February 16, 2020 7:41 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The first Democratic presidential candidates are filing voter signatures to get on Pennsylvania’s primary ballot, according to information from the state election office Friday. The first to file was California billionaire Tom Steyer, submitting signatures on Thursday. On Friday, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg also filed. The other campaigns have through 5 p.m. Tuesday to file 2,000 signatures of voters who are registered Democrats to get on Pennsylvania’s April 28 primary ballot. Pennsylvania is a late primary state but could be important if the eventual nominee remains in doubt past March, since Pennsylvania has the sixth-most delegates in the Democratic primary. President Donald Trump’s campaign also filed his paperwork Friday to get on the Republican primary ballot.
February 16, 2020 7:37 am
GRINDSTONE, Pa. (AP) — A single-vehicle crash in western Pennsylvania claimed the lives of two people over the weekend, authorities said. Fayette County officials said a car went out of control Redstone Township and hit a tree at about 2 a.m. Saturday. Coroner Phillip Reilly said 27-year-old Miranda Huseman and 32-year-old Daniel Guthrie were killed. Reilly said neither victim was wearing a seat belt. Township police are investigating.
February 16, 2020 4:11 am
NEW YORK (AP) – Prosecutors completed their closing argument Friday at Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial by saying he considered himself such a big shot in Hollywood that he thought he could get away with treating aspiring actresses like “complete disposables.” The prosecutors were looking to focus the jury’s attention back on the accusers who testified and their harrowing accounts alleging rapes, forced oral sex, groping, masturbation, lewd propositions and casting-couch moments. The defense contends that the two women he is charged with attacking were opportunists who willingly latched on to Weinstein and acquiesced to sexual encounters with him because they thought it would help their careers.
February 16, 2020 3:58 am
INDIANA, Pa. (AP) — An armed robbery and shooting at a pair of addresses near a western Pennsylvania university campus left two students injured, one with a gunshot wound, authorities said. Indiana University of Pennsylvania said three males dressed in black clothing and wearing ski masks were involved in the events at about 8 p.m. Friday at two addresses just off the campus. Chief Justin Schawl of the Indiana Borough police department said the culprits stole some items from one address. Schawl said an altercation occurred that resulted in one man suffering a gunshot wound to the neck. Details about the injury to the other person weren’t immediately available. The apparent motive was robbery and no arrests were immediately made, Schawl said. The university confirmed that both of the injured are students. The campus was briefly locked down. Police said the incident didn’t appear random and there was no threat to community safety. University officials said they were working with the families of the injured students to provide support, and mental health counseling was being made available to other students in need of help.
February 15, 2020 4:09 am
BEIJING (AP) – China has reported 2,641 new virus cases as it escalates measures to contain the outbreak and reassure an anxious public. The figure is a major drop from the higher numbers in recent days since a broader diagnostic method was implemented. The number of new deaths rose slightly to 143, bringing the total fatalities in mainland China to 1,523. The number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 66,492. Saturday marks the second day the number of new cases fell since a spike Thursday, when the hardest-hit Hubei province began including clinical diagnoses. People returning to Beijing were told to quarantine themselves for observation. And a team of experts led by the World Health Organization is due to begin its mission in China this weekend.
February 15, 2020 4:09 am
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The U.S. attorney assisting in the Justice Department’s review of the criminal case of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn is an ex-FBI agent with a long background in battling white-collar crime. A person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Friday that hat Jeff Jensen, the U.S. attorney in St. Louis and an appointee of President Donald Trump who was confirmed by the Senate in October 2017, is aiding in the review. Jensen’s spokeswoman did not respond to messages seeking comment. Jensen was an FBI agent who spent much of his career investigating white-collar crimes.
February 15, 2020 4:06 am
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – President Donald Trump’s $1.5 billion proposal to prop up the country’s nuclear fuel industry has emboldened at least one company to take steps toward boosting operations at dormant uranium mines around the West, including outside Grand Canyon National Park. The company, Canada-based Energy Fuels Inc., has announced a stock sale and says it will use the proceeds for its uranium mining operations in the U.S. West. Energy Fuels confirms that may include moving to start operations at a controversial new uranium mine near Grand Canyon National Park. Conservation groups and Democratic lawmakers fear mining there could contaminate water resources.
February 15, 2020 4:05 am
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Kansas and national Democratic Party groups have sued the Republican official who oversees the state’s elections. The lawsuit filed Friday accuses Kansas Secretary Scott Schwab of violating voters’ rights by delaying implementation of a law designed to make voting on Election Day more convenient. The lawsuit was filed in state district court in Topeka. Schwab says his office will need another year to draft regulations needed for counties to take advantage of a 2019 state “vote anywhere” law. The law permits counties to allow voters to cast their ballots at any polling place within their borders on Election Day.
February 15, 2020 4:01 am
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – The West Virginia Senate has passed a bill encouraging power companies to use solar energy in a bid to lure businesses to the state. But they’re making it clear that they don’t want the coal industry to feel left out. Lawmakers approved the bill Friday. It would create a regulatory program for utilities to use a small amount of renewable energy. Many lawmakers were quick to note that it won’t hurt the fossil fuel industry. The state commerce department pushed for the bill, saying big companies want to know that they can use renewable energy sources before relocating to a state.
February 15, 2020 4:00 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Pittsburgh kindergarten student brought a gun to school Friday morning. A school district spokeswoman says a staff member at Allegheny K-5 in the city’s North Side neighborhood was helping at the building’s metal detector and found the gun in the student’s bag. Pugh says the incident was reported to the state’s child abuse reporting hotline, and families would be notified.
