HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Penn State has settled a lawsuit by a man who claimed former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky molested him in 2007, when he was about 14 years old. The settlement notice posted Monday on the Philadelphia courts website was confirmed by a lawyer for the plaintiff, called John Doe in case documents. It had been scheduled for trial in late February.
A Penn State spokeswoman says there’s one pending civil case left related to Sandusky abuse allegations, a Philadelphia lawsuit filed under the name Jack Doe. Penn State and a lawyer for John Doe declined to immediately comment. The university has paid more than $109 million to settle Sandusky abuse claims by at least 35 people. Sandusky is serving a state prison sentence for child sexual abuse and is appealing.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A new lawsuit is challenging a central aspect of the two-month-old law expanding casino gambling in Pennsylvania that Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf signed as part of an effort to balance the state’s deficit-riddled budget. Pennsylvania-based Penn National Gaming sued Tuesday in federal court, saying provisions allowing 10 more mini-casinos would cause “significant and unique” harm to its suburban Harrisburg casino.
It’s seeking to bar the construction of the new casinos under the existing law. It’s suing a day before it and 10 other casino owners in Pennsylvania can bid on the right to apply for the first mini-casino license. Budgetmakers hope to land at least $100 million by auctioning the 10 licenses. Two other lawsuits filed in recent days, one by Penn National and one by Las Vegas Sands, target other aspects of the gambling law.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh’s indoor zoo dedicated to birds has an adorable new member: a baby two-toed sloth. The National Aviary introduced 5-month-old Vivien Leigh on Tuesday. The aviary says Vivien was acquired from a breeder in Florida. The sloth will be hand-raised by experts so it will be comfortable around humans and well-prepared for its role as an educational ambassador.
Sloths are rainforest animals, but their habitat is rapidly diminishing due to human activity. The aviary hopes Vivien will help teach visitors ways they can help protect rainforests. Visitors will also have the opportunity to book an encounter with Vivien beginning in February. They can touch the sloth, take photos, and interact with her in a comfortable, private setting. She joins two other sloths at the aviary: Rudolph Valentino and Wookiee..
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Features
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Federal judges ruled Tuesday that North Carolina’s congressional district map drawn by legislative Republicans is illegally gerrymandered because of excessive partisanship that gave GOP a rock-solid advantage for most seats and must quickly be redone. The ruling marks the second time this decade that the GOP’s congressional boundaries in North Carolina have been thrown out by a three-judge panel. In 2016, another panel tossed out two majority black congressional districts initially drawn in 2011, saying there was no justification for using race as the predominant factor in forming them. The redrawn map was the basis for a new round of lawsuits.
The latest lawsuit — filed by election advocacy groups and Democrats — said the replacement for the racial gerrymander also contained unlawful partisan gerrymanders. Those who sued argued that Republican legislators went too far when they followed criteria designed to retain the party’s 10-3 majority. At the time of debate, according to the order, House redistricting chief Rep. David Lewis attempted to justify the criteria by saying “I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats. So I drew this map to help foster what I think is better for the country.”
ARIS (AP) — French movie star Catherine Deneuve and other prominent French women say men are being unfairly targeted by sexual misconduct allegations and should be free to hit on women. Deneuve was among about 100 performers, scholars and others who signed an open letter published Tuesday by the newspaper Le Monde saying the “legitimate protest against sexual violence” stemming from the Harvey Weinstein scandal has gone too far and threatens hard-won sexual freedoms.
The letter reflects France’s mixed feelings about widespread accusations of systematic sexual misconduct by powerful men in multiple countries in recent months. France is home to famed feminists and its own “me too” movement, and the Deneuve-signed letter drew much criticism. However many people echo Deneuve’s concerns of a new “puritanism” that goes against French traditions of seduction.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kensington Palace confirmed Tuesday that Prince Harry’s fiancee Meghan Markle has shut down her social media accounts in line with royal tradition. The American closed her Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. The palace said Markle “is grateful to everyone who has followed her social media accounts over the years” but “she has not used these accounts for some time.” No worries, though, for royal watchers. Kensington Palace has accounts of its own.
Word of the change came after the two visited a community radio station in Brixton that trains youngsters in media skills. Hundreds of people lined the streets to welcome them. It was the couple’s second official visit since they announced their engagement in November. The U.S. actress and the queen’s grandson will marry May 19 at Windsor Castle.
BRUNSWICK, Maine (AP) — A Maine marine biologist says footage of her swimming with a humpback whale shows the large mammal protecting her from a tiger shark. Nan Hauser, president of the Center for Cetacean Research and Conservation and a Brunswick resident, says she uploaded footage of her encounter Monday and it quickly spread across the internet.
Hauser tells the Portland Press Herald she was in the Cook Islands when she came face-to-face with a 25-ton humpback whale, which approached her and began nudging her around the water. She says the whale also shielded her with a fin. She says after the encounter, she noticed a tiger shark was swimming nearby. Hauser says whales are “altruistic” and often hide seals from predators, but she has never experienced or read about anything like this before.
