Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke said he would institute a “mandatory buyback of every assault weapon in America.” O’Rourke made his comments in a column posted Thursday night by USA Today. He said some of the doctors treating the El Paso victims said they had not seen such “horrific wounds since they were deployed abroad in our armed forces.” O’Rourke acknowledged some believe the nation is too divided to bring about that change.

An Ambridge couple is facing more than 400 charges stemming from the seizure of dozens of cats from their home. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has details. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION HAS ISSUED A 22-PAGE REPORT ON WHY IT IS TERMINATING THE DELEGATED PERMITTING AND INSPECTION AUTHORITY OF THE BEAVER COUNTY CONSERVATION DISTRICT. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS MORE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

SALARIES, HIRINGS AND APPOINTMENTS WERE APPROVED BY THE ALIQUIPPA SCHOOL DISTRICT LAST NIGHT. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO WAS THERE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report….

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PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh’s hospital’s obstetrics department became Ozstetrics as the staff dressed up four newborns as characters from “The Wizard of Oz.” Allegheny Heath Network’s West Penn Hospital wanted to honor the 80th anniversary of the film. The hospital posted photos on social media. The newborns, in costumes, appeared to take it all in stride. The hospital says the babies will soon learn there’s no place like home.

A report out this week says Pennsylvania’s roads are getting better. The Reason Foundation’s report released yesterday puts the commonwealth at 35th in the nation for cost-effectiveness and condition. That rank is up six spots from their last report. P-A still ranks low in structurally deficient bridges and is 39th in total spending per mile. New Jersey now ranks dead last in overall highway performance.

Transportation Security Administration agents have started offering a friendly reminder to travelers about Real ID compliance. Starting in October 2020, travelers will not be able to fly with just a regular license. A Real ID or a passport will be required — even for domestic flights. The most Real IDs in the state have been issued in Allegheny Co. Pennsylvanians aren’t getting Real IDs as fast as PennDOT would like them to. The Real ID Act was passed after 9/11 to create a single national standard for licenses. In order to get a Real ID, people are required to prove their identity with four forms of ID. They can include a current driver’s license, passport, social security card, utility bill, payroll stub or birth certificate.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Thursday that his office was partnering with 12 telecommunications companies to crack down on illegal robocalls. According to a press release from Shapiro’s office, the 12 companies are AT&T, Bandwith, CenturyLink, Charter, Comcast, Consolidated, Frontier, Spring, T-Mobile, U.S. Cellular, Verizon and Windstream. The companies have agreed to adopt eight principles targeted at improving prevention of the calls and enforcement. To prevent the calls, the companies will offer some form of call-blocking services for all customers at no cost; offer free, easy-to-use labeling tools for smartphone mobile and residential customers; implement technology to authenticate that callers are coming from a valid source; and monitoring the networks for robocall traffic.

Dick’s Sporting Goods is delaying its decision on whether to keep selling guns. The company was considering the move after the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. But now, they say it’s too early to make a decision. Dick’s did make changes after the mass shooting at Parkland High School in Florida last year. The company stopped selling assault-style rifles, high-capacity magazines and bump stocks. Dick’s third quarter numbers were released Thursday and the company had a strong third quarter and early success in cutting back gun sales.

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Police say a woman tried to snatch a 4-year-old from her mother in a hospital’s emergency room in Pennsylvania. Lancaster General Hospital security officers told police the woman grabbed the child on Thursday. Officers quickly intervened and returned the child to her mother. Police say the women then became combative with security, punching an officer several times. The woman is a patient at the hospital and her name has not been released.