Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage at a campaign event in Butler, Pa., Saturday, July 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

BETHEL PARK, Pa. (AP) — After three days, an enigmatic portrait emerged of the 20-year-old man who came close to killing former President Donald Trump with a high-velocity bullet: He was an intelligent loner with few friends, an apparently thin social media footprint and no hints of strong political beliefs that would suggest a motive for an attempted assassination.

Even after the FBI cracked into Thomas Matthew Crooks’ cellphone, scoured his computer, home and car, and interviewed more than 100 people, the mystery of why he opened fire on Trump’s rally Saturday, wounding the GOP nominee, remained as elusive as the moment it happened.

“He sat by himself, didn’t talk to anyone, didn’t even try to make conversation,” said 17-year-old Liam Campbell, echoing the comments of classmates who remembered the shooter in this quiet community outside of Pittsburgh. “He was an odd kid,” but nothing about him seemed dangerous, he added. “Just a normal person who seemed like he didn’t like talking to people.”

So far, there has been no public disclosure the shooter left any writings, suicide note, social media screed or any other indicator explaining his reasons for targeting Trump. A law enforcement official briefed on the ongoing investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that Crooks’ phone had not immediately yielded any meaningful clues related to motive, or whether he acted alone or with others.

Crooks’ political leanings were also hazy. Crooks was registered as a Republican in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day Democratic President Joe Biden was sworn into office.

The absence of a satisfactory explanation has led Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to recount the lengthy federal investigation into the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, the deadliest such attack in the nation’s history. That probe closed after 17 months without finding any motive for what drove the 64-year-old gunman to spray more than 1,000 rounds into a crowd of concertgoers other than to “attain a certain degree of infamy.”

Crooks, with a slight build and wire-rimmed glasses, went by “Tom.” He was described by classmates at Bethel Park High School as smart but standoffish, often seen wearing headphones and preferring to sit alone at lunch looking at his phone. Some said he was often mocked by other students for the clothes he wore, which included hunting outfits, and for continuing to wear a mask after the COVID pandemic was over.

“He was bullied almost every day,” said classmate Jason Kohler. “He was just an outcast.”

After graduating from high school in 2022, Crooks went on to the Community College of Allegheny County, earning an associate’s degree with honors in engineering science in May. He also worked at a nursing home as a dietary aide.

A 1997 Secret Service study into those who had attempted assassinations since 1949 found there was no single indicator that a person might seek to take the life of a public figure. However, two-thirds of all attackers were described as “social isolates.”

Like Crooks, few had any history of violent crime or criminal records. Most attackers also had histories of handling weapons, but no formal weapons or military training, according to the study.

As a freshman, Crooks had tried out for his high school rifle team but was rejected for poor marksmanship, the AP previously reported. Through his family, he was a member of the Clairton Sportsmen’s Club, a shooting range about 11 miles (17 kilometers) east of Bethel Park.

“We know very little about him,” club president Bill Sellitto told the AP. “That was a terrible, terrible thing that happened Saturday — that’s not what we’re about by any means.”

The club has an outdoor range for high-powered rifles with targets set at distances of up to 170 meters (187 yards).

Crooks was well within that range when he opened fire on Trump Saturday from about 135 meters (147 yards) from where Trump was speaking, unleashing two quick volleys of rounds at the former president with an AR-15 style rifle.

His father, Matthew Crooks, bought the gun in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, in 2013 from Gander Mountain, a retail outdoors chain.

The day before the shooting, Thomas Crooks went to the sportsman’s club and practiced on the rifle range, according to a federal intelligence briefing obtained by the AP. On the day of the attack, he purchased 50 rounds of 5.56mm ammo for his rifle from a local gun shop and drove alone to Butler, Pennsylvania, the site of the Trump rally.

He parked at a gas station lot about a third of a mile from the event. He wore a gray T-shirt with the logo of a popular YouTube channel dedicated to firearms, camo shorts and a black belt.

Witnesses and law enforcement officials say Crooks walked around for at least a half-hour before climbing onto the roof of a building adjacent to the Butler Farm Show grounds, where Trump was speaking. As spectators screamed for police to respond, Crooks opened fire, letting loose two quick bursts. A Secret Service counter sniper fired back within about 15 seconds, killing Crooks with a shot to the head.

