BCTA HAS ANNOUNCED THE RESUMPTION OF A COUPLE OF POPULAR BUS ROUTES IN AMBRIDGE BOROUGH. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS MORE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) — Authorities have taken into custody three men they say were found with the car of a woman whose body was found in a western Pennsylvania park. Allegheny County police say two men were arrested on charges of receiving stolen property and a third man was taken into custody on a parole violation. The county medical examiner’s office says the body of 43-year-old Tameka Dallas was found Thursday in a wooded area of Renziehausen Park. A cause of death hasn’t been released.

EDGEWOOD, Pa. (AP) — Authorities have recovered the body of a man who they believe triggered an explosion in his western Pennsylvania home on his daughter’s wedding day. Officials have not released the man’s name and they’re awaiting autopsy results to determine how he died. Police say neighbors reported the homeowner was in the front yard shortly before the fire and explosion Saturday in Edgewood. Police said relatives of the owner were attending a family wedding.

PennDOT District 11 is announcing roadway improvement work on the Rochester Roundabout (Route 1034 Brighton Avenue, Route 68 Adams Street, Route 18 Rhode Island Avenue/Brighton Avenue) in Rochester Borough, Beaver County will begin Monday night, September 16 weather permitting. Crews from Gulisek Construction and Lindy Paving will conduct milling and paving operations nightly from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Sunday night, September 22.  The roundabout and the following roadways will close to traffic during paving operations:

• Route 68 (Adams Street) in both directions between Connecticut Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue
• Route 18 (Rhode Island Avenue/Brighton Avenue) in both directions between Iden Way and West Washington Street
• Route 1034 (Brighton Avenue) in both directions between West Washington Street and Iden Way

Traffic will be detoured during working hours.

Additionally, the ramp from the Rochester-Beaver Bridge to southbound Route 65/51 is anticipated to close Tuesday, September 17 and Friday, September 20 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night. The roundabout will remain open on those nights as it will be used for the ramp detour.

Posted Detours

Eastbound Route 68 (Adams Street)

• From eastbound Route 68 (State Street), take the Bridgewater exit ramp to Wolf Lane
• Turn left onto Market Street
• Turn right onto Bridge Street
• Cross the Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge
• Continue onto West Madison Street
• West Madison Street becomes Brighton Avenue
• Turn left onto Jefferson Street
• Follow Jefferson Street to Route 68 (Virginia Avenue)
• End detour

Westbound Route 68 (Adams Street)

• From westbound Route 68 (Virginia Avenue), turn right onto Jefferson Street
• Turn right onto Brighton Avenue
• Brighton Avenue becomes West Madison Street
• Cross the Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge
• Turn left onto Market Street
• Take the ramp to westbound Route 68 toward Beaver
• End detour

Northbound Route 18 (Rhode Island Avenue)

• From northbound Route 18 (Rhode Island Avenue), turn left onto West Washington Street
• Turn right onto Massachusetts Avenue
• Turn left onto Adams Street
• Cross the Rochester-Beaver Bridge
• Follow North 51 toward Chippewa
• Take the Bridgewater exit ramp to Bridge Street
• Cross the Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge
• Turn left onto northbound Route 18 (Delaware Avenue)
• End detour

Southbound Route 18 (Brighton Avenue)

• From southbound Route 18 (Delaware Avenue), turn right onto West Madison Street
• Cross the Rochester- Bridgewater Bridge
• Turn left onto Market Street
• Turn right onto Wolf Lane
• From Wolf Lane, take the ramp to eastbound Route 68 and cross the Rochester-Beaver Bridge
• Take the East 68/South 18 exit toward Rochester/South
• Follow Pleasant Street to Route 18 (Rhode Island Avenue)
• End detour

Northbound Route 1034 (Brighton Avenue)

