October 18, 2019 4:20 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The shifting White House explanations for President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold military aid from Ukraine are drawing alarm from Republicans. Republican Rep. Francis Rooney of Florida tells reporters that he and others are concerned about remarks from the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney. At a Thursday news conference, Mulvaney essentially acknowledged a quid pro quo with Ukraine that Trump has long denied. The comments undermined the White House defense in the impeachment probe. House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy says Mulvaney clarified later that there was no quid pro quo. But Rooney says Mulvaney’s comments cannot simply undone by a follow-up statement. In remarks at the White House, Trump stood by Mulvaney.
October 18, 2019 4:17 am
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – President Donald Trump says Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is offering assurances that the cease-fire he agreed to has not already broken down. Trump says on Twitter on Friday that Erdogan told him that “there was minor sniper and mortar fire that was quickly eliminated” and that he “very much wants the cease-fire, or pause, to work. An Associated Press journalist and activists in the region witnessed Turkish shelling and other activity in and around Ras al-Ayn on Friday morning. Trump also says he has “just been notified that some European Nations are now willing, for the first time, to take the (Islamic State group) Fighters that came from their nations” as he has demanded. The White House did not immediately respond to questions about which countries he’d heard from and exactly what they had agreed to.
October 18, 2019 4:15 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Premiums for health insurers’ individual policies in Pennsylvania for 2020 will reflect an aggregate statewide increase of 4%, with an increase of 10% in the small group market. The Pennsylvania Department of Insurance said Thursday that the new plans will be available when open enrollment starts Nov. 1. Premiums for individual health insurance policies dropped in the current year, after increases the two years before that averaged over 30% in Pennsylvania. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration says more insurers are entering the market, and the number of counties with only one insurer offering coverage in the individual market will decrease to six. Consumers must sign up by Dec. 15 for coverage to take effect Jan. 1.
October 18, 2019 4:14 am
KUTZTOWN, Pa. (AP) – The system overseeing more than a dozen Pennsylvania universities has unanimously voted to ask the state for up to $100 million over the next five years to further consolidate. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education’s Board of Governors approved the motion at a meeting Thursday. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the money will help the system develop the infrastructure for more shared services among its schools in order to reap both savings and new revenue. The unanimous vote comes one day after the leaders tabled a proposal when a disagreement arose over a suggestion by board chair Cynthia Shapira to raise the amount to $300 million. The next step is for chancellor Daniel Greenstein to consider the appropriate amount to ask for each fiscal year and consult with board leaders.
October 18, 2019 4:12 am
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania diocese has announced a nearly $4.4 million payout to 57 victims of sexual abuse by its clergy and seminarians. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg made the announcement Thursday about the payment through the out-of-court compensation program. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that most dioceses in the state set up similar compensation funds in the wake of a 2018 grand jury report that detailed a seven-decade history of allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy and subsequent cover-ups by bishops. The Greensburg diocese says it paid $4,350,000, averaging out to about $75,000 for each claimant. It was unclear how people applied to the program or how many people were denied. The diocese includes Westmoreland, Armstrong, Fayette and Indiana counties. The diocese says six other claims have remained unresolved since they unveil
October 18, 2019 3:18 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A Pennsylvania doctor who authorities say traded opioid prescriptions for sex and sexually explicit photos and texts has been convicted. A federal jury late Thursday found Dr. Milad Shaker guilty of illegally dispensing opioids to a patient over a nearly three-year period. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the conviction Friday. Authorities say Shaker, of Greensburg, would meet the patient at hotels in Pennsylvania and engage in sex in exchange for hydrocodone and other opioid medications. Shaker testified during the six-day trial that “opioids are like candy” and that 10 or 20 “will not hurt you.” The 50-year-old Shaker has been released until his sentencing, which is scheduled for Feb. 20. He must stop practicing medicine. Pennsylvania has been among the states hardest hit by a national opioid crisis.
October 17, 2019 4:23 pm
WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House is acknowledging that President Donald Trump asked Ukraine’s leader to investigate his country’s role in meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Thursday that Trump held up military assistance to Ukraine in part because of concern about corruption in that country. He said they also wanted Ukraine’s cooperation in investigating whether Democratic National Committee’s email servers were in Ukraine. They also were looking at levels of assistance European nations were providing to Ukraine, he said. Mulvaney denies there was a quid pro quo and says “we do that all the time with foreign policy.” He pointed to the example of the administration holding up aid to Central American countries to force them to change their policies on immigration. Trump ultimately released nearly $400 million in military and other aid to Ukraine.
October 17, 2019 1:59 pm
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Vice President Mike Pence says that Turkey has agreed to a cease-fire in Syria. Pence spoke after a high-level delegation of U.S. officials met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (REH’-jehp TY’-ihp UR’-doh-wahn) in Ankara, Turkey. Pence says there will “a pause in military operations for 120 hours” to allow the U.S.-allied Syrian Kurds to withdraw. The vice president says the U.S. and Turkey have “mutually committed to peaceful resolution and future for the safe zone.”
October 17, 2019 1:48 pm
NEW YORK (AP) – The governors from several Northeastern states say they want to work together to regulate marijuana and vaping. Democratic governors from New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania met Thursday in New York City with health and legislative officials. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says a lack of federal action on pot and vaping regulations means it’s up to states to act. Several of the governors have unsuccessfully pushed for their states to allow recreational pot sales in the last year. Officials from the four states are conferring with each other as they consider next steps. Cuomo says marijuana is often vaped and that states should consider that when considering marijuana legalization.
October 17, 2019 1:13 pm
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – Johnson & Johnson has agreed to a $117 million multistate settlement over allegations it deceptively marketed its pelvic mesh products, which support women’s sagging pelvic organs. Ohio’s attorney general said an investigation found J&J, the world’s biggest health products maker, violated state consumer protection laws by not fully disclosing the devices’ risks. Numerous women who had the once-popular, hammock-like devices implanted claim they caused severe pain, bleeding and infections. The settlement, which covers 41 states and the District of Columbia, requires the company to fully disclose risks and stop making inaccurate safety claims. It comes as J&J is swamped with thousands of lawsuits claiming patients were harmed by products including baby powder, opioid painkillers and prescription drugs. J&J said that the settlement doesn’t include admission of any misconduct.