Trump said this week that one bullet clipped his right ear, and that only a last-second turn of his head kept him from potentially being mortally wounded. One of the bullets aimed toward Trump killed 50-year-old firefighter Corey Comperatore, a spectator who was in the bleachers. Two others were seriously wounded.

Without clear insight into what drove Crooks, many on both sides of the American political divide tried to fill the void with their own partisan assumptions, evidence-free speculations and conspiracy theories in the days since the shooting.

Some Republicans have pointed at Democrats for labeling Trump a threat to democracy. Democrats, in turn, pointed to Crooks’ GOP registration and to Trump’s own long history of provocative rhetoric, including his continued praise of the Jan. 6 rioters.

Access to the Crooks home remained blocked by yellow police tape, with officers keeping watch and preventing reporters from approaching.

Melanie Maxwell, who lives in the neighborhood, was dropping off “Trump 2024” lawn signs at another neighbor’s home.

Like the others, she didn’t know the Crooks family well. She said she was appalled by the assault and said any security lapses should be fully investigated.

“The hand of God protected President Trump,” she said.

___

Biesecker reported from Washington, Bellisle from Seattle and Mustian from New York. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker and Colleen Long in Washington, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Julie Smyth, Lindsey Bahr, Mark Scolforo, and Joshua Bickel in Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, Michael R. Sisak in Butler, Pennsylvania, Randy Herschaft in New York, Michael Balsamo in Chicago and Michael Kunzelman in Silver Spring, Maryland, contributed to this report.

FILE – A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio, as a result of a controlled detonation of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains, Feb. 6, 2023. West Virginia’s water utility says it’s taking precautionary steps following the derailment of a train hauling chemicals that later sent up a toxic plume in Ohio. The utility said in a statement on Sunday, Feb. 16, 2023 that it has enhanced its treatment processes even though there hasn’t been a change in raw water at its Ohio River intake. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)

Few people ultimately opted out of the $600 million class action settlement Norfolk Southern offered to people affected by last year’s disastrous East Palestine train derailment despite the questions residents raised about the deal, lawyers said.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys said only 22 of the nearly 2,000 households in the small Ohio town where the derailment happened in February 2023 opted out of the deal before the July 1 deadline. In total, only 173 of the more than 190,000 households in the 20-mile (32.2-kilometer) area around the derailment covered by the deal had decided not to accept it as of Monday’s filing.

The train crash spilled an assortment of hazardous chemicals from tank cars that ruptured, and days after the derailment, officials decided to blow open five tank cars and burn the vinyl chloride inside because they worried the cars might explode. The National Transportation Safety Board has said that vent and burn procedure was likely unnecessary but the officials who made that call didn’t have all the information they needed.

A federal judge has given the deal preliminary approval, but a hearing will be held in late September to determine if the deal should go through. Separately, Norfolk Southern agreed to pay a $15 million fine and make changes to its operation as part of a federal settlement.

The lawyers said in a statement Tuesday that “the community’s response to the settlement has been overwhelmingly positive” and thousands of claims have already been submitted.

A handful of residents filed formal objections to the deal because they believe it’s not fair that some of the people who were most affected by the derailment might wind up with the smallest settlements and that people didn’t have enough time or information to decide whether this deal is fair.

Residents had a chance to hear the NTSB discuss the reasons why the train derailed and the communication failures afterward at the board’s June 25 hearing, but the agency didn’t release its final report until Friday — nearly two weeks after people who live near East Palestine had to decide whether to accept the settlement. And the lawyers haven’t yet filed the detailed test results and other evidence they gathered as part of the lawsuit.

Some residents might receive little or nothing from the settlement because the final amount they get will be reduced by how much assistance they took from Norfolk Southern since the derailment. Even households near the derailment that are supposed to get roughly $70,000 could wind up with nothing if the railroad put them up in pricey hotels or rental homes for months.

One of the leading critics of the deal, Jami Wallace, said people like her who lost their homes and experienced illnesses after the derailment shouldn’t be denied compensation.

“Getting nothing for suffering and intentional poisoning is not fair or adequate,” Wallace said in her formal objection.

Norfolk Southern provided more than $21 million in direct assistance to families who had to temporarily relocate after the derailment.

The lawyers who negotiated the deal with the railroad have said that kind of offset procedure is customary in any lawsuit, so residents would likely face that even if they pursued their own lawsuits against Norfolk Southern.

