WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — A former university clerk is seeking class-action status for her lawsuit accusing Lock Haven University of forcing out older employees. PennLive.com reports Pattiann Merrifield on Monday asked a federal judge to include employees of the central Pennsylvania school who are older than 40 and who were terminated or resigned in the past 10 years. Merrifield claims she was given the option of early retirement and was fired when she refused in 2016 and was replaced by a 34-year-old. She claims she was fired at age 58 so the university could avoid paying the retirement benefits she would have received at 60. Lock Haven has declined to comment on the suit.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Next year’s Democratic Party primary for lieutenant governor could be jam-packed. Montgomery County state Rep. Madeleine Dean said Wednesday that she’ll seek the party’s nomination, too. The 58-year-old lawyer has been in office since 2013. She’s now the fifth Democrat to announce that they’ll contest the re-election bid of the party’s sitting lieutenant governor, Mike Stack. March 6 is the deadline for major party candidates to file paperwork for the May 15 primary election ballot. Also running are school nutrition activist Aryanna Berringer, Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone, Braddock Mayor John Fetterman and Lancaster County Commissioner Craig Lehman. Stack is a former Philadelphia state senator. He has little relationship with Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who stripped Stack of police protection after receiving complaints about Stack’s treatment of state employees.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — There were fewer fatal crashes and more alcohol-related arrests on Pennsylvania’s highways over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. State troopers investigated 981 crashes between Nov. 22 and Nov. 26. That’s up from 931 during the holiday last year. Four of the crashes were fatal, down from six in 2016. Police made 629 driving under the influence arrests compared to 610 last year. They say 85 of the 981 crashes were alcohol-related. Police also issued nearly 16,000 speeding tickets.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The second of two Fiats used by Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to Philadelphia is going up for auction. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia says bidding on the car, a Fiat 500L, opens Wednesday and continues through Dec. 20, through a partnership with the online charity auction site Charitybuzz . Proceeds will benefit the 2017 Catholic Charities Appeal, which provides support to organizations, programs and ministries throughout the archdiocese. The first Fiat was auctioned in 2016. Owners of a Philadelphia car dealership offered the winning bid of $82,000. The proceeds went to the charities appeal and special education schools. Francis got out of one of the black Fiats to bless a boy with cerebral palsy when he arrived in Philadelphia. He’s made a point of using modest cars to emphasize simplicity.
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Conversation starters and Features
WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservative groups and lawmakers are lining up against a proposal by Senate Republicans to impose automatic tax increases on millions of Americans — if their sweeping tax package doesn’t grow the economy and raise tax revenues as much as projected. The opposition comes as the tax package cleared a key procedural vote in the Senate on Wednesday. The Senate voted 52-48 to start debating the bill. Wednesday’s vote potentially could pave the way for the Senate to pass the package later this week. The Senate could start voting on amendments Thursday evening. Opposition to the tax “trigger” could doom a delicately negotiated proposal aimed at mollifying deficit hawks who worry that tax cuts for businesses and individuals could add trillions to the mounting national debt. Tucking a potential tax increase into the tax cut bill isn’t sitting well with conservatives.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has easily approved a bipartisan measure requiring lawmakers and staff to take annual anti-harassment training. The plan was approved on a voice vote which came as Congress continues to react to an outbreak of sexual harassment allegations against lawmakers. Debate included several accounts of misconduct that lawmakers said have occurred in Congress. That included Pennsylvania Democrat Robert Brady saying he was once talking to a female colleague when a male lawmaker groped her from behind. He mentioned no names. The measure was approved as lawmakers wait to see how Michigan Democratic Rep. John Conyers will respond to allegations by former workers that he’s sexually harassed them. He’s returned to Detroit. The Senate has already approved a similar measure applying to its members and aides.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Like much other propaganda, the anti-Muslim videos spread around by President Donald Trump mix grains of truth, fakery and shades in between, overlaid with a message meant to be a blunt hammer blow for a cause. Trump’s penchant for sharing doctored images and making false statements on Twitter means that content tweeted or retweeted by the president should be viewed skeptically. His spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, suggested the veracity of the videos wasn’t a high priority amid concern over national security and strong borders, saying: “Whether it’s a real video, the threat is real and that is what the president is talking about.” Here’s a look at known facts behind the videos tweeted by a far-right British fringe group and retweeted by President Trump: FALSE One video shows a young man attacking another who is on crutches, near a river bank. It was originally posted to a Dutch viral video site in May and picked up by Dutch media. In her tweet, Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First, wrote: “VIDEO: Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!” But the victim was not attacked by a Muslim migrant.
NEW YORK (AP) — Everyone knows about the Rockettes’ high kicks, but do you know how many calories each burns? Would you believe 1,000 calories per show? What do they snack on? M&Ms and fruit and popcorn. What’s the best place to be in their famous kick line? It turns out it makes no difference. How many high kicks do they do per show? A mind-boggling 3,000. Two veterans of the Christmas show revealed all the backstage secrets, including how they manage to look the same height when they’re not. Turns out that’s a bit of an optical illusion: They put the taller women in the center and gradually go down to the shorter dancers on the ends. The costumes are also designed in such a way as to help maintain the illusion.
NEW YORK (AP) — Throngs of tourists and revelers packed midtown Manhattan on a warm night and under tight security to watch the annual lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio flipped the switch at 8:55 p.m., illuminating the 75-foot tall, 12-plus ton Norway spruce decorated with 50,000 multicolored LED lights. The 85th annual ceremony was televised by NBC and included live performances by Brett Eldredge, Leslie Odom Jr., Pentatonix, Train, Harry Connick Jr., and the Radio City Rockettes. Matt Lauer was set to co-host the event, but the network announced Wednesday that it had terminated him for “inappropriate sexual behavior” with a colleague. Lauer’s co-host Savannah Guthrie made the announcement at the top of Wednesday’s “Today” show. Karen Calistra, of Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, said it was her first time seeing the spectacle.
LONDON (AP) — With a royal wedding in the works, speculation is rising about the title that will be bestowed on Meghan Markle when she marries Prince Harry in the spring. Will the American actress be a British princess? The answer is: sort of. Markle’s future noble ranking partly depends on what titles Queen Elizabeth II gives her and Harry on their May wedding day. Markle, 36, will not formally be known as Princess Meghan because she is not of royal birth. However, she will become Her Royal Highness Princess Henry of Wales when she marries Harry, whose proper first name is Henry. he speculation is that the queen will make Harry a duke, like his brother William, and Markle a duchess when they wed at Windsor Castle. In that case, Markle would properly be known as a duchess, not a princess.
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