Sheetz ties for second place in 2025 American Customer Satisfaction Index convenience store study

(File Photo: Caption and Credit for Photo: Sheetz logo. Courtesy of (PRNewsFoto/SHEETZ, INC.)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Ann Arbor, MI) A ranking recently came out from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) in their 2025 convenience store study, which shows Sheetz is tied with Wawa in second place with a customer satisfaction score of 82. This study from the ACSI is based on over 8,000 surveys, and that index confirms customers were picked at random by email between October of 2024 and September of 2025 to participate in it to rank successful convenience stores. The Altoona, Pennsylvania based Sheetz has improved in this study 4% each year they have been ranked in it.

Car accident occurs near the 7/11 store in Beaver

(File Photo of a Police Siren Light)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver, PA) A driving accident occurred yesterday morning close to the 7/11 store in Beaver. The crash happened at around 5:25 a.m. that morning and a vehicle hit a telephone pole on the passenger side. Eastbound traffic was diverted. The conditions of both the driver and potential passenger is unknown at this time. 

Penguins beat Mike Sullivan’s Rangers 3-0 in coach Dan Muse’s debut

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones (82) clears the puck in front of goaltender Arturs Silovs (37) in the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Rangers, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

NEW YORK (AP) — Justin Brazeau scored twice, Arturs Silovs stopped all 25 shots he faced for his first regular-season NHL shutout, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 3-0 on Tuesday night in each team’s opener.

Dan Muse won his debut as Penguins coach with his predecessor, Mike Sullivan, on the other bench running his first game with the Rangers. Sullivan guided Pittsburgh to back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and ’17 as part of a nearly decade-long run there before parting ways in April.

Brazeau and Silovs were also playing for the Penguins for the first time. Brazeau signed as a free agent, while Silovs joined in a trade from Vancouver.

Evgeni Malkin led off his 20th season in the league by setting up Brazeau’s goal. Malkin beat Vincent Trocheck on an offensive zone faceoff to get the puck to Brazeau, who was alone in front and roofed a backhander past Igor Shesterkin.

Brazeau’s first goal with 32 seconds remaining in the first came near the end of a period that Pittsburgh controlled the play for much of the time. Silovs blockered away a shot from Alexis Lafrenière in the final seconds of an early Rangers power play but did not have to make too many other spectacular saves to get the win.

With Shesterkin pulled for an extra attacker, Brazeau had an empty-netter with 2:12 left, and Blake Lizotte sealed it with another 20 seconds later.

Mika Zibanejad, who Sullivan put on new captain J.T. Miller’s right wing to start the season, was one of the most noticeable players for New York. Zibanejad missed the net on a couple of scoring chances but also had a game-high seven shots on goal.

Defeating the Rangers gave the Penguins something to celebrate on opening night as Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang made some history. They became the first trio in the four major North American men’s professional sports leagues to play 20 seasons together with the same team.

Staffing shortages cause more U.S. flight delays as government shutdown reaches 7th day

(File Photo: Source for Photo: A plane takes off near the air traffic control tower at Harry Reid International Airport, Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

(AP) Staffing shortages led to more flight delays at airports across the U.S. on Tuesday as the federal government shutdown stretched into a seventh day, while union leaders for air traffic controllers and airport security screeners warned the situation was likely to get worse.

The Federal Aviation Administration reported staffing issues at airports in Nashville, Boston, Dallas, Chicago and Philadelphia, and at its air traffic control centers in Atlanta, Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The agency temporarily slowed takeoffs of planes headed to the first three cities.

Flight disruptions a day earlier also were tied to insufficient staffing during the shutdown, which began Oct. 1. The FAA reported issues on Monday at the airports in Burbank, California; Newark, New Jersey; and Denver.

Despite the traffic snags, about 92% of the more than 23,600 flights departing from U.S. airports as of Tuesday afternoon took off on time, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.

But the risk of wider impacts to the U.S. aviation system “is growing by the day” as federal workers whose jobs are deemed critical continue working without pay, travel industry analyst Henry Harteveldt said. The longer the shutdown drags on, the more likely it is to affect holiday travel plans in November, he said.

“I’m gravely concerned that if the government remains shut down then, that it could disrupt, and possibly ruin, millions of Americans’ Thanksgiving holidays,” Harteveldt said in a statement.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Monday that there has already been an uptick in air traffic controllers calling out sick at a few locations. When there aren’t enough controllers, the FAA must reduce the number of takeoffs and landings to maintain safety, which in turn causes flight delays and possible cancellations.

That’s what happened Monday afternoon, when the control tower at Southern California’s Hollywood Burbank Airport shut down for several hours, leading to average delays of two-and-a-half hours.

When a pilot preparing for takeoff radioed the tower, according to communications recorded by LiveATC.net, he was told: “The tower is closed due to staffing.”

Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said the shutdown highlighted some issues his union’s members already face on a regular basis due to a national airspace system that is critically understaffed and relies on outdated equipment that tends to fail.