The amount people are supposed to receive from the settlement also varies based on how close they lived to the derailment and how it affected them. Documents filed in court suggests that a family living within 2 miles (3.2 kilometers) of the derailment might receive $70,000 for property damage. Someone who lived farther away will get considerably less — maybe only $250 for families more than 15 miles (24 kilometers) away.

The lawyers have said some people could receive more than those estimated amounts after a claims administrator reviews all the individual factors.

Resident Tamara Lynn Freeze said in a handwritten note to the judge that it’s unfair to make her decide whether to accept the settlement before she even knows exactly how much she might receive from it.

The settlement offers payments of $10,000 for injuries, but accepting that would mean that residents won’t be able to sue the railroad down the road if they develop cancer or other serious health conditions. They don’t have to accept the personal injury payment to get the money for property damage.

Many people are still reporting respiratory problems, unexplained rashes and other symptoms more than a year after the derailment while others have no health complaints. And residents worry about the potential long-term health implications of all the chemicals they have been exposed to.

The court wouldn’t allow the settlement to include anything for potential future health costs because those aren’t known yet, the lawyers say.

The plaintiffs’ attorneys are expected to share up to $162 million in legal fees out of the settlement if the judge approves.

(Photo provided by family)

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (July 16, 2024) — The family of James Copenhaver, who was injured Saturday evening during the assassination attempt of former U.S. President Donald Trump, has issued the following statement:

The Copenhaver family would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of support for James “Jim” as he recovers from the injuries that he tragically sustained during President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. Jim would like to especially thank the first responders, medics, and hospital staff who have provided him with initial and continuing care. Additionally, Jim would like to express his thoughts and prayers for the other victims, their families, and President Trump. He prays for a safe and speedy recovery for them all.

At this time, the Copenhaver family would kindly request that friends, the public, and the media respect the family’s privacy and allow for Jim to recover from the life-altering injuries that he sustained on July 13, 2024. There will be no further information released by the family at this time. All inquiries shall be directed to the Law Offices of Max C. Feldman at 412-262-6181 and with the legal representative’s approval to Dan Laurent with Allegheny Health Network. The Copenhaver family would like to thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and support as Jim and his family recover from this horrible, senseless, and unnecessary act of violence.

Mr. Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pa., is one of two victims injured during the Butler County, Pa., assassination attempt who are receiving care at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. He remains in critical but stable condition as of 3 p.m. Tuesday.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump is surrounded by U.S. Secret Service agents at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The 20-year-old man who tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump first came to law enforcement’s attention at Saturday’s rally when spectators noticed him acting strangely outside the campaign event. The tip sparked a frantic search but officers were unable to find him before he managed to get on a roof, where he opened fire.

In the wake of the shooting that killed one spectator, investigators were hunting for any clues about what may have drove Thomas Matthew Crooks, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to carry out the shocking attack. The FBI said they were investigating it as a potential act of domestic terrorism, but the absence of a clear ideological motive by the man shot dead by the Secret Service led conspiracy theories to flourish.

“I urge everyone — everyone, please, don’t make assumptions about his motives or his affiliations,” President Joe Biden said in remarks Sunday from the White House. “Let the FBI do their job, and their partner agencies do their job. I’ve instructed that this investigation be thorough and swift.”

The FBI said it believes Crooks, who had bomb-making materials in the car he drove to the rally, acted alone. Investigators have found no threatening comments on social media accounts or ideological positions that could help explain what led him to target Trump before the Secret Service rushed the presumptive Republican presidential nominee off the stage, his face smeared with blood.

Trump said on social media the upper part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting, but advisers said he was “great spirits” ahead of his arrival Sunday in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention. Two spectators were critically injured, while a former fire chief from the area, Corey Comperatore was killed. Pennsylvania’s governor said Comperatore, 50, died a hero by diving onto his family to protect them.

Relatives of Crooks didn’t respond to numerous messages from The Associated Press. His father, Matthew Crooks, told CNN late Saturday that he was trying to figure out “what the hell is going on” but wouldn’t speak about his son until after he talked to law enforcement. An FBI official told reporters that Crooks’ family is cooperating with investigators.

Several rallygoers reported to local officers that Crooks was acting suspiciously and pacing near the magnetometers, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. Officers were then told Crooks was climbing a ladder, the official said. Officers searched for him but were unable to find him before he made it to the roof, the official added.

