AP PA Headlines 1/15/19
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf is set be sworn in to a second term, giving the Democrat another four years after a first term sharing power with the Republican-controlled Legislature. Wolf’s first four years were term marked by both bitter fights and bipartisan agreements. Perhaps most memorable were the protracted budget stalemates, including one lasting a state record of nine months.
But Wolf and lawmakers also cooperated to boost school funding, legalize medical marijuana, expand gambling and fight opioid addition. Wolf won re-election with nearly 58 percent of the vote in November, backed by a unified Democratic Party and aided by a grassroots backlash to President Donald Trump. Wolf’s swearing-in is scheduled for Tuesday.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) — A nearly three-hour standoff with police at a Bethlehem Township home turned out to be at an empty house. The incident Saturday night began when the father of a man who lives at the house called 911 and said he thought his son had been shot by his wife. Police surrounded the house and ordered nearby residents to shelter in place.
After about two-and-a-half hours, the man returned to the house and said he had been out for a walk. The shelter-in-place order was lifted shortly before 11 p.m. Police tell lehighvalleylive.com the man’s wife had left the house before they arrived. The man was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
MERCERSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal grand jury says eight men were involved in killing three people at a central Pennsylvania farm out of fear that one of the victims was a police informant. An indictment was unsealed Friday in the 2016 slaying of Wendy Chaney, Brandon Cole and Phillip Jackson. They were tied up, shot and set on fire in a barn on Jackson’s farm near Mercersburg.
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Features
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the government mired in shutdown week four, President Donald Trump rejected a short-term legislative fix and dug in for more combat Monday, declaring he would “never ever back down.”
Trump rejected a suggestion to reopen the government for several weeks while negotiations would continue with Democrats over his demands for $5.7 billion for a long, impregnable wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The president also edged further away from the idea of trying to declare a national emergency to circumvent Congress.
“I’m not looking to call a national emergency,” Trump said. “This is so simple we shouldn’t have to.”
No cracks were apparent in the president’s deadlock with lawmakers after a weekend with no negotiations at all. His rejection of the short-term option proposed by Republican Sen. Lindsay Graham removed one path forward, and little else was in sight. Congressional Republicans were watching Trump for a signal for how to move next, and Democrats have not budged from their refusal to fund the wall and their demand that he reopen government before border talks resume.
CHAPEL HILL (AP) – North Carolina’s flagship public university plans to remove the pedestal where a now-toppled Confederate statue once stood on a main campus quad, its chancellor said Monday. University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt also announced she will step down at the end of the school year. Folt’s surprise order to put the pedestal in storage drew an angry response from the leader of the board overseeing the state’s public universities, but he stopped short of saying he would seek to stop the removal.
Folt said she was concerned about safety at the site that continues to draw protesters for and against the statue known as “Silent Sam,” but she gave no timetable for taking away the massive pedestal and bronze memorial plaques. The items would go into storage while their fate is decided. “The presence of the remaining parts of the monument on campus poses a continuing threat both to the personal safety and well-being of our community and to our ability to provide a stable, productive educational environment,” Folt said. “No one learns at their best when they feel unsafe.”
NEW YORK (AP) — The Screen Actors Guild on Monday called on the film academy to stop trying to prevent stars from appearing on award shows before the Oscars. In an unusually critical statement, SAG-AFTRA said it has received multiple reports that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is pressuring certain actors to appear only at next month’s Academy Awards. Several award shows occur before that, including the guild’s own Screen Actors Guild Awards on January 27.
“This self-serving intimidation of SAG-AFTRA members is meant to limit their opportunities to be seen and honor the work of their fellow artists throughout the season. Actors should be free to accept any offer to participate in industry celebrations,” SAG-AFTRA said in a statement. “The apparent attempt by the academy to keep our members from presenting on their own awards show is utterly outrageous and unacceptable.”
“We call on the academy to cease this inappropriate action,” it concluded.
NEW YORK (AP) — An art exhibit installed on the grounds of the World Trade Center that features a giant candy sculpture wrapped in the Saudi flag will be relocated following complaints from 9/11 victims groups, the agency that oversees the site said Monday. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey confirmed the exhibit “Candy Nations” will be moved to the Kennedy Airport AirTrain system this week.
“We have been in contact with the 9/11 Memorial and various stakeholders, and in full collaboration with the artist will relocate the exhibit from its current location,” the Port Authority said in a statement. “We believe this solution respects the unique sensitivities of the site and preserves the artistic integrity of the exhibit.” Each of the candy sculptures in the exhibit, crafted by French artist Laurence Jenkell and shown in more than 25 countries, features flags from countries in the G-20 summit.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday put a nationwide hold on Trump administration rules that allow more employers to opt out of providing women with no-cost birth control. U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in Philadelphia agreed with a lawsuit originally filed by Pennsylvania, citing the potential harm to states should the rules be enforced.
