Kimberly Cheatle, Director, U.S. Secret Service, testifies during a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing on Oversight of the U.S. Secret Service and the Attempted Assassination of President Donald J. Trump, on Capitol Hill, Monday, July 22, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The director of the Secret Service resigned Tuesday in the aftermath of the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump that unleashed an outcry about how the agency failed in its core mission to protect current and former presidents.

Kimberly Cheatle, who had served as Secret Service director since August 2022, faced growing calls to resign and several investigations into how a gunman was able to get so close to the Republican presidential nominee at an outdoor campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

“I take full responsibility for the security lapse,” she said in an email to staff obtained by The Associated Press. “In light of recent events, it is with a heavy heart that I have made the difficult decision to step down as your director.”

Cheatle’s departure was unlikely to end the scrutiny of the long-troubled agency after the failures of July 13, and it comes at a critical juncture ahead of the Democratic National Convention and a busy presidential campaign season. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have promised more investigations. An inspector general probe and an independent, bipartisan effort launched at President Joe Biden’s behest will keep the agency in the spotlight.

Cheatle’s resignation came a day after she appeared before a congressional committee and was berated for hours by both Democrats and Republicans for the security failures. She called the attempt on Trump’s life the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades, but she angered lawmakers by failing to answer specific questions about the investigation.

Biden said in a statement that “what happened that day can never happen again,” and he planned to appoint a new director soon, but he did not discuss a timeline.

The president and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas thanked Cheatle for her service. Mayorkas appointed Deputy Director Ronald Rowe as acting director. He has worked for the agency for 23 years.

“At this moment in time, we must remain focused,” Rowe said in a note to staff obtained by AP. “We will restore the faith and confidence of the American public and the people we are entrusted to protect.”

Congressional questioning

At the hearing Monday, Cheatle remained defiant that she was the “right person” to lead the Secret Service, even as she said she took responsibility for the failures. When Republican Rep. Nancy Mace suggested Cheatle begin drafting her resignation letter from the hearing room, Cheatle responded, “No, thank you.”

The 20-year-old shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was able to get within 135 meters (157 yards) of the stage where the former president was speaking when he opened fire. That’s despite a threat on Trump’s life from Iran that led to additional security for the former president in the days before the rally.

Cheatle acknowledged Monday that the Secret Service was told about a suspicious person two to five times before the rally shooting. She also revealed that the roof from which Crooks fired had been identified as a potential vulnerability days earlier. But she failed to answer many questions about what happened, including why there were no agents on the roof.

A bloodied Trump was quickly escorted off the stage by Secret Service agents, and agency snipers killed the shooter. Trump said part of his right ear was pierced in the shooting. One rallygoer was killed, and two others were critically wounded.

Details continue to emerge about signs of trouble that day and the roles of the Secret Service and local authorities. The agency routinely relies on local law enforcement to secure the perimeter of events. Former top Secret Service agents said the gunman should never have been allowed to gain access to the roof.

After Cheatle’s resignation, Trump posted on his social media network: “The Biden/Harris Administration did not properly protect me, and I was forced to take a bullet for Democracy. IT WAS MY GREAT HONOR TO DO SO!”

The House Homeland Security Committee had asked Cheatle to testify Tuesday for another hearing on the assassination attempt, but lawmakers said she refused. Cheatle’s name was on a card on a table in front of an empty chair during the hearing, which began shortly before her decision to step down became public.

Investigating an ever-growing number of threats

The Secret Service is a part of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes immigration, transportation security and the Coast Guard. The department was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A few years ago, there was a movement to shift the agency back to the Treasury Department, where it was housed before Sept. 11, particularly because Homeland Security’s intense focus on immigration added to the growing divide between what the Secret Service sees as its dual missions — protecting the president and investigating financial crime — and the mission of its parent department. But that movement stalled.

Roughly half of the Secret Service’s $3 billion budget is spent on protective services. It also has a robust cybercrime division, state-of-the-art forensic labs and a threat-assessment center that studies how to mitigate and train against threats.

