TORONTO (AP) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed his government will get answers after a Ukrainian passenger jet crashed, killing at least 63 Canadians, just minutes after taking off from Iran’s capital. Trudeau said his foreign minister has been in touch with the government of Ukraine and his transport minister is reaching out to his international counterparts. Getting answers from Iran may prove difficult as Canada closed its embassy in Iran in 2012 and suspended diplomatic relations. The crash of the Ukraine International Airlines plane came hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on Iraqi bases housing U.S. soldiers.

Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg and President Donald Trump have each secured 60-second Super Bowl ad slots at an estimated $10 million apiece. Bloomberg’s campaign spokesperson told the New York Times that Bloomberg is shelling out the cash just to get “under Trump’s skin”. Michael Frzier told the news outlet Tuesday that the ad is part of Mike’s strategy of running a national campaign that focuses on states where the general election will be decided, parts of the country that are often overlooked”. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., along with former Vice President Joe Biden, have also secured ad spots for the biggest professional football game of the year Feb. 2, the day before the Iowa caucuses. Sanders’ campaign is spending $16,630 on airtime for a 30-second spot, Biden is spending $24,000 and Warren spent $2,000. The Super Bowl could be watched by roughly 100 million people in the United States. It is some of the most expensive TV ad times of all year.

The Girls Scouts Of United States of America has announced a new cookie is joining the line-up when the 2020 Girl Scout Cookie season begins on Friday. Lemon-Ups will replace the lemon-flavored cookie that has been sold for several years. Lemon-Ups are described as a crispy lemon cookie baked with messages inspired by Girl Scout entrepreneurs. “I am a go-getter” and “I am an innovator” are among the eight phrases that bring the experience of Girl Scouting to life. This year, the cookies will also include refreshed packaging that features current Girl Scouts taking part in experiences including camping, canoeing and more.

Police are trying to figure out who decapitated an Ohio woman’s dog and left its head in her backyard. The East Palestine Police Department, about an hour away from Pittsburgh, says they received a call last Friday from a woman, Barb Greaves, reporting her Beagle named Trouble was missing. Police say she told them Trouble had been let out on a cable run in the backyard and then was discovered missing a short time later. On Sunday afternoon, police say Greaves’ son called and said someone had killed his mother’s dog, cut off its head and left it in the backyard.

A Florida woman said she would use “whatever means necessary” and “rob” a McDonald’s after being told she would be charged 25 cents for dipping sauces. 19-year-old Maguire McLaughlin, ordered a large amount of food and asked for one of each dipping sauces to go with it from the restaurant around 3:47 a.m. New Year’s Day, according to a report from the Indian River Sheriff’s Office. McLaughlin started yelling obscenities at an employee after he told her that the sauces would cost 25 cents each, deputies said. She also said she would be getting the sauces by whatever means necessary, but was unclear what she meant by that. Authorities had to forcibly take McLaughlin to the ground and put her in hobble restraints in order to place her in the patrol vehicle. McLaughlin was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

MCKEESPORT, Pa, (AP) — A car crashed into a utility pole while being pursued by an SUV whose occupants were shooting at the car, injuring two teenage girls and a man. Authorities say the shooting and crash in McKeesport occurred Tuesday night. The four people in the car had just left a basketball game at McKeesport High School when two men in the SUV started following them and soon began shooting. The car hit the utility pole and flipped onto its roof. None of the people in the car were shot. The SUV fled the scene, and it’s not known why they pursued or shot at the car.

Westmoreland County’s new sheriff said he found an unpleasant surprise on his first day of work: his office was trashed. Sheriff James Albert says boxes filled with old arrest warrants blocked the door to his administrative suite, trash was scattered on floors and desks, and the former sheriff’s dirty uniforms were piled beneath a DVD of the film comedy “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” Albert, a Democrat, defeated two-term Republican Jonathan Held last fall…but the outgoing sheriff says he didn’t do it. The new sheriff is investigating.

Police in Cecil Township, Washington County are searching for a suspect’s gun that he allegedly dropped in between breaking into a home, shoving a large amount of stolen jewelry into his underwear and attempting to escape on his motorcycle. It happened on Network Drive in Southpointe. Police said surveillance video shows Paul Kelly lurking outside a family’s home before shooting the window out and running inside straight for their bedroom as the alarm blared. Police say Kelly tried to get away on his motorcycle, and went straight into the woods – where he crashed and took off running. When they searched him, officers found a large amount of gold and pearl jewelry stuffed into his underwear.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Voters in three Pennsylvania House districts will choose new state representatives during special elections scheduled for March. A top aide to Republican House Speaker Mike Turzai said Tuesday the March 17 date was chosen to fill seats vacant because the incumbents have been elected to other offices. The seats were most recently held by Rep. Tedd Nesbit of Mercer County, Rep. Gene DiGirolamo of Bucks County and Justin Walsh of Westmoreland County. Nesbit and Walsh were elected in November to become county judges, and DiGirolamo is now a county commissioner. All three are Republicans.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

The first official work session had a sense of newness to it, as new Commissioner Jack Manning and new Chief Clerk Tony Caltury joined previous Commissioners Tony Amadio & Dan Camp and Solicitors Garen Fedeles & Nathan Morgan. Caltury replaces Cynthia Cook as Chief Clerk, while Manning replaces new County Treasurer Sandie Egley in the Commissioner’s spot.

But the new group’s first work items came in a familiar setting, as two of 2019’s major topics kicked off 2020. First was Brush Creek Park, for which the Board of Commissioners received some good news in the form of a grant check presented by Marion Township resident Jodi McElwain:

 

The new playground is expected to be built in the same location as the previous iteration, but that will be up to the Beaver County DPW to make official.

The other major revelation in the work session came when an audience member asked about the ongoing possibilities with the Maple Syrup Festival, for which the Board of Commissioners responded as such:

 

The meeting took place at 1 PM Wednesday with the Conservation District, who recently announced they would not be the head sponsors of the yearly festival.

The first public meeting for the new Board of Commissioners will be Thursday, January 9, at 10 AM in the Courthouse.