HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s high court is taking a case to decide whether some automatic life sentences for those convicted of murder violate constitutional protections for defendants. The justices said Friday they will hear the appeal by Derek Lee, convicted of a 2014 killing. Lee argues the state’s life-without-parole law violates prohibitions in the Pennsylvania and U.S. constitutions against cruel punishment. Pennsylvania law makes someone liable for murder if they participate in a felony that leads to death, and life with no possibility of parole is currently the state’s only possible sentence for those convicted of second-degree murder.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

Eight days after the announcement of his budget proposal, Governor Josh Shapiro joined Mike Romigh on “The Live Mike” to talk about how the budget would benefit Beaver County and its surrounding areas.

One of the major focuses of Shapiro’s budget is education, and said that “no school district is worse off than they were last year” in regards to the funding they’ve received. Specifically, he stated that the new budget would create a 15% increase (~$2 million) for the Ambridge and Big Beaver Falls Area school districts.

“I think it’s also important to note the dollars aren’t just going into the bottom lines of school districts,” Shapiro told Romigh. “We’re investing in important things like meals for kids at school, mental health services for kids, [and] a new fund to rebuild schools that are crumbling or falling down.”

However, several Republicans in Congress have come against Governor Shapiro for this new budget plan, including several in Western Pennsylvania. One of the loudest has been State Representative Josh Kail (R-Beaver/Washington), who has labelled Shapiro as a “California Democrat” following the announcement of the budget proposal.

When Romigh brough Kail’s comments to the Governor’s attention, he responded slyly by stating “I don’t know who this person is” in regards to Rep. Kail.

“I get there are certain politicians in Harrisburg who love to just be against everything that I’m for, but that doesn’t actually solve any problems,” Governor Shapiro added. “What we need to do is find common ground on education and a whole host of other issues.”

One of the biggest issues that Shapiro has been dealing with over the course of his first full year as governor is the recovery of East Palestine, Ohio following the derailment of a Norfolk Southern train on February 3, 2024. Shapiro told Romigh that he is still “angry” at Norfolk Southern for their response, and that he wants to continue the fight to hold them accountable.

“We’re going to continue to do what we’ve done, which is testing our water, our air, and our soil,” Shapiro stated, adding that they will publish the results so that the public may know the effects of the train derailment in the current moment. The Governor is also pushing to help reimburse first responders who responded to the disaster, including a $1 million “community fund” for Darlington Township and Lawrence County.

The negotiations for Governor Shapiro’s budget begin on February 20.

CHICAGO (AP) — The struggling Pittsburgh Penguins will have to claw their way back into the playoff race without star forward Jake Guentzel.

The team placed Guentzel on injured reserve before Thursday night’s game at Chicago with an upper-body injury. Guentzel, whose 52 points are tied with captain Sidney Crosby for the team lead, will miss up to four weeks.

Guentzel did not play the final 10 minutes of a 5-2 loss to Florida on Wednesday night. Head coach Mike Sullivan said afterward that Guentzel was being evaluated.

The setback is the latest blow for reeling Pittsburgh, which entered Thursday riding a three-game losing streak while falling off the pace in the race for one of the wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins were already playing without injured forwards Noel Acciari, Jansen Harkins and Matt Nieto, who are all on injured reserve.

Pittsburgh recalled forwards Jonathan Gruden, Vinnie Hinostroza and Valtteri Puustinen from their AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to fill in.

(New York/AP) Trading on Wall Street was mixed early Friday as markets try to hold on to the thin gains made so far in what’s been an up-and-down week.

Futures for the S&P 500 gained 0.1% before the bell, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ticked down 0.1%.

Although earnings season is winding down, there are still more sales and profit reports coming in, along with an assortment of economic reports that have been moving markets.

A mixed set of data on the economy included a report Thursday showing sales at U.S. retailers weakened by more in January from December than expected. It was a striking drop in spending by U.S. households, whose strength has helped keep the economy out of a recession, even with high interest rates. The upside for financial markets is that it could also remove some upward pressure on inflation.

