Allegheny County representative proposes making daylight saving time last year-round

(File Photo of a Daylight Savings Time Background with a Spring-Themed Clock “Springing” Forward)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA)  Allegheny County Democratic Representative Joe McAndrew recently proposed making the once-a-year tradition of daylight saving time last an entire year so it can go year-round. McAndrew believes that Pennsylvania should join this idea for a permanent daylight saving time with almost twenty other states. Some of the reasons that McAndrew is advocating for this is because less energy would be consumed, advantages for both safety and health could be seen and an evening that is brighter could be experienced. According to a memo written by McAndrew to colleagues on Tuesday, “Eliminating the spring and fall switch and adopting permanent daylight saving time will help people keep steadier circadian rhythms, reduce the short-term spikes in heart attacks and strokes reported after the clock changes and reduce seasonal mood problems,” In 2025, daylight saving time concludes on November 2nd, 2025 and daylight saving time began on March 9th, 2025. Daylight saving time is a practice that takes place annually in which people are given the traditional reminder to spring their clocks forward in the United States by one hour. The alternative is the autumn conclusion of daylight saving time, in which clocks go back one hour in the United States to fall back during the season of fall.

Israel declares Gaza’s largest city a combat zone as death toll in Gaza surpasses 63,000

(File Photo: Source for Photo: An Israeli armored vehicle moves in an area in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone and recovered the remains of two hostages on Friday as the army launched the “initial stages” of a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.

As the military announced the resumption of fighting, health officials said the death toll in Gaza has risen to 63,025, with 59 new deaths reported by hospitals over the last 24 hours. Aid groups and a church sheltering people said they would stay in Gaza City, refusing to abandon the hungry and displaced who depend on them.

The shift comes weeks after Israel first announced plans to widen its offensive in the city, where hundreds of thousands are sheltering while enduring famine. The military has in recent days ramped up strikes in neighborhoods on the city’s outskirts.

Plumes of smoke and thunderous blasts could be seen and heard across the border in southern Israel on Friday morning.

Israel has called Gaza City a Hamas stronghold, alleging that a network of tunnels remain in use by militants after several previous large-scale raids on the area throughout nearly 23 months of war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that crippling Hamas’ capabilities in the city is critical to shielding Israel from a repeat of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that ignited the war.

While United Nations agencies and aid groups condemned the offensive’s announced start, people in Gaza City said it made little difference: Strikes already have been intensifying and the aid reaching them was insufficient.

City resident Mohamed Aboul Hadi said it made no difference. “The massacres never stopped, even during the humanitarian pauses,” he said in a text message sent from Gaza City.

Some who fled Gaza City were putting together tents Friday in the central Gaza Strip, west of the Nuseirat refugee camp. They spoke about the lack of water or food and the miserable conditions they endured.

“We are thrown in the streets like, what would I say? Like dogs? We are not like dogs. Dogs are better than us,” said Mohammed Maarouf standing in front of a shelter for him and his family of nine.

More than 63,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war started, the Gaza Health Ministry said Friday. The ministry’s count — 63,025 — does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. It also said five people had died from malnutrition-related causes over the past 24 hours, raising the toll to 322, including 121 children, since the war began.

The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government and staffed by medical professionals. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.

Some refuse to leave as Gaza City assault begins

Facing international criticism, Israel instituted what it called “tactical pauses” in Gaza City and two other populated areas last month that it said were geared toward letting in more food and aid. The pauses included a daily halt in fighting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., though aid groups have said deliveries remained challenging due to blockade, looting and Israeli restrictions.

Midday Friday, the military said it had suspended pauses, marking the latest escalation after weeks of preparatory strikes in some of the city’s neighborhoods and calling up tens of thousands of reservists.

“We will intensify our strikes until we bring back all the kidnapped hostages and dismantle Hamas,” Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said.

Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, has for days urged Palestinians in Gaza City to flee south, calling evacuation “inevitable.”

Hundreds of residents began the journey south on Friday, piling their few remaining possessions onto pickup trucks or donkey carts. Many, like Mohammed Maarouf, have been forced to leave their homes more than once.

The U.N. said Thursday that 23,000 people had evacuated over the past week, but many Palestinians in Gaza City question the effort when there is nowhere safe to go.

“We cannot find any place in the west nor in the south. Conditions are difficult. Where are we going? We don’t know,” said Saddam Yazigi as he prepared to leave Gaza City.

The Holy Family Church of Gaza City told The Associated Press on Friday that the roughly 440 people sheltering there would remain along with members of the clergy who would assist them.