• From northbound Brighton Avenue, turn left onto West Washington Street
• Turn right onto Massachusetts Avenue
• Turn left onto Adams Street
• Cross the Rochester-Beaver Bridge
• Follow North 51 toward Chippewa
• Take the Bridgewater exit ramp to Bridge Street
• Cross the Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge
• Follow West Madison Street back to Brighton Avenue
• End detour

Rochester-Beaver Bridge Ramp to Southbound Route 65/51

• Take East 68/South 18 exit toward Rochester/South
• Bear left toward North 51/To 68/Zelienople
• Turn left onto Massachusetts Avenue
• Turn right onto Adams Street
• Continue into the roundabout
• Take Brighton Avenue toward South 65/51
• From Brighton Avenue take the ramp to southbound Route 65/51
• End detour

Police will control key intersections during the closure.

Crews will conduct milling and paving operations as part of the $10.07 million Route 18 improvement project. Gulisek Construction, LLC is the prime contractor.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 950 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR MONDAY, SEPT. 16TH, 2019

 

TODAY – CLOUDY WITH PEEKS OF SUNSHINE EXPECTED
THIS AFTERNOON. SOME LIGHT RAIN. HIGH – 81.

TONIGHT – A FEW CLOUDS. LOW – 62.

TUESDAY – PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH NEAR 80.

Former NASCAR driver killed in single-engine plane crash
STERLING, Conn. (AP) — Modified stock car great Michael Stefanik has been killed in a single-engine plane crash. He was 61.
State police say the crash happened Sunday afternoon in Sterling near the Rhode Island state line. They say the single-engine, single-seat Aerolite 103 took off from the Riconn Airport in Coventry, Rhode Island, and had been turning back toward the airfield when it crashed into a wooded area near the airport. NASCAR confirmed that Stefanik was killed in the accident.
Stefanik won nine NASCAR series championships to tie Hall of Famer Richie Evans for the record, topping the Whelen Modified Tour seven times and Busch North Series twice. He also raced in what are now called the NASCAR Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck series, taking rookie of the year honors at age 41 in the truck series in 1999.
“Mike Stafanik was one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history, but even more so, he was a true representative of our sport,” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “His tough, competitive nature and excellence on the race track won him the admiration of cans and competitors alike.”
Stenanik holds the Whelen Modified Tour record with 74 victories from 1985 to 2014. A six-time nominee for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, he had 12 victories the Busch North Series.

Police: Rock star Ric Ocasek found dead in NYC apartment
NEW YORK (AP) — Ric Ocasek, famed frontman for The Cars rock band, has been found dead in a Manhattan apartment.
The New York City police department said officers responding to a 911 call found the 75-year-old Ocasek at about 4 p.m. on Sunday. They said there was no sign of foul play and that the medical examiner was to determine a cause of death.
The Cars chart-topping hits in the late 1970s and 1980s included “Just What I Needed,” ”Shake It Up” and “Drive.” The band was inducted last year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In May of 2018, model and actress Paulina Porizkova announced on social media that she and Ocasek had separated after 28 years of marriage. The pair first met while filming the music video for “Drive.”