A separate report said fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week than expected, the latest signal of a solid job market despite high-profile announcements of layoffs.

Altogether, the economic reports helped send Treasury yields lower in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.24% from 4.27% late Wednesday.

Treasury yields have been swiveling. Stronger-than-expected reports on inflation, the job market and the overall economy have forced traders on Wall Street to delay their forecasts for when the Federal Reserve will begin cutting interest rates.

The Fed has already hiked its main interest rate to the highest level since 2001. The hope is that high rates will squeeze the economy just enough to get inflation down to a comfortable level without causing a recession.

Coming later Friday are the government’s report on inflation at the wholesale level and the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index.

Technology manufacturer Applied Materials was among the premarket gainers Friday, jumping more than 11% after posting better sales and profit than Wall Street was projecting.

Dropbox tumbled close to 11% in off-hours trading after the cloud storage company issued weak guidance for the first quarter, despite beating analysts’ fourth-quarter sales and profit targets.

Yelp, the the online business review site, fell more than 9% before the bell after it missed profit forecasts late Thursday.

Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 index traded near a record high, 35 years after it peaked and then plunged with the collapse of Japan’s financial bubble.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.9% higher, at 38,487.24. It has been hovering just below the record high of 38,915.87 that it set on Dec. 29, 1989, right before a plunge in share and property prices ushered in an era of slower, faltering growth. At its highest point Friday, it traded at 38,865.06.

Share prices have been pressing higher despite persisting signs of weakness in the Japanese economy, which fell into recession in the last quarter of 2023. Efforts to sustain growth at higher levels have had limited success, undermined by weak private investment and consumer spending.

Changes to rules regarding tax-free investment accounts have accounted for some of the runup in Japanese share prices. A weak yen has attracted bargain hunters, and stocks also have profited from investors shifting out of Chinese markets.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped 2.5% to 16,339.96 and the Kospi in Seoul rose 1.3% to 2,648.76.

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.7% to 7,658.30. Bangkok’s SET slipped 0.1% and the Sensex in India was up 0.6%.

Taiwan’s Taiex edged 0.2% lower a day after breaching a record high of 18,644.57 as major market mover TSMC, the world’s biggest computer chip maker, surged nearly 8%. That jump followed an upgrade by analysts of share price recommendations for Nvidia, whose main chip supplier is TSMC, due to expected growth in artificial intelligence.

In Europe at midday, Germany’s DAX gained 0.7% and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 0.5%. Britain’s FTSE 100 climbed 1.2%.

In other trading Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil shed 54 cents to $77.49 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 71 cents to $82.15 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar rose to 150.24 Japanese yen from 149.94 yen. The euro slipped modestly, to $1.0771 from $1.0773.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 5,029.73, squeaking past its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.9% to 38,773.12 and the Nasdaq composite climbed 0.3%, to 15,906.17.

(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

State Representative Rob Matzie announced yesterday that $744,000 was awarded to Beaver County job training organizations to help push new career opportunities for the County over the next several years.

Of the $744,000 awarded by the Department of Labor & Industry, $250,000 is going to the Three Rivers Area Labor Management Committee to help the PA Steel Alliance Industry Partnership with projects aimed at developing new job opportunities with modern technology.

The remaining $494,000 is going to the Southwest Corner Workforce Development Board and will be divided into three of its subdivisions: Advanced Manufacturing, Healthcare, and the Building & Construction Industry Partnership.

“It’s an investment that creates new opportunities to keep young residents in our region and one that pays off for our employers, as well, by ensuring that they have the motivated, well-trained pool of candidates they need to stay competitive,” Matzie stated.

CHICAGO (AP) — Sidney Crosby scored twice, Reilly Smith and Bryan Rust added goals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Thursday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Penguins had lost to Minnesota, Winnipeg and Florida in succession, but controlled their third road game in four starts from the outset. With the victory, Pittsburgh moved past Washington and into sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. The Blackhawks, last in the NHL, dropped their eighth straight game (0-7-1).

