(File Photo of a Road Work Ahead Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that a lane restriction on eastbound I-376 (Beaver Valley Expressway) in Potter and Vanport townships has been extended.

A single lane restriction on eastbound I-376 will continue continuously around-the-clock through late December along the Vanport Bridge between the Monaca/Shippingport (Exit 39) interchange and Beaver (Exit 38B) exit.

Crews are expected to continue their work in the eastbound direction in the spring of 2027.

(File Photo of the Allegheny Health Network Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Allegheny Health Network (AHN) Cancer Center is now launching a new workplace cancer screening initiative which is designed to bring convenient and potentially life-saving cancer screenings directly to employees across western Pennsylvania.

The new program is part of the AHN Cancer Center’s S.T.O.P. Cancer initiative, and it will partner with large employer groups to offer on-site cancer screening events which remove barriers to preventive care and help to identify cancer at its earliest and most treatable stages.

The S.T.O.P. Cancer acronym stands for Screen, Test, Outsmart and Prevent Cancer.

Dollar Bank is the first employer to participate in this initiative.

Clinicians from the AHN Cancer Center will host an exclusive cancer screening event for eligible Dollar Bank employees on October 29th, 2026, which offers convenient access to screenings and educational resources that are focused on cancer prevention and early detection.

Leaders of the AHN Cancer Center are also working with the Pittsburgh Firefighters Union to schedule a workplace screening event in the early part of 2027.

(File Photo of State Representative Rob Matzie Speaking)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Harrisburg, PA) The Pennsylvania House adopted State Representative Rob Matzie’s H.R. 536 today, which designated the week of October 11th-17th, 2026, as “Credit Union Week” in Pennsylvania.

According to Matzie, he introduced the resolution to highlight the advantages credit unions can provide for consumers and how these nonprofit organizations differ from traditional banks.

Recent regulatory reports show that there are almost 270 credit unions headquartered in Pennsylvania, which includes 32 state-chartered credit unions and 236 federally chartered credit unions.

International Credit Union Day was observed on the day of October 15th.

(File Photo of a Cranberry Township Police Car)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Cranberry Township, PA) Cranberry Township police recently charged two men from Michigan who are accused of stealing almost $5,000 worth of electronics from the Cranberry Township Walmart by posing as Spark drivers. 

According to police, Darnell Rakestraw and Trey Nunlee pretended to be Walmart Spark drivers on June 30th.

Spark is Walmart’s delivery service which allows drivers to accept curbside pickup orders, handle customer returns and shop inside stores for customers.

Police paperwork confirms that Rakestraw entered the store at around 7 p.m. and picked up two Nintendo Switch consoles and two PlayStation 5 systems.

Police stated that he returned about two hours later and picked up two more Nintendo Switch consoles as well as a Meta Quest virtual reality headset. 

Investigators confirmed that Rakestraw walked to the front of the store and left without paying on both of these occasions. 

Police also affirm that Nunlee arrived about 30 minutes after Rakestraw left the store and picked up two additional PlayStation 5 systems. 

These electronic devices were kept behind lock and key. 

Police noted that Rakestraw and Nunlee were able to gain access to the items that are typically reserved for employees of Walmart by posing as drivers from Spark.

(File Photo of a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Car)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(New Brighton, PA) Twenty-six-year-old Benjamin Sanderbeck of Wampum was taken to the Beaver County Jail in connection with a shooting that occurred on Tuesday in New Brighton.

At approximately 2:45 p.m. that day, New Brighton Area Police responded to the area of 5th Avenue and 7th Street for the report of a motorist’s vehicle being hit by gunfire.

Officers determined that a vehicle that was traveling south on 5th Avenue was hit by a single gun shot, that gun shot passed through the vehicle’s passenger compartment off the vehicle, and the shot came from a passing vehicle.

This caused an amount of damages that was undetermined.

There were no reported injuries.

Members of both New Brighton Police and the Pennsylvania State Police New Castle Barracks executed a search warrant yesterday on the suspected vehicle at Sanderbeck’s residence on Newport Road in Wampum.

A subsequent interview led police to file charges against Sanderbeck for criminal mischief, discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, propulsion of missiles into an occupied vehicle, and reckless endangering of another person.

(File Photo of a Police Siren Light)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Aliquippa, PA) Three adults and two juveniles are facing charges after a disturbance during a search warrant execution that occurred on Monday in Aliquippa. 

Aliquippa police confirm that the warrant that was on Irwin Street was connected to an investigation into 21-year-old Ramere Lowe. 

Lowe allegedly brandished a gun and threatened a woman at a local market. 

According to police, this search warrant stemmed from an incident at the Plan 12 Market, which is where Lowe allegedly threatened a female victim. 

That incident followed an altercation on September 29th in which Lowe allegedly pepper-sprayed the same woman, leading to criminal charges. 

Officers executed the warrant at 7:20 p.m. on Monday and several people gathered and became disorderly, and they refused commands to disperse.

Hopewell Township police responded to assist Aliquippa officers at the scene of this incident.

Officers tried to take thirty-seven-year-old Diedra Lee into custody and her juvenile daughter allegedly intervened in the arrest. 

Police state that a juvenile male also caused a disturbance, yelled and obstructed officers after he refused multiple orders to stop and leave the area.

59-year-old Rayetta Lee arrived at the scene during this disturbance and stopped her vehicle in the middle of the roadway, which blocked traffic.

