(File Photo of the McDonald’s Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Beaver County, PA) McDonalds’ High School Sports Digital Fundraiser Day is a digital fundraiser which will take place on Thursday, October 23rd. This fundraiser will benefit the sports teams of seven high schools in Beaver County, two high schools in Allegheny County and one high school in Venango County by customers placing orders in the McDonald’s app. This is the first year that Pennsylvania schools are participating in this fundraiser, which was created by McDonald’s owner/operators to assist high school sports teams that are in their communities. Each participating McDonald’s restaurant in this fundraiser will donate 10% of all sales that are placed through the McDonald’s app on October 23rd, 2025, with a minimum donation of $250, to a specific high school in their community. Residents who are interested in participating in this fundraiser can download the McDonald’s app on their mobile device through either the Apple App store or the Android Google Play store. The orders for the fundraiser will be counted only if they are placed using the McDonald’s app and they must have the correct store location selected. Those who use the McDonald’s app aside from this fundraiser will also get deals that are exclusive, can both pay and order online and earn points on every order for free menu items from McDonald’s. According to the Beaver County Times, here are the participating McDonald’s restaurants for this digital fundraiser and the schools that the digital fundraiser will benefit:

• Aliquippa: 131 Pleasant Drive, supporting Aliquippa High School; and at 3003 Heights Road, supporting Hopewell Senior High School;
• Baden: 300 Ohio River Boulevard, supporting Ambridge Area High School;
• Beaver: 190 State Street, supporting Beaver Area High School;
• Beaver Falls: 1625 Seventh Avenue, supporting Beaver Falls High School and at 2546 Constitution Boulevard, supporting Blackhawk High School;
• Monaca: 3946 Brodhead Road, supporting Central Valley High School;
• Coraopolis: 1010 Fourth Avenue, supporting Cornell High School;
• Cranberry Township: 7028 US Highway 322, supporting Cranberry Jr/Sr High School;
• Moon Township: 2805 Gracy Center Way, supporting Moon Area High School.

The link to learn more about downloading the McDonald’s app for this fundraiser or in general can be found below:

You can get more information about downloading the McDonald’s app by clicking here: McDonald’s App: Deals, Rewards, Order Pickup & Delivery.

(Photo Courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Philadelphia, PA) Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis joined officials including Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt on Wednesday at Philadelphia’s election warehouse for an event that day with the main topic being voting in Pennsylvania. The speakers of this event also reminded Pennsylvanians that are eligible to vote that the deadline to register to vote in the November 4th, 2025 municipal election in Pennsylvania is on Monday, October 20th. This election will be from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. that day. The speakers of this event also used this event as an opportunity to learn about the satellite election offices in Philadelphia, which are open seven days a week through November 4th to help voters. According to Davis in his comments on Wednesday: “The Shapiro-Davis Administration is committed to making sure every Pennsylvania voter has the opportunity to make their voice heard and ensure that every eligible vote can be counted. The City of Philadelphia has opened satellite election offices in each council district, and election workers are ready to help eligible residents get registered ahead of the October 20th deadline and can provide mail ballots on demand, if voters want to request, complete and return their ballot in one visit.” Schimdt also stated in his comments on Wednesday: “The November 4th election is coming up in less than three weeks. Now is the time to register to vote if you’re eligible and decide whether you want to vote by mail ballot or in person. Your voice matters because you will help choose your local officials, who make decisions every day – on your behalf – that shape your communities.” Schmidt also stated that October 28th is the last day to apply by mail before the November 4th municipal election in Pennsylvania.

(Photo Courtesy of Noah Thomas (justnoah.t) from video on Instragram, Posted on September 22nd, 2025, Courtesy of KDKA, Posted on Facebook on October 17th, 2025)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Nineteen-year-old Noah Thomas of Ohio is now facing several felony charges in connection with an incident in which police say he jumped over a fence of an elephant enclosure at the Pittsburgh Zoo and went face to face with an elephant. This incident occurred on September 21st, 2025, which also was Thomas’ nineteenth birthday, and the video of this incident from the self-proclaimed influencer was posted on Instagram the following day. Thomas is seen in the video jumping over the fence and into the enclosure when the elephant he encountered approaches him, rams the gate and raises its trunk at him. Thomas was one of two people to trespass into the Pittsburgh Zoo when this incident occurred. According to police, Thomas and another person entered the zoo through a temporary exit without purchasing tickets and made their way to the elephant barn. Police confirmed that Thomas then exited the area, but was later approached by security, and Thomas refused to identify himself before security escorted him out. An arrest warrant has been issued for both Thomas and Adrianna Marsco, who was with Thomas at the zoo at the time of this incident. Thomas faces filed charges which include causing or risking catastrophe, criminal trespassing, creulty to animals and reckless endangerment.

