 to reaffirm that the Vice President has only a ministerial role at the joint session of Congress where electoral college votes are counted.  The measure also would raise the threshold necessary for members of Congress to object to a state’s electors.