Police state that she exited her vehicle, interfered with officers and yelled during this operation. 

Lowe was charged with intimidation of a victim, retaliation of a victim and simple assault and terroristic threats.

Diedra Lee was charged with disorderly conduct, failure of disorderly persons to disperse and obstruction. 

Rayetta Lee was charged with two counts of disorderly conduct, failure of disorderly persons to disperse, obstruction and obstructing highways. 

Both juveniles face charges of disorderly conduct, failure of disorderly persons to disperse and obstruction. 

(File Photo of Congressman Chris Deluzio)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Carnegie, PA) Congressman Chris Deluzio (PA-17) announced yesterday that fifteen Western Pennsylvania fire departments are receiving a total of nearly $3.6 million in federal grant funding to support their public safety work. Many of these grant awards were successful following Congressman Deluzio’s office’s direct advocacy for this funding to come to Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided this funding via the Department of Homeland Security’s Fiscal Year 2025 Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs. 

A total of $3,594,533.98 in federal funding is coming to fifteen fire departments in the 17th Congressional District of Pennsylvania.

The majority of this funding awards will help thirteen Western Pennsylvania fire departments by critical equipment, emergency vehicles, protective gear, training, and other resources through the AFG program.

Two other departments will receive close to $1 million to support their firefighter recruitment and retention efforts that are through the SAFER program. 

According to a release from Deluzio’s office, the full list of grant awardees is as follows:

Assistance to Firefighters Grant recipients 

1. Brighton Township Volunteer Fire Department – $877,695.23 

1. Community Ambulance Service (Franklin) – $191,013.63 

1. West Deer Township Volunteer Fire Co. No. 3 – $65,723.80 

1. Citizens Hose Co. (Natrona Heights) – $95,238.09 

1. Harrison Hills Volunteer Fire Co. (Natrona Heights) – $30,923.80 

1. Borough of New Brighton – $869,416.95 

1. Oakmont Borough – $197,476.19 

1. Reserve Volunteer Fire Dept. – $35,571.42 

1. Bellevue Borough – $91,428.57 

1. Edgewood Volunteer Fire Dept. – $59,771.42 

1. Seville Volunteer Fire Co (Ross) – $54,772.72 

1. Neptune Fire Co. No. 1 (Richland) – $29,852.38 

1. Southern Allegheny Valley Emergency Services (Sharpsburg) – $17,638.90 

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant recipients 

1. West View Volunteer Fire Dept. – $550,010.88 

1. Berkeley Hills Fire Co. (Ross) – $428,000 

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pope Leo XIV thanks the faithful during his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV will need no further treatment for lung cancer after tests confirmed the disease was localized, the Vatican said Wednesday.

Leo, 71, had part of one lung removed last week in the first major health event of his 17-month pontificate. The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. Leo was discharged from Rome’s Gemelli Polyclinic on Saturday, four days after surgery, and said he would gradually resume his activities.

The pope’s personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, and his surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, said the final tests on tissue removed during the surgery confirmed the diagnosis and that the cancer had not spread.

“A subsequent oncology assessment confirmed that no further treatment is necessary,” the doctors said in a statement.

The pope had the lower section, or lobe, of his right lung removed to try to ensure that all the cancer was removed.

Additional treatment is offered for patients whose cancer has spread, such as into the lymph nodes, or who have certain other signs that their cancer might be particularly aggressive. Surgery often can be enough when tumors are caught very early, such as when someone has an X-ray or other scan that shows a spot long before it’s large or causing symptoms.

The pope appears to have had one of those “incidental findings,” a nodule in his lung spotted during another exam.

In an interview with Vatican News on Saturday, Margaritora, the chief thoracic surgeon at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, confirmed that the nodule was found by chance during routine abdominal examinations, and that the pope had not been experiencing any symptoms.

“The statements suggest that this is a stage I lung cancer for which surgery is highly effective and expected to be curative,” said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. He said the lack of further treatment suggests a relatively small cancer, and that it had not spread to lymph nodes.

The pope carried on business while in the hospital, including a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and has appeared strong in two public appearances at the Vatican since his surgery: the traditional Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square and Wednesday’s longer audience in the square, greeting the faithful from around the world.

“Thank you! Thank you for the support of your prayers,” Leo said during the audience.

His next major engagement is an ambitious Nov. 6-17 trip to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru.

Margaritora told Vatican News that there was “no clinical reason” to prevent the trip, which includes a dozen flights, two helicopter rides and high altitude stops.

The pope had revealed that a nodule would be surgically removed during the traditional Sunday blessing on Oct. 11, in an unusually transparent disclosure broadcast on live television that broke the tradition of secrecy surrounding papal health issues.

(File Photo of the Top of a School Bus)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Ambridge, PA) State Representative Rob Matzie announced yesterday that grant funding of nearly $620,000 from the state Department of Education will bolster literacy skills for elementary school students in the Central Valley and Freedom Area school districts.

According to Matzie, this funding, which includes $415,405 to Central Valley School District for the Center Grange Primary and Todd Lane Elementary schools, and $204,160 to the Freedom Area School District for the Freedom Area Elementary School, will give students a stronger start in an essential core curriculum subject. 

The funding comes from the Pennsylvania Structured Literacy Grant program and this program provides funding to help school districts implement the state of Pennsylvania’s structured literacy legislation.

These grants may be used for buying materials, obtaining assessments for screening, developing both plans and literacy systems that are sustainable, and strengthening collaboration districtwide.