Farid Jubran said the church had left the decision up to the people even though they had little recourse to insulate themselves from fighting.

“When we feel danger, people get closer to the walls or whatever, it’s more protected,” he said, noting the church had few specific defenses.

The UN’s humanitarian agency said its staff and NGOs also would remain on the ground.

Aid groups say they weren’t notified

As Israel suspended pauses on Friday in Gaza City, the military did not say whether they had notified residents or aid groups of the impending declaration ahead of the 11:30 a.m. announcement.

The Norwegian Refugee Council, which coordinates a coalition of aid groups active in Gaza, said it had not received notification that Israel’s “tactical pauses” would be suspended.

The U.N. said Thursday the besieged strip could lose half of its hospital bed capacity during an expanded assault on Gaza City.

“We cannot provide health services to 2 million people besieged in the south,” said Zaher al-Wahidi, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Health Ministry, noting a forcible evacuation of the strip’s largest city would be an environmental and health catastrophe.

The suspension of the pause also comes one week after the world’s leading food security authority declared Gaza City was being gripped by famine after months of warnings.

An Israeli military official said Israel intended to continue facilitating aid to Gaza City. But the official provided no details on how they would continue to get aid amid a ramped-up offensive.

“This will have a horrific impact on people already exhausted, malnourished, bereaved, displaced, and deprived of basics needed for survival,” the UN’s humanitarian agency said in a statement. “Forcing hundreds of thousands to move south is a recipe for further disaster.”

Remains of hostages recovered

Israel on Friday said its military had recovered the remains of two hostages — Ilan Weiss and another left unnamed.

“The campaign to return the hostages continues continuously. We will not rest or be silent until we return all of our hostages home — both the living and the dead,” Netanyahu said in a statement.

Abu Obeida, a spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, said its fighters were on high alert and prepared to confront Israeli troops in Gaza City. He said the group would try to keep its hostages alive but that they are being held in areas where fighting is expected.

Weiss, 55, was killed in the attack on Kibbutz Be’eri, one of the communities near Gaza that Hamas-led militants stormed on Oct. 7.

For the families of hostages, the return of their remains meets a central demand and brings some closure, but also is a reminder of hostages who remain in Gaza.

“At least they have closure,” said Rubi Chen, whose son was abducted during the Oct. 7 attack and is believed to be dead. “There are still 49 families waiting to have that closure.”

Of the 251 hostages taken by Hamas-led militants, nearly 50 remain in Gaza including 20 that Israel believes to be alive.

Israel’s Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which has organized large-scale protests demanding a ceasefire to return the hostages, mourned the losses and said Israeli leaders should prioritize a deal to return both the living and the dead.

“We call on the Israeli government to enter negotiations and stay at the table until every last hostage comes home. Time is running out for the hostages,” it said in a statement.

Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack. Most of the hostages have been released in ceasefires or other deals.

President Donald Trump ends ex-Vice President Kamala Harris’ Secret Service protection early after former President Joe Biden had extended it

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Former Vice President Kamala Harris delivers the keynote speech at the Emerge 20th Anniversary Gala in San Francisco, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has revoked former Vice President Kamala Harris’ Secret Service protection that otherwise would have ended next summer, senior Trump administration officials said Friday.

Former vice presidents typically get federal government protection for six months after leaving office, while ex-presidents do so for life. But then-President Joe Biden quietly signed a directive, at Harris’ request, that had extended protection for her beyond the traditional six months, according to another person familiar with the matter. The people insisted on anonymity to discuss a matter not made public.

Trump, a Republican, defeated Harris, a Democrat, in the presidential election last year.

His move to drop Harris’ Secret Service protection comes as the former vice president, who became the Democratic nominee last summer after a chaotic series of events that led to Biden dropping out of the contest, is about to embark on a book tour for her memoir, titled “107 Days.” The tour has 15 stops, including visits abroad to London and Toronto. The book, which refers to the historically short length of her presidential campaign, will be released Sept. 23, and the tour begins the following day.

A recent threat intelligence assessment the Secret Service conducts on those it protects, such as Harris, found no red flags or credible evidence of a threat to the former vice president, said a White House official who also insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. The administration found no reason Harris’ protection should go beyond the standard six-month period for former vice presidents, the official said.

Trump’s vice president from his first term, Mike Pence, did not have extended Secret Service protection beyond the standard six months.

Still, it is not unusual for Secret Service protection to continue well beyond the statutory six-month window, particularly when former officials face credible and ongoing threats. But Trump’s decisions to revoke the protection have stood out both for timing and for targets.

