December 19, 2019 5:38 am
No injuries are reported following a fire early Thursday morning in Marianna. Washington County 9-1-1 says the blaze broke out around 12:30 a.m. in the one-thousand block of Oak Street. Firefighters battled the flames and the bitter cold temperatures for some time. There is no word on what may have caused the fire. No other information is being released at this time.
December 19, 2019 4:14 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Pennsylvania is enacting legislation that’s designed to improve how it handles nonviolent offenders in a continuing effort to reduce the state’s prison population. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, signed the two-bill package Wednesday, shortly after the Republican-controlled Senate approved the bills. The GOP-controlled House did the same a day earlier. Key provisions involve getting nonviolent offendersáonto parole faster and helping get more nonviolent offendersáinto addiction treatment programs that are shown to lower recidivism. Elements of the legislation, however, were promptedáby a spate of five parolees being arrested over the summer for homicide, most with connections to domestic violence.
December 19, 2019 4:13 am
NEW COLUMBIA, Pa. (AP) – A section of Interstate 80 remains closed in central Pennsylvania hours after a multi-vehicle wreck in snow squalls left two people dead and dozens injured. Westbound traffic is being diverted Thursday while tow trucks remove 15 to 20 cars and trucks. State transportation officials say the crash was reported at about 1 p.m. Wednesday on I-80 in White Deer Township as blinding snow made the highway slick. Union County’s coroner confirmed a fatality and the Montour County coroner said a second person died at a hospital. The interstate was closed for 34 miles in both directions until eastbound lanes reopened five hours later. (Photo: Accuweather)
December 19, 2019 4:12 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A federal judge decides next year on a second trial in the case of a man accused of having set a Pittsburgh fire that killed three firefighters almost a quarter of a century ago. Forty-two-year-old Gregory Brown was sentenced to life in the Valentine’s Day 1995 fire but won a new trial. His attorneys say a federal trial violates double jeopardy. Prosecutors say the state and federal systems represent different jurisdictions. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the judge told both sides to submit briefs by mid-February, but he says the defense appears to be “trying to create” a new legal standard.
December 19, 2019 4:08 am
(AP) – Health officials investigating a food poisoning outbreak say pregnant women, people over the age of 65 and people with weakened immune systems should avoid store-bought hard-boiled eggs. The listeria outbreak has been linked to a Georgia company, Almark Foods. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says seven people in five states have been reported ill so far. That includes one death in Texas. The agency says its investigation indicates peeled, hard-boiled eggs sold in bulk to food service operators are a likely source. The warning does not apply to the company’s hard-boiled eggs sold directly to consumers.
December 19, 2019 4:07 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – States should soon be receiving a last-minute infusion of federal funds to help boost election security. áA huge spending bill that Congress is expected to send to President Donald Trump this week sets aside $425 million for states to upgrade voting equipment, conduct post-election audits, hold cybersecurity training and take other steps to secure elections. Advocates say the funds are welcome but Congress must still do more to secure next year’s elections. States have been scrambling to shore up their systems. The nation’s intelligence chiefs have warned that Russia and others remain interested in attempting to interfere in U.S. elections and undermine democracy.
December 19, 2019 4:05 am
WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. House has impeached President Donald Trump on two charges, sending his case to the Senate for trial in January to decide whether to remove him from office. The articles of impeachment accuse him of abusing the power of the presidency to investigate a political rival ahead of the 2020 election and then obstructing Congress’ investigation. Trump becomes the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. Democrats control the House, and the voting was almost entirely along party lines. The Senate is controlled by Trump’s Republican Party, and it is almost certain he will be acquitted there. He proclaims his innocence daily, and says the Democrats will pay a price for impeaching him.
December 18, 2019 3:43 am
MILAN (AP) – Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot have signed a deal for a 50-50 merger, creating 4th largest automaker with annual sales of 8.7 million cars. The companies announced the binding terms for the merger that was announced in October in a joint statement Wednesday. The companies say the new group will be led by PSA’s cost-cutting CEO Carlo Tavares, with Fiat Chrysler’s chairman John Elkann as chairman of the merged company. The joint statement says the merger would position the new company to “successfully capitalize on the opportunities presented in the new era of sustainable mobility.”
December 18, 2019 3:42 am
RENO, Nev. (AP) – Nevada says the U.S. Energy Department is engaged in a “secret plutonium smuggling operation” that threatens Nevada’s health, safety and environment. It’s again asking a federal judge to order the removal of weapons-grade material that the government shipped to a security site near Las Vegas over the state’s objections. The state’s latest filing this week in Reno is part of a yearlong legal battle. It urges a judge to reject the government’s motion to dismiss Nevada’s lawsuit challenging the shipments. The Energy Department says the issue is moot because it’s already promised no more plutonium will come to Nevada.
December 18, 2019 3:41 am
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A federal bankruptcy judge has approved two Pacific Gas & Electric settlements totaling $24.5 billion to help pay for the losses suffered by homeowners, businesses and insurers in a series of catastrophic Northern California wildfires. Those fires led the company into a financial morass and Tuesday’s decision bolsters PG&E’s chances of following its preferred path for getting out of bankruptcy by a June 30 deadline. Even so, the utility still must sway California Gov. Gavin Newsom from his recent recent conclusion that PG&E’s plan doesn’t comply with state law to prevent the settlements from unraveling.