Butler County Sheriff Michael Slupe told the AP that a local officer climbed to the roof and encountered Crooks, who saw the officer and turned toward him just before the officer dropped down to safety. Slupe said the officer couldn’t have wielded his own gun under the circumstances. The officer retreated down the ladder, and Crooks quickly took a shot toward Trump, and that’s when Secret Service snipers shot him, according to two officials who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

FBI officials said Sunday that they were combing Crooks’ background and social media activities while working to get access to his phone. The chatting app Discord, a social media platform popular with people playing online games, said Crooks appears to have had an account but used it rarely and not in the last several months. There’s no evidence he used his account to promote violence or discuss his political views, a Discord spokesperson said.

Crooks’ political leanings were not immediately clear. Records show Crooks was registered as a Republican voter in Pennsylvania, but federal campaign finance reports also show he gave $15 to a progressive political action committee on Jan. 20, 2021, the day Biden was sworn into office.

Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. In a video of the school’s graduation ceremony posted online, Crooks can be seen crossing the stage to receive his diploma, appearing slight of build and wearing glasses. The school district said it will cooperate fully with investigators. His senior year, Crooks was among several students given an award for math and science, according to a Tribune-Review story at the time.

Crooks tried out for the school’s rifle team but was turned away because he was a bad shooter, said Frederick Mach, a current captain of the team who was a few years behind Crooks at the school.

Jason Kohler, who said he attended the same high school but did not share any classes with Crooks, said Crooks was bullied at school and sat alone at lunch time. Other students mocked him for the clothes he wore, which included hunting outfits, Kohler said.

“He was bullied almost every day,” Kohler told reporters. “He was just a outcast, and you know how kids are nowadays.”

Crooks worked at a nursing home as a dietary aide, a job that generally involves food preparation. Marcie Grimm, the administrator of Bethel Park Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation, said in a statement she was “shocked and saddened to learn of his involvement.” Grimm added that Crooks had a clean background check when he was hired.

A blockade had been set up Sunday preventing traffic near Crooks’ house, which is in an enclave of modest brick houses in the hills outside Pittsburgh and about an hour’s drive from the site of the Trump rally. Police cars were stationed at an intersection near the house and officers were seen walking through the neighborhood.

Crooks used an AR-style rifle, which authorities said they believe was purchased by his father. Kevin Rojek, FBI special agent in charge in Pittsburgh, said that investigators do not yet know if he took the gun without his father’s permission.

A video posted to social media and geolocated by AP shows Crooks wearing a gray t-shirt with a black American flag on the right arm lying motionless on the roof of a manufacturing plant just north of the Butler Farm Show grounds where Trump’s rally was held.

The roof where Crooks lay was less than 150 meters (164 yards) from where Trump was speaking, a distance from which a decent marksman could reasonably hit a human-sized target. That is a distance at which U.S. Army recruits must hit a scaled human-sized silhouette to qualify with the M-16 rifle.

Images of Crooks’ body reviewed by AP show he appears to have been wearing a T-shirt from Demolition Ranch, a popular YouTube channel that regularly posts videos of its creator firing off handguns and assault rifles at targets that include human mannequins.

Matt Carriker, the Texas-based creator of Demolition Ranch, did not respond to a phone message or email on Sunday, but posted a photo of Crooks’ bloody corpse wearing his brand’s T-shirt on social media with the comment “What the hell.”

_____

Mustian reported from New York and Balsamo reported from Chicago. Associated Press writers Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pa., Julie Smyth, Lindsey Bahr and Joshua Bickel in Bethel Park, Michael R. Sisak and Randy Herschaft in New York, Michael Kunzelman in Silver Spring, Md., and Colleen Long and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden listens during a visit to the D.C. Emergency Operations Center, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are trying to offer political counterprograming to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, announcing $15 million to fund campaign operations in seven key swing states — even as some in the party have urged President Joe Biden to bow out of November’s election.

The Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday that it is investing $15 million in state parties, meant to help them open more field offices and bolster staffing. The funding will let them add to the 217 existing coordinated campaign offices working jointly for Biden’s reelection bid and state parties that already employ 1,100-plus staffers in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, the DNC said.

The investments will pump nearly $3 million into Wisconsin; nearly $2 million each into Pennsylvania, Michigan and Nevada; almost $1.5 million in Arizona; more than $1.2 million in North Carolina; and more than $1 million in Georgia.

