Major League Baseball is ending a 70-year relationship with trading card company Topps after signing a new partnership with a rival company. The loss of the MLB partnership immediately scuttled a deal announced earlier this year that would have made Topps a publicly traded company. The special-purpose acquisition company Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation II said Friday that its agreement to merge with Topps to take the company public was terminated by mutual agreement after it found out that MLB and the league’s players’ union would not be renewing their respective agreements with The Topps Co. when they come up for renewal at the end of 2025 and 2022, respectively.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A backer of former President Donald Trump’s effort to carry out an Arizona-style “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election is suggesting that fellow Republicans in the state Senate are blocking his efforts. In a Facebook video posted Thursday, Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano blamed “the powers that be” for stopping him from holding a meeting of the committee he chairs to vote on issuing subpoenas to counties. He later deleted the video. Mastriano has helped spread Trump’s baseless claims that the election was stolen from him in Pennsylvania. Senate Republican leaders have been largely silent about Mastriano’s efforts and it has sowed discord in the Republican caucus. Democrats oppose it.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan is giving new urgency to Vice President Kamala Harris’ tour of southeast Asia, where she will attempt to reassure allies of American resolve following the chaotic end of a two-decade war. The trip will provide a forum for Harris to assert herself more directly in foreign affairs. But there are substantial risks. Harris is largely untested in international diplomacy and foreign policy. Her swing through Vietnam could draw unwanted comparisons between the humiliating withdrawal of U.S. troops there in 1975 and the tumultuous effort this week to evacuate Americans and allies from Afghanistan. And it’s all happening in the shadow of China, whose growing influence worries some U.S. policymakers.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A backer of former President Donald Trump’s effort to carry out an Arizona-style “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election is suggesting that fellow Republicans in the state Senate are blocking his efforts. In a Facebook video posted Thursday, Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano blamed “the powers that be” for stopping him from holding a meeting of the committee he chairs to vote on issuing subpoenas to counties. He later deleted the video. Mastriano has helped spread Trump’s baseless claims that the election was stolen from him in Pennsylvania. Senate Republican leaders have been largely silent about Mastriano’s efforts and it has sowed discord in the Republican caucus. Democrats oppose it.

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano)

Central Valley School Board held its monthly meeting on YouTube Thursday night  and teachers will be involved in professional development on Monday, August 23, 2021. The board approved the hiring of 13 new teachers and several paraprofessionals. Incoming freshmen will have orientation on Wednesday, August 25, 2021.

Students will have face to face learning with their teachers when school starts on Monday, August 30, 2020. Masks are required on school buses and in the schools , according to Dr. Nicholas Perry, superintendent. He said, “I’m looking forward to a positive year.”

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano)

(Aliquippa, PA) A man believed to be in his 20’s was shot multiple times and killed after midnight  outside the Valley Terrace Housing Complex on Superior Avenue.  The state police are investigating and asking for the public’s help to find the suspect or suspects responsible.  Please call them at 724-773-7400 if you have information.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and his national security team say the Trump administration tied their hands when it came to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The argument that President Donald Trump’s February 2020 deal with the Taliban set the stage for the weekend chaos that unfolded in Kabul has some merit. But it’s far from the full story. Trump’s agreement for the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan was conditions-based. As U.S. officials made clear at the time, the failure of intra-Afghan peace talks to reach a negotiated settlement would have nullified the requirement to withdraw. Then again, renegotiating would have been difficult.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan protesters have defied the Taliban for a second day, waving their national flag in scattered demonstrations. The fighters again responded violently Thursday as they face down growing challenges to their rule. A U.N. official warned of dire food shortages and experts said the country was severely in need of cash while noting that the Taliban are unlikely to enjoy the generous international aid that the civilian government they dethroned did. In light of these challenges, the Taliban have moved quickly to suppress any dissent, despite their promises that they have become more moderate since they last ruled Afghanistan with draconian laws. Many fear they will succeed in erasing two decades of efforts to expand women’s and human rights and remake the country.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Police are investigating a report of a possible explosive device in a pickup truck outside the Library of Congress on Capitol Hill and have evacuated the area around the building. That’s according to two law enforcement officials who’ve spoken on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press. U.S. Capitol Police say officers are “responding to a suspicious vehicle near the Library of Congress.” The building is near the Capitol and the Supreme Court. Police have also evacuated the Cannon House Office Building. The law enforcement officials say investigators on the scene are working to determine whether the device is an operable explosive and whether the man in the truck is holding a detonator.