AP PA Headlines |

State to supply 300,000 drug disposal pouches to 12 counties

SHELOCTA, Pa. (AP) — The attorney general of Pennsylvania has announced plans to supply 300,000 drug deactivation and disposal pouches to a dozen counties hardest hit by the opioid epidemic. Attorney General Josh Shapiro said everyone receiving a schedule II narcotic such as Percocet, oxycodone and fentanyl at a participating pharmacy will be offered a free disposal pouch.

Shapiro said at Klingensmith’s Neighborly Drug Store in Indiana County that 80 percent of heroin addicts start with abuse of prescription drugs, and most get them from friends, relatives or a medicine cabinet. Adding warm water can deactivate as many as 45 unwanted pills in the pouches, which can then be thrown away. Shapiro said 278 pharmacies will provide pouches in Blair, Butler, Cambria, Erie, Fayette, Indiana, Lackawanna, Lawrence, Lehigh, Luzerne, Mercer and Montour counties.

In Montour County, the Weis Markets, Giant grocery store and CVS pharmacy are among the locations where the drug disposal pouches are available.

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — Lawyers for Penn State fraternity members accused in the death of a pledge are trying to chip away at the prosecution’s case, hoping to get some or all of the charges dismissed before trial. A preliminary hearing in the case against 18 brothers and the now-shuttered Beta Theta Pi chapter finished its third day of testimony Tuesday, with two more sessions tentatively scheduled for next month.

The first witness, the lead detective in the February death of sophomore engineering student Tim Piazza, is still on the stand. Defense attorneys have been trying to show their clients weren’t participants in some of the events that preceded Piazza’s death. During an earlier session, the judge was shown surveillance video from the night of Feb. 2, when Piazza ingested large amounts of alcohol and then was injured in a series of falls. The chapter and some of the defendants are accused of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault. Others face less serious allegations. Two defendants waived the hearing.

DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A parochial school in Pennsylvania has dropped a requirement that girls where tights amid a backlash and concerns with medical issues raised by parents. Bishop Shanahan High School in Downingtown announced the change in the dress code rule on Monday. Parents were informed in June their daughters would have to wear tights starting in the fall instead of knee socks.

Principal Michael McArdle tells Philly.com the policy had nothing to do with boys’ interest in girls’ legs. He says the administration was looking for “what creates the best impression or best look.” Parents said the rule was sexist and medically hazardous..

Oddities and Conversation Starters

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Lincoln resident barred from letting some plants in his garden grow to their full height says the city’s system of yard policing needs significant reform. The Lincoln Journal Star reports the city has ordered Bob Kuzelka to cut his tall-growing bromegrass earlier than usual for the last three years because it is habitat for rodents and can be a fire hazard. The orders are in response to complaints from a neighbor about Kuzelka’s woolly yard. Kuzelka says Lincoln’s regulation method needs an update to be based on health and safety rather than aesthetics.

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — A judge says data from the pacemaker of a man accused of setting his Ohio house on fire in 2016 can be presented as evidence at his trial. The Hamilton-Middletown Journal News reports Ross pleaded not guilty to aggravated arson and insurance fraud charges. Police say Compton described packing belongings when he saw the fire, throwing them out of a window and carrying them to his car.

Investigators say a cardiologist reviewed Compton’s cardiac device and concluded his medical condition made the actions he described “highly improbable.” Ross’s attorney had argued that the data should be thrown out because searching the device violated Compton’s constitutional rights. But the judge says the individual data is no more private than other things.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — It’s no secret that living in tough circumstances can be hard on children and lead to problems with behavior and learning. But some researchers believe that early ongoing stress can smolder, harming young brains and bodies. Triggers include poverty, neglect and parents’ substance abuse. Studies suggest toxic stress can lead to major causes of death and disease in adulthood.

This awareness has prompted a public health approach to identifying and treating the effects of adversity. That includes preschool-based programs offering stress-busting breathing exercises and a recent American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation for poverty screening. Some experts say toxic stress damage can be as severe as any infectious disease.

NEW YORK (AP) — Fox News Channel has corrected its story suggesting that former FBI Director James Comey publicly leaked classified material relating to his conversations with President Donald Trump. A supportive Trump had retweeted the story after its original airing on Monday. Fox said the program had been mistaken in suggesting that memos written by Comey and provided to congressional investigators contained “top secret” information.

Instead, the material had a lower-level security classification. The correction, however, left murky the question of whether Comey released any classified information to the public. Comey insists he did not. It was unclear whether anyone involved in the story on “Fox & Friends” morning show on Monday was disciplined. Fox had described the information as a bombshell that accused Comey of “putting our national security at risk.”

PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — Thieves targeting a so-called tiny home in Missouri decided to go big — and steal the whole house. Missouri resident Lisa Stubblefield left the structure in a roped-off area in Springfield last week for the Food Truck Showdown. When she arrived for the festivities Saturday morning, it was gone.

Stubblefield says she’s surprised someone targeted the building, which is 13 feet (4 meters) tall and looks like a small house, complete with a covered porch, but has no plumbing. It’s designed to be a mobile clothing boutique. Stubblefield’s Facebook post about the theft was shared more than 5,000 times and eventually caught the attention of a woman in Pittsburg, Kansas, a town about 90 miles (145 kilometers) west. Police found the house there the next day. No arrests have been made.

NEW YORK (AP) — MSNBC host and former Republican Congressman Joe Scarborough says he’s leaving the GOP. The host of “Morning Joe” talked about his plans during an interview with CBS “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert that he has “got to become an independent” — and wonders why more GOP supporters don’t do the same. Scarborough has become a sharp critic of President Donald Trump — and he doesn’t understand why so many other Republicans look the other way when Trump says or does something wrong. Trump recently took to Twitter to criticize Scarborough and his finance and co-host Mika Brzezinski in highly personal terms.

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