The Latest: Trump says US ‘locked and loaded’ after attack

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Latest on the tensions in the Persian Gulf a day after Iran-backed Yemeni rebels attacked major oil sites in Saudi Arabia (all times local):3:20 a.m.
President Donald Trump says the U.S. has reason to believe it knows who was behind the attack on Saudi Arabian energy facilities and is “locked and loaded” depending on verification and other issues.
In tweets Sunday night, Trump says the U.S. is waiting to hear from the Saudis as to who they believe was behind the attack and, as he put it, “under what terms we would proceed!”
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack, but U.S. officials say Iran is responsible. Iran denies it.
The drone attacks hit Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil processing facility and a major oil field, halting production of 5.7 million barrels of crude a day. That’s about half of the country’s global daily output and more than 5% of the world’s daily production.
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3:15 a.m.
Crude oil prices have shot up 9.5% to $60 after trading opened Sunday evening in New York, a dramatic increase that comes after a weekend attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure.
A spike in oil prices could have negative effects for the global economy.
The attack interrupted the production of 5.7 million barrels a day, more than half of Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production and about 5% of the world’s daily supply.
The Wall Street Journal cited Saudi officials as saying a third of output would be restored on Monday, but a return to full production may take weeks. The Saudis say they will use other facilities and existing stocks to supplant the plant’s production.
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2:10 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he has approved the release of U.S. strategic petroleum reserves “if needed” to stabilize energy markets after a Saturday attack on Saudi Arabian energy facilities.
Trump tweets that the attacks could have an impact on oil prices and says the final amount of the release, if any, would be “sufficient to keep the markets well-supplied.”
The authorization alone could help prevent a spike in oil prices after the attack led to suspension of more than 5% of the world’s daily crude oil production. The Trump administration has blamed the attack on Iran.
The federally owned petroleum reserve of hundreds of millions of barrels of crude oil has only been tapped three times, most recently in 2011 amid unrest in Libya.
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1 a.m.
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the recent attacks on Saudi Arabia oil facilities mean that a return to full production may take weeks. That could mean a spike in oil prices as traders worry about supply, with potential negative consequences for the global economy.
The Journal reports that Saudi officials say a third of crude output will be restored Monday. Officials said they would use other facilities and existing stocks to supplant the gap in production.
The weekend drone attacks hit Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil processing facility and a major oil field, halting production of 5.7 million barrels of crude a day, about half of the country’s global daily output and more than 5% of the world’s daily production.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for the attack, but U.S. officials say Iran is responsible. Iran denies it.
11:15 p.m.
Senior U.S. officials are citing intelligence assessments, including satellite imagery, to support their case that Iran was responsible for Saturday’s attacks on key Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure.
The officials say the intelligence shows that the strikes are inconsistent with the kind of attack that would have been launched from Yemen.
The U.S. government is releasing satellite imagery showing what officials say are at least 19 points of impact at two Saudi energy facilities. The officials say the photos show impacts consistent with attack coming from the direction of Iran, rather than from Yemen.
The officials say additional devices, which apparently didn’t reach their targets, have been recovered and are being analyzed by Saudi and American intelligence agencies.
The officials are speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters.
—Associated Press writer Zeke Miller
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10 p.m.
Satellite images examined by The Associated Press appear to show damage at the heart of a Saudi oil processing facility targeted in a claimed drone attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The images Sunday come from the European Commission’s Sentinel-2 satellite.
The images appear to show black char marks in the heart of Saudi Aramco’s Abqaiq oil processing facility in Buqyaq.
Those marks were not visible in a month’s worth of earlier satellite images of the facility.
The Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies in August identified the area with the char marks as the plant’s stabilization area.
The center said the area’s functions mean “the likelihood of a strike successfully disrupting or destroying its operations.”
Neither Saudi Arabia nor the state-run oil giant Saudi Aramco have said how much damage was done to the facility.
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7:55 p.m.
Kuwait says it is increasing security across the oil-rich small nation after an attack on oil sites in Saudi Arabia.
That’s according to a report Sunday night by the state-run KUNA news agency.
KUNA said the order came from Prime Minister Jaber Al Mubarak Al Sabah, who asked officials to “tighten security measures around vital sites inside of the country.”
