Jury selection is set to begin this week in the federal gun case against President Joe Biden’s son after a deal with prosecutors fell apart that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. Hunter Biden has been charged with lying on federal gun-purchase forms when he said he wasn’t a drug addict. He has pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by his father’s Justice Department, after Republicans decried the now-defunct deal as special treatment. Hunter Biden is also facing a separate trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 31, 2024 2:16 P.M.

(Hopewell Township, Pa) Residents are advised to find other areas, including their neighborhoods to walk their dogs in Hopewell. There has been flooding at the dog park due to the recent rainfall , and residents are being advised to be patient until the situation is rectified, according to officials.

FILE – Allegheny County Election Division Deputy Manager Chet Harhut explains the process of sorting mail-in and absentee ballots in preparations for Pennsylvania’s primary election on April 23, at the Elections warehouse in Pittsburgh, April 18, 2024. Pennsylvania election officials said Wednesday, May 8, 2024 that the number of mail-in ballots rejected for technicalities, like a missing date, saw a significant drop in last month’s primary election after state officials tried anew to help voters avoid mistakes that might get their ballot thrown out. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, file)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A new lawsuit filed Tuesday by a constellation of left-leaning groups in Pennsylvania is trying to prevent thousands of mail-in ballots from being thrown out in November’s election in a battleground state that is expected to play a critical role in selecting a new president.

The lawsuit, filed in a state court, is the latest of perhaps a half-dozen cases to challenge a provision in Pennsylvania law that voters must write the date when they sign their mail-in ballot envelope.

Voters not understanding that provision has meant that tens of thousands of ballots lacked an accurate date since Pennsylvania dramatically expanded mail-in voting in a 2019 law.

The latest lawsuit says multiple courts have found that a voter-written date is meaningless in determining whether the ballot arrived on time or whether the voter is eligible. As a result, rejecting someone’s ballot either because it lacks a date or a correct date should violate the Pennsylvania Constitution’s free and equal elections clause, the lawsuit said.

“This lawsuit is the only one that is squarely addressing the constitutionality of disenfranchising voters under Pennsylvania’s Constitution,” said Marian Schneider, a lawyer in the case and senior policy counsel for voting rights for the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs’ lawyers — including the ACLU, the Public Interest Law Center and the Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer law firm — referenced a 2023 opinion in which state Supreme Court justices seemed to invite such a challenge. In it, they suggested that the free and equal elections clause would indeed prevent ballots from being thrown out for failing to comply with the date requirement.

Enforcement of the dating provision resulted in at least 10,000 ballots getting thrown out in the 2022 mid-term election alone, the lawsuit said. Lawyers in the case said research shows that a disproportionate share of rejected ballots come from older voters, poorer districts and Black and Latino communities.

The lawsuit names Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s top election official, as well as the election boards in Philadelphia and Allegheny County, both heavily Democratic jurisdictions.

However, Democrats have fought repeatedly to undo the dating requirement, while Republicans in the past have fought in court to ensure that counties can and do throw out mail-in ballots that lack a complete or correct date.

Roughly three-fourths of mail-in ballots tend to be cast by Democrats in Pennsylvania, possibly the result of former President Donald Trumpbaselessly claiming that mail-in voting is rife with fraud.

Shapiro’s Department of State did not comment on the lawsuit. But it said in a statement that it is “irrefutably clear that the handwritten date serves no function in the administration of Pennsylvania’s election” and that it has consistently argued in court that voters shouldn’t have ballots rejected for incorrectly writing it.

A November ballot in Pennsylvania that likely will feature President Joe Biden and Trump at the top of the ticket also will feature a high-profile Senate contest between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick.

Republicans are urging their voters to cast ballots by mail. Still, national Republican groups signaled that they will oppose the lawsuit.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee accused Democrats of attempting to “change the rules at the last minute in a desperate bid to hold onto power.” The Republican National Committee claimed the date requirement is an ”important election integrity safeguard” and that lawsuits like the one filed Tuesday “are designed to undermine voter confidence and make mail voting less secure.”

