SEVEN SPRINGS, Somerset County — Amerikohl Mining of Center Township was one of seven companies honored by the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance for performing better than federal and state regulations on returning coal mining sites to environmentally sound condition.

Christopher Abruzzo, the acting secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, presented the Reclamation Awards to the seven companies at the Coal Alliance's Seven Springs Annual Banquet on Aug. 21.

The award winning sites were judged based on pre-mining condition, reclamation quality, landowner satisfaction and compliance with the state's environmental regulations.

WASHINGTON — U.S. banks earned more from April through June than during any quarter on record, aided by a steep drop in losses from bad loans.The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. says the banking industry earned $42.2 billion in the second quarter, up 23 percent from the second quarter of 2012. About 54 percent of U.S. banks reported improved earnings from a year earlier.Banks' losses on loans tumbled 30.7 percent from a year earlier to $14.2 billion, the lowest in six years. And bank lending increased 1 percent from the first quarter.