Separately, KUNA said authorities would investigate reports of drones flying over Kuwait. It did not elaborate.
Local Kuwaiti media has reported that witnesses say they saw a drone near a presidential palace on Saturday morning, around the same time of the attacks in Saudi Arabia.
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6:00 p.m.
Germany is condemning the attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and calling for de-escalation in the region.
The Foreign Ministry in Berlin said in a statement Sunday that “there can be no justification for such an attack on Saudi Arabia’s civilian and critical infrastructure.”
It noted that Yemen’s Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for the attack and said it “heightens tensions” in the region when de-escalation is “urgently” needed.
The statement didn’t mention Iran, which the U.S. alleges was behind Saturday’s attacks.
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4 p.m.
A leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels says they were able to “exploit vulnerabilities” in Saudi Arabia’s air defense system to stage the attack previous day on the kingdom’s vital oil installations.
Muhammad al-Bukhaiti told The Associated Press on Sunday that the U.S. allegations that Iran was behind the attack reflected “political bankruptcy” of the administration in Washington.
The drone attack claimed by the Houthis hit the world’s largest oil processing facility and a major oil field on Saturday, sparking huge fires at a vulnerable chokepoint for global energy supplies.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has blamed Iran for the attacks and said that here’s “no evidence the attacks came from Yemen.”
Pompeo said on Saturday that “Iran has now launched an unprecedented attack on the world’s energy supply.”
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2:30 p.m.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri has condemned the drone attack on Saudi oil installations, describing it as an escalation that could widen conflicts in the region.
Hariri said in a statement on Sunday that the attack the day before in Saudi Arabia should push the international community to rein in “all the arms of aggression and terrorism that are striking Arab countries.”
Hariri said Lebanon stands by Saudi Arabia, adding that the latest “aggression” against the kingdom is part of attacks targeting Gulf Arab states and also undermines regional and international security.
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1:30 p.m.
Iran’s foreign minister says that blaming Iran for Yemeni rebel attacks on major Saudi oil sites will not end the war in the Arab world’s most impoverished country — but that talks might.
Mohammad Javad Zarif also said in a tweet on Sunday that “Having failed at ‘max pressure’, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo turning to ‘max deceit’.”
He also says: “US & its clients are stuck in Yemen because of illusion that weapon superiority will lead to military victory.”
Zarif also tweeted: “Blaming Iran won’t end disaster. Accepting our April ’15 proposal to end war & begin talks may.”
Late Saturday, Pompeo directly blamed Iran for the attack on major Saudi oil sites, without offering evidence to support his claim.
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1:15 p.m.
Iraq is denying that its country was the site from where Yemeni-rebel drones were launched to attack Saudi oil installations.
The statement came from Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi’s office on Sunday.
It says Iraq would act “decisively” if anyone tried to use its territory to attack other countries.
U.S. officials previously alleged at least one recent drone attack on Saudi Arabia came from Iraq, where Iran backs Shiite militias, something denied by Baghdad. Those militias in recent weeks have been targeted themselves by mysterious airstrikes, with at least one believed to have been carried out by Israel.
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12:10 p.m.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed the U.S. accusation that it was behind an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure the day before, calling it part of Washington’s policy of “maximum lies.”
Abbas Mousavi made the statement on Sunday.
He says Washington adopted a ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran but because of “its failure, (the U.S.) is leaning toward ‘maximum lies'” now.
Saturday’s drone attacks by Iranian-backed Yemeni rebels have halted about half of Saudi oil supplies after hitting the kingdom’s biggest oil processing facility and a major oil field.
They set off huge fires and led to a suspension of “production operations” at the Abqaiq facility and the Khurais field.
President Donald Trump called the Saudi crown prince after the attack, expressing U.S. support for the kingdom’s security and stability.

Police: No sign that Duluth synagogue fire was hate crime
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Authorities say a fire that destroyed a historic synagogue in northeastern Minnesota doesn’t appear to have been a hate crime.
Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said Sunday that 36-year-old Matthew James Amiot, of Duluth, was arrested Friday in the fire last week at the Adas Israel Congregation, in the city’s downtown.
Tusken says he has no reason to believe the fire was a hate crime, although the investigation is ongoing. Police are recommending that prosecutors charge Amiot with first-degree arson.
Duluth fire Chief Shawn Krizaj says the blaze started outside the synagogue and spread into the building early Monday. No accelerants were found.
According to its website, the Adas Israel Congregation is an Orthodox/High Conservative Jewish congregation with 75 members. Construction of the synagogue was completed in 1902.
Eight of 14 Torah scrolls, the holy books of Judaism, that were in the synagogue were saved.