Numerous citizens could lose contraceptive coverage, Beetlestone wrote, resulting in the increased use of state-funded contraceptive services, as well as increased costs to state services from unintended pregnancies.
The rules, scheduled to take effect Monday, would change a mandate under 2010’s Affordable Care Act by allowing more employers, including publicly traded companies, to opt out of providing no-cost contraceptive coverage to women by claiming religious objections. Some private employers could also now object on moral grounds.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A public address announcer has lost his job over a remark about a Native American player during a lacrosse game that he and the Philadelphia team called “insensitive.” The Philadelphia Wings said announcer Shawny Hill had been “permanently removed” from his role with the team and suspended from assignments at the Wells Fargo Center.
Georgia Swarm forward Lyle Thompson, of the Onondaga Reservation in central New York, said Hill said “Let’s snip the pony tail” during Saturday night’s game and fans then began to shout calls to “scalp” him. Hill said his words weren’t “racially motivated” but reflected a lack of knowledge of heritage and history.
The team vowed diversity training for all employees to include a focus on “the Native North American roots and traditions of the sport.”
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PA Sports, Scores & Skeds
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Foles fell 27 yards short of leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a third straight comeback win in the postseason. His next opportunity likely will come in a different uniform. The Eagles were eliminated with a 20-14 loss at New Orleans on Sunday, ending the team’s bid to repeat as Super Bowl champions. The front office faces several difficult decisions in the offseason, starting with Foles.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — James van Riemsdyk recorded a hat trick, and Nolan Patrick had two goals and two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 7-4 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Wayne Simmonds also had two goals for the Flyers. It was just the second win in the last 11 games for Philadelphia, which entered the night with the fewest points in the league. Jason Zucker, Marcus Foligno, Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Suter scored for Minnesota. The Wild dropped to 0-5-1 against Metropolitan Division teams.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Trey McGowens had 30 points and seven rebounds, Xavier Johnson scored 16 and Pittsburgh pulled away late for a 75-62 win over No. 11 Florida State. McGowens attacked the Seminoles relentlessly to help the Panthers end a 13-game losing streak against ranked teams. Pitt’s previous victory over a team in the AP Top 25 came against Florida State on Feb. 18, 2017. Trent Forrest led Florida State with 19 points.
SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Brooklyn 109 Boston 102
Final Houston 112 Memphis 94
Final Charlotte 108 San Antonio 93
Final Utah 100 Detroit 94
Final Sacramento 115 Portland 107
Final New Orleans 121 L.A. Clippers 117
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final New Jersey 8 Chicago 5
Final Colorado 6 Toronto 3
Final Philadelphia 7 Minnesota 4
Final St. Louis 4 Washington 1
Final OT Montreal 3 Boston 2
Final Edmonton 7 Buffalo 2
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final OT Syracuse 95 (1) Duke 91
Final (7) Kansas 80 Texas 78
Final Pittsburgh 75 (11) Florida St. 62
Final (19) Maryland 64 Wisconsin 60
Final Nebraska 66 (25) Indiana 51
TODAY’S SPORTS SCHEDULE
———
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Phoenix at Indiana 7:00 p.m.
Minnesota at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Atlanta 7:30 p.m.
Miami at Milwaukee 8:00 p.m.
Golden State at Denver 9:00 p.m.
Chicago at L.A. Lakers 10:30 p.m.
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
New Jersey at Columbus 7:00 p.m.
St. Louis at N-Y Islanders 7:00 p.m.
Carolina at N-Y Rangers 7:00 p.m.
Florida at Montreal 7:30 p.m.
Anaheim at Detroit 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Nashville 8:00 p.m.
L.A. Kings at Minnesota 8:00 p.m.
Vegas at Winnipeg 8:00 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Dallas 8:30 p.m.
Pittsburgh at San Jose 10:00 p.m.
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Arkansas at (3) Tennessee 7:00 p.m.
(9) Virginia Tech at (4) Virginia 8:00 p.m.
(10) Nevada at Boise St. 9:00 p.m.
(12) Kentucky at Georgia 7:00 p.m.
Notre Dame at (13) North Carolina 9:00 p.m.
(15) Marquette at Georgetown 8:30 p.m.
(16) Buffalo at W. Michigan 7:00 p.m.
(17) NC State at Wake Forest 8:00 p.m.
LSU at (18) Mississippi 9:00 p.m.
Florida at (24) Mississippi St. 7:00 p.m.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