During Trump’s second presidency, he repeatedly has cut off security for adversaries and figures who have fallen from favor, including his onetime national security adviser John Bolton and members of Biden’s family, including the former president’s adult children. Outgoing presidents can extend protection for those who might otherwise not be eligible; Trump did so for his family after leaving office in 2021.

The decision to strip Harris of protection is certain to raise alarms among security experts who view continuity of protection as essential in a polarized climate.

A senior Trump administration official said an executive memorandum was issued Thursday to the Department of Homeland Security ending Harris’ security detail and security services. Those had been extended from six to 18 months by the Biden administration, so they would have ended in July 2026, but now they will be terminated on Monday.

Harris lives in the Los Angeles area. The city’s Democratic mayor, Karen Bass, called Trump’s decision “another act of revenge following a long list of political retaliation” and warned that it would endanger Harris. Bass said she plans to work with California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a fellow Democrat, to ensure the former vice president’s safety, and she and Harris have already been in touch about the issue, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions.

While she lost to Trump last November, Harris is seen as a potential candidate for 2028, and she has already announced she will not run for California governor in 2026. Harris is also a former senator, California attorney general and San Francisco district attorney.

Last year was a particularly politically charged environment with Trump facing two assassination attempts, and the Secret Service played a crucial role in protecting the now-president. While questions remain about how the agency prepared for a July 2024 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a Secret Service counter sniper shot a gunman dead after he fired eight shots, killing an attendee, wounding two others and grazing Trump’s right ear. Trump chose one of the agents who rushed to the stage to shield him, Sean Curran, to lead the agency earlier this year.

The news of the security revocation was first reported by CNN.

Male Shaler Area High School student taken into custody for a stolen gun that his mother found on his bed before he went to school

(File Photo of Handcuffs)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Shaler Township, PA) An unidentified sixteen-year-old male student from Shaler Area High School got taken into custody without incident yesterday in Allegheny County because police confirm his mother found a gun that was stolen in his room in their Anderson Road home. A huge search began for this teenage male suspect yesterday morning on the 1400 block of Anderson Road in Pittsburgh. This search involved drones, three police dogs and multiple agencies, which include these agencies being involved: the FBI, the Allegheny County police, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office. No immediate threat to Shaler Area High School or the public was confirmed by Shaler police. Police note that the mother of the male juvenile suspect discovered a handgun yesterday morning in his bed when she woke him up and when she took the gun, her son threatened her to give it back to him. The male juvenile suspect then escaped the Anderson Road home after his mother refused to give the gun back to him. Police state that the male juvenile suspect ran with his backpack into the woods and his backpack was later found there with no weapons found inside of it. Another jurisdiction was where the gun that the male juvenile suspect had belonged to and it was found to be stolen and police affirm that the serial number of the gun was scratched off by someone. The search ended yesterday afternoon just before 4 p.m., when the male juvenile suspect was found at a home on Soose Road in Pittsburgh, which is the place that detectives found out that he hangs out frequently, and he is now in custody to be charged as a juvenile with at least two weapons charges against him.

Wegmans reportedly gets final approval for construction of their future Cranberry Township grocery store

(Photo Courtesy of Wegmans)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Cranberry Township, PA) According to a report from the Butler Eagle, Cranberry Township supervisors reportedly gave final approval for construction of a Wegmans grocery store there, effectively greenlighting the project. Yesterday, a supervisor’s meeting occurred in Cranberry Township and Wegmans got conditional use approval and final land development following a public hearing that day. The expected opening time of the new 115,000 square foot Wegmans store in Cranberry Township will be in 2027 and it will be located on Cool Springs Drive in Cranberry Township. Up to 500 people are expected to be employed at this new Wegmans store, which will sell food varieties, including baked goods, a selection of wine and beer, deli products and produce. Wegmans, which has nineteen stores in Pennsylvania, confirmed on January 13th, 2025 that the Pittsburgh-area is where the grocery store chain will expand to with the location of their new store as close to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

Three Beaver County organizations receive grants for mental health resources for the 2025-2026 school year

(File Photo of the Big Beaver Falls Area School District Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) According to an announcement that came on August 18th2025, the Big Beaver Falls Area School District, the Blackhawk Area School District and the Beaver Valley Intermediate Unit were among eight school districts and intermediate units in Pennsylvania to be selected for the most recent grant awards of the Chuckie F. Mahoney Memorial Foundation. That foundation will give each organization a grant of $3,500 to provide resources of mental health during the 2025-2026 school year for their students. Charles Mahoney, the president of the Chuckie F. Mahoney Memorial Foundation, stated: “There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing our work bring needed resources to classrooms and directly benefit students and school personnel.” According to the website of the Chuckie F. Mahoney Memorial Foundation, Mahoney and his wife, Debi, created the Chuckie F. Mahoney Memorial Foundation in memory of their son to “provide resources, education and training on suicide prevention and depression to parents, teachers and those who work with the teen and young adult population.”