A couple of controllers missing work can have a big impact at a small airport already operating with limited tower staffing, he said.

“It’s not like we have other controllers that can suddenly come to that facility and staff them. There’s not enough people there,” Daniels said Tuesday. “There’s no overtime, and you have to be certified in that facility.”

Air travel complications are likely to expand once a regularly scheduled payday arrives next week and air traffic controllers and TSA officers don’t receive any money, the union leader said. If the impasse between Republican and Democratic lawmakers on reopening the government persists, the workers will come under more pressure as their personal bills come due, Daniels said.

“It’s completely unfair that an air traffic controller is the one that holds the burden of ‘see how long you can hang in there in order to allow this political process to play out,’” he said.

Johnny Jones, secretary-treasurer of the American Federation of Government Employees chapter that represents TSA workers, said he was hearing concerns from members about how they will be able to pay bills, including child support and mortgage payments, and if they’re at risk for termination if they have to miss work during the shutdown.

“The employees are struggling. They’re assessing what they need to do and they’re assessing how this is all going to work out,” said Jones, who has worked as a screener since the TSA was established.

Some TSA officers already have called in sick, but Jones said he did not think the numbers were big enough to cause significant problems and delays at airports.

Aviation unions and U.S. airlines have called for the shutdown to end as soon as possible.

The unions are also making appeals to food banks, grocery chains and airports to secure support for workers during the shutdown. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was offering federal workers $15 food vouchers and allowing them to park in the terminal, according to Jones.

John Tiliacos, the chief operating officer of Florida’s Tampa International Airport, said the facility started preparing for the shutdown well before it began.

Nicknamed “Operation Bald Eagle 2” among airport staff, the efforts center around pulling together resources for the roughly 11,000 federal employees who are working at the airport without pay, including security screeners and air traffic controllers.

Tiliacos said the help would include a food pantry, free bus rides to work and a program with the local utility provider to keep the lights on at the homes of the workers.

“Whatever we can do to make life a little easier for these federal employees that allows them to continue coming to work and focus on keeping our airport operational, that’s what we’re prepared to do,” he said.

I-79 shoulder closures begin in Allegheny County, weather permitting

(File Photo: Caption for Photo: PennDOT, PSP, PTC, Construction Industry Highlight National Work Zone Awareness Week)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Allegheny County, PA) PennDOT District 11 announced that beginning tomorrow morning, weather permitting, intermittent shoulder closures on Interstate 79 in Kennedy, Robinson, and Neville townships of Allegheny County will occur. From 9 A.M. to 3 P.M., as needed, through the end of October, shoulder closures will occur in both directions of I-79 between the Route 60 Crafton/Moon Run (Exit 60 A/B) interchange and the Neville Island Bridge as crews from Lindy Paving will conduct ITS, lighting, and tree trimming work there.

Trump administration threatens no back pay for federal workers in shutdown

(File Photo: Source for Photo: The Capitol is illuminated at dawn in Washington, Monday, Oct. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration warned on Tuesday of no guaranteed back pay for federal workers during a government shutdown, reversing what has been long-standing policy for some 750,000 furloughed employees, according to a memo being circulated by the White House.

Trump signed into law after the longest government shutdown in 2019 legislation that ensures federal workers receive back pay during any federal funding lapse. But in the new memo, his Office of Management and Budget says back pay must be provided by Congress, if it chooses to do so, as part of any bill to fund the government.

The move by the Republican administration was widely seen as a strong-arm tactic — a way to pressure lawmakers to reopen the government, now in the seventh day of a shutdown.

“There are some people that don’t deserve to be taken care of, and we’ll take care of them in a different way,” Trump said during an event at the White House.

He said back pay “depends on who we’re talking about.”

Refusing retroactive pay to the workers, some of whom must remain on the job as essential employees, would be a stark departure from norms and practices and almost certainly would be met with legal action.

While federal workers — as well as service members of the military — have often missed paychecks during past shutdowns, they are almost always reimbursed once the government reopens.

“That should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a press conference at the Capitol.

Johnson, a lawyer, said he hadn’t fully read the memo but “there are some legal analysts who are saying” that it may not be necessary or appropriate to repay the federal workers.

But Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington blasted the Trump administration as defying the law.

“Another baseless attempt to try and scare & intimidate workers by an administration run by crooks and cowards,” said Murray, who is the ranking lawmaker on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “The letter of the law is as plain as can be — federal workers, including furloughed workers, are entitled to their backpay following a shutdown.”

Asked a second time about backpay for furloughed federal workers given that the requirement is spelled out in law, Trump said: “I follow the law, and what the law says is correct.”

In a single-page memo from Trump’s Office of Management and Budget under Russ Vought, first reported by Axios, the office’s general counsel seeks to lay out a legal rationale for no back pay of federal workers.

The memo explains that while the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 says workers shall be paid after federal funding is restored, it argues the action is not self-executing. Instead, the memo says, repaying the federal workers would have to be part of legislation to reopen the government.

