A customer is handed Powerball tickets purchased at Lichine’s Liquor & Deli in Sacramento, Calif., Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. Monday night’s drawing is estimated to be a record $1.9 billion. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
By SHAMEKA DUDLEY-LOWE and SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The numbers for a record-breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot have been drawn following a nearly 10-hour delay and players were awaiting the announcement of a possible winner. The numbers for the drawing held at the Florida Lottery draw studio in Tallahassee were: white balls 10, 33, 41, 47 and 56, and the red Powerball was 10. The Multi-State Lottery Association says Monday night’s Powerball drawing was delayed until Tuesday morning because a participating lottery had issues processing sales. The association said it was against its policy to say which lottery had the delay. The jackpot was reported as an estimated $1.9 billion on Monday, but was $2.04 billion Tuesday morning. It wasn’t immediately known whether any jackpot-winning tickets were sold.

AAA: Gas Prices Rise in PA
Gas prices are two cents higher in Western Pennsylvania this week at $4.019 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                $4.019
Average price during the week of October 31, 2022                                $3.992
Average price during the week of November 8, 2021                              $3.583

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

$4.129      Altoona
$4.032      Beaver
$3.999      Bradford
$3.836      Brookville
$4.003      Butler
$4.053      Clarion
$4.057      DuBois
$4.047      Erie
$3.974      Greensburg
$4.007      Indiana
$3.986      Jeannette
$4.011      Kittanning
$4.022      Latrobe
$4.094      Meadville
$4.078      Mercer
$3.974      New Castle
$3.996      New Kensington
$4.099      Oil City
$4.025      Pittsburgh
$3.999      Sharon
$3.993      Uniontown
$3.999      Warren
$4.030      Washington

Trend Analysis:

Despite fewer motorists fueling up, the national average pump price increased by four cents over the past week to $3.80. Today’s average is nine cents less than a month ago and 38 cents more than a year ago.

According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand dipped slightly from 8.93 million barrels per day to 8.66 million barrels per day last week. Also, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 1.3 million barrels to 206.6 million barrels.

This tighter supply and fluctuating oil prices have contributed to higher gasoline prices. At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by $4.44 to settle at $92.61. Crude prices rose due to several factors including the dollar dropping in value, concerns over restrictions in China and Russian oil production cuts.

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

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 70 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)

(Racoon Twp., Beaver County, Pa.) Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano is reporting that Beaver County 9-1-1 said that they received a report of an accident involving a pickup truck and a car on Route 18 in Raccoon Township just after 6 a.m. this morning. There is no word if any one was injured as State Police are investigating. No further information is available.

This combination of photos shows Pennsylvania Democratic gubernatorial candidate state Attorney General Josh Shapiro on June 29, 2022, in Philadelphia, left, and Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano on Sept. 29, 2022, in Erie, Pa., right. (AP Photo)

By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Voters electing a new governor of Pennsylvania will choose between Democrat Josh Shapiro and Republican Doug Mastriano. At stake in Tuesday’s election are the future of abortion rights and management of the 2024 presidential election in a swing state that is often decisive. Shapiro is the state’s two-term elected attorney general. He smashed Pennsylvania’s campaign finance record in a powerhouse campaign in which Democrats nationally faced headwinds. Mastriano is a retired Army colonel, state senator and relative political novice. He ran a hard-right campaign and refused for much of it to talk to mainstream news organizations. Pennsylvania polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Voters wait in line to make a corrections to their ballots for the midterm elections at City Hall in Philadelphia, Monday, Nov. 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
By MARK SCOLFORO Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some of Pennsylvania’s largest counties are working to help voters fix mail-in ballots that have fatal flaws such as incorrect dates or lack of signatures on the envelopes used to send them in. The efforts by elections officials in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are in response to state Supreme Court orders in recent days that said mail-in ballots may not be counted if they lack accurate handwritten dates on the exterior envelopes. It’s unclear how many ballots are at issue across the state. Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to vote by mail. The numbers of mail-in ballots are large enough that they might matter in a close race, such as the contest between Democrat John Fetterman and Republican Mehmet Oz.

(Harrisburg, Pa.) – Legislation originally introduced by Rep. Aaron Bernstine (R-Beaver/Butler/Lawrence) to streamline the process for prior authorization of medical services in Pennsylvania was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf.

“Currently, the prior authorization procedure is often an inefficient process that increases costs for providers, their patients and all policy holders,” said Bernstine. “The lack of standardization of paperwork; lack of transparency, accessibility and consistent application of prior authorization requirements, restrictions and amendments; and lack of electronic submission capability all contribute to the impaired delivery of quality health care to our constituents.”

Specifically, Senate Bill 225, now Act 146 of 2022, will improve transparency, accessibility and consistent application of prior authorization by including a standard definition. It will also significantly streamline the process by requiring insurers to make available an electronic communications network that permits prior authorization requests to be submitted electronically, and authorizations and adverse determinations to likewise by returned electronically.

Pennsylvania will now join 44 states that already have external review authority. In addition, the new law also lays out standards for the review of prior authorization requests and confirms in state law that there may be no prior authorization for emergency services, consistent with the Federal No Surprises Act.

“Improved patient care will result from requiring consistent response times and processes with prior authorizations, adverse determinations and appeal procedures, including external review by insurers,” said Bernstine.

The major provisions of the law will take effect beginning in January 2024.

(File Photo)

Today is election day and if you are headed out to vote today there a few things that you should know. The polls are open from now until 8 PM tonight. If have voted before you do not need to bring ID to vote. Only voters who are voting for the first time in their election district need to show ID, according to the Pennsylvania voter guide.
Acceptable IDs for first-time voters:
Driver’s license
U.S. passport
Military, student, or employee ID
Voter registration card
Firearm permit
Current utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or government check
Any ID issued by the commonwealth or federal government
Note: An ID without your photo must have your address on it.
If you still haven’t submitted your mail in ballot it has to be in the elctions burea by 8PM tonight to count. At this point it is probably best to hand deliver the ballot to the elections office
The state of Pennsylvania currently requires voters who mail in a ballot to sign and date the outer envelope. On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court ruled that any mail-in ballots with an incorrect date or no date written at all on the return envelope would not count.

 

This combination of file photos shows Democratic Senate candidate, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, left, and Republican Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022 photos. (AP Photo)

(Harrisburg, Pa. ) In a fierce fight for retiring US Senator Pat Toomey’s seat Dr. Mehment OZ has now taken the lead in a recent InsiderAdvantage/FOX poll conducted on Nov. 3, 2022.
The poll says that Dr. OZ now leads Lt. Govenor Fetterman by two percentage points. OZ was polled at 48% compared to Fetterman’s 46%. 4% are undecided and the margin of error is 3.58 %.
With the race being so close this past weekend President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama were in Pennsylvania to campaign for Fetterman and former President Donald Trump was also in the area to campaign for Dr. Oz.

(Photo from the scene of a shooting at the Monaca Wal-mart on Sunday night. Photo taken by Keith Walsh)

(Monaca, Pa.) Pa State Police in Beaver are investigating after 48-year-old Kenneth Vinyard died after he was trying to render aid to 20-year-old Rashaun Smith who was shot in the abdomen by Yeshua Bratcher in the Monaca Wal-mart parking lot in Center Twp. around 6:30 PM on Sunday night.
Joel Sansone an attorney for the family says that Vineyard was pushed and killed by an off-duty police officer while trying to help the shooting victim.
State Police are handling the investigation of Vinyard’s death and Center Twp. Police are handling the investigation of the shooting.
Bratcher was charged yesterday with a total of nine charges, including criminal homicide.