Biden builds out national security picks with Blinken, Kerry
By MATTHEW LEE Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Joe Biden is building out his administration with several key picks for national security and foreign policy roles. John Kerry, a former secretary of state, will lead the incoming administration’s effort to combat climate change. Alejandro Mayorkas will be nominated as the secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. Biden also plans to nominate Antony Blinken as his secretary of state, according to multiple people familiar with the Biden team’s planning.

GM to recall 7M vehicles globally to replace Takata air bags
By TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors will recall about 7 million big pickup trucks and SUVs worldwide to replace potentially dangerous Takata air bag inflators. The move came Monday after the U.S. government told the automaker it had to recall 6 million of the vehicles in the U.S. The recall will cost the automaker an estimated $1.2 billion. GM says it will not fight the recall. The company had petitioned the agency four times starting in 2016 to avoid a recall, contending the inflators are safe. Takata used ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to fill air bags in a crash. But the chemical can deteriorate and explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and spewing shrapnel. Twenty-seven people have been killed worldwide by the exploding inflators.

      

 

(Monaca, Pa.) Monaca Borough officials are advising residents residing on Monaca Heights  to voluntarily conserve water.   The pump that feeds water to the tower is failing . Residents may view the borough’s website at www.monacapa.net. for simple water conservation measures. The borough stated in a release that they appreciate your cooperation at this time.

(WASHINGTON, DC) – The House passed the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020 (H.R. 8294) on a bipartisan basis to reauthorize national registered apprenticeship programs and expand access to high-quality apprenticeships to create nearly one million new apprenticeship opportunities.  The bill included a bipartisan amendment from Representative Conor Lamb (PA-17) and Representative Van Taylor (TX-03) to include veterans in the national apprenticeship system.

“Apprenticeships connect workers with good jobs in my District,” said Lamb.  “My bipartisan amendment requires that the bill includes veterans to ensure that they can take advantage of apprenticeships.  This legislation will immediately help people who lost jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), 94 percent of people who complete registered apprenticeship programs are employed upon completion.  However, apprenticeships today only make up a small percentage of the overall workforce.  H.R. 8294 creates a critical bridge to apprenticeship opportunities by authorizing the DOL to award grants to state workforce agencies, local workforce development boards, education and training providers, labor unions and other eligible entities to grow registered apprenticeships, youth apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships.

Prior to final passage the House adopted an amendment sponsored by Lamb and Taylor to utilize veteran service organizations (VSOs) to help promote and raise awareness about apprenticeship opportunities.  Furthermore, the amendment includes the status of veterans as one of the demographic identifiers to better understand veteran participation in apprenticeship programs.  Tracking veteran involvement in apprenticeship programs will also better equip program providers to ensure veterans are accessing their education benefits.

This legislation is supported by the Union Veterans Council,  American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Jobs for the Future (JFF), Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), National Skills Coalition (NSC), National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues (TWTF), North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), National Urban League, and Third Way.

Visit Lamb’s website to see him speak on the House floor in support of his amendment, and click here to learn more about the National Apprenticeship Act of 2020.

 

(Zelienople, Pa.) A local longtime businessman known by many as the “Ice Cream Man”, Paul Young has died after a short battle with COVID-19.  The Announcement was made Saturday via the Young’s Custard Stand Facebook Page. Paul passed away last Thursday at UPMC Passavant in McCandless Twp.. Paul and his family own Young’s Custard Stand on Route 68. For many summers over the last for 52 years Paul would be at the window spinning out that yummy Young’s Custard greeting his customers with a smile and a pleasant hello, how can I help you. Young was 79 years-old.

Trump appeals rejection of effort to block Pennsylvania vote
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s dismissal of his campaign’s effort to block the certification of votes in Pennsylvania. The president and other plaintiffs filed notice of appeal Sunday, a day after the judge issued a scathing order shooting down claims of widespread irregularities with mail-in ballots. U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Brann wrote in his order that Trump had asked the court to disenfranchise almost 7 million voters. In seeking such a “startling outcome,” he said, a plaintiff could be expected to provide compelling legal arguments and “factual proof of rampant corruption” — but “That has not happened.”

$11B budget package passes Pennsylvania Legislature
By MARC LEVY Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — An $11 billion no-new-taxes spending package won passage in a lame-duck session in Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Legislature, as lawmakers sought to plug a multibillion-dollar deficit brought on by the pandemic. A coronavirus outbreak in the House of Representatives caused hours of delay Friday before the spending bill passed both chambers. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, will sign it, his office said. Most Democrats opposed it, reflecting unhappiness with using federal coronavirus relief aid to underwrite state government costs, rather than provide hazard pay to frontline workers and to aid universities, schools, hospitals, restaurants and businesses and institutions. Public schools, universities and many programs will have to get by without an increase in funding.

It was a very successful day for the Beaver Valley Choral Society as the organization, teaming up with Rome Monument and Beaver County Radio, gathered hundreds of non-perishable food items for Families Matter Food Pantry in Monaca.

Beaver County Radio broadcast from the main drop-off site at Grace Lutheran in Monaca, while others donated their food items to New Brighton United Methodist Church and Chippewa United Methodist Church. Overall, the goal towards helping eradicate hunger for the holidays in Beaver County took a grand step forward during the “Sharing The Bounty” food drive!