The outlay was planned prior to former President Donald Trump being injured in an attempted assassination during his rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, which prompted Biden and his campaign to temporarily shift its reelection strategy. Trump nonetheless is attending his party’s convention and will accept his party’s nomination on Thursday.

Trump’s campaign has spent recent weeks opening field offices, including those targeting key constituencies, in conjunction with the Republican National Committee.

“We have paid staffers and volunteer-powered field programs in every battleground state, and they are expanding daily,” Trump campaign spokesman Karoline Leavitt said. “Our aggressive and experienced operation is focused on turning out votes and highlighting the contrast” between Trump and Biden.

The DNC for months has argued that its and the Biden campaign’s growing on-the-ground operation could help swing an election expected to be close. Still, top Democrats are trying to move past questions from within their own party that have persisted about whether Biden is up to continuing to seek reelection in the weeks since his debate debacle and despite the race’s shifting dynamics after Trump was injured last weekend.

Biden and his team have furiously attempted to reassure jittery lawmakers and donors, as well as skeptical voters, that, at age 81, the Democratic president can still win in November and handle a second four-year term. Nearly 20 Democratic lawmakers have nonetheless publicly called on Biden to step aside.

The DNC said the investments will fund new field offices and help state parties get more accurate data and better coordinate party efforts for down-ballot races.

“Democrats are leaving nothing to chance and investing heavily on the ground to ensure Joe Biden and Kamala Harris win this election,“ Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said in a statement. “This election was always going to be close, and regardless of beltway media narratives, the entire election is going to come down to operation and turnout in the battleground states.”

Arizona Democratic Party chair Yolanda Bejarano said state officials and the Biden campaign opened a 15th coordinated campaign office in Arizona over the weekend, adding that, “This election is going to be won at the doors, talking to people about the issues that they care about.”

“This is perfect timing from my vantage point,” Bejarano said of the DNC investment. “We need the resources to do the work, to hire organizers, to have town halls across the state, to get the message out through media buys.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon Prime Day is here, and experts are reminding consumers to be wary of scams.

Deceptions such as phony emails from people impersonating online retailers like Amazon are nothing new. But phishing attempts increase amid the heavy spending seen during significant sales events, whether it’s Black Friday or Prime Day, according to the Better Business Bureau.

“This is a huge moment on the retail calendar,” Josh Planos, vice president of communications and public relations at the Better Business Bureau, previously told The Associated Press. “And because of that, it represents an enormous opportunity for a scammer, con artist or even just an unethical business or organization to capitalize on the moment and separate folks from their hard-earned money.”

Prime Day, a two-day discount event for Amazon Prime members, kicks off on Tuesday and runs through Wednesday. In updated guidance published last week, the Better Business Bureau reminded consumers to watch out for lookalike websites, too-good-to-be-true social media ads, and unsolicited emails or calls during sales events this month.

Consumers might need to be more vigilant this year than ever before. In June, the Better Business Bureau published a report that said it received a record number of phishing reports in 2023. Reports are also trending up so far this year, the organization said.

Meanwhile, in a report released this month, the Israel-founded cybersecurity company Check Point Software Technologies said more than 1,230 new websites that associated themselves with Amazon popped up in June. The vast majority of them were malicious or appeared suspicious, according to Check Point.

Scott Knapp, director of worldwide buyer risk prevention at Amazon, identifies two areas that the company has seen hoaxes around come Prime Day in recent years: Prime membership and order confirmations.

Last year, for example, more than two-third of scams reported by Amazon customers claimed to be related to order or account issues, Knapp wrote in an emailed statement. People reported getting unsolicited calls or emails saying there was something wrong with their Prime membership and seeking bank account or other payment information to reinstate the accounts, Knapp explained.

Urging consumers to confirm an order they didn’t place is also a common tactic at this time of year, he added. Scammers might pick something expensive, like a smartphone, to get attention — and again ask for payment information or send a malicious link. They might also try to lure in consumers with promises of a giveaway, or by using language that creates a false sense of urgency.

Amazon is attempting “to ensure scammers are not using our brand to take advantage of people who trust us,” Knapp wrote, adding that customers can confirm their purchases and verify messages from the company on its app or website.

