WASHINGTON (AP) — Labor Secretary Alex Acosta is planning to make a statement about his handling of a sex-trafficking case involving now-jailed financier Jeffrey Epstein. Acosta was a federal prosecutor in Florida involved in a secret 2008 plea deal that let Epstein avoid federal prosecution on charges of molesting teenage girls. Democrats are clamoring for Acosta’s resignation now that the matter has been reignited with new charges against the wealthy hedge fund manager.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Soccer Federation President Carlos Cordeiro says female athletes “deserve fair and equal pay.” Fans of the World Cup champion U.S. women’s national soccer team chanted “Equal Pay!” as Cordeiro spoke at a celebration of the team at New York’s City Hall. Cordeiro said: “We hear you, we believe in you, and we’re committed to doing right by you.”

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s ambassador to the United States has resigned after being called a fool and made a diplomatic nobody by President Donald Trump. Ambassador Kim Darroch stepped down Wednesday, days after a British newspaper published leaked diplomatic cables expressing the envoy’s dim views of the Trump administration. Darroch had been set to retire at the end of the year. It’s unclear if Prime Minister Theresa May will have time to name a replacement before she leaves office herself later this month.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has thrown out a lawsuit accusing President Donald Trump of illegally profiting off the presidency. In a significant legal victory for Trump, a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a ruling by a federal judge in Maryland, who said the lawsuit could move forward. The appellate panel said Wednesday that Maryland and the District of Columbia lack standing to sue. Trump tweeted that he’s won “a big part … of the Witch Hunt.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Self-described “Middle Class Joe” Biden has left the ranks of the middle class in terms of his financial status. The Democratic presidential candidate reports in tax returns and disclosure forms that he and his wife have earned more than $15 million in the years since he was vice president in the Obama administration. Before lucrative book and speaking deals, Biden took in little more than his government salary as vice president and, before that, a U.S. senator from Delaware.

(Photos taken by Sandy Giordano)

FARMERS MARKET DAYS KICKED OFF IN HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP LAST NIGHT. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO WAS THERE. A booth where a lady was selling all types of homemade soaps attracted several shoppers. (Becky Durr is pictured, she’s from Darlington..Reusable shopping bags were distributed to visitors). Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

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(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

It was a lengthy Commissioners’ work session Wednesday, and the majority of it focused on county parks and fund prioritizing.

For starters, Department & Public Works director Dan Colville brought the Commissioners up to speed on the latest regarding a “sliding” area of Brady’s Run that has been closed off to the public, leading to the Commissioners questioning what still needs to be done and how much it will cost. Unfortunately, Colville informed the Commissioners that Brady’s Run wasn’t the only issue:

After Colville spoke, Solicitor Garen Fedeles talked about the upcoming resolutions for Thursday’s public session, including the contracts of a pair of Habitat For Humanity homes in the county, as well as a $400,000 grant to renovate the Rochester War Memorial.

Then it was time for the audience participation, which ended up dominating the final two thirds of the work session. First was Roger Thomas, an Ambridge resident who is also the co-chair of the Pennsylvania Committee for the Anaylsis and Reform of Our Criminal System, who spoke out against the current amount of jury expenses that Beaver County is paying. Thomas broke the numbers down and asked the Commissioners to make the right move:

Thomas also insisted that the old rule insisting that jurors getting paid 17 cents a mile from the post office in their zip code be changed to 17 cents a mile starting from the jurors’ address.

Commissioners Tony Amadio and Sandie Egley had their injunctions with Thomas in regards to his request, particularly Egley’s concerns on how the move would effect local businesses. But Commissioner Chairman Dan Camp disagreed with Egley, feeling that the move would be okay for local businesses:

Then two members of a project looking to put a historic landmark along Crows Run Road spoke to the Commissioners about their hopes to memorialize a Civil War-era gunmaker and blacksmith near the site of the old scrap yard along the road.

Finally, the recent disclosure of Brush Creek Park having received $1 million in funds over the last year was brought front and center, as two Marion Township representatives let their views on what the county was doing with those funds be heard. Police Commissioner Alan Dambach and Secretary Treasurer Marilyn Zona both accused the County for feeling that the funds were being used solely on the bridge located in the township and that Brush Creek Park was being neglected because of it. Zona got into a verbal tussle with Commissioner Sandie Egley over the matter:

Dambach also felt that the county was being neglectful towards Brush Creek, and told the Commissioners what he wanted–something Commissioner Egley felt the County already had:

The Commissioners will reconvene tomorrow for public session at 10:00 AM.

(Photo taken by Sandy Giordano)

AMBRIDGE COUNCIL LAST NIGHT KICKED OFF THE PLANNING STAGE FOR THE 2024 BICENTENNIAL. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO WAS THERE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

President Donald Trump wants to “make America white again” by including a U.S. citizenship question on the 2020 census, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. Pelosi made the remark while addressing the media Monday in her home city of San Francisco. Republicans, Pelosi said, are attempting voter suppression and gerrymandering so “just their people vote and not the general population”.