A part of Mt. Nebo Road in Ohio Township is temporarily closed because of live wires and a tree going down in the area

(File Photo of Road Closed Signs on a Road)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Ohio Township, PA) According to police from Ohio Township, Pennsylvania, Mt. Nebo Road is temporarily closed between Arndt Road and the entrance to Mt. Nebo Pointe. Police confirm that live wires and a tree went down near the Trinity Jewelers on Mt. Nebo Road in Pittsburgh, causing the closure and making the road unpassable. Officials of Avonworth School District confirm that because of the closure, school buses that use Mt. Nebo Road may be delayed and any stops inside the portion that is closed on that road will not be able to be reached by buses. School at Avonworth School District will still undergo normal operations. Crews from Duquesne Light were called to the scene and police suggest that people need to use a alternate route for now.

September concerts to consider

By Scott Tady

Eric Church, Adam Sandler, Kenny G., Garbage and David Byrne all will play Pittsburgh this September.

Here’s a September concert calendar to help you pick some good shows.

PPG PAINTS ARENA

Sept. 12: Eric Church

Sept. 20: Adam Sandler

Oct. 4: Jo Koy; Oct. 15: Tate McRae; Oct. 18: Cody Johnson; Oct. 23-24: Sabrina Carpenter; Nov. 2: Bryan Adams; Nov. 5: A Day to Remember & Yellowcard; Nov. 7-8: Billy Strings; Nov. 11: Paul McCartney;  Nov. 12: Jonas Brothers; Nov. 14: Maroon Five.

Charles Esten heads back home to Pittsburgh for a show at City Winery. (Photo provided by City Winery Pittsburgh)

Carnegie of Homestead Music Hall

 Sept. 4: Kenny G

Sept. 12: Tower of Power

Sept. 13: Molly Tuttle

Oct. 1: Toad The Wet Sprocket and Vertical Horizon; Oct.6: Pat Metheny; Oct. 8: Gary Newman; Oct. 24: Neko Case; Nov. 4: Colin Hay; Nov. 22: Jimmy Failla; Nov. 28: Gavin DeGraw; Dec. 6: Shaun Cassidy.

STAGE AE

Sept. 3: Men I Trust

Sept. 5: Jessica Simpson headlines Women Who Rock

Sept. 8: PUP

Sept. 9: Alabama Shakes

Sept. 10: Vance Joy

Sept. 12: Pixies

Sept. 13: Bruce Dickinson

Sept. 22: Dylan Gossett

Sept. 23: Garbage

Sept. 26: Gavin Adcock

Sept. 27: Russel Dickerson

Oct. 7: T-Pain;  Oct. 15: Violent Femmes.

PAVILION AT STAR LAKE

Sept. 5: Hardy

Sept. 18: Falling in Reverse

Sept. 20: Suicide Boys

Oct. 1: Alice Cooper-Judas Priest.

Roxian Theatre

 Sept. 6: Jerry Cantrell and Filter

Sept. 11: Rilo Kelly

Sept. 18: GWAR

Sept. 20: Marilyn Manson

Sept. 30: Franz Ferdinand

Oct. 26: Thomas Dolby; Oct. 28: Andy Bell; Nov. 11: Minus The Bear; Nov. 26: The Beths; Dec. 12: Pittsburgh Plays Ozzy.

Benedum Center

Sept. 16: David Byrne

Sept. 18: Dream Theater

Sept. 24: Lucy Dacus

Nov. 14: Taylor Tomlinson; Nov. 21-22: Steve Martin and Martin Short; Dec. 9: Straight No Chaser.

City Winery Pittsburgh

Sept. 13: Charles Esten

Sept. 18: Anthony Rapp

Oct. 27: Josh Radin

Charles Esten heads back home to Pittsburgh for a show at City Winery. (Photo provided by City Winery Pittsburgh)

PETERSEN EVENTS CENTER

Sept. 15: Hans Zimmerman

Sept. 16: Conan Gray

Oct. 3: Lorde; Oct. 9: Crowder; Oct. 23: John Miley; Nov. 6: Turnpike Troubadours.

UPMC EVENTS CENTER

Oct. 3: Dylan Scott; Nov. 5: Chicago; Nov. 8: Seether and Daughtry; Nov. 19: All Time Low.

