HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania primary voters have picked nominees for four open seats on the state’s appellate-level Superior Court. Democrats also picked two nominees in a big field for two open seats on Commonwealth Court. The races made up the only statewide contests on the primary ballot. Democrats picked Philadelphia judges Carolyn Nichols and Maria McLaughlin, Beaver County Judge Deborah Anne Kunselman and Superior Court Judge Geoff Moulton for four open seats on Superior Court. Moulton is trying to retain the position to which he was appointed last year.
Republicans picked Blair County Judge Wade Kagarise, Lancaster County District Attorney Craig Stedman, Northampton County Judge Emil Giordano and Mary Murray, a district judge in Allegheny County. Each party had five contestants on the ballot. Meanwhile, Democrats picked Philadelphia Judge Ellen Ceisler and Pittsburgh attorney Irene Clark for two open seats on Commonwealth Court.
WYNNEWOOD, Pa. (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is giving the graduation address at a historic Roman Catholic seminary near Philadelphia. Alito will also be awarded an honorary degree during Wednesday’s ceremony at the Saint Charles Borromeo (bor-oh-MAY’-oh) Seminary near Wynnewood. The seminary has similarly honored Mother Teresa, Pennsylvania Chief Justice Robert N.C. Nix and others.
Seminarians will receive their degrees at the ceremony, as will clergy and lay students who are enrolled in the seminary’s college and graduate degree programs. The seminary was founded in 1832 and is the primary institution for those studying to be priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Pope Francis stayed at Saint Charles Borromeo during his Philadelphia trip in 2015. St. John Paul II visited in 1979, while he was pope
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bill Cosby says he doesn’t expect to testify at his Pennsylvania sexual assault trial. The comedian spoke to SiriusXM radio host Michael Smerconish in an interview being broadcast Tuesday.
Smerconish says he agreed to air an uncut, 82-minute conversation between Cosby and his daughters in exchange for the interview.
Cosby says his lawyers won’t let him speak about the criminal case. But he says he has “never, never” lost the support of his wife. Daughter Ensa Cosby says she believes “racism has played a role” in the accusations against her father. Bill Cosby replies, “It could be.” Cosby says his health is generally good, but glaucoma has left him legally blind. Cosby says he isn’t trying to influence jurors, who will be selected next week for the June 5 trial.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A third person has been charged in the alleged mistreatment of three Pennsylvania children who police say were starved and locked inside a room like caged animals. Police allege that 31-year-old Harrisburg resident Erin Eickstadt forced a boy to eat his feces, locked the children in an unheated bedroom and forced them to participate in physical punishments despite their poor conditions. Authorities charged her with aggravated assault and child endangerment.
Police in December announced aggravated assault, false imprisonment and other charges against 33-year-old Joshua Weyant and 38-year-old Brandi Weyant, who were raising the children. Eickstadt is Joshua Weyant’s sister. The boy was 6, and two sisters were 4 and 5 when charges were filed against the couple. Court documents don’t list a defense attorney who could comment on Eickstadt’s behalf.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Oddities & Conversation starters
LONDON (AP) — McDonald’s has decided to kill a TV ad it was running in Britain after some criticized it for trying to use a child’s grief to drum up sales. In the ad, which began airing last week, a boy is talking to his mom about his late father, wondering what they had in common. The two go to Mickey D’s where the boy orders a Filet-o-Fish — and is told by his mom: “That was your dad’s favorite too.” Those who work with young people who have been bereaved say they got complaints the ad was inappropriate. McDonald’s says it didn’t set out to upset people — but just wanted to show how the burger chain has a role in people’s lives “both in good and difficult times.”
NEW YORK (AP) — So, is Sean Spicer riding off into the sunset as White House press secretary — without or without the motorized podium his comedy doppelganger, Melissa McCarthy, uses to spoof him? No one has said anything officially. But Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle says she’s been in talks with Trump administration officials about replacing Spicer. She says it’s one of a number of press office jobs that have been dangled before her. She says she’s willing to take it because she’s “a patriot.” Guilfoyle is one of the co-hosts on the Fox News show “The Five.”