(File Photo of Road Work Ahead Sign)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Cranberry Township, PA) A project to make Freedom Road in Cranberry Township wider is now almost complete. This project is a portion of the bigger Gateway 228 project in Butler County. The Gateway 228 Project is a project worth $100 million which improves the connection between Beaver County and Butler County through municipalities like Cranberry Township, Mars and Seven Fields. According to Cranberry Township Supervisor Bruce Hezlep, those working on this project are “probably 95% complete with the project.”

(File Photo of the Duquesne Light Company Logo)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Duquesne Light Company recently unveiled the building for its Watson Substation in the Bluff neighborhood of Pittsburgh. This building is a facility worth $237.4 million that is designed to enhance and improve resiliency of energy during volatile weather for the Golden Triangle of Downtown Pittsburgh. This substation features items in it like a 130-rooftop solar panel, a robust stormwater management system, and numerous network circuits. Another goal of this new facility is meeting growing demands for energy. The Watson Substation is scheduled for completion by December. Brief power outages might potentially be caused when power transfer at the Watson Substation is planned for on October 28th and October 29th, 2025. The alternate dates for this two-phase power transfer are November 18th and November 19th, 2025 and Duquesne Light Company has notified their customers and stakeholders who will be impacted by it. The Watson Substation is part of the revitalization efforts of Downtown Pittsburgh, which includes preparations for the 2026 NFL Draft in Pittsburgh from April 23rd-25th, 2026, and this facility will join the Brunot Island and Forbes substations that Duquesne Light Company has in supplying power to the community of Downtown Pittsburgh.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: Luigi Mangione is escorted into Manhattan state court in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Blair Township, PA) A judge ruled yesterday that the trial in Pennsylvania for Luigi Mangione, the suspect accused of killing United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York on December 4th, 2024, is now effectively on hold. The reasons for this trial being on hold are because Mangione refuses to appear remotely and he remains in custody on federal and state charges in New York. The judge that ruled that Mangione’s trial will be on hold gave Mangione and his defense attorneys two weeks to reconsider appearing remotely or to file a formal request for a hearing in-person. November 7th, 2025 was when Mangione was supposed to be in a court in Blair Township, Pennsylvania, but that hearing was canceled because the defense team of Mangione asserted his right to appear for his court hearings in-person. 

(File Photo: Source for headline photo and one of the photos below: This undated photo released by the Philadelphia Police Department shows kidnapping suspect Keon King, who is charged in the disappearance of Kada Scott. King is also charged in the kidnapping of another woman earlier this year. (Philadelphia Police Department via AP)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A man arrested in the disappearance of a Philadelphia woman who went missing from her nursing home job was also charged earlier this year in a kidnapping case involving another woman.

Authorities have charged Keon King with kidnapping, stalking and other charges in the disappearance of Kada Scott, 23, who was last seen stepping outside at her nursing home job on Oct. 4.

King, 21, is being held on $2.5 million bail while police continue to search for Scott. They found a damaged car they believe King was driving at the time and other evidence linking him to the missing woman. Authorities also say King was the last person in contact with Scott.

“All roads at this point lead to him,” Assistant District Attorney Ashley Taczylowski said at a news conference Wednesday.

King is also facing charges in what officials call a similar case from earlier this year in which a woman was allegedly kidnapped and strangled, but survived. Those charges were dropped when the accuser failed to appear in court, but will now be refiled, Taczylowski said.

In the first case, the prosecutor said King kidnapped a woman from in front of her house, “threw her in her car, assaulted her and eventually let her out.”

King has a preliminary hearing in the Scott case on Nov. 3. A telephone message seeking comment was left Thursday for a lawyer listed as his defense attorney.

(File Photo: Source for Photo Below: This undated photo provided by the Philadelphia Police Department shows Kada Scott, 23, who has been missing since she stepped outside during her night shift at a nursing home on Oct. 4. (Philadelphia Police Department via AP)

(File Photo: Source for Photo: FILE – Kiss guitarist Paul Stanley, right, guitarist Ace Frehley, center, and bassist Gene Simmons play during the band’s farewell concert in the Detroit area, Thursday, May 25, 2000, at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Mich.. (AP Photo/Paul Warner, File)

(AP) Ace Frehley, the original lead guitarist and founding member of the glam rock band Kiss, who captivated audiences with his elaborate galactic makeup and smoking guitar, died Thursday. He was 74.

Frehley died peacefully surrounded by family in Morristown, New Jersey, following a recent fall, according to his agent.