Jergel’s Rhythm Grille

Sept. 10: Michael Schenker

Sept. 24: Lita Ford

Oct. 1: Scott Blasey; Oct. 4: Here Comes the Mummies; Oct. 9: Hailey Whittier’s; Oct. 21: Buckcherry; Oct. 23: Squirrel Nut Zippers;  Oct. 26: Tab Benoit; Nov. 6: North Mississippi All Stars; Nov. 17: Richie Kotzen; Nov. 26: Buzz Poets.

Thunderbird Cafe

Sept. 16: Superchunk

Sept. 17: James McMurtry

Oct. 25: The War & Treaty; Blondshell.

Palace Theatre

Oct. 1: Don Gatlin; Oct. 3: Geoff Tate; Oct. 25: Bill Murray & The Blood Brotgers; Nov. 22: The Outlaws; Nov. 25: Boz Scaggs.

Mr. Smalls Theatre

Sept. 20: The Baseball Project

Sept. 23: Soccer Mommy

Oct. 3: Feeble Little Horse; Oct. 11: Craig Finn; Dec. 2: The Lemonheads.

HEINZ HALL

 Oct. 6: Wilco; Oct. 7: Ben Folds; Oct. 28: Jon Batiste; Dec. 18: Trisha Yeareood.

YOUNGSTOWN FOUNDATION AMPHITHEATER

Sept. 20:Cody Jinks.

Sept. 26: John Mayer

Sept. 27: Tim McGraw

OTHERS

Sept. 6: Gabby Barrett, Timber Rock Amphitheater, Farmington

Sept. 12: Comedy Jam with Steve Byrne and Billy Gardell

Sept. 13-14: Four Chord Music Festival with Blink-182, EQT Park, Washington, Pa.

Sept. 17: James McMurtry, The Crafthouse, Baldwin.

 

 

Former Beaver Falls resident takes part in the August 28th, 1963 “March on Washington for Jobs for Freedom” in Washington D.C. and reflects on the event 62 years later

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks to thousands during his “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington. (AP Photo/File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver Falls, PA) Yesterday was the 62nd anniversary of the “March on Washington for Jobs for Freedom,” held in Washington, D.C. on August 28th, 1963, and a former resident of Beaver Falls attended this event. Along with attending that event, the then teenage Reverend Raphael Cox was selected by the Reverend Calvin C. Brown of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaver Falls, to be an attendee as a teenage representative of the March with the Pittsburgh Delegation in the late summer of 1963. Cox, who is from Canton, Ohio, stated that the “I Have a Dream” speech given by the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, “was short, but oh so powerful” on the day of the “March on Washington for Jobs for Freedom.” The “March on Washington for Jobs for Freedom” highlighted promoting freedom by pressing the United States government to both end discrimination and segregation while also pressing the United States government to both employ and train people through a federal program on August 28th, 1963. Cox turned eighty years old on August 6th, 2025 and he also noted that he is one of the few attendees of this August 28th, 1963 event that is still alive. The impact that the “I Have a Dream” speech by the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became lasting and prfound on Cox, because in 2002, he became an ordained pastor. Cox graduted from Beaver Falls High School and moved to Canton, Ohio immediately after graduating a worked as a welder for the Timken Roller Bearing Corporation for 37 years until he retired in 2002.

Ford recalls almost 500,000 SUVs because of the possible rupture of their rear brake jounce hoses

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – The Ford logo is seen on the grill of a Ford Explorer on display at the Pittsburgh International Auto Show in Pittsburgh, on Feb. 15, 2024. Two fatal crashes involving Ford’s Blue Cruise partially automated driving system have drawn the attention of U.S. auto safety regulators. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Dearborn, MI) Ford recently recalled 499,129 2016 to 2018 Lincoln MKX and 2018 Edge SUVs because the rupture of the rear brake hoses of these vehicles may happen. The rear brake jounce hoses of those vehicles, which are rubber hoses that are both high-pressure and flexible in the rear of those vehicles that connect that lines of the brakes to the calipers, may leak fluid and break. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, the lack of sufficient brake fluid may cause the SUV to need more space to stop, increasing the risk of a crash. Ford owners will get two alerts for this recall because Ford has yet to develop a fix for these faulty SUVs, the first being on September 8th with more information about the recall and while once a fix is available, a second will be sent. The National Highwasy Traffic and Safety Administration confirms that April of 2026 is when the second letter is expected to be sent. For more information about this recall, you can contact the phone number of 866-436-7332. The internal recall number is 25S87 for Ford in regards to this recall.