FILE – An array of pistols are shown in the Dan Wesson display as guests browse firearms at the National Rifle Association’s Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Indianapolis, April 16, 2023. The roster of Republican presidential hopefuls who flocked to the National Rifle Association’s annual convention reflects the political potency of gun rights, despite the group’s eroding revenues and an opposition movement that’s growing increasingly vocal as the drumbeat of mass shootings marches on.(AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The roster of Republican presidential hopefuls who flocked to the National Rifle Association’s annual convention reflects the political potency of gun rights. That’s despite the group’s eroding revenues and an opposition movement that’s growing increasingly vocal as the drumbeat of mass shootings marches on. Even amid internal turmoil and legal woes, the gun ownership culture and movement that the NRA helped build remains formidable. And the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment last summer has given new strength to gun-rights activists seeking to invalidate firearm restrictions across the country. An NRA spokesperson said the organization is “financially strong and as effective as ever in its mission.”

FILE – A sign at Twitter headquarters is shown in San Francisco, Dec. 8, 2022. Twitter has quietly removed a policy against the “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals,” raising concerns that the Elon Musk-owned platform is becoming less safe for marginalized groups. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Twitter has quietly removed a policy against the “targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals.” The move is raising concerns that the Elon Musk-owned platform is becoming less safe for marginalized groups. Twitter enacted the policy against deadnaming, or using a transgender person’s name before they transitioned, as well as purposefully using the wrong gender for someone as a form of harassment, in 2018. TikTok and Meta both have similar policies on the books.

U.S. Secret Service uniformed division police officers carry a young child who crawled through the White House fence on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The toddler earned the title of one of the tiniest White House intruders after he squeezed through the metal fencing on the north side of the executive mansion. Officers walked across the North Lawn to retrieve the child and reunite him with his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue. (AP Photo/Nancy Benac)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A curious toddler on Tuesday earned the title of one of the tiniest White House intruders after he squeezed through the metal fencing on the north side of the executive mansion. U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officers, who are responsible for security at the White House, walked across the North Lawn to retrieve the tot and reunite him with his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue. Access to the complex was briefly restricted while officers conducted the reunification. Officers questioned the parents before allowing them to continue on their way. It may be the first successful intrusion onto the complex since the White House fence was doubled in height to roughly 13 feet (3.96-meters) after a series of security breaches over the last several years.

FILE – Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women’s Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., on March 16, 2022. The Supreme Court is deciding whether women will face restrictions in getting a drug used in the most common method of abortion in the United States, while a lawsuit continues. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is deciding whether women will face restrictions in getting a drug used in the most common method of abortion in the U.S. while a lawsuit continues. The justices are expected to issue an order Wednesday in a fast-moving case from Texas in which abortion opponents are seeking to roll back Food and Drug Administration approval of the drug, mifepristone. The drug won FDA approval in 2000. Conditions on the drug’s use have been loosened in recent years, including making it available by mail in states that allow access. The Biden administration and New York-based drugmaker Danco Laboratories want the Supreme Court to reject limits on mifepristone’s use imposed by lower courts.

This image released by the Washington County, N.Y., Sheriff, shows Kevin Monahan, 65, who was arrested on a second-degree murder charge. Kaylin Gillis, 20, was traveling through the rural town of Hebron, N.Y., with three other people Saturday night, April 15, 2023, when the group made a wrong turn onto Monahan’s property, who came out onto his porch and fired two shots. One round hit and killed Gillis, according to Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy. (Washington County NY Sheriff via AP)

When Kaylin Gillis and her friends took a wrong turn into an upstate New York driveway last weekend, they wound up on the property of a man bitter about people driving onto his land by mistake. That’s according to a neighbor of the New York landowner, Kevin Monahan. The county sheriff says Monahan opened fire on the car carrying Gillis on Saturday night, killing her. Monahan faces a murder charge. His neighbor said he had become more and more upset in recent years at people making wrong turns into his driveway. Monahan’s lawyer says the slaying was a “tragedy” but that his client is not a villain.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — Fox and Dominion Voting Systems have reached a $787 million settlement in the voting machine company’s defamation lawsuit. The agreement averts a trial in a case that exposed how the top-rated network chased viewers by promoting lies about the 2020 presidential election. Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson said the deal shows that truth matters and lies have consequences. Dominion had asked for $1.6 billion in arguing that Fox had damaged its reputation by helping peddle phony conspiracy theories about its equipment switching votes from former President Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden.

Story by Sandy Giordano – Beaver County Radio. Published April 19, 2023

(Hopewell Township, PA) Only 3 board members were present, one on ZOOM for the  meeting Tuesday night. No action  could be taken due to the circumstances, according to Superintendent Dr. Jeff Beltz. The board meets in regular session, Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 7 p.m. in the junior high school board room.

East Palestine Train Derailment (Curtis Walsh)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Norfolk Southern’s CEO has reiterated apologies for the East Palestine train derailment and toxic chemical release as well as vows to make things right during his first testimony at the Ohio Legislature since the fiery accident. On Tuesday, Alan Shaw says he supports some additional safety proposals, but signaled resistance to others, such as two person crew mandates. The railroad is facing lawsuits, including one from Ohio’s attorney general over environmental cleanup costs. No one was hurt in the Feb. 3 derailment, but half of the nearly 5,000 East Palestine residents were evacuated for days. Many say they are suffering from health problems such as rashes, headaches and trouble breathing.

HARRISBURG, PA:  The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) reported today that the combined total revenue generated from all forms of gaming along with fantasy contests during March 2023 was $515,278,831, an increase of 11.35% compared to revenue generated in March 2022. The PGCB also noted that this monthly revenue number exceeded the half billion mark for the first time since legalized gambling began in 2006.

Sources of gaming revenue regulated by the PGCB include slot machines, table games, internet gaming, sports wagering, fantasy contests and video gaming terminals (VGTs). The PGCB has posted separate reports for these types of gaming on its website, https://gamingcontrolboard.pa.gov/.

FILE – (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — If you’re expecting a tax refund, it could be smaller than last year. And with inflation still high, that money won’t go as far as it did a year ago. The more than 101 million taxpayers who had filed as of April 7 got refunds that were an average of 9.3% less than last year. That’s in part due to pandemic relief programs expiring. The filing deadline for most taxpayers is Tuesday, though it has been extended for eight states that were hard hit by severe weather. According to the most recent IRS data, the average refund is $2,878, down from $3,175. That’s a difference of more than $300.