WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s internal watchdog has told Congress that he’s concerned that “so many basic and fundamental errors” were made by the FBI as it investigated ties between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia. Michael Horowitz detailed to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday errors and omissions made as the FBI sought to eavesdrop on a former Trump campaign aide. Sen. Lindsey Graham is the chairman of the committee and highlighted those problems. The committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, seized on the finding that the investigation was not motivated by partisan bias.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says the answer is “no” to speculation that he’d agree to join a Democratic presidential nominee’s ticket as the pick for vice president. Wolf reiterated that stance when asked during a radio appearance. The 71-year-old Wolf also says he seriously doubts that anybody would ask. Wolf’s name has surfaced because of his 17-percentage point re-election victory last year in a battleground state that is of the utmost importance to Democrats in next year’s presidential election. In 2016’s election, Donald Trump became the first Republican presidential nominee to win Pennsylvania since 1988.

Cursive in our day-to-day lives is dying. But a bill proposed by a New Jersey state representative is hoping to guarantee students still learn how to write and read in cursive. Representative Angela McKnight’s proposal would require that schools add cursive back to the elementary school curriculum. The bill – if passed – would go into effect the following school year. McKnight says she wants to make teaching cursive mandatory in schools because, in her words, it is a vital skill that children will need for the rest of their lives.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

After four years as a unit, and after nearly a decade of backlog, these County Commissioners can boast that things are in place heading into the end of 2019.

This is because the Board of Commissioners, with the assistance of Financial Advisor Corey Trautman, released their proposed budget for 2020 on Wednesday at their regular work session. The total budget is for $213.2 million, with $81.1 of it attributed to the general fund. Outgoing Commissioner Sandie Egley gave praise to Trautman for this accomplishment, citing the issues of administrations past:

 

Commissioner Tony Amadio agreed with Sandie, saying that it feels nice to go into the holiday season with a bit less on the plate to deal with:

 

The 2020 budget will be voted on during the final public meeting of 2019, at 10 AM on Thursday.

MADRID (AP) — Climate activist Greta Thunberg says that business and political leaders are misleading the public by holding negotiations that are not leading to real action against warming temperatures, which she referred to as a climate emergency. In a fact-filled speech at a plenary with negotiators from hundreds of countries in Madrid, she said that the United Nations climate talks had turned into opportunities to negotiate loopholes and avoid raising ambition. The activist said that pledges to reduce emissions were not enough and that carbon needs to remain underground and greenhouse gases responsible for rising temperatures need to be zeroed.

What may be a piece of art work to one, may be a piece of food to another. Such was the case at an art gallery in Miami, Florida last week, where Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan displayed his duct-taped banana art piece. Yes, the art piece was nothing more than a banana duct-taped to the wall…and it went viral. That was until an art patron approached the exhibit, but instead of taking photos as other people were doing, the man peels the banana off the wall…and literally ate the real-life 120-thousand dollar banana that was stuck to the wall…. dubbing himself a – quote – “hungry artist.” He later captioned an instagram post, saying “it’s very delicious”. Officials at the art gallery were not pleased. They say the man was asked to leave but was not arrested…and not to worry, the banana was replaced after the incident.

Gas prices in Beaver County have cooled off some this week. Beaver County Radio News intern Alex D’Itri has more. Click on ‘play’ to hear Alex’s report…

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is warning that hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians stand to lose food stamps or see reduced benefits under changes being advanced by the Trump administration. Wolf’s Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller said 90,000 Pennsylvanians could lose eligibility in April when a new rule limits states from exempting work-eligible adults from having to maintain steady employment. Miller said a rule proposed in October to set a national standard utility allowance could reduce benefits for 775,000 households. Miller also said another rule proposed in July to stop allowing states to exceed federal income eligibility thresholds could strip another 200,000 people of eligibility. Roughly 1.7 million Pennsylvanians receive food stamps.

The owner of a used car dealership is accused of selling a car that wasn’t what it appeared to be. Peter Lyle Jr., who owns A&L Auto Sales in Coraopolis, is being charged with several crimes, including business fraud. In October, a 19-year-old Finleyville woman went to state police with suspicions that her newly purchased car had not been inspected – as Lyle had claimed. State police say Lyle sold her the car off Craig’s List and lied about its road worthiness. The state inspection sticker was a fake, and the car’s emission sticker was also phony. Lyle’s father said that state police got it wrong – his son runs a legal and law-abiding used car business. He also said that when the buyer complained about her car, Lyle refunded her money and cost of repairs in full. According to police documents, Lyle knowingly sold a car that had not been inspected and could have put the driver in danger. The investigation continues into if Lyle sold other vehicle that had faked safety inspections.

The Ellwood City Medical Center has announced suspension of all clinical services at the hospital. The suspension effectively shuts the hospital down for the year because the emergency room and inpatient services remain under a state health department ban. Officials say more layoffs are coming.