With a workforce of 7,800 special agents, uniformed officers and other staff, the Secret Service has investigated an ever-increasing number of threats against the president and other officials under its protection. It has also managed a growing number of high-profile government figures asking for support. Staffing has not kept pace with the workload increase. Around Sept. 11 there were about 15 full-time protectees. That number has now more than doubled.

Trump is the first modern ex-president to seek another term, and because of his high visibility, his protective detail has always been larger than some others. That protective bubble got tighter in recent months as he drew closer to the nomination. All major party nominees are granted enhanced details with counterassault and countersniper teams similar to the president.

Calls for accountability

There were calls for accountability across the political spectrum, with congressional committees immediately moving to investigate and issuing subpoenas. Top Republican leaders from both the House and the Senate said Cheatle should step down.

Biden, a Democrat, ordered an independent review into security at the rally, and the Secret Service’s inspector general opened an investigation. The agency is also reviewing its countersniper team’s “preparedness and operations.”

On Tuesday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Cheatle’s resignation was “overdue.”

“Now we have to pick up the pieces. We have to rebuild the American people’s faith and trust in the Secret Service as an agency,” Johnson said.

Meanwhile, Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., introduced legislation Tuesday to require Senate confirmation of future Secret Service directors.

Cheatle served in the Secret Service for 27 years. She left in 2021 for a job as a security executive at PepsiCo before Biden asked her to return in 2022 to head the agency.

She took over amid a controversy over missing text messages from around the time thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, following his 2020 election loss to Biden.

During her time at the agency, Cheatle was the first woman to be named assistant director of protective operations, the division that protects the president and other dignitaries, where she oversaw a $133.5 million budget. She was the second woman to lead the agency.

When Biden announced Cheatle’s appointment, he said she had served on his detail when he was vice president and he and his wife “came to trust her judgment and counsel.”

___

Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Rebecca Santana, Zeke Miller and Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and Michelle Price in New York contributed to this report.

Patrick Yoes, National President, Fraternal Order of Police, right, listens as Colonel Christopher L. Paris, Commissioner, Pennsylvania State Police, left, responds to questions during a House Committee on Homeland Security hearing examining the assassination attempt of July 13, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two local law enforcement officers stationed in the complex of buildings where a gunman opened fire at former President Donald Trump left to go search for the man before the shooting, the head of Pennsylvania State Police said Tuesday, raising questions about whether a key post was left unattended as the shooter climbed onto a roof.

Pennsylvania State Police Col. Christopher Paris told a congressional committee that two Butler County Emergency Services Unit officers were stationed at a second-floor window in the complex of buildings that form AGR International Inc. They spotted Thomas Matthew Crooks acting suspiciously on the ground and left their post to look for him along with other law enforcement officers, he said.

Paris said he didn’t know whether officers would have been able to see Crooks climbing onto the roof of an adjacent building had they remained at the window. A video taken by a lawmaker who visited the shooting site on Monday shows a second-story window of the building had a clear view of the roof where Crooks opened fire; it was unclear if the video showed the window where the officers had been stationed.

The Pennsylvania State Police commissioner’s testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee provides new insight into security preparations for the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, but raises further questions about law enforcement’s decisions before Crooks opened fire.

Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger, who oversees the emergency services unit, didn’t immediately respond to a text message Tuesday from The Associated Press. A Secret Service spokesperson didn’t respond to questions from the AP, including who gave the command for those officers to leave their post.

The revelation comes amid growing questions about a multitude of security failures that allowed the 20-year-old gunman to get onto the roof and fire eight shots with an AR-style rifle into the crowd shortly after Trump began speaking. One spectator was killed and two others were injured. Trump suffered an ear injury but was not seriously hurt.

Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned earlier Tuesday, a day after she was berated for hours by Democrats and Republicans over the agency’s failure to protect the Republican presidential nominee. Cheatle told lawmakers on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee on Monday that the assassination attempt was the Secret Service’s “most significant operational failure” in decades.

The Homeland Security Committee also had asked Cheatle to testify but lawmakers said she refused. Cheatle’s name was on a card on a table in front of an empty chair during the hearing, which began shortly before her decision to step down became public.