“We generated some good chances,” Crosby said. “When it was two-nothing in the second, I thought we could have built on it. Had some really good looks, and a post. We can build off this. We need the points.”

Blackhawks star rookie Connor Bedard had an assist in his return a 14-game absence because of a broken jaw. After a sluggish first period, he set up Phillipp Kurashev with a nifty pass through traffic midway through the second. Kurashev dumped it past sprawling goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. That drew the largest roar of the night from the United Center crowd of 19,423 for this year’s top draft pick.

Bedard lost the game’s opening face-off to Crosby, then lost contact with the veteran center, who deflected Marcus Pettersson’s fluttering pass over the left shoulder of Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom 15 seconds in.

“I thought it was a huge start for us,” Peterson said. “I thought we were a little anxious yesterday to make some plays in the first. We’re going to be in a dogfight, so let’s start with this one.”

Smith made it 2-1 at 12:40 of the first, beating Soderblom with a wrist shot on the glove side after scooting past Bedard.

“Obviously a tough start for a couple,” Bedard said. “I wanted to come back earlier, but you’ve got to be safe and smart. They told me I was ready to go today, and so I was excited.

“I’ve been skating four weeks now and felt confident coming in.”

Crosby was left alone on the goal line to the right of the net for his second goal 5:51 into the third period. Chicago defensemen Seth Jones and Alex Vlasic never got close to him. It’s the 12th time Crosby has scored at least 30 goals in a season.

“I thought our guys stepped up,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “Sid, it looked like he was trying to will it for us. He was locked in from the very first shift, strong on pucks all night.”

Rust scored from 190 feet into an empty net with 50 seconds remaining.

Nedeljkovic made 27 saves. Soderblom had 23.

Bedard’s assist moved him a point ahead of Minnesota’s Brock Faber in the rookie scoring race, 34-33.

“He looked pretty good for coming off an extended time,” Crosby said. “There are times he doesn’t get a lot of room and makes something out of nothing.”

Pittsburgh placed forward Jake Guentzel on injured reserve because of an upper-body injury on Thursday, recalling three players to fill his and other roster gaps. Vinnie Hinostroza, Valtteri Puustinen and Jonathan Gruden were called up. Guentzel, who was tied in points with Crosby before the game, is expected to miss four weeks, out of action past the March 8 trading deadline.

In addition to Bedard, the Blackhawks brought defenseman Jarred Tinordi off injured reserve.

UP NEXT

Penguins: Host Los Angeles on Sunday.

Blackhawks: Host Ottawa on Saturday.

(File Photo)