Family members said in a statement that they are “completely devastated and heartbroken” but will cherish his laughter and celebrate the kindness he bestowed upon others.

Kiss, whose hits included “Rock and Roll All Nite” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You,” was known for its theatrical stage shows, with fire and fake blood spewing from the mouths of band members dressed in body armor, platform boots, wigs and signature black-and-white face paint.

Kiss’ original lineup included Frehley, singer-guitarist Paul Stanley, tongue-wagging bassist Gene Simmons and drummer Peter Criss. Frehley’s is the first death among the four founding members.

Band members took on the personas of comic book-style characters — Frehley was known as “Space Ace” and “The Spaceman.” The New York-born entertainer and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer often experimented with pyrotechnics, making his guitars glow, emit smoke and shoot rockets from the headstock.

“We are devastated by the passing of Ace Frehley,” Simmons and Stanley said in a joint statement. “He was an essential and irreplaceable rock soldier during some of the most formative foundational chapters of the band and its history. He is and will always be a part of KISS’s legacy.”

Born Paul Daniel Frehley, he grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar at age 13. Before joining Kiss, he played in local bands around New York City and was a roadie for Jimi Hendrix at age 18.

Kiss was especially popular in the mid-1970s, selling tens of millions of albums and licensing its iconic look to become a marketing marvel. “Beth” was its biggest commercial hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 7 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1976.

As the Kennedy Center’s new chairman, President Donald Trump named Kiss as one of this year’s honorees.

In 2024, the band sold their catalog, brand name and intellectual property to Swedish company Pophouse Entertainment Group in a deal estimated to be over $300 million.

Frehley frequently feuded with Stanley and Simmons through the years. He left the band in 1982, missing the years when they took off the makeup and had mixed success. Stanley later said they nearly replaced Frehley with Eddie Van Halen, but Vinnie Vincent assumed the lead guitar role.

Frehley performed both as a solo artist and with his band, Frehley’s Comet.

But he rejoined Kiss in the mid-1990s for a triumphant reunion and restoration of their original style that came after bands including Nirvana, Weezer and the Melvins had expressed affection for the band and paid them musical tributes.

He would leave again in 2002. When the original four entered the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, a dispute scrapped plans for them to perform. Simmons and Stanley objected to Criss and Frehley being inducted instead of then-guitarist Tommy Thayer and then-drummer Eric Singer.

Simmons told Rolling Stone magazine that year that Frehley and Criss “no longer deserve to wear the paint.” “The makeup is earned,” he added. “Just being there at the beginning is not enough.”

Frehley and Kiss also had a huge influence on the glammy style of 1980s so-called hair metal bands including Mötley Crüe and Poison.

“Ace, my brother, I surely cannot thank you enough for the years of great music, the many festivals we’ve done together and your lead guitar on Nothing But A Good Time,” Poison front man Bret Michaels said on Instagram.

Harder-edged bands like Metallica and Pantera were also fans, and even country superstar Garth Brooks joined the band members for a recording of their “Hard Luck Woman” on a 1994 compilation.

Frehley would appear occasionally with Kiss for shows in later years. A 2023 concert at Madison Square Garden was billed as the band’s last. While Stanley and Simmons said they would not tour again, they’ve been open to the possibility of more concerts, and they’ve stayed active promoting the group’s music and memorabilia.

(File Photo: Source for Photo: The Clairton Coke Works, a U.S. Steel coking plant, is seen Monday, Aug 11, 2025, in Clairton, Penn. (AP Photo/Gene Puskar)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Clairton, PA)  U.S. Steel is now making changes to improve safety following the deadly explosion at the U.S. Steel Clairton Coke Works Plant on August 11th, 2025 that killed fifty-two-year-old Steven Menefee of Clairton and thirty-nine-year-old Timothy Quinn of Fitz Henry of Westmoreland County and injured at least ten people. According to U.S. Steel, the investigation revealed that excessive pressure built up in a gas valve that was being flushed, causing it to fail. An explosion occurred when coke oven gas filled up the area. Today, U.S. Steel confirmed that the findings of this explosion from EDT, a forensic engineering and consulting firm are consistent with their findings. U.S. Steel also noted that it has already strengthed some safety protocols in respose to that explosion even though the investigation of it is ongoing. Measures from U.S. Steel include adjusting the language of corporate governance documents, prohibiting the use of high-pressure water for valve cleaning during review of best practices and restructuring its program for proposed procedure changes and risk evaluation, as appropriate. U.S. Steel also stated that it will train their employees on any changes that are implemented to programs or procedures. According to U.S. Steel: “Throughout this process, our top priority continues to be the safety and well-being of our employees, their families and our communities. Safety First will always be our core value.”