Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks during a news conference in Washington, Wednesday, May 3, 2023, following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve reinforced its fight against high inflation by raising its key interest rate by a quarter-point to the highest level in 16 years. But the Fed also signaled that it may now pause its streak of 10 rate hikes, which have made borrowing for consumers and businesses steadily more expensive. In a statement after its latest policy meeting, the Fed removed a sentence from its previous statement that had said “some additional” rate hikes might be needed. It replaced it with language that said it will weigh a range of factors in “determining the extent” to which future hikes might be needed.

FILE – A McDonald’s sign at a restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh, April 24, 2017. Federal investigators found more than 300 minors, including the 10-year-olds, were working illegally, the Labor Department said in a statement Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Two 10-year-olds are among 300 children who worked at McDonald’s restaurants illegally, a Labor Department investigation of franchisees in Kentucky found. Agency investigators found the 10-year-olds received little or no pay at a McDonald’s in Louisville, the Labor Department said. The franchisee for the Louisville store was among three McDonald’s franchisees fined $212,000 in total by the department. Louisville’s Bauer Food LLC, which operates 10 McDonald’s locations, employed 24 minors under the age of 16 to work more hours than legally permitted, the agency said. Among those were two 10-year-old children. The agency said the children sometimes worked as late as 2 a.m., but were not paid.

This May 3, 2023, image provided by Jessica Damiano shows overgrown grass and weeds in an unmowed lawn in Glen Head, NY. (Jessica Damiano via AP)

There’s a growing movement called No Mow May that asks people to abstain from mowing their lawns until June first. The intention is admirable. The idea is to let grass and weeds grow and bloom to provide food and shelter for essential pollinators early in the season, when that’s hard for them to find. But AP gardening columnist Jessica Damiano thinks it’s not a good idea. For one thing, she says, some of those bees and butterflies you’re trying to protect might get shredded with the first mow of the season. And grass that’s shaded by tall weeds can get fungal diseases. Also, weeds and invasive plants that take hold won’t disappear once the mowing commences. She says it’s better to plant native plants or wildflowers instead of grass.

FILE –  (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Good news for all the password-haters out there: Google has taken a big step toward making them an afterthought by adding “passkeys” as a more straightforward and secure way to log into its services. Ultimately, passkeys could end racking your brain to recall complicated mnemonics or trusting password managers to cough up randomized strings of gobbledygook when you need them. Setting up passkeys isn’t quite as simple as it could be, but it’s not too bad. And living without passwords might be worth the trouble.

This combination of 2017-2022 photos shows the logos of Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat on mobile devices. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Legislation introduced by four senators aims to prohibit all children under the age of 13 from using social media and would give parents more control over what teenagers under the age of 18 can access. The two Democrats and two Republicans are parents of young children and teenagers. The senators said in a joint interview with The Associated Press that they’re representative of millions of American parents who are gravely worried that social media companies are largely unchecked in what they can serve up to their children. The bipartisan bill comes as there is increasing desire in Congress to regulate social media companies.

FILE – President Joe Biden walks along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso Texas, Jan. 8, 2023. The Biden administration has requested 1,500 troops for the U.S.-Mexico border amid an expected migrant surge following the end of pandemic-era restrictions. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. and Mexican officials have agreed on new immigration policies meant to deter illegal border crossings. The officials are opening up other pathways ahead of an expected increase in migrants following the end of coronavirus pandemic restrictions. A U.S. homeland security adviser spent Tuesday meeting with Mexico’s president and other top officials, emerging with a five-point plan. The U.S. and Mexico share a 2,000-mile border. But Mexico had been notably absent from last week’s rollout of fresh border control efforts, including the creation of hubs outside the United States where migrants could apply to legally settle in the U.S., Spain or Canada. The first centers will open in Guatemala and Colombia.

FILE – Protestors wait for the arrival of King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort to visit Liverpool Central Library, and to officially mark the Library’s twinning with Ukraine’s first public Library, the Regional Scientific Library in Odesa, in Liverpool, England, Wednesday, April 26, 2023. There will be dissenters among the cheering crowds when King Charles III travels by gilded coach to his coronation. More than 1,500 protesters will be dressed in yellow for maximum visibility and they plan to gather beside it to chant “Not my king” as the royal procession goes by on Saturday. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Pool, File)

LONDON (AP) — There will be dissenters among the cheering crowds when King Charles III travels by gilded coach to his coronation. More than 1,500 protesters will be dressed in yellow for maximum visibility and they plan to gather beside it to chant “Not my king” as the royal procession goes by on Saturday. Graham Smith of the campaigning group republic says the coronation is “a celebration of one man taking a job that he has not earned.” Republican activists see the coronation as a moment of opportunity. Opinion polls suggest opposition and apathy to the monarchy are both growing now that Charles has replaced Queen Elizabeth II who died in September after 70 years on the throne.

Story by Sandy Giorano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 4, 2023 12:00 P.M.

(Aliquippa, PA) City Council got a late start because there wasn’t a quorum, and when they finally convened, they adopted a resolution to apply for a $230,000 grant to support their Act 47 exit plan. They approved the Keystone Communities Program  “The Bricks Site Clearance project” first amendment extending it to June 30, 2024.

Story by Sandy Giordano –  Beaver County Radio. Published May 4, 2023 10:53 A.M.

(Aliquippa, PA) AEDC Director Cindy Gormley updated council on the Wayfinding signs to be placed in key areas of the city, new street lighting in the downtown, and for landscaping downtown. She said an extension was granted to the city for the DCED  and was granted and will end in 2024. Aliquippa was known as ‘LITTLE NEW YORK” at one time when she spoke about the beautification of the downtown area.  She said  AEDC’S mission is to improve the city any way we can. Councilman Donald Walker  said new sidewalks will also be installed. The AEDC is a 501c3 non profit organization.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A proposed workers’ rights constitutional amendment is advancing in the Pennsylvania Legislature. The narrowly divided Pennsylvania House on Wednesday approved it on a vote of 102 to 99, with nearly all of the “yes” votes being cast by Democrats. It’s the first step in a process that, if successful, will take years to complete. Pennsylvania constitutional amendments have to pass both chambers in two successive two-year sessions before going to voters for the final OK. The bill would add constitutional language that state workers have “the fundamental right to organize and bargain collectively” and that no state law can interfere with it.