AP PA Headlines
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Officials say a lightning strike has delayed the scheduled start of classes at a south central Pennsylvania high school by a couple of days. School district officials say the Shippensburg Area Senior High School in Cumberland County was struck by lightning, which has affected electricity within the building. The district didn’t say on its website when the strike occurred.
The building was to open Thursday, but that has now been pushed back to Aug. 21. The ninth grade orientation and open house originally scheduled Tuesday will be held Thursday. Students attending the Career Tech School will also begin classes Aug. 21. All other buildings will open on time Thursday.
LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania utility regulators are making a big to-do over Timm Wenger’s tuk-tuk.
The 48-year-old entrepreneur wants to use his three-wheeled, open-sided electric shuttle to offer sightseeing tours of Lancaster, the urban core of a region best known for its horse-drawn buggies and large Amish population. The state Public Utility Commission is standing in his way, at least for now.
Regulators turned down Wenger’s application last month, citing safety concerns. Tuk-tuks are ubiquitous on crowded city streets in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They were virtually unknown in the U.S. until 2015, when a Denver-based company began distributing an electric version. To date, the company has sold 86 tuk-tuks in 26 states and 49 cities. Wenger hopes to win PUC approval. The agency agreed to reconsider his application.
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A former teacher of the man accused of plowing his car into counter protesters at a white nationalist rally in Virginia says the suspect had a keen interest in military history, Hitler and Nazi, Germany. Derek Weimer on Sunday said that he taught social studies to 20-year-old James Alex Fields Jr. during his junior and senior years in Kentucky, calling him an average student.
Weimer recalled that school officials had singled out Fields in 9th grade for his political beliefs and that he had made comments that alerted his social studies teacher at the time to “deeply-held, radical” convictions on race and Nazism. Weimer said Fields was a big Trump supporter because of what he believed to be Trump’s views on race. Trump’s proposal to build a border wall was particularly appealing to Fields, Weimer said.
Virginia State Police say the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are assisting in the investigation into a fatal helicopter crash that claimed the lives of two state troopers. The helicopter crashed shortly before 5 p.m. Saturday in a wooded area while assisting in law enforcement activities related to the clash between white nationalists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville.
The man who organized a rally in Charlottesville that sparked violent clashes between white supremacist groups and counter-protesters tried to hold a news conference a day after the deadly event, but a crowd of several hundred booed him and forced him away from the lectern. Jason Kessler is a blogger based in Charlottesville, and as he came out to speak Sunday afternoon near City Hall, he was surrounded by cameras and people. S
ome people chanted and made noises with drums and other instruments. Among the chants: “You’re wearing the wrong hood,” a reference to the Ku Klux Klan. Kessler mimicked looking at his watch and indicated he’d wait to speak. A few people approached, crossing the line of TV cameras. One man pushed Kessler. A woman tackled him. Kessler asked officers on the scene for help. Eventually they escorted him off. No arrests were reported.
The White House has been scrambling to elaborate on President Donald Trump’s response to deadly, race-fueled clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia. The president came under withering bipartisan scolding for not clearly condemning white supremacists and other hate groups on Saturday. The White House issued a statement Sunday saying that “of course” Trump was speaking about white supremacists, neo-Nazis and all extremist groups in his initial remarks.
Trump remained out of sight and silent, save for a few retweets. One was about two Virginia state policemen killed in a helicopter crash while monitoring the Charlottesville protests, another about a Justice Department probe into the violence.
NEW YORK (AP) — Movie ticket sales in North America are running 12.4 percent — or roughly $500 million — behind last summer box office, making this one of lowest-grossing summers in years. The downturn comes at a critical juncture for Hollywood, with constantly swirling fears about the impact of streaming and television. AMC, the largest theater chain in the United States, saw its stock price tank recently partly because of slow sales.
Yet much of the story at the multiplex this summer has been positive. Most of the movies that won strong reviews also performed well at the box office — films like “Wonder Woman,” ”Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Girls Trip.” All but three of the No.1 films this summer were certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, including this past weekend’s top film, “Annabelle: Creation.”
