Middletown, PA – Pennsylvania Lottery Scratch-Off winners claimed $221,726,066 in prizes during January, including one top prize worth $5 million claimed by a player from Philadelphia, and three top prizes worth $1 million claimed by players from Montour, Philadelphia, and Northumberland counties.

Congratulations to the retailer who earned a $10,000 bonus for selling the $5 million-winning ticket, and to the retailers who earned a $5,000 bonus for selling the winning Scratch-Off tickets worth $1 million. They are:

• 7-Eleven, 2301 West Passyunk Avenue, Philadelphia ($10,000 bonus);
• Wawa, 1601 Bethlehem Pike, Flourtown, Montgomery County ($5,000 bonus);
• Saji & Sharvan, 1700 7th Avenue, Altoona, Blair County ($5,000 bonus); and
• Puff Tobacco Products, 1021 Mill St., Danville, Montour County ($5,000 bonus).

Across Pennsylvania, other big prizes claimed during January included:

• Six prizes of $500,000;
• Four prizes of $300,000;
• Eight prizes of $250,000;
• Seven prizes of $200,000; and
• Seven prizes of $100,000.

The monthly winner list is posted in the Winners section of palottery.com. Not included on that list are the many Scratch-Off players who won prizes of less than $1,000.

Scratch-Off games currently offer prizes ranging from a free ticket to $5 million. Before playing any game, players should read and understand the rules, remaining prizes and specific chances of winning at palottery.com. Check tickets promptly and immediately claim winnings. Prizes expire one year from a Scratch-Off game’s end-sale date, which is posted on palottery.com.

Scratch-Offs are distributed at random, meaning the Pennsylvania Lottery and its retailers do not know where winning tickets will be sold. The Lottery learns where winning tickets are sold only after a prize has been claimed.

The overall chances of winning any prize, printed on the back of each ticket, is stated across all tickets produced in a game, not by consecutive tickets sold per pack. Random distribution ensures the Pennsylvania Lottery and retailers do not know where winning tickets will be sold.

FILE – Pennsylvania Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa., on April 4, 2022. Pennsylvania voters on Tuesday, Nov. 8, will send dozens of new representatives and senators to the Legislature, thanks to a slew of retirements and new district maps that were revamped by the state’s redistricting commission. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Republicans are declaring victory in a special election for a vacant state Senate seat in a heavily Republican district in northern Pennsylvania. The Republican candidate, state Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, led Democrat Patricia Lawton in preliminary returns from Tuesday’s special election by more than a two-to-one margin. Senate Republican leaders say Culver will be sworn in to the Senate in late February and bring the 50-seat chamber to a full complement with a 28-22 Republican majority. Culver is serving her seventh term in the state House of Representatives from Northumberland County. The Senate seat covers Columbia, Montour, Northumberland and Snyder counties, and part of Luzerne County. Her term would last until Nov. 30, 2024.

FILE – Groundhog Club handler A.J. Dereume holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating groundhog, during the 136th celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa., Feb. 2, 2022. On Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023, people will once again gather at Gobbler’s Knob as members of Punxsutawney Phil’s “inner circle” summon him from his tree stump at dawn to learn if he has seen his shadow. According to folklore, if he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter. If he does not, spring comes early. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger, File)

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — It’s Groundhog Day and people are waiting to learn whether a furry critter in a western Pennsylvania town will predict an early spring or six more weeks of winter. People will gather Thursday at Gobbler’s Knob as members of Punxsutawney Phil’s “inner circle” summon him from his tree stump at dawn to learn if he has seen his shadow. According to folklore, if he sees his shadow there will be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, spring comes early. The annual event in Punxsutawney originated from a German legend about a furry rodent. Officials are hoping the usual crowd of between 10,000 to 15,000 visitors comes out for the event.

Sheetz logo. (PRNewsFoto/SHEETZ, INC.)
Story by Beaver County Radio News Staff. Published January 2, 2023 6:56 A.M.

Sheetz have announced they are ending their “smile policy”. According to a statement from the family owned company, they say “Our culture at Sheetz has always been centered on respect and putting our employees, customers and communities first. As a family owned and operated company, nothing is more important than creating an environment that is inclusive and supportive of all of our employees. Recently through employee feedback, we have learned that the smile policy is not aligned with these values from their perspective. They go on to say that effective immediately, the policy is discontinued. There are also reports that Sheetz has made already made offers to rehire employees previously let go due to the former policy.

Middletown, PA – The Powerball® jackpot is now offering an estimated annuity value of $653 million, or $350.5 million cash, for the next drawing tonight, February 1.

“This $653 million jackpot prize is now the 8th largest jackpot in Powerball’s more than 30-year history,” said Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko. “Pennsylvania players have the option to purchase their Powerball® ticket online or by visiting one of our retailers. Our players can feel good about the fact that proceeds generated from ticket sales go to help older residents of the Commonwealth.”

In Pennsylvania, this recent jackpot run has generated more than $56 million in sales, creating a profit of more than $22.4 million to benefit older Pennsylvanians. As of Wednesday afternoon, in Pennsylvania, Powerball® tickets were sold at the rate of an estimated more than $2,800 each minute, with more than 1,300 tickets being sold per minute.

