January 31, 2020 2:53 pm
PITTSBURGH (AP) – The mother of a man convicted in the shooting death of a Pennsylvania police officer has been convicted of helping him elude police in the days after after the 2017 shooting. Sherry Holt was found guilty Thursday of hindering apprehension following a nonjury trial. The 49-year-old Pittsburgh resident faces up to seven years in prison when she’s sentenced April 23. Her son, Rahmael Sal Holt, was sentenced to death last year after he was convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of New Kensington officer Brian Shaw. He was fatally shot after an attempted traffic stop on Nov. 17, 2017.
January 31, 2020 1:54 pm
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Outdoorsy Pennsylvanians can soon keep their fishing license in a pocket rather than having to attach it to an outer garment. The regulation amendment approved this week by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission board adjusts a long-standing rule on license display. The new policy goes into effect once it is published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The executive director of the commission said the change will make things more convenient for anglers and decrease the number of lost licenses and the cost of replacing them. The change also aligns fishing display regulations with those of hunting licenses.
January 31, 2020 1:35 pm
LONDON (AP) – Britain is leaving the European Union after 47 years of membership, but that’s just the first stage of a journey that still has many twists in store. Most people in Britain and the EU will notice little change this year after the Brexit divorce on Friday. The two sides have negotiated a divorce deal that includes an 11-month “transition period,” in which relations will stay much as they were before. That means Britain and the EU have until the end of the year to forge a new relationship covering areas including trade and security. Sealing a deal will require compromises and trade-offs — but for now both sides are talking tough.
January 31, 2020 4:19 am
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The Virginia House of Delegates has passed several pieces of gun-control legislation, but some of the measures face an uncertain future in the more conservative Senate. The Democratic-led House approved seven gun measures Thursday, largely along party lines. áThe legislation will now go to the Senate for a vote, which has already passed its version of some of the measures but has shown signs that others may not survive. Virginia has become ground zero in the nation’s raging debate over gun control and mass shootings as a new Democratic majority has pledged to put strict new limits in place.
January 31, 2020 4:16 am
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Law enforcement officials have identified the driver of the SUV that breached a security checkpoint at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw identified Friday’s intruder as 30-year-old Hannah Roemhild. He says she wasn’t “even remotely close to being able to get into what we call the inner perimeter” of the resort in Palm Beach. Bradshaw says Roemhild was impaired. He says when officers first approached her, she was inside her car and would not respond when they tapped on the window. Officers finally smashed through the window glass and she drove away. She crashed through two checkpoints before authorities caught up to her.
January 31, 2020 4:15 am
Washington (AP) – The United States has declared a public health emergency because of a new virus that hit China and has spread to other nations. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar also announced that President Donald Trump will temporarily bar entry to the U.S. of foreign nationals believed to be a risk of transmitting the virus. The new restrictions begin Sunday afternoon. Americans returning from Hubei province, the center of the outbreak, will be required to undergo 14 days of quarantine. Others returning from elsewhere in China will be allowed to self-monitor their condition for a similar period.
January 31, 2020 4:14 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump appeared headed for all-but-certain impeachment acquittal as senators prepared on Friday to reject efforts to call more witnesses and moved to start bringing a close to only the third impeachment trial in American history. The timing of a final vote on Trump was still uncertain. But the outcome was increasingly clear after a key Republican, Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, announced he didn’t need to see or hear more testimony. He said the Democrats had proved their case, that Trump abused power and obstructed Congress, but he did not think Trump’s actions rose to the impeachable level. Eager for acquittal, the president and his allies in the Republican majority are brushing past new revelations from John Bolton, his former national security adviser, as well as historic norms that could make this the first Senate impeachment trial without witnesses. They resisted any efforts by Democrats to keep the proceedings going for weeks. Voting on the witness question was expected late Friday after hours of debate, with other votes stretching well into the evening. The timing was not set. Democrats warned the outcome won’t mean a true acquittal for Trump but a cover-up.
January 31, 2020 4:11 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A Pennsylvania watchdog agency tasked with monitoring state misconduct and waste has found itself at the center of a nearly $160,000 gaffe. Spotlight PA reports that the state inspector generals office purchased pistols, ammunition, and other related equipment, following a law passed in 2017 that expanded the office’s powers to allow it to issue subpoenas and search warrants. But after the purchase was completed, officials discovered the law didn’t empower investigators to carry a firearm. The items are now being held in a “guarded, secure facility,” and the office is working to “return or repurpose the firearms.”
January 31, 2020 4:10 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – The Pennsylvania auditor general’s office says a $45 million project to upgrade emergency radio communications system in Pennsylvania is on time and within the budget. But the report issued Thursday also says the purchasing process has encountered some glitches, including errors in the bidding process and inadequate documentation about the qualifications of people involving in awarding the contract. The statewide radio project, known as PA STARNet, began with a $179 million expenditure in 1996 that developed into a massive boondoggle, eventually costing the state more than $850 million. Its poor reception, software problems, short battery life and reliability shortcomings led to the current upgrade project that auditors reviewed.
January 31, 2020 4:09 am
DONORA, Pa. — (WPXI) – One person was killed in a rollover crash in Donora. The single-vehicle accident happened around 8 p.m. Thursday. The coroner’s office identified the victim as 41 year old Derrick Dow of Donora. Police say Dow lost control and struck an embankment and rolled over near the intersection of Route 837 and Donora Road. He was not wearing a seat belt. Donora Police continue to investigate.
