HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania will resume work search requirements in July for hundreds of thousands of people receiving unemployment compensation. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration said Monday that the requirement will resume July 18. That means that people claiming jobless benefits will have to search for work during the previous week. A work registration requirement will resume in September. The requirements have been waived by Wolf under his emergency disaster authority invoked during COVID-19 pandemic. Some 750,000 people in Pennsylvania have been receiving jobless benefits either through a state or federal program were also receiving the extra $300 a week.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans in Pennsylvania’s state Senate are advancing legislation to prohibit governments and school districts from requiring a COVID-19 vaccination. The Republican-penned bill passed the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Monday along party lines, 6-4, with Democrats opposing it. The prohibition on so-called vaccine passports applies to state agencies, counties, municipalities and school districts, and bars them from requiring a proof of vaccination to use services, enter buildings or engage in activities. The bill doesn’t apply to private businesses or organizations. Democratic Sen. Art Haywood of Montgomery County says school districts already require vaccines, and may need the authority to require a COVID-19 vaccine for community safety.

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Curtis Walsh)

A weather alert for areas of patchy fog is in effect until 7:30 this morning for all of Beaver County.  From the Pittsburgh National Weather Service: Patchy dense fog will reduce visibility to a quarter mile or less at times early this morning. Use caution if traveling. Visibility should gradually improve after sunrise as the fog begins to dissipate.

This photo shows the fog currently in our area, completely masking the visibility of the WBVP tower:

(Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano)

Beaver County Radio spoke to the Darlington Borough secretary and she said the early morning fire that erupted at the Mt. Pleasant Presbyterian Church was a very bad one, the fire marshal was called. The structure on Market Street is attended by many elderly, she said. Beaver County 9-1-1 reported that crews assisting, along with Darlington, cleared the scene.

Brian Snitger from the Beaver Heritage Foundation joins Matt Drzik on A.M. Beaver County following the 8:30 news to talk about Beaver’s Memorial Day parade and festivities.

Also, the latest in news and weather with Curtis Walsh, and talking a little about Game 5 of the Pens/Islanders series–assuming it’s over when the show starts.

6:30 to 9:00, it’s A.M. Beaver County with Matt Drzik on 1230, 1460, 99.3, and beavercountyradio.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration’s ambassador to the European Union and a pivotal witness in 2019 impeachment proceedings has sued former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an effort to recoup $1.8 million in legal fees. Gordon Sondland alleges in the lawsuit that Pompeo had committed to reimburse his legal expenses after he was subpoenaed by House Democrats to testify in an impeachment case that accused then-President Donald Trump of withholding military aid from Ukraine while demanding an investigation into political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter. He says Pompeo reneged on the promise. A Pompeo spokesperson calls the lawsuit “ludicrous.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken is heading to the Middle East to press the Israelis, Palestinians and regional players to build on and strengthen last week’s Gaza cease-fire, start an immediate flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and lay the groundwork for a resumption in peace talks. President Joe Biden says Blinken departs Monday for Israel, the West Bank, Jordan and Egypt. It will be the Biden administration’s highest-level in-person meetings on this month’s crisis. Blinken will not meet anyone from the Hamas militant group that runs Gaza and was responsible for most of the recent rocket attacks on Israel.

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City voters will be casting their last ballots next month in an election that’s sure to have consequences for former President Donald Trump. Democrats will be voting in party primary for Manhattan’s next district attorney. The winner could end up taking over an ongoing investigation of Trump’s business dealings. Current District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is leaving office at the end of the year. The eight candidates have made clear they’re not afraid of taking on the former president, but most have been cautious to stay away from overtly anti-Trump rhetoric. Trump has called the investigation a political “witch hunt.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — With a showdown vote looming, Senate Republicans are misrepresenting the timeline of a proposed independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection.

The House easily approved the bill last week with 35 Republicans signing on. But the measure faces an uncertain fate in the evenly divided Senate. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell is opposed and former President Donald Trump is demanding the effort be quashed.

On Sunday, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, suggested that a roadblock to gaining GOP support is the commission’s timing, echoing concerns from Republican leaders last week that the panel’s final report could extend into the 2022 midterm election year.

That’s not the case.

COLLINS, citing issues that could lead her to oppose the panel: “I see no reason why the report cannot be completed by the end of this year. The commissioners have to be appointed within 10 days. There’s plenty of time to complete the work. And I’m optimistic that we can get past these issues based on recent conversations I’ve had with” Democrats. — interview Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

SEN. JOHN CORNYN, R-Texas, suggesting that Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will drag the commission’s work well into the middle of 2022: “Well, part of the concern is that’s the plan. That’s Pelosi’s plan … That would be the Democrats’ dream.” — interview with CNN on May 19.

THE FACTS: Those claims of a delayed report are untrue. The bill calls for the report to be complete by the end of this year.

According to the legislation, the “final report” from the bipartisan commission, whose members would be evenly divided among Democrats and Republicans, must be submitted to the president and Congress “not later than December 31, 2021.”

There is a subsequent 60-day period for the commission to finish administrative tasks, such as to distribute the report and provide testimony to congressional committees, which would come in the early part of 2022. But the panel’s investigation, including all findings, conclusions and recommendations, would need to be fully complete this year.

So there has not been a roadblock to Senate Republican support for the panel based on the report’s timing as Collins and others describe it.

Collins said she wants an independent commission and is talking with House leaders about her issues with the bill, including how staffing is handled. She wants assurances that the panel’s staff, along with commission members, will be bipartisan. The legislation calls for the chairperson, who would be appointed by Democrats, to hire staff “in consultation with the vice chairperson,” who would be chosen by Republicans. Collins said Sunday that staff should be either jointly appointed by both parties or staffed in equal numbers by both sides.

If approved, the bipartisan commission is expected to look at Trump’s role in stoking the Jan. 6 riot, including his persistent false claims in the months beforehand that the November election was “stolen.”

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EDITOR’S NOTE — A look at the veracity of claims by political figures.