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut officials who say a hometown aviator beat the Wright brothers in being the first in flight by two years are honoring him in a ceremony. A Bridgeport ceremony is scheduled Monday to recognize Gustave Whitehead and the 116th anniversary of what state officials have called the “first manned, controlled flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft.”
A replica of Whitehead’s aircraft will be displayed. Connecticut officials say the German-born Whitehead, who lived in Bridgeport and Fairfield, took off from Fairfield on Aug. 14, 1901, and flew about a half mile at a height of about 50 feet (15 meters). The Wright brothers’ flight was in 1903 in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Officials in North Carolina and the Wright brothers’ home state of Ohio dispute the claims about Whitehead.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas teenager who won’t even be old enough to vote is running for governor.
Jack Bergerson has officially filed to run as a Democrat for governor of Kansas in the 2018 election. The Wichita teen says he wants to give Kansas voters a chance to try something that’s never been tried before.
The Kansas City Star reports that Bryan Caskey, director of elections for the secretary of state’s office, says Kansas doesn’t set any qualifications to run for governor such as age, residency or experience.
One of Bergerson’s 17-year-old classmates, Alexander Cline, will run to be his lieutenant governor. Cline will be old enough to vote by the election, unlike his running mate. Bergerson’s announcement Monday brought national attention, including an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”
UNDATED (AP) —Footwear firm Clarks has sparked a sexism row after naming a girls’ shoe line “Dolly Babe” and a boys’ line “Leader.” Laura Waddell, a publishing manager at HarperCollins, wrote: “Clarks have named a range of girls’ school shoes ‘Dolly Babe’ while the boys’ equivalent is called ‘Leader’. ” She calls it “Out of touch, sexist & insulting.”
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was also among those to criticise the well-known company. Clarks has apologized, and says the Dolly Babe range is an “an old and discontinued line, with only remaining stock being sold through our stores”. It said it had removed the shoe from sale online “following customer feedback regarding the name” and added it is currently working to remove the name from remaining in-store stock.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The American workplace is grueling, stressful and surprisingly hostile. A new study from Harvard Medical School and UCLA found nearly one in five workers say they face a hostile or threatening environment at work, which can include sexual harassment and bullying. Nearly 55 percent say they face “unpleasant and potentially hazardous” conditions. Nearly three quarters say they spend at least a fourth of their time on the job in “intense or repetitive physical” labor. About half say they have to work on their own time to meet the demands of their job and only 38 percent say their jobs offer good prospects for advancement.
WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — Police in New Jersey were put to the test over the weekend when they were called to catch a loose pig. Three Woolwich Township police officers responded to a call about a mischievous pig roaming a township neighborhood Saturday morning. According to police, the officers used a makeshift lasso and dog treats to lure the pet pig back into its owner’s yard.
In a self-deprecating Facebook post the Woolwich Township Police Department quipped, “No pig(s) were hurt in the process.” The department also invited commenters to make their best “pig/bacon/cop” jokes. The department’s piggy post has received more than 400 likes and 70 comments.
DENVER (AP) — Though Taylor Swift is no longer officially part of the trial in which she accuses a former radio DJ of grabbing her butt during a photo op, the case will continue today in Denver. On Friday, the trial judge kicked out David Mueller’s allegation that Swift made up the groping claim to get him fired. The judge said after hearing Mueller’s side of the case, there was no evidence to prove Swift had anything to do with Mueller losing his job. The judge also says there’s no indication Swift made up the story. Still to be decided is whether Swift’s mother or others in her inner circle were involved in a plot to make up a story and have Mueller fired.
NEW YORK (AP) — “Annabelle: Creation” is the top movie in the land. The spinoff of “Conjuring” took in an estimated $35 million over the weekend, capturing the number-one position on the box office list. The opening came close to matching the film’s predecessor, “Annabelle,” which opened with $37.1 million in October, 2014. Number two at the box office: “Dunkirk,” with $11.4 million.
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