DALLAS (AP) — The family of a 7-year-old Dallas boy says his recent outburst at school led to police handcuffing him and placing him in a behavioral health facility without parental notification. An investigator hired by the family’s attorneys, David Ramirez, said Tuesday that the boy has hyperactivity and mood disorders. Ramirez says the boy became upset at his charter school on May 9, and his school called Dallas Independent School District Police.
Ramirez says the boy’s mother was told later that her son was in the Dallas Behavioral Healthcare Hospital. Ramirez says the boy was sedated and not released until Monday. A school district spokeswoman declined comment Tuesday. School district police and hospital officials didn’t return messages seeking comment.
Ramirez says the boy’s outbursts are often triggered by teasing by other children.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Supporters of preserving Confederate monuments in New Orleans have gathered around one of the statues to protest the city’s plans to take it down. The protesters held a news conference Tuesday at the statue of Confederate Gen. P.G.T Beauregard. The statue is one of four that city officials agreed to remove amid a national wave of opposition to Confederate symbols in 2015, when an avowed white supremacist gunned down nine black parishioners in a South Carolina church.
New Orleans officials haven’t said when the massive Beauregard statue will come down. But parking restrictions were imposed in the area Tuesday evening. And police barricades were visible nearby. Monument supporters called on Louisiana’s Senate to approve a House-passed bill preventing local governments from removing monuments to military figures without approval by voters.
BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — Organizers of a Maine marathon are apologizing for a course error that caused many runners to go an extra half-mile, costing some a chance to run in next year’s Boston Marathon.
Officials with the Maine Coast Marathon say some runners in Sunday’s race were mistakenly directed down a dead end before looping back, bringing their total distance to about 26.7 miles.
The error caused some Boston hopefuls to post times that are unlikely to qualify. The course was corrected but, because not all runners ran the extra distance, officials say they can’t simply adjust the times. Race director Charles Melton said they will offer refunds to those who missed qualifying for Boston because of the mistake.
WASHINGTON (AP) — David Letterman is getting the nation’s top comedy prize. He has been named the recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Letterman is 70 and becomes the 20th humorist to receive the Twain award, joining the ranks of people like Eddie Murphy, George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Bill Murray, who got the award last year.
In a statement, Letterman says getting the award is “an exciting honor.” He jokingly added: “For 33 years, there was no better guest, no greater friend of the show, than Mark Twain. The guy could really tell a story.” The prize will be awarded Oct. 22 at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — While other circuses go on around the world, the most famous one of all is just about over. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus will give its last show this weekend. Its other unit already did earlier this month, in Providence, Rhode Island. The Associated Press was granted extensive access to day-to-day life with the performers during the days of Ringling’s last run in Providence.
Performers on that unit are scattering across the world. Some have hopes to continue a circus career in Europe. Others are looking to perform elsewhere. Others aren’t yet sure what they’ll do. Many are also looking for a home. Ringling is the last circus to travel by train, and many of its performers and crew have to find new places to live.
DENVER (AP) — It’s a question that’s often asked: does life imitate art or does art imitate life? The question has resulted in the ban of a book that’s the basis for the popular Netflix series “13 Reasons Why.” Some critics say the series romanticizes suicide. The Mesa County Valley School District in Colorado wants to keep the book out of the hands of its 22,000 students. The district has had seven students who recently killed themselves — and authorities say they don’t want to see more.
The novel was first published in 2007. It’s about a high school girl who kills herself after creating tapes for her classmates to play after her death. The tapes were given to those who influenced her decision. There is no evidence any of the Mesa County students who committed suicide were inspired by the series — or by the book.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A canceled wedding with a nonrefundable reception became a celebration for families and volunteers for a Ronald McDonald House in Minneapolis. Jenna Yorkovich called off the wedding seven weeks before the big day, but the money paid for the venue and food at Nicollet Island Pavilion could not be returned. She tells the Star Tribune that even though she had made one of the hardest decisions of her life, there was no reason it couldn’t end happily.
As an employee of Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis, she knew the Ronald McDonald House would be a great place for the donation of her dream wedding reception. The Ronald McDonald House provides a place to stay for families with hospitalized children. More than 150 people, including Yorkovich’s family, attended the event Friday.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