Additional scams are probably out there, but it’s hard to know what form they might take before this year’s Prime Day begins. Still, experts note that the same shopping scams tend to resurface year after year.

“Typically, the bones remain the same,” Planos said, pointing to fake delivery scams, email phishing and other repeated methods. “It’s always a ploy to separate consumers from (their) personal and payment information.”

But online hoaxes are also constantly evolving to become more sophisticated, Planos and others warn. That means images might look more legitimate, text messages may sound more convincing and fake websites that look very similar to real shopping destinations.

Amazon’s Knapp has said that with artificial intelligence “starting to leak in,” the scams targeting e-commerce shoppers follow the same approach but with a machine populating an email or text instead of a person.

According to data from the Federal Trade Commission, consumers reported losing about $10 billion to fraud in 2023, a 14% jump from 2022. Online shopping scams were the second most-reported form of fraud, following impostor scams, the FTC said.

Both the FTC and Better Business Bureau provide consumers with tips to avoid scams year-round. Guidance includes blocking unwanted messages, not giving financial information to unsolicited callers and checking links before clicking — secure websites, for example, will have “HTTPS” in the URL, Planos notes, never “HTTP.”

Scammers will often pressure you to act immediately, experts say. It’s important to pause and trust your gut. Experts also urge consumers to report scams to regulators.

Beyond scams that impersonate companies or retailers, it’s also important to be cautious of counterfeit products and fake reviews on the sites of trusted retailers. Just because you’re shopping on Amazon, for example, doesn’t mean you’re buying from Amazon. The online shopping giant, like eBay, Walmart and others, has vast third-party marketplaces.

The quality and look of counterfeit products has significantly increased over recent years, Planos notes, making the activity difficult to police. A good rule of thumb is looking at the price tag — if the product is being sold for less than 75% of its year-round market rate, “that’s a pretty big red flag,” he says.

Sketchy sellers can show up on different platforms, including sites like Amazon, “all the time” Planos said, urging consumers to check out companies on the Better Business Bureau’s website. Like other scams, counterfeit products may increase around high spending periods.

Amid increasing pressure to tackle counterfeit products, Amazon has reported getting rid of millions of phony products in recent years. The company said it also blocked billions of bad listings from making it on to its site. In 2023, Amazon the company said more than 7 million counterfeit items were “identified, seized and appropriately disposed of.” The online retailer has also filed multiple lawsuits against fake review brokers.

Amazon notes customers can also report fake reviews and other scams on its website. If a shopper purchases a counterfeit item detected by the company, Amazon has said it will “proactively contact” the customer and provide a refund.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published July 16, 2024 11:25 A.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) State Police were dispatched to 419 Allegheny Avenue in West Aliquippa by Aliquippa Police to assume an attempted double homicide investigation on Saturday, July 13, 2024 at 3:32pm.

Upon arrival officers found through investigation that Christopher Verdoni, 29, had stabbed Louis Badamo, 52, in both legs. He was treated and released at Heritage Valley Sewickley. The other victim, George Wissner, 57, had been stabbed in his torso, he was transported to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh for a serious injury.

Verdoni was taken into custody by state police and is awaiting arraignment in the Beaver County Jail.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published July 16, 2024 10:46 A.M.

(Hopewell Township, Pa) Hopewell’s Township’s Annual Yard Crawl has been announced for 2024. Over 140 residents are participating in the event that takes place throughout the township on Saturday, July 27, 2024 from 8am to 2pm. A food truck rally is also being held at the Crestmont Shopping Center from 11am to 2pm, according to Nora Janicki, Community outreach Coordinator for the township.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published July 16, 2024 10:44 A.M.

(Center Township, Pa) Center Township Supervisors chairman Bill DiCioccio, Jr.  reported on  Tuesday morning that  the complex’s renovation  on Center Grange Road is almost complete. He added that the building may be ready for business to convene in 4 to 6 weeks. Municipal offices are temporarily located in the Betters Plaza on Brodhead Road.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published July 16, 2024 10:39 A.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) It was revealed Monday that the Aliquippa Quips Head Coach Mike Warfield will be taking a leave of absence.  In a letter to Quip Nation Monday afternoon, Coach Warfield said it’s time for a short recess. He reported that he signed a contract extension for 2024 season, and said he’ll be around during the football season.
It was confirmed that the coach is taking the leave for personal reasons. The board is to discuss the matter in executive session in a few days.