AP PA Headlines 1/18/19
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Tom Marino (R-12th, Cogan Station), a five-term Republican congressman who helped steer Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign in Pennsylvania, said Thursday that he is resigning just days into a new term. In a statement, Marino said his last day will be Jan. 23 and that he is taking a job in the private sector. Marino and his office did not respond to questions about the announcement Thursday. Marino easily won re-election in November in his heavily Republican district in northern Pennsylvania.
The 66-year-old former county and federal prosecutor was one of Trump’s earliest supporters in Congress. Trump nicknamed Marino and former Rep. Lou Barletta “thunder and lightning” when they co-chaired his campaign in Pennsylvania. Trump nominated Marino in 2017 to become the nation’s drug czar, but Marino withdrew his name from consideration after reports he played a key role in a law that weakened federal power to stop companies from distributing opioids.
At the time, Marino defended his work on the law, which passed without opposition in the House and Senate and was signed by President Barack Obama, and said it will help “facilitate a balanced solution” between access to medication and law enforcement’s efforts to prevent abuse. Marino, who lives in Cogan Station, was a U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Pennsylvania under President George W. Bush and has survived multiple bouts of kidney cancer.
Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, must schedule a special election to fill Marino’s seat. Marino’s resignation is likely to set off a furious scramble to secure votes among the committee members of the state Republican