February 1, 2020 3:39 am
(WPXI)-Pennsylvania State Police confirmed a woman was killed in the northbound crash that happened minutes before a crash in the other direction on I-79. A portion of Interstate 79 southbound and northbound were both shut down for more than an hour after two crashes just minutes apart Friday afternoon. PennDOT confirmed the first crash happened around 3:30 p.m. on I-79 north near Exit 78 (PA 228) – which is just past Cranberry. According to police, a vehicle rolled over multiple times and landed in the median. At least one person was reportedly trapped in the vehicle and a medical helicopter was placed on standby. State police later confirmed the woman who was driving that car died in the crash. She was identified as Cristi Reibert, 41. Reibert was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The second crash was just two minutes later, officials said, on I-79 south between Exits 85 and 78. Crews blocked both lanes heading south as they worked to clear the area. Parts of the northbound side were temporarily shut down as well. Both sides were opened back up by 6:15 p.m.
February 1, 2020 3:32 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Gov. Tom Wolf says Pennsylvania won’t apply for a Medicaid block grant proposed by President Donald Trump’s administration that would include a limit on how much the federal government contributes. Wolf said Thursday’s Trump administration proposal could lead to cuts in Pennsylvania’s Medicaid enrollment or increase its costs, and force states to restrict the number of people and services they cover. In exchange for operating under a fixed federal allocation, states would be able to limit what prescription drugs and benefits will be covered under the program, within certain guidelines. Its scope would be restricted to coverage for “able-bodied” adults under 65.
February 1, 2020 3:29 am
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A longtime church official is set to be retried in a landmark church abuse case in Philadelphia, but it’s not clear if the key accuser will testify. Monsignor William Lynn is the first Roman Catholic church official ever charged with child endangerment over his handling of priest-abuse complaints. His 2012 conviction has twice been overturned, and his retrial is now set for March 16. Prosecutors this month say they’re not sure they’ll call a young man who said he was abused by two priests and a teacher. They argue that Lynn endangered children simply by transferring problem priests without warning. The defense insists the accuser must testify.
February 1, 2020 3:27 am
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A Pennsylvania judge is putting a freeze on a new state police policy regarding sales of partially manufactured gun frames that can be made into working firearms. Commonwealth Court Judge Kevin Brobson issued a preliminary injunction Friday. State police provided guidance to gun dealers about three weeks ago regarding how to perform background checks for sales of what are often called 80% receivers or unassembled “ghost guns.” Brobson says the businesses that manufacture gun frames have raised a legitimate question about whether the state police policy is too vague. He says he’s open to revisiting the scope of his injunction, depending on what state police does in response.
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.