The OMB analysis draws on language familiar to budget experts by suggesting that the 2019 bill created an authorization to pay the federal workers but not the actual appropriation.

Congress, it says, is able to decide whether it wants to pay the workers or not.

For now, Congress remains at a standstill, with neither side — nor the White House — appearing willing to budge. Democrats are fighting for health care funds to prevent a lapse in federal subsidies that threaten to send insurance rates skyrocketing. Republicans say the issue can be dealt with later.

Cody Johnson postpones tour dates including Pittsburgh

By Scott Tady
PITTSBURGH — Due to health issues, country music star Cody Johnson postponed his remaining 2025 tour dates including an Oct. 18 headlining show scheduled for PPG Paints Arena.

“It is with a very heavy heart I have to share the remainder of this year’s concert performances will not be able to happen,” Johnson shared in a statement Tuesday. “While battling a severe upper respiratory and sinus infection, I burst my ear drum. The severity of the rupture means I must undergo immediate surgery. The healing process will take many weeks and it is not possible for me to sing during this time.”

Johnson, a Country Music Association Entertainer of The Year nominee, and reigning “Song of The Year” winner in the Academy of Country Music Awards (for “Dirt Cheap”) added, “Without the surgery my downtime could be months. I pray for full healing so I can get well and return to doing what I love. Thank you COJO Nation for the love and support, now, and always.”

Pittsburgh ticket holders received an email saying “your event has been postponed” and that their tickets are still valid for any makeup date. “The event organizer is still trying to reschedule your event. If they do, your tickets will remain good for the rescheduled date.”

Shapiro Administration Expands Statewide Truck Parking Options in Pennsylvania for the First Time in Decades

(Photo Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Newberry Township, PA) PennDOT, Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), Pennsylvania Turnpike (PA Turnpike) and Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association officials announced yesterday in Newberry Township that Pennsylvania is adding 1,202 parking locations for trucks in 133 locations by the end of 2026. This is the first expansion of designated parking spaces statewide other than through facility construction projects and will provide options that are safe for commercial drivers to meet federal hours-of-service rest requirements, which will both assist on this longstanding challenge nationwide and make safety for drivers better. The establishment of designated truck parking spots from PennDOT will occur on Interstate on-ramps with no safety concerns or sight distance, weigh stations used for motor carrier safety enforcement from the Pennsylvania State Police and various other locations within the right of way for highways. Sites that can be designated both cost-effectively and quickly were identified because of a close collaboration between staff of PennDOT and the PSP and spots will be marked with signage for truck-parking, which will be installed by PennDOT. According to PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll: “Truck parking is a nationwide issue, and with the high volume of freight traffic coming through Pennsylvania, the Shapiro Administration knew that we needed to tackle this problem. As a commercial driver’s license-holder myself, I know how important this commonsense approach is to our economy and workforce. By adding these spots – and looking at ways to add even more – we’re giving truckers many more options to safely park and meet their rest requirements.”

Meeting will determine the fate of the Pittsburgh International Race Complex

(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of Pitt Race International)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Darlington, PA) There will be a borough meeting tonight at the Big Beaver Borough Volunteer Fire Department in Darlington at 6 p.m. to determine the fate of the Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum because it will close for its final season on November 9th, 2025. It is unknown at this time if that raceway will be bought out after its owners, Jim and Kathy Stout, will get ready to step away from owning that raceway after much thought. According to a release from Pitt Race International, it was recently announced that this season of the Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, or Pitt Race, will be its final season. You can also go to savepittrace.org to sign a petition to support the raceway, volunteer to help out with it and email several Pennsylvania officials about it. These officials that you can email are Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, U.S. Senator John Fetterman, U.S. Senator Dave McCormick, U.S. Representative Chris Deluzio and Pennsylvania State Representative Roman Kozak.

Pennsylvania lawmaker makes upcoming legislation that goes against attempts to criminalize the homeless

(File Photo: Source for Photo: With Fruitdale Elementary School in the background, a homeless man adjusts his shoe at Fruitdale Park, March 23, 2024, in Grants Pass, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane, File)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Lancaster County, PA) A Pennsylvania lawmaker recently made an upcoming legislation that goes against attempts to criminalize the homeless. Lancaster County Democratic Pennsylvania Representative Ismail Smith-Wade-El described in a memo on Thursday that rules have been adopted by many communities across the nation that punish individuals that are homeless just because they do not have shelter and he stated in it: “Criminalizing individuals or families for being homeless is needlessly cruel and undermines the guiding morals of our society. As servants of the people, it is our duty to ensure that every resident of the Commonwealth has the ability to provide for themselves and their loved ones as best they can.” Smith-Wade-El confirmed that the “Shelter First for Pennsylvanians Experiencing Homelessness Act” is what his legislation will be called. This bill specifies that homeless people are allowed to use public spaces for vital activities when those people do not have options for accessing housing.