Several investigations into the shooting by the Biden administration and lawmakers are underway. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Tuesday they are supporting a bipartisan task force to investigate the attempt on Trump’s life. The House could vote as soon as Wednesday to establish the task force, which will be comprised of seven Republicans and six Democrats.

Local law enforcement began to search for Crooks after they noticed him acting strangely and saw him with a rangefinder, a small device resembling binoculars that hunters use to measure distance from a target. Officers didn’t find him around the building and a local officer climbed up to the roof to investigate. The gunman turned and pointed his rifle at him. The officer did not — or could not — fire a single shot. Crooks opened fire toward the former president seconds later, officials have said.

Cheatle acknowledged that the Secret Service was told about a suspicious person two to five times before the shooting, but there was no indication at that time that he had a weapon. She also revealed that the roof from which Crooks opened fire had been identified as a potential vulnerability days before the rally. Cheatle said Trump would never have been brought onto the stage had Secret Service been aware there was an “actual threat,” but Crooks wasn’t deemed to be a “threat” until seconds before he began shooting.

Authorities have been hunting for clues into what motivated Crooks but have not found any ideological bent that could help explain his actions. Investigators who searched his phone found photos of Trump, President Joe Biden and other senior government officials. He also searched for the dates for the Democratic National Conventional as well as Trump’s appearances and searched for information about major depressive disorder.

_____

Lauer reported from Philadelphia. Associated Press reporters Michael R. Sisak in New York and Kevin Freking in Washington contributed.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Two residents of New Castle, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty to charges of  violating federal narcotics laws, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today. Kevin  Tulla Torres, age 28, pleaded guilty to distributing and conspiring to distribute cocaine. Luis Rivera  Otero, age 37, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine. Tulla Torres, with the help of Rivera  Otero, managed a drug trafficking operation that sold drugs in Western Pennsylvania, specifically in  the New Castle/Lawrence County area. The arrests of Tulla Torres, Rivera Otero, and another co 

conspirator, as well as 14 others charged by separate Indictment, were the result of a 13-month investigation into drug trafficking in and around Lawrence County. 

According to information presented to the Court, members of the group utilized the United  States Postal Service to receive drug shipments from a supplier in Puerto Rico. Tulla Torres, Rivera  Otero, and others then worked together to sell the cocaine as part of an ongoing criminal drug trafficking conspiracy within Western Pennsylvania. 

With regard to Tulla Torres, the law provides for a maximum total sentence of life in prison,  a fine of up to $10,000,000, or both for the most serious offense. The total maximum sentence for  Rivera Otero is not more than 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000,000, or both. Under the  federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of  the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of each defendant. 

Assistant United States Attorney Carl J. Spindler is prosecuting this case on behalf of the  United States. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation leading to the Indictments in this case in close collaboration with the Lawrence County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area  (HIDTA) Task Force, United States Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal  Investigations, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New Castle City Police Department, Ellwood City  Police Department, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, United States Department of  Agriculture, Union Township Police Department, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, Homeland Security  Investigations, and Pennsylvania State Police. 

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF)  investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money  launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using  a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal,  state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

Lawrence County is one of six western Pennsylvania counties officially designated as a High  Intensity Drug Trafficking Area by the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy. The  county received its HIDTA designation in July 2022, allowing it to receive dedicated federal  resources to coordinate federal, state, and local governments in fighting drug trafficking and abuse.  

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published July 23, 2024 12:36 P.M.

(Hopewell Township, Pa) The Hopewell Township supervisors are advertising for bids for the Hopewell Community Park. On Tuesday morning, Parks and Recreation Director Brad Batchelor  told Beaver County Radio playground equipment is on order and the township is looking for a contractor for the project. Batchelor said that a handicap accessible merry go round will be installed once  the project starts.

