AP PA Headlines 12/19/18
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has approved Uber’s request to resume testing of autonomous vehicles on public roads in the Pittsburgh area. The approval, effective Monday and lasting for one year, comes about nine months after one of Uber’s autonomous test vehicles hit and killed an Arizona pedestrian. Testing was suspended after March 18 crash in Tempe, Arizona.
Uber can test throughout Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located. Its vehicles must have at least one human backup driver and two if the company plan to go over 25 miles per hour (40 kph), department spokeswoman Erin Waters-Trasatt said. Uber spokeswoman Sarah Abboud confirmed the approval but declined to say when the testing would resume.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A judge says he will “seriously” consider a motion to bar the death penalty in the case of two men accused of killing five people and an unborn baby at a Pennsylvania cookout. Thirty-one-year-old Cheron Shelton and 30-year-old Robert Thomas are charged in the March 2016 killings in Pittsburgh’s Wilkinsburg suburb. Authorities allege Thomas opened fire on one side and Shelton then gunned down victims running onto a porch for safety.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Common Pleas Judge Edward Borkowski said Monday that he is seriously considering a motion to bar capital punishment as unconstitutionally cruel. He said he has other concerns about the application of the death penalty in Pennsylvania, including the cost and the impact on jurors. Prosecutors have 30 days to respond to the motion.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge is again ruling against Pennsylvania legislation that would take at least $200 million from a state-chartered medical malpractice insurer of last resort. U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner on Tuesday said the state can’t “legislatively recapture” the Pennsylvania Professional Liability Joint Underwriting Association to take its assets.
Conner blocked a previous attempt in May, ruling the association was a private entity and its surplus is private property that can’t be taken without fair compensation. The association has never taken public money. Lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf enacted a new law this summer, the third attempt to take the money in three years. The judge temporarily blocked it in July, and Tuesday he declared the new law violated the U.S. Constitution and issued a permanent injunction.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The first two weeks of legal sports betting in Pennsylvania at a single casino saw just over $1.4 million in bets. Tuesday’s report by Pennsylvania state regulators includes November results for sports betting at Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course after it began taking bets mid-month. For comparison, New Jersey’s casino and racetrack-based sports books took in over $330 million worth of bets in November.
SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia and Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh began sports betting last week and Parx Casino in suburban Philadelphia could open in the coming weeks. A year-old state law allows owners of Pennsylvania’s 12 casinos to pay a $10 million fee to operate sports betting. States are increasingly legalizing sports betting after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way in May.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Features
ATLANTA (AP) — Some advertisers say they are leaving conservative host Tucker Carlson’s show following his remarks that immigrants could make the U.S. “poorer and dirtier.” It’s the latest example of sponsors leaving a Fox News Channel show after controversy, but experts say the flap is likely to blow over. So far, the show’s biggest advertisers appear to be sticking with him and his prime-time show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Carlson said last Thursday that there’s pressure from “our leaders” to accept immigrants “even if it makes our own country poorer and dirtier and more divided.” He added Monday that in the Southwest, “thanks to illegal immigration, huge swaths of the region are covered with garbage and waste that degrade the soil and kill wildlife.”
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Police in Florida say a 23-year-old man went through a McDonald’s drive-thru and tried to pay for his order with a bag of marijuana. News outlets report Port St. Lucie police say the fast food worker denied the trade and Anthony Andrew Gallagher drove off, only to return again a short time later. Police arrested him Sunday on charges of marijuana possession and driving under the influence.
Police were alerted to Gallagher’s offer early Sunday morning and got a description of him from the worker. They say a suspect matching his description went through the drive-thru a little while later and police approached him. It’s unclear if Gallagher attempted to pay for his order with drugs the second time. It’s also unclear if he has a lawyer.
NEW YORK (AP) — Professional football — the lifeblood of live television this time of year — illustrated its dominance in the ratings this past week. Four NFL games finished among the Nielsen company’s 20 most popular prime-time programs, with NBC’s Sunday night and Fox’s Thursday contests the top two. Both games featured Los Angeles teams. Add in three pre-game shows, and football accounted for seven of Nielsen’s entries.
