Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Service

The Environmental Protection Agency has finalized stronger air quality standards for soot pollution and one regional organization said it is a step in the right direction.

The EPA said the plan reflects the latest health data and scientific evidence and the final rule goes into effect Monday.

Nick Hood, community organizer at the Center for Coalfield justice, said soot is fine particulate matter from power plants, vehicles, and refineries and the EPA is revising its National Ambient Air Quality Standards for soot. He added any improvement in the standards will certainly help Pennsylvanian health.

“If you live within, I think it is, a couple of kilometers of a well, you have a four to five times greater chance of developing asthma,” Hood pointed out. “Decreasing the amount of particulate matter that’s actually allowed to be polluted from some of these sources will certainly be helpful in not exacerbating those asthma cases.”

Opponents of the changes said the stricter standards could push factories to move overseas, costing American jobs and hurting the economy.

Willie Dodson, Central Appalachian field coordinator for Appalachian Voices, said it will reduce the maximum allowable amount of soot from 12 micrograms per cubic meter of air to nine. He noted controlling pollution output in Pennsylvania would save lives.

“High levels of soot are associated with asthma attacks, pulmonary and respiratory issues and hospital visits related to those issues, and premature death,” Dodson explained. “This hits Black and brown communities hardest. Black Americans 65 and older are three times as likely to die from exposure to elevated soot than white people of the same age.”

Dodson added his organization and its community partners launched the Upper South and Appalachia Citizen Air Monitoring Project last year. The group distributed monitors to track particulate matter in the air, installed at homes and clinics. They are expanding to include the five-state region of Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky and West Virginia.

BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) — A Pennsylvania man says his emotional support alligator named Wally has gone missing amid the coastal marshes of Georgia. Joie Henney’s alligator has attracted thousands of social media followers over the years, with videos and photos showing people petting and cuddling the 5 1/2-foot reptile. Wally’s popularity skyrocketed last year when the gator was denied entrance to a Philadelphia Phillies game. Now Henney says the alligator that has helped relieve his depression for nearly a decade vanished April 21 from an outdoor enclosure during a vacation in Brunswick, Georgia. He posted a tearful TikTok video asking people to help “bring my baby back.”

FILE – Chester County, Pa., election workers process mail-in and absentee ballots at West Chester University in West Chester, Pa., Nov. 4, 2020. Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, approved a bill long-sought by counties seeking help to manage huge influxes of mail-in ballots during elections in the presidential battleground state and to avoid a repeat of 2020’s drawn-out vote count. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives is advancing legislation long sought by counties seeking help to manage huge influxes of mail-in ballots during elections in the presidential battleground state. The bill passed on party lines Wednesday, 102-99, as Democrats backed it and Republicans opposed it, warning that it would open the door to fraud. Under the bill, county election workers could start processing ballots up to seven days before election day. Nearly every state allows time before Election Day for workers to process mail-in ballots. Currently, Pennsylvania doesn’t let counties begin before Election Day. It faces long odds in the Senate, where the GOP majority insists that Pennsylvania first toughen voter identification requirements.

FILE – Duane Eddy performs on the third day of the 2014 Stagecoach Music Festival at the Empire Polo Field, April 27, 2014, in Indio, Calif. Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser” and “Peter Gunn” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians, died of cancer Tuesday, April 30, 2024. He was 86. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Duane Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser,” “Forty Miles of Bad Road” and “Cannonball” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians, has died at age 86. With his raucous rhythms, and backing hollers and hand claps, Eddy sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and mastered a distinctive sound based on the premise that a guitar’s bass strings sounded better on tape than the high ones.

CARNEGIE, PA – Today, Congressman Chris Deluzio announced the winner of his second annual Congressional Art Competition. Each spring, the House of Representatives sponsors a visual art competition for high school students. Young people from across the nation are invited to showcase their art and highlight their home congressional districts.

Congressman Chris Deluzio’s office received many submissions from talented high school students in Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. This year, the first-place prize is presented to Mira Owens of Indianola, PA, a sophomore at Fox Chapel Area High School. Ms. Owens’ artwork is titled JOY. It is an abstract, acrylic painting that contains imaginative depictions of the artist’s daily life in Western Pennsylvania. She resides in Indiana Township.

“The creative energy of these students is truly inspiring” said Congressman Deluzio. “I’m grateful to everyone who submitted their work and put their imagination on display for all of us to see. Congratulations to Mira Owens and the other 2024 winners of the Congressional Art Competition across the country. I look forward to seeing their art when I’m down in Washington for votes this year!”

Mira Owens will be honored at an event in Washington, D.C. alongside the other art competition winners from congressional districts across the country. The student art will be featured in a gallery in the United States Capitol for a full year. This gallery decorates one of the busiest corridors in the U.S. Capitol Complex, giving Members of Congress and visitors from across the nation the chance to enjoy Ms. Owens’ work.

LAS VEGAS – A federal jury convicted a Pennsylvania resident today for kidnapping a woman in Pennsylvania then driving her to Nevada and killing her in the desert.