In this image taken from body camera video released by Illinois State Police on Monday, July 22, 2024, former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, left, points his gun at Sonya Massey, who called 911 for help, before shooting and killing her inside her home in Springfield, Ill., July 6, 2024. (Illinois State Police via AP)

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Sonya Massey ducked and apologized to an Illinois sheriff’s deputy seconds before he shot the Black woman three times in her home, with one fatal blow to the head, as seen in body camera video released Monday.

An Illinois grand jury indicted former Sangamon County Sheriff’s Deputy Sean Grayson, 30, who is white, last week. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct.

The video confirmed prosecutors’ earlier account of the tense moment when Grayson yelled from across a counter at Massey to set down a pot of hot water. He then threatened to shoot her, Massey ducked, briefly rose, and Grayson fired his pistol at her.

Authorities said Massey, 36, had called 911 earlier to report a suspected prowler. The video shows the two deputies responded just before 1 a.m. on July 6 at her home in Springfield, 200 miles (322 kilometers) southwest of Chicago. They first walked around the house and found a black SUV with broken windows in the driveway.

It took Massey three minutes to open the door after the deputies knocked, and she immediately said, “Don’t hurt me.”

She seemed confused as they spoke at the door, and she repeated that she needed help, referenced God and told them she didn’t know who owned the car.

Inside the house, deputies seemed exasperated as she sat on her couch and went through her purse as they asked for identification to complete a report before leaving. Then Grayson pointed out a pot sitting on a flame on the stove.

“We don’t need a fire while we’re here,” he said.

Massey immediately got up and went to the stove, moving the pot near a sink. She and Grayson seemed to share a laugh over her pan of “steaming hot water” before she unexpectedly said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.”

“You better (expletive) not or I swear to God I’ll (expletive) shoot you in your (expletive) face.” He then pulled his 9mm pistol and demanded she drop the pot.

Massey said, “OK, I’m sorry.” In Grayson’s body camera footage, he pointed his weapon at her. She ducked and raised her hands.

Grayson was still in the living room, facing Massey and separated by a counter dividing the living room and kitchen. Prosecutors have said the separation allowed Grayson both “distance and relative cover” from Massey and the pot of hot water.

After Grayson shot her, Grayson discouraged his partner from grabbing a medical kit to save her.

“You can go get it, but that’s a headshot,” he said. “There’s nothing you can do, man.”

He added: “What else do we do? I’m not taking hot (expletive) boiling water to the (expletive) face”

Noting that Massey was still breathing, he relented and said he would get his kit, too. The other deputy said, “We can at least try to stop the bleeding.”

Grayson told responding police, “She had boiling water and came at me, with boiling water. She said she was going to rebuke me in the name of Jesus and came at me with boiling water.”

During a Monday afternoon news conference, the family’s lawyer, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, called Grayson’s “revisionist” justification “disingenuous.”

“She needed a helping hand. She did not need a bullet to her face,” Crump said of Massey.

Asked why Massey told Grayson, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus,” Crump said she had undergone treatment for mental health issues. He noted that she invoked God’s name from the beginning of the encounter and asked for her Bible after the deputies stepped inside.

During Massey’s funeral on Friday, Crump said the video, which he and the family had already viewed, would “shock the conscience of America.”

Massey’s father, James Wilburn, demanded the county court system be completely open with its investigation and prosecution and transparent with the public.

“The only time I will see my baby again is when I leave this world,” Wilburn said. “And I don’t ever want anybody else in the United States to join this league.”

Grayson, who was fired last week, is being held in the Sangamon County Jail without bond. If convicted, he faces prison sentences of 45 years to life for murder, 6 to 30 years for battery and 2 to 5 years for misconduct.

His lawyer, Daniel Fultz, declined to comment Monday.

In a statement, President Joe Biden said he and first lady Jill Biden were praying for Massey’s family “as they face this unthinkable and senseless loss.”

“When we call for help, all of us as Americans – regardless of who we are or where we live – should be able to do so without fearing for our lives,” Biden said. “Sonya’s death at the hands of a responding officer reminds us that all too often Black Americans face fears for their safety in ways many of the rest of us do not.”

Massey’s death is the latest example of Black people killed in recent years by police in their homes.