The games usually dwarf regular programming. For example, Fox drew 17.4 million to its Thursday night game. Its next most popular show, “Last Man Standing,” had 12 million fewer viewers. Similarly, the 18.1 million people who watched NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” were nearly 10 million more than “The Voice.” CBS’ lineup has a broader base of support and no pro football in prime-time, but it should be noted that its highest-rated show, “60 Minutes,” comes on after football on the East Coast.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
PA Sports Stories, Scores & Skeds
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Carter Hart made 22 saves in his NHL debut and Shayne Gostisbehere and James van Riemsdyk each had a goal and an assist as the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Tuesday night and made interim coach Scott Gordon a winner in his first game. Radko Gudas also scored for Philadelphia, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Andrew McCutchen returned to his home state to join his third team in less than 12 months intent on regaining his old hitting stroke. The Philadelphia Phillies introduced their newest outfielder at a news conference, a week after giving him a $50 million, three-year contract with a team option for 2022. The Phillies play on 1070AM WKOK while our normal programming continues at WKOK.com.
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Bloomsburg 52, Hughesville 34
Bucktail 63, Montgomery 33
Central Columbia 51, Midd-West 22
Danville 59, Shikellamy 38
East Juniata 73, Meadowbrook Christian 45
Jersey Shore 61, Shamokin 60
Loyalsock 66, Milton 40
Millville 67, Muncy 43
Montoursville 50, Lewisburg 44
Mount Carmel 65, Southern Columbia 53
Neumann 61, Benton 20
Northumberland Christian 91, Columbia County Christian 55
South Williamsport 57, Warrior Run 53
Sullivan County 52, Columbia-Montour 39
Wilkes-Barre GAR 68, Williamsport 66
Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Cleveland 92 Indiana 91
Final Brooklyn 115 L.A. Lakers 110
Final Atlanta 118 Washington 110
Final Denver 126 Dallas 118
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Florida 5 Buffalo 2
Final Philadelphia 3 Detroit 2
Final Toronto 7 New Jersey 2
Final N-Y Rangers 3 Anaheim 1
Final San Jose 4 Minnesota 0
Final Dallas 2 Calgary 0
Final Chicago 2 Nashville 1
Final St. Louis 4 Edmonton 1
Final N-Y Islanders 3 Arizona 1
Final Tampa Bay 5 Vancouver 2
Final L.A. Kings 4 Winnipeg 1
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (1) Kansas 89 South Dakota 53
Final (2) Duke 101 Princeton 50
Final (8) Gonzaga 89 Texas-Arlington 55
Final (14) Buffalo 71 Syracuse 59
Final (15) Ohio St. 75 Youngstown St. 56
Final (20) Marquette 92 North Dakota 66
Final (23) Iowa 78 W. Carolina 60
TODAY’S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
San Antonio at Orlando 7:00 p.m.
Cleveland at Charlotte 7:00 p.m.
N-Y Knicks at Philadelphia 7:00 p.m.
Indiana at Toronto 7:30 p.m.
Phoenix at Boston 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at Minnesota 8:00 p.m.
Brooklyn at Chicago 8:00 p.m.
New Orleans at Milwaukee 8:00 p.m.
Washington at Houston 8:00 p.m.
Golden State at Utah 9:00 p.m.
Memphis at Portland 10:00 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Sacramento 10:00 p.m.
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Pittsburgh at Washington 8:00 p.m.
Montreal at Colorado 8:30 p.m.
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Samford at (3) Tennessee 7:00 p.m.
(5) Virginia at South Carolina 7:00 p.m.
(7) Auburn at NC State 7:00 p.m.
North Florida at (11) Florida St. 7:00 p.m.
NC A&T at (13) Virginia Tech 7:00 p.m.
Wofford at (17) Mississippi St. 8:00 p.m.
Cent. Arkansas at (22) Indiana 7:00 p.m.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
