Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 7:57 AM
By LARRY NEUMEISTER and TOM HAYS Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — A prosecutor says Ghislaine Maxwell and the late Jeffrey Epstein were partners in crime in the sexual abuse of teenage girls. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz told the New York jury in opening statements Monday at Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial that she is accused of recruiting and grooming girls for the financier to abuse from 1994 to 2004. Defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim countered in an opening statement that the 59-year-old British socialite was being made a scapegoat after Epstein killed himself two years ago. Maxwell used to date Epstein and has been jailed in Brooklyn since her arrest. She says she is innocent.

(File Photo)
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 7:54 AM
(Connoquenessing Boro, Pa.) Pa State Police in Butler are reporting that hey have charged 52-year-old Dale Huggins of Evans City with disorderly conduct after they were dispatched to 180 Main Street in Connoquenessing Boro at 10:05 PM last night for a report of a dispute between two home owners. Through investigation and witness testimony it was determined that Huggins was acting irate and disorderly during a Home Owners Association meeting. Troopers charged Huggins and the case is pending a preliminarily hearing.

(File Photo)
Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 7:51 AM
(Pine Twp., Pa.) Pa State Police in Gibsonia are reporting that they were called to the scene of an accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike east bound at mile marker 33.7 in Pine Twp. at 5:53 last Wednesday night, November 24, 2021.
Upon arriving on the scene and investigating Troopers reported via release that48-year-old Kellie Walsh was operating a 2021 Chevrolet Colorado pick-up truck east bound when unknown vehicle traveling westbound lost one of its dual tires. The tire bounced across the concrete center barrier and struck the front of Walsh’s vehicle causing the truck to become disabled. The unknown vehicle continued traveling west bound and Walsh was not injured in the accident as her vehicle had to be towed from the scene.

Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 7:00 AM
By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Decorations unveiled for Joe and Jill Biden’s first White House Christmas honor frontline workers who persevered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses, doctors, teachers, grocery store workers and others who stayed on the job are recognized in this year’s Gingerbread White House. It was made into a gingerbread village with the addition of a school, police, fire and gas stations, a hospital, a post office, a grocery store and a warehouse. Volunteer decorators trimmed 41 Christmas trees and hung some 6,000 feet of ribbon and more than 10,000 ornaments for the holidays.

Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 6:55 AM
(Pittsburgh, Pa.) Gas prices are one cent lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.573 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                $3.573
Average price during the week of November 22, 2021                            $3.582
Average price during the week of November 30, 2020                            $2.557

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.621      Altoona
$3.559      Beaver
$3.631      Bradford
$3.559      Brookville
$3.569      Butler
$3.596      Clarion
$3.566      DuBois
$3.596      Erie
$3.523      Greensburg
$3.560      Indiana
$3.563      Jeannette
$3.537      Kittanning
$3.556      Latrobe
$3.584      Meadville
$3.641      Mercer
$3.526      New Castle
$3.557      New Kensington
$3.599      Oil City
$3.554      Pittsburgh
$3.499      Sharon
$3.588      Uniontown
$3.628      Warren
$3.565      Washington

Trend Analysis:

The national average price of gasoline today is $3.39, which is a penny less than one week ago and $1.27 more than a year ago. Prices in Pennsylvania are the same as last week at $3.59.

Upon news of the COVID-19 Omicron variant on Friday, crude oil prices fell by $10.24 to settle at $68.15 (West Texas Intermediate). Global prices fell on demand concerns and travel restrictions announced in America and elsewhere. With little known about the new variant, it’s unclear at this point what long-term impact it may have on crude prices.

Before news of the new variant, the Energy Information Administration’s weekly report revealed domestic crude supply increased by 1 million barrels to 434 million barrels.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 72 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

(File Photo of Gov. Wolf by Commonwealth Media Services)

Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 6:44 AM

Harrisburg, PA – Governor Tom Wolf announced today that 5,860 businesses received funding support this year through the COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Relief Program (CHIRP), helping to protect and preserve this vital industry in Pennsylvania.

“We developed the CHIRP program to provide immediate relief to the commonwealth’s restaurants and hospitality businesses recovering from the pandemic,” said Gov. Wolf. “These businesses and their employees made sacrifices for their communities during one of the most unprecedented times we have ever lived through. It was a major priority for my administration to offer quick assistance through trusted, local partners that truly understood the needs of their area’s businesses.”

In March, Gov. Wolf secured $145 million in funding to support businesses adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The commonwealth worked with all 67 counties to administer the funding through one or more designated Community Economic Development Organizations (CEDO) or Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). Grants were awarded in $5,000 increments with a $50,000 maximum.

Throughout the pandemic, the Wolf Administration has worked to provide tools and resources to help our small business community weather the challenges of this pandemic, including allocating $225 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding for Small Business Assistance. This program prioritized grants to main street and historically disadvantaged businesses in the commonwealth. More than 10,000 businesses were approved for grants, half of which went to historically disadvantaged businesses. Another $50 million in CARES Act funding was allocated to Hazard Pay for frontline workers. Further, the COVID-19 Capital Working Access Program (CWCA) provided $60 million in loans to small businesses, the administration deferred loan repayments for businesses.

Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 6:43 AM

(New Castle, Pa.) The Pennsylvania Game Commission was called to the City of New Castle after a woman hit a bear with her vehicle along East Washington Street around 9 pm last night.

When first responders arrived they found that the 200 pound bear had climbed into a nearby tree.
Once the Game Warden from Mercer County arrived and evaluated the situation the bear was shot with a tranquilizer dart, so that it could be safely released back into the woods.

The woman who hit the bear was not injured.

Genevans director David Smith will join Matt Drzik on the Tuesday morning edition of A.M. Beaver County following the 8:30 news to talk about the Genevans’ 2021 Christmas concerts on December 3 & December 4.

Plus: recapping the Pens in Calgary, another chance for you to win in our Holiday Helper contest, and much more with Matt Drzik and Frank Sparks from 6:30 until 9:00 tomorrow on A.M. Beaver County!

Monday, November 29, 2021
By ZEKE MILLER Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is urging Americans to get vaccinated, including booster shots, as he seeks to quell concerns over the newly identified coronavirus variant named omicron. But he said Monday he won’t be seeking any severe business or other widespread lockdown. The new variant is “a cause for concern, not a cause for panic,” the president said in televised remarks from the White House. He was accompanied by Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert. Fauci said Monday that there are as yet no cases of the variant identified in the U.S. but that it is “inevitable” that it will make its way into the country.

Monday, November 29, 2021
By PAUL NEWBERRY AP National Writer
Golf pioneer Lee Elder has died at the age of 87. Elder broke down racial barriers as the first Black golfer to play in the Masters and he paved the way for Tiger Woods and others to follow. Elder made history in 1975 at Augusta National, which had held an all-white tournament until he received an invitation after winning the Monsanto Open. Elder missed the cut but forever stamped himself as a groundbreaking figure in a sport never been known for racial tolerance. The PGA Tour said Elder died early Sunday in Escondido, California. He had been in poor health and wore an oxygen tube beneath his nose when he appeared at the opening of the Masters in April.