In May, a Hispanic Florida sheriff’s deputy shot and killed Roger Fortson, when the Air Force senior airman opened the door of his home in Fort Walton Beach armed with a handgun pointed down. The deputy, Eddie Duran, was fired.

In 2019, a white Fort Worth, Texas, officer fatally shot Atatiana Jefferson through a rear window of her home after responding to a nonemergency call reporting that Jefferson’s front door was open. Aaron Dean, the former officer, was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison.

In 2018, a white Dallas police officer fatally shot Botham Jean, who was unarmed, after mistaking his apartment for her own. Amber Guyger, the former officer, was convicted of murder and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Crump has represented families in each case as part of his effort to force accountability for the killings of Black people at the hands of police. Crump also has represented relatives of Earl Moore, a Springfield man who died after he was strapped face down on a stretcher in December 2022. Two emergency medical professionals face murder charges in that case.

___

AP writer Sophia Tareen contributed from Chicago.

A Delta Air Lines jet leaves the gate, Friday, July 19, 2024, at Logan International Airport in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Delta Air Lines struggled for a fourth straight day to recover from a worldwide technology outage caused by a faulty software update, stranding tens of thousands of passengers and drawing unwanted attention from the federal government.

The airline’s chief executive said it would take “another couple days” before “the worst is clearly behind us.” Delta’s chief information officer said Monday that the airline was still trying to fix a vital crew-scheduling program.

Other carriers were returning to nearly normal levels of service disruptions, intensifying the glare on Delta’s relatively weaker response to the outage that hit airlines, hospitals and businesses around the world.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke to Delta CEO Ed Bastian on Sunday about the airline’s high number of cancellations since Friday. Buttigieg said his agency had received “hundreds of complaints” about Delta, and he expects the airline to provide hotels and meals for travelers who are delayed and to issue quick refunds to customers who don’t want to be rebooked on a later flight.

“No one should be stranded at an airport overnight or stuck on hold for hours waiting to talk to a customer service agent,” Buttigieg said. He vowed to help Delta passengers by enforcing air-travel consumer-protection rules.

Bastian said in a video for employees that he told Buttigieg, “You do not need to remind me. I know, because we do our very best, particularly in tough times, taking care of our customers.”

Delta has canceled more than 5,500 flights since the outage started early Friday morning, including at least 700 flights canceled on Monday, according to aviation-data provider Cirium. Delta and its regional affiliates accounted for about two-thirds of all cancellations worldwide Monday, including nearly all the ones in the United States.

United Airlines was the next-worst performer since the onset of the outage, canceling nearly 1,500 flights. United canceled only 17 Monday flights by late morning, however.

Other airlines that were caught up in the first round of groundings also returned mostly to normal operations by Monday. That included American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air.

Bastian, the Delta CEO, said in a message to customers Sunday that the airline was continuing to restore operations that were disrupted. One of the tools Delta uses to track crews was affected and could not process the high number of changes triggered by the outage.

“The technology issue occurred on the busiest travel weekend of the summer, with our booked loads exceeding 90%, limiting our re-accommodation capabilities,” Bastian wrote. Loads are the percentage of sold seats on each flight.

Airlines have large, layered technology systems, and crew-tracking programs are often among the oldest systems. When the outage began Friday, it also affected systems used to check in passengers and make pre-flight calculations about aircraft weight and balance, airlines reported. United and American reported intermittent problems communicating with crews in the air, contributing to their decisions to briefly ground all flights.

Some airlines, including Southwest and Alaska, do not use CrowdStrike, the provider of cybersecurity software whose faulty upgrade to Microsoft Windows triggered the outages. Those carriers saw relatively few cancellations.

Delta, however, said that “upward of half” its IT systems are Windows-based. The airline said the outage forced IT employees to manually repair and reboot each affected system and synchronize applications so they start working together.

“It is going to take another couple of days before we are in a position to say that … the worst is clearly behind us,” Bastian told employees Monday. “Today will be a better day than yesterday, and hopefully Tuesday and Wednesday will be that much better again.”