The Powerball® jackpot was last won on Nov. 19, 2022, by a single ticket in Kansas that won a grand prize worth $92.9 million. The last time a Powerball® jackpot was won in Pennsylvania was on August 3, 2022.

If there is no Powerball® winner in tonight’s drawing, the jackpot for the Saturday, February 4 drawing will be an estimated $700 million, or $375.7 million cash.

The Pennsylvania Lottery offers the following tips to players:

• Always check your PA Lottery tickets at the time of purchase. Tickets cannot be canceled, so you should immediately speak to the clerk or manager to resolve any concerns before leaving the store.
• Always sign the back of your PA Lottery ticket. This will help prevent someone else from trying to cash it in the event your PA Lottery ticket becomes lost or stolen or if someone tries to scratch out, white out, or change your signature.
• Never post your winning ticket on social media. This will prevent someone else from trying to cash your winning ticket.

Pennsylvania Lottery players have options to purchase their Powerball® tickets online or by visiting a retailer. Players can find lottery-selling locations closest to them by visiting the Find a Retailer section of the Lottery’s website.

Additionally, pooling ticket purchases with friends can be a fun way to play responsibly. To help players manage their pooled ticket purchases, Pool Play forms are available at www.palottery.com.

Winners are not known until prizes are claimed and tickets are validated. Pennsylvania Lottery Powerball® winners have one year from the drawing date to claim prizes. Winning tickets purchased at a Lottery retailer should immediately be signed on the back. Online winnings automatically appear in a player’s account after the claim has been processed. To initiate an online prize claim, winners should call 1-800-692-7481. Players may visit palottery.com for more information about how to file a claim.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published January 1, 2023 2:02 P.M.

(Hopewell Township, PA) Dr. Jeff Beltz , superintendent issued a statement to the district    in regards to the December illnesses at the school.. The statement   was issued last Friday following an update from the PA Department of Health stating that the  illnesses were likely the result of Norovirus.  The PA DOH  statement read”WE want to inform you that we’ve received notification  from the Infectious Disease  Epidemiology  Team  that the Hopewell Elementary School GI outbreak  has been closed  in the PA Electronic disease surveillance team made recommendations beyond student illnesses  , and that all signs  indicate it was an outbreak of Norovirus.”

HARRISBURG – Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Butler/Lawrence) announced today that his district office in Butler is open to ensure continuity of constituent services.

The office is located at 790 Pittsburgh Road, Butler. Office hours will be Monday through Thursday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the telephone number is 724-847-5291.

The new Butler office is part of Bernstine’s ongoing effort to improve efficiencies, while maintaining the highest level of constituent service for residents of the 8^th Legislative District.

“My door is always open,” said Bernstine. “My staff and I are ready to assist constituents with a number of state-related matters, including PennDOT paperwork, PACE and PACENET applications for senior citizens, Property Tax/Rent Rebate forms, LIHEAP information and many others.”

Bernstine will be hosting an Open House Thursday, March 2, from 4-7 p.m. In addition, he plans to schedule events such as telephone town hall meetings, as well as concealed carry, shredding, veterans, seniors, agriculture and many more events. Bernstine will be announcing dates, times and locations for these events in the near future.

Bernstine also encourages constituents to visit his website, www.RepBernstine.com, for news about developments in Harrisburg and the Butler, Lawrence County communities, and to sign up to receive periodic email updates about important legislation, state services and programs.

FILE – Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, at the Federal Reserve Board Building, in Washington, as an aides hand reflects under the podium. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve closes its two-day meeting where economists expect the central bank to raise its benchmark rate by a quarter of a point as its battle against four-decade high inflation extends into 2023.(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation is cooling, and parts of the economy appear to be weakening. But Chair Jerome Powell is likely Wednesday to underscore that the Federal Reserve’s primary focus remains the need to fight surging prices with still-higher interest rates. With markets anticipating that the Fed will stop raising rates soon and possibly even cut them later this year, analysts say Powell will need to push back against such optimism. Powell’s tough message will likely emerge at a news conference after the Fed’s policy committee announces its latest action. The policymakers are set to raise their benchmark rate by a quarter-point to its highest level in about 15 years.

FILE – Actor Alec Baldwin attends a news conference at United Nations headquarters, on Sept. 21, 2015. A Santa Fe district attorney is prepared to announce whether to press charges in the fatal 2021 film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of the Western movie “Rust.” Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies said a decision will be announced Thursday morning, Jan. 19, 2022, in a statement and on social media platforms. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Prosecutors have linked Alec Baldwin to an expansive list of alleged failures in firearms safety in a filing of a felony involuntary manslaughter charge against the actor in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer on a New Mexico movie set. A Santa Fe district attorney announced the charges Tuesday. Halyna Hutchins died shortly after being wounded during rehearsals at a ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021. Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins when the gun went off, killing her and wounding the director, Joel Souza. Film-set weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed also faces involuntary manslaughter charges.