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Area briefs: Puzzle swap set for Saturday

Local News

A puzzle swap will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, at Schlow Library in State College. Participants should mark puzzles with missing pieces and make sure boxes and pieces are secure. Attendees do not need to have anything to swap to participate. Casual puzzling will also be an option. There is free parking at the library with validation inside. Democratic women to meet The Blair County Federation of Democratic Women will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, at Perkins Restaurant, 3300 Pleasant Valley Blvd., Altoona. All women who are registered Democrats are welcome ...

Local farms receive agriculture innovation grants

Local News

Gov. Josh Shapiro, Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and state Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced the second round of grants through the nation’s first Agricultural Innovation Grant Program. The $9.7 million investment will provide support for 97 projects and leverage $4.8 million in private investment. The funding will put innovative technology into practice to help Pennsylvania agricultural businesses improve efficiency and increase production, protect soil and water resources, and generate clean, renewable energy. “For the last three years, I’ve visited farms ...

Timeline of Mangione’s criminal cases

Local News

NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione’s guilty plea Friday to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson resolved one of two cases against him in the executive’s death. He is scheduled to go on trial on state murder charges on Sept. 8. His sentencing in the ...

Wall Street slips from record following update on economy

Local Business

NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market edged back from its all-time high Friday following the latest report on the economy to come in surprisingly weak, this time about how much shoppers are spending at retailers. Such data could keep interest rates low, which is something Wall Street loves, but it also raises the risk of a slowing economy when inflation is still high. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% from its record set the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 107 points, or 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 0.3%. Stocks gave up modest gains from early in the morning after oil ...

State law on mineral rights defies court ruling

Local News

HARRISBURG — A law quietly passed this summer aimed to end a complicated, decade-plus legal fight over who owns an estimated $1 billion in Pennsylvania natural gas. It may have only begun a new, even messier chapter. At issue are mineral rights — which give holders the right to extract coal, oil, gas, or ore — underneath as few as 60,000 acres to more than one million, depending on which side you ask. For years, a group of families, led by the Proctor family trust, has waged a legal battle with the state over mineral rights that they say their ancestors acquired more than a ...