John Matthew Chapman, 44, was found guilty of one count of kidnapping resulting in death. United States District Judge James C. Mahan scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 2, 2024. Chapman faces the maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the eight-day trial, on November 14, 2019, the Bethel Park Police Department in Pennsylvania conducted a welfare check on the victim at the request of a friend. During the welfare check, neighbors stated that they had not seen the victim in approximately two months, but they had observed a person whom they believed to be her boyfriend (Chapman) entering and leaving the victim’s residence. Inside the victim’s residence, officers found identification cards with Chapman’s name and photograph, the victim’s cellular telephone, multiple zip ties, and a roll of duct tape.

On November 15, 2019, Bethel Park Police Department detectives arrested and interviewed Chapman. During the interview, Chapman admitted that in September 2019 he drove the victim from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, to Las Vegas, Nevada. He further admitted that he misled the victim to believe the trip was a vacation and they would potentially purchase a residence in Las Vegas. Chapman, however, had planned to kill the victim before their departure to Nevada. Chapman told investigators that he drove the victim out to the desert in Lincoln County, Nevada. Under the pretext of a bondage photo shoot, Chapman bound the victim’s hands and feet with plastic zip ties and affixed her to a signpost. Then he applied duct tape to her mouth and nose and watched her die from asphyxiation.

The joint investigation revealed that Chapman returned to Pennsylvania. He pretended to be the victim, including using the victim’s Facebook messenger account, and he continuously used the victim’s residence and money following her death.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI Las Vegas Division made the announcement.

The FBI Las Vegas Division, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in Nevada, and the Bethel Park Police Department in Pennsylvania investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Penelope Brady, Megan Rachow, and Steven Rose are prosecuting the case.

PITTSBURGH, PA (May 1, 2024)…Educators will be loving it on National Teacher Appreciation Day next week. On Tuesday, May 7, McDonald’s will serve teachers a free Egg McMuffin and medium McCafé hot or iced coffee or a medium soft drink.

No purchase is required, teachers should show a valid school ID when ordering. There is a limit of one per person during breakfast hours only. The offer is available at the drive-thru and front counter.

“Local McDonald’s restaurants have supported educators for decades through initiatives like MAC Grants For Teachers, Arch Support and McTeachers’ Nights,” said Owner/Operator Toni Hower.  “Our Teacher Appreciation breakfasts will allow us to celebrate even more teachers this year.”

For more information about local McDonald’s restaurants, go to the local Facebook and Instagram pages: McDonald’s of Three Rivers.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 2, 2024 1:19 P.M.

(Aliquippa, Pa) The Aliquippa City Council met Wednesday night. Fire Chief Dave Foringer’s last day of service will be July 2, 2024, due to him retiring.

The 48th Greek Food Festival will be held from Thursday, June 13 to Saturday, June 15, 2024 in front of the community center on Davidson Street.

The city is interviewing candidates for City Financial Officer Cheryl McFarland’s position . Cheryl is retiring.

Council’s next meeting is their work session on May 29, 2024 at 7 p.m. The next regular meeting is Wednesday, June 5, 2024 at 7 p.m.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania took a step Tuesday toward becoming the latest state to punish someone for using a Bluetooth-connected device to track someone without their permission.

The state House of Representatives voted 199-1 to approve legislation that would make using a tracking device to secretly track another person part of Pennsylvania’s laws against stalking. The crime would be punishable as a third-degree misdemeanor, or up to 90 days in jail.

The bill goes to the Senate, where a separate bill is pending that would make the crime a second-degree misdemeanor, or punishable by up to two years in jail.

Most states have a provision in state law that prohibits remote tracking, while others are adding it. Ohio is considering such legislation, Florida is increasing penalties for using such a device and Kentucky approved a new law last year.

Bluetooth-controlled devices made by various tech giants or digital apps installed on a mobile phone can secretly track the movements of another person.

The House bill’s passage Tuesday comes a few weeks after a federal judge denied Apple’s motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit contending that the tech giant hasn’t done enough to prevent stalkers from using its AirTag devices to track victims.

Apple’s $29 AirTags have become popular items since their 2021 release, helping users keep tabs on the location of anything from lost keys to wallets and luggage.

But stalkers have also taken advantage of AirTags and similar tracking devices, and dozens of plaintiffs sued Apple in 2022, contending that AirTag users had stalked them. They said its safety features are inadequate and that Apple should have done more to protect victims after AirTags “revolutionized the scope, breadth, and ease of location-based stalking.”

Apple has condemned any malicious use of the product. It argued in court that it “took proactive steps” to deter misuse and that it shouldn’t be liable for damage caused by third parties.

Last year, Apple partnered with Google to set standards for fighting secret surveillance with tracking devices.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., says she’ll call a vote next week on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Rep. Greene, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump, is forcing her colleagues to choose sides after Democratic leaders announced they’d provide the votes to save the Republican speaker’s job. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

‘WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’ll call a vote next week on ousting House Speaker Mike Johnson. The Georgia Republican is forcing her colleagues to choose sides after Democratic leaders announced they’d provide the votes to save the Republican speaker’s job. Speaking outside the Capitol on Wednesday, Greene railed against Republican Party leaders and pushed back against public entreaties from Donald Trump and others to avoid another messy political fight so close to the November election. With Greene was Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, one of the few lawmakers to join her effort. They said Johnson isn’t up to the job. Johnson responded that the attempt to oust him is “wrong for the country.”