ROME (AP) — Rome’s pathetic Christmas tree, so droopy and dried out that residents nicknamed it “The Mangy One,” will be carved up and turned into souvenirs and a lactation hut for mothers and babies, city officials said Tuesday. In giving the downtrodden tree a new life, Rome’s cabinet moved to close an embarrassing chapter in which the holiday decoration came to symbolize the city’s degradation and dysfunction under its 5-Star mayor, Virginia Raggi, and the years of neglect and corruption before her.
Raggi insisted Tuesday that the tree ended up capturing the hearts of Romans and visitors alike, and that its future life would show Rome as a model of recycling. But not even its removal went as planned. Workers on cranes started taking down ornaments Tuesday, only to put them back after getting word that a formal farewell ceremony was planned for Thursday.
SAN ANGELO, Texas (AP) — Police in West Texas have arrested a man suspected of stealing a devoted fan’s collection of Kiss rock group memorabilia acquired over 40 years. San Angelo police say most of the Kiss shirts, records, action figures and magazines taken from a unit at a storage business have been recovered. No immediate estimate was given on the collection’s value. Jail records show 50-year-old Michael Roehr of San Angelo was being held Tuesday on burglary and drug charges. Authorities say they don’t think Roehr and the victim knew each other.
WASHINGTON (AP) — No cutting nicknames. No dismissive slogans. No anger. But despite that, President Donald Trump is throwing shade on talk about Oprah Winfrey running for president. Trump says defiantly: “I’ll beat Oprah” — even as he added he doesn’t think she will run to unseat him in 2012. Usually Trump goes hard on those he sees as political rivals. But he steered clear of that, saying a race against Winfrey “would be a lot of fun.” Trump says he knows Winfrey well — and even said she would be a good vice presidential candidate in 1999.
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s the football game everyone’s been talking about. And it appears a lot of people watched the national football championship battle between Alabama and Georgia. The Nielsen ratings say the game drew 28.4 pairs of eyes to ESPN on Monday night. That makes it second to only the Ohio State-Oregon championship game in 2015 as the most-watched telecast ever on cable TV. The game ended in overtime with a sudden-death touchdown for Alabama.
In other ratings news, NBC’s “Today” is the most popular morning news show — again. Last week was the first Hoda Kotb’s co-hosted as the official replacement for the fired Matt Lauer. The Today show win marks the first time the NBC show had beaten ABC’s “Good Morning America” for first place six weeks in a row since 2012.
Scores and Skeds
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Berwick 61, Lake-Lehman 33
Bloomsburg 59, South Williamsport 42
Central Mountain 62, Midd-West 31
Columbia-Montour 70, Benton 36
Danville 51, Lewisburg 50
Greenwood 84, Harrisburg Academy 26
Jersey Shore 61, Shamokin 57
Loyalsock 82, Montoursville 49
Meadowbrook Christian 59, Northumberland Christian 51
Mifflinburg 72, Milton 66
Millersburg 70, Susquenita 35
Millville 77, Montgomery 23
Mount Carmel 56, Central Columbia 54
Neumann 72, Muncy 39
Newport 62, Lancaster Country Day 51
Shikellamy 77, Selinsgrove 65
Sullivan County 75, Bucktail 31
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL
Berwick 53, Wilkes-Barre Meyers 34
Greenwood 47, Line Mountain 38
Juniata 59, Halifax 45
Northumberland Christian 49, Meadowbrook Christian 30
Upper Dauphin 40, East Juniata 34
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Miami 90 Toronto 89
Final Portland 117 Oklahoma City 106
Final Dallas 114 Orlando 99
Final L.A. Lakers 99 Sacramento 86
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Winnipeg 7 Buffalo 4
Final Washington 3 Vancouver 1
Final Chicago 8 Ottawa 2
Final Tampa Bay 5 Carolina 4
Final Nashville 2 Edmonton 1
Final OT Calgary 3 Minnesota 2
Final Florida 7 St. Louis 4
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (2) West Virginia 57 Baylor 54
Final (3) Virginia 68 Syracuse 61
Final (5) Purdue 70 Michigan 69
Final (9) Oklahoma 75 (8) Texas Tech 65
Final (12) Kansas 83 Iowa St. 78
Final Marquette 84 (13) Seton Hall 64
Final (20) North Carolina 96 Boston College 66
Final (21) Kentucky 74 Texas A&M 73
Final (22) Auburn 85 Mississippi 70
Final (24) Tennessee 92 Vanderbilt 84
Final (25) Creighton 85 Butler 74
TODAY’S SPORTS SCHEDULE
———
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Utah at Washington 7:00 p.m.
Dallas at Charlotte 7:00 p.m.
Miami at Indiana 7:00 p.m.
Detroit at Brooklyn 7:30 p.m.
Chicago at N-Y Knicks 7:30 p.m.
Portland at Houston 8:00 p.m.
New Orleans at Memphis 8:00 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Minnesota 8:00 p.m.
Orlando at Milwaukee 8:00 p.m.
Atlanta at Denver 9:00 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Golden State 10:30 p.m.
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Ottawa at Toronto 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota at Chicago 8:00 p.m.
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(10) Xavier at (1) Villanova 8:00 p.m.
Rutgers at (4) Michigan St. 7:00 p.m.
(7) Duke at Pittsburgh 7:00 p.m.
(16) TCU at Texas 9:00 p.m.
Louisville at (23) Florida St. 9:00 p.m.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