On the same video, Delta Chief Information Officer Rahul Samant said two applications were particularly difficult to restart on Friday: One that manages traffic at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta’s biggest hub, and another that assigns pilots and flight attendants to flights.

Technicians had gotten the crew-scheduling program running, “but we have a catch-up to do,” and new issues keep arising, Samant said.

Atlanta-based Delta said it is offering waivers to make it easier for customers to reschedule trips.

That was of little help to Jason Helmes, a fitness coach who was trying to get home to Detroit from Denver. His flight on Sunday was delayed three times before it was canceled; by the time the plane finally pushed back from the gate, the pilots were at the end of their legally allowed shift.

“Everyone was just stranded. No information on hotels. No information on what to do next,” Helmes said. “They said, ‘Go down to the luggage carousel, your luggage should be there.’ There were thousands of bags down there. I found my luggage — I got lucky.”

Helmes said Delta offered to rebook him on Wednesday, but he worried that flight would also be canceled. He booked a Tuesday flight home on Frontier Airlines — one of the carriers that has largely recovered. He is saving his receipts, including a hotel room, in hopes that Delta will reimburse him.

“For the last 10 years, I’ve been exclusively on Delta,” he said. “This has me double-thinking about that.”

Delta’s meltdown is reminiscent of the December 2022 debacle that caused Southwest Airlines to cancel nearly 17,000 flights over a 15-day stretch. After a federal investigation of Southwest’s compliance with consumer-protection rules, the airline agreed to pay a $35 million fine as part of a $140 million settlement with the Transportation Department.

Southwest’s breakdown started during a winter storm, but the airline’s recovery took unusually long because of problems with a crew-scheduling system — a striking similarity to Delta’s current mess.

The airline industry might be the most visible victim of the worldwide tech problems caused by the faulty software update from Texas-based cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Microsoft said the glitch affected 8.5 million machines. CrowdStrike says it has deployed a fix, but experts say it could take days or even weeks to repair every affected computer.

[July 22, 2024] — The American Red Cross urges donors to give blood or platelets now to reinforce the blood supply as much as possible before the summer winds down. Type O blood donors and those giving platelets are especially needed to help keep hospital shelves stocked through August. 

Donors remain critically needed to support the Red Cross delivery of vital blood products, which are in demand around-the-clock as hospitals work to save lives this summer. When fewer people answer the call to donate, the blood supply can quickly shrink. Help safeguard necessary care for patients − book a time to give blood or platelets by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.  

In thanks, those who come to give Aug. 1-31, 2024, will get a $20 Amazon.com Gift Card by email. See RedCrossBlood.org/Help for details. 

How to donate blood

Simply download the American Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit RedCrossBlood.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or enable the Blood Donor Skill on any Alexa Echo device to make an appointment or for more information. All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood. High school students and other donors 18 years of age and younger also have to meet certain height and weight requirements.

Blood and platelet donors can save time at their next donation by using RapidPass® to complete their pre-donation reading and health history questionnaire online, on the day of their donation, before arriving at the blood drive. To get started, follow the instructions at RedCrossBlood.org/RapidPass or use the Blood Donor App.

Amplify your impact − volunteer!  

Another way to support the lifesaving mission of the Red Cross is to become a volunteer blood donor ambassador at Red Cross blood drives. Blood donor ambassadors help greet, check in and thank blood donors to ensure they have a positive donation experience.  

FILE – Emissions rise from the smokestacks at the Jeffrey Energy Center coal power plant as the suns sets, near Emmett, Kan., Sept. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Cleveland-Cliffs announced Monday it will produce electrical transformers in a $150 million investment at a West Virginia facility that closed earlier this year.

The company hopes to reopen the Weirton facility in early 2026 and “address the critical shortage of distribution transformers that is stifling economic growth across the United States,” it said in a statement.

As many as 600 union workers who were laid off from the Weirton tin production plant will have the chance to work at the new facility. The tin plant shut down in February and 900 workers were idled after the International Trade Commission voted against imposing tariffs on tin imports.

The state of West Virginia is providing a $50 million forgivable loan as part of the company’s investment.

“We were never going to sit on the sidelines and watch these jobs disappear,” West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said in a statement.

The Cleveland-based company, which employs 28,000 workers in the United States and Canada, expects the facility will generate additional demand for specialty steel made at its mill in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In a statement, Lourenco Goncalves, Cleveland-Cliffs’ president, chairman and CEO, said distribution transformers, currently in short supply, “are critical to the maintenance, expansion, and decarbonization of America’s electric grid.”

The tin facility was once a nearly 800-acre property operated by Weirton Steel, which employed 6,100 workers in 1994 and filed for bankruptcy protection in 2003. International Steel Group bought Weirton Steel in federal bankruptcy court in 2003. The property changed hands again a few years later, ultimately ending up a part of Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, which sold its U.S. holdings to Cleveland-Cliffs in 2020.

Weirton is a city of 19,000 residents along the Ohio River about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Pittsburgh.

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) announced $396 million in new competitive grant funding from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to help Pennsylvania manufacturers lead the way in clean manufacturing. The program will create good jobs, benefit historically disadvantaged communities, and ensure that Pennsylvania manufacturing continues to create in-demand goods for the American and global markets. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding comes from the IRA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program, which supports industrial decarbonization projects.

“Nobody is more equipped to lead the next generation of industry and manufacturing than Pennsylvanians. This grant is a game-changing investment that will support greenhouse gas-reducing projects, create good jobs, and bolster economies across the Commonwealth,” said Senator Casey. “I will keep fighting for investments that secure the Commonwealth as our Nation’s industrial backbone.”

The CPRG grant funding will go towards the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) initiative. RISE PA supports industrial and manufacturing projects that reduce carbon emissions and benefit the health, safety, and economies of surrounding communities.

Senator Casey has long fought to ensure that the Commonwealth remains an industrial and manufacturing powerhouse. After learning that RISE PA could reduce 9,176,810 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050 and infuse tens of billions of dollars into Pennsylvania economies, Senator Casey urged EPA Administrator Michael Regan to fund the initiative. RISE PA will support industrial decarbonization projects on a tiered basis, allowing for a diverse array of projects to be eligible for funding. These projects, including low-emission steel production, will not only bolster Pennsylvania’s historically robust industrial economy, but will cement the Commonwealth’s role as a clean industrial manufacturing leader worldwide.

Senator Casey has fought relentlessly to ensure that Pennsylvania can benefit from investments in American industrial and manufacturing initiatives. Casey fought to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which included tax credits for individuals and companies manufacturing or deploying clean energy technologies to help lower costs and secure our energy independence. The landmark legislation created clean industrial jobs, apprenticeships, and opportunities for economies across the Nation to benefit from clean industrial and manufacturing initiatives.

Gas prices are two cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.758 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                         $3.758
Average price during the week of July 15, 2024                                               $3.773
Average price during the week of July 24, 2023                                               $3.734

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.651      Altoona
$3.840      Beaver
$3.899      Bradford
$3.574      Brookville
$3.665      Butler
$3.685      Clarion
$3.702      DuBois
$3.693      Erie
$3.762      Greensburg
$3.790      Indiana
$3.771      Jeannette
$3.852      Kittanning
$3.825      Latrobe
$3.748      Meadville
$3.924      Mercer
$3.711      New Castle
$3.606      New Kensington
$3.838      Oil City
$3.755      Pittsburgh
$3.698      Sharon
$3.807      Uniontown
$3.896      Warren
$3.736      Washington

Trend Analysis:
The national average for a gallon of gas fell two cents to $3.50 since last week. Lower oil costs and lower demand are helping to decrease gas prices. Today’s national average is still five cents more than a month ago but nine cents lower than a year ago.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand plummeted from 9.39 million barrels per day to 8.78 last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks fell from 231.7 to 229.7 million barrels.  Gasoline production took a slight hit, likely from Hurricane Beryl, dropping from an average of 10.3 million barrels daily to 9.5.

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate rose $2.09 to settle at $82.85 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories decreased by 4.9 million barrels from the previous week. At 440.2 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.