FILE – Ford Motor Co., President and CEO Jim Farley announces the automaker’s new BlueOval Battery Park, Monday, Feb. 13, 2023, in Romulus, Mich. Ford’s top executive says that last fall’s contentious United Auto Workers’ strike changed the company’s relationship with the union to the point where it will “think carefully” about where it builds future vehicles. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)
By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer
DETROIT (AP) — Last fall’s contentious United Auto Workers’ strike changed Ford’s relationship with the union to the point where it will “think carefully” about where it builds future vehicles, Ford’s top executive said Thursday.
CEO Jim Farley told the Wolfe Research Global Auto Conference in New York that the company always took pride in its relationship with the UAW, having avoided strikes since the 1970s.
But last year, Ford’s highly profitable factory in Louisville, Kentucky, was the first truck plant that the UAW shut down with a strike.
Farley said as the company looks at the transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles, “we have to think carefully about our (manufacturing) footprint.”
Ford, Farley said, decided to build all of its highly profitable big pickup trucks in the U.S., and by far has the most union members — 57,000 — of any Detroit automaker. This came at a higher cost than competitors, who went through bankruptcy and built truck plants in Mexico, he said. But Ford thought it was the “right kind of cost,” Farley said.
“Our reliance on the UAW turned out to be we were the first truck plant to be shut down,” Farley told the conference. “Really our relationship has changed. It’s been a watershed moment for the company. Does this have business impact? Yes.”
The UAW made strong wage gains after a six-week strike at selected plants run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis. Top-scale factory workers won 33% raises in a contract that runs through April of 2028, taking their top wage to around $42 per hour.
A message was left Thursday seeking comment from the union.
High manufacturing costs are among the reasons why Ford has a $7 billion annual cost disadvantage to competitors, Farley has said. He told the conference that Ford is making progress on cutting those costs with cultural and structural changes at the company.
It expects to take out $2 billion worth of costs this year, and Farley said he thinks cuts in manufacturing costs will “fully offset” the cost of the UAW contract. Ford has said the contract would add $900 to the cost of a vehicle by the time it reaches full effect.
Ford has shifted its electric vehicle strategy so it concentrates on smaller, lower priced EVs and electric work vehicles such as pickup trucks and full-size vans, Farley said. Any EV larger than a Ford Escape small SUV “better be really functional or a work vehicle.”
A small team within the company is developing the underpinnings of a less costly smaller vehicle, which Farley said would be profitable because of U.S. federal tax credits as high as $7,500 per vehicle.
He gave no time frame for the small EV to come out, but said Ford’s next generation of electric vehicles would come in the 2025 through 2027 time frame.
His comments about the union raise questions about whether the new small EV would be built in Mexico, which has lower labor costs. Vehicles built in North America are still eligible for the U.S. tax credit.
Farley also said he sees EV battery prices coming down with more competition. The company, he said, may go with a common cylinder-shaped battery cell to leverage purchasing and get better prices. He also said Ford might do that with another automaker.
Ford’s Model e, the electric vehicle unit, lost nearly $5 billion before taxes last year. Farley wouldn’t give a date for it to break even, but said any new EV built by the company has to make money within 12 months of its release.
The company still posted net income of $4.3 billion due largely to big profits from its Pro commercial vehicle unit and Ford Blue, the internal combustion division.
Farley said Ford and others will have trouble competing on EVs with Chinese automakers, which are likely to sell 10 million of them this year. It’s a big reason why Ford has recruited management talent to focus on lean operations, he said.
Chinese automakers, he said, went from selling no EVs in Europe two years ago to 10% of the market now.
Chinese auto giant BYD ‘s Seagull small electric vehicle, he said, has about $9,000 in material costs, and it will probably cost the company another $2,000 to meet crash test standards, for a total cost of around $11,000. It has a range of about 150 miles in cold weather, “not a fantastic vehicle, but pretty damn good.”
Shares of Ford fell 1.7% to $12.35 in midday trading on Thursday.

HORSHAM, Pa. (AP) — A mother who strangled her 11-year-old son at their Pennsylvania home last year and then went to New Jersey where she drove her SUV into the ocean has been convicted of murder.
Ruth DiRienzo-Whitehead, 51, of Horsham, faces a mandatory life term when she’s sentenced Friday. She was found guilty Thursday following a bench trial.
DiRienzo-Whitehead’s lawyers argued she strangled her son, Matthew Whitehead, with a belt on April 10 because she was having a psychotic break due to financial concerns and family issues, and felt she was sparing her son a painful life. A defense expert testified DiRienzo-Whitehead was suffering from depression and mental illness at the time.
Montgomery County prosecutors argued the killing was premeditated, saying she had made numerous online searches on how to strangle someone and did research on mental illnesses that lead women to kill their own children. They also said DiRienzo-Whitehead blamed her husband for the family’s financial issues and was motivated to kill by a mix of anger and revenge.
After killing her son, DiRienzo-Whitehead drove to Cape May, New Jersey, where her SUV was found partially submerged in the ocean. She was later found walking in nearby Wildwood Crest, where she was taken into custody.