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include the Black Political Empowerment Project, POWER Interfaith, Make the Road Pennsylvania, OnePA Activists United, New PA Project Education Fund, Casa San José, Pittsburgh United, League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and Common Cause Pennsylvania.

Currently, a separate challenge to the date requirement is pending in federal court over whether it violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act or the Constitution’s equal protection clause. In March, a divided 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the date requirement does not violate the civil rights law.

A new study from AAA and Bread Financial finds younger generations are driving a surge in live event travel. Approximately three in five Gen Z (65%) and Millennial (58%) respondents confirmed they have traveled in the past 12 months and/or plan to travel in the next 12 months for in-person events like concerts, sporting events, comedy shows, and book readings that are more than 50 miles from home. This compares to 43% of Gen X and just 27% of Baby Boomers.

Going the Extra Mile and Spending the Extra Dollar
More than half (53%) of Gen Z travelers have or plan to head to live events by plane, the most of any generation, and are willing to go the extra mile, literally! Twice as many (18%) Gen Z travelers say they have or would be willing to go more than 1,500 miles – the distance of half of the continental United States – compared to only 9% of Baby Boomer travelers.

“Traveling to live events has become a preferred pastime for the younger generations,” according to Bevi Powell, senior vice president, AAA East Central. “Many Gen Z and Millennials consider the journey to be as enjoyable as the destination and are willing to spend more to attend their favorite sporting events, cheer for their favorite sports teams and enjoy their favorite artists in person. They simply don’t want to miss out on the experience of a lifetime.,” she added.

Younger generations spend the most for a good time, as nearly two in five Gen Z (37%) and Millennial (39%) travelers have spent between $500 and $5,000+ on tickets alone for destination live events. To afford this, approximately two in five Millennial (42%) and Gen Z (37%) travelers are willing to dip into their savings to pay for travel costs for a live event. About a third of those travelers would consider taking up a side hustle to pay for their event travel. The younger generations are also getting creative to cut costs with nearly half of Millennial and Gen Z travelers saying they already have or would travel internationally to score cheaper tickets.

Sports and Music Important to Gen Z Travelers 
The youngest generation is driving concert travel with more than half (52%) of Gen Z travelers planning to attend a music event in the next 12 months. Artists themselves can influence Gen Z’s travel habits as one in five travelers (20%) have traveled or plan to travel to a Taylor Swift concert.

Gen Z is also most likely to travel to some of the bigger sports events. Nearly two in five (38%) Gen Z travelers have traveled or are planning to travel for the 2025 Super Bowl, 32% have traveled or are planning to travel to the 2024 NBA finals, and 19% have traveled or are planning to travel for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Paris, France.

Must Go Due to FOMO
FOMO (fear of missing out) also plays a substantial role in influencing live event ticket purchases with more than one-third (34%) of all travelers admitting it played a role in their decision. While Gen Z travelers (54%) most often feel compelled to make event travel purchases based on FOMO, 83% of Baby Boomers say they resist such pressures. Additionally, younger generations (Gen Z – 44%, Millennials – 43%) emerge as the demographics most pressured into spending money on events they didn’t want to attend.

Top Destinations for Event Travel
More than three in four (79%) travelers are eager to head to their dream event location, with New York, Florida, and California being the most popular states and Las Vegas and Chicago the top cities. Travelers are also shaping their plans around famous event venues like Madison Square Garden (38%), Las Vegas Sphere (38%), and Radio City Music Hall (31%).

While at their destination, travelers want to take time to sightsee and explore before and/or after a live event with 62% noting they have included or are planning to bake in additional vacation time. Gen Z (72%) and Millennials (68%) lead the charge on extra time spent at a destination compared to Gen X (56%) and Baby Boomers (51%).

Often, travel expenses come with a hefty price tag because of skyrocketing event ticket prices. Top reasons for staying home differed between generations with Millennials most likely to skip an event due to an inability to take time off from work (37%), while Gen Z was most concerned about budget or debt worries (38%).

“While younger generations are driving the trend, this survey highlights the ways different generations are thinking about traveling to events and how they save for and spend around experiential moments in time,” said Nick Antonelli, chief marketing officer at Bread Financial. “These results show that while plenty of consumers are hitting the road for fun events, many are cognizant of their budgets, and being purposeful around achieving a healthy balance between managing their finances and desire to travel and attend live events.”

Survey Methodology
This was an online survey of 1,654 U.S. respondents 18+ who have traveled or are planning to travel for live event(s) in the past/next 12 months. The survey was conducted from March 5 to 8, 2024.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing lane restrictions on Steubenville Pike (Route 60) in Robinson Township, Allegheny County will begin Monday, June 3 weather permitting.

Single-lane and shoulder restrictions will occur on northbound Steubenville Pike between the I-79 north and south interchange ramps around-the-clock beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, June 3 through 3 p.m. Monday, June 24 to allow crews to conduct overhead bridge substructure repair work.

Work on this $14.97 million highway restoration project in Robinson and Kennedy townships began in early April. The project begins at the I-376 Airport/Pittsburgh (Exit 59 A/B) interchange and continues approximately one-half mile north of the Route 60 Moon Run/Crafton (Exit 60 A/B) interchange. Work includes concrete pavement patching, guide rail and cable barrier replacement, highway lighting and signing updates, drainage work, pavement markings and other miscellaneous construction activities on mainline I-79 and ten ramps (four at the I-376 interchange and six ramps at the Route 60 interchange). There will be bridge preservation work on six structures (northbound and southbound I-79 bridges over I-376, Route 60, and Campbells Run Road), including concrete deck overlays, replacement of seals at expansion dams and deck joints, substructure concrete repairs, cleaning of bridge bearings and spot painting of the northbound and southbound I-79 steel I-beam bridges over I-376. The majority of the roadway work along mainline I-79 will be performed under short-term, single-lane closures during nighttime restrictions. There will be long-term lane restrictions in place for the bridge work, including six weekend-long lane restrictions. Additionally, there will be milling and paving operations on Route 60 between Lorish Road and Old Steubenville Pike, preservation work of six existing sign structures (one on northbound I-79 and five on southbound I-79) as well as concrete repairs and scour protection of two arch culverts underneath mainline I-79 and several ramps.  The project is anticipated to conclude in the late spring of 2025.

The prime contractor is Golden Triangle Construction Company, Inc. Work on this project will be coordinated with other projects in the area.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 31, 2024 1:42 P.M.

(Ambridge, Pa) Michael, Motton, 34, is lodged in the Beaver County Jail on $900,000 bail. He is charged with 4 felony counts of manufacturing, delivering or possession with intent and 4 misdemeanors. The warrant was served Wednesday by police and the PA Attorney’s Drug Task Force.

Donald Trump became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes Thursday as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published May 30, 2024 2:20 P.M.

(Ambridge, Pa) On Wednesday, with a body warrant issued that led to a search of an apartment, 2 suspects were arrested and placed in the Beaver County Jail. The search revealed 14,000 fentanyl pills, 110.7 grams of fentanyl powder, 104.5 Xanax pills, 19.26 grams of cocaine, 26.7 grams of  powder cocaine, a bag of unknown pills broken into powder form, and $2,725 in U.S. currency, as well as drug paraphernalia.

The jury in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial will soon resume deliberations after asking to rehear potentially crucial testimony about the alleged scheme at the heart of the history-making case. The  jury met for 4 1/2 hours of deliberations Wednesday without reaching a verdict and will return Thursday. The jury asked to rehear testimony from a tabloid publisher and Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer. The jurors also requested to revisit at least part of the judge’s instructions to them. Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business records at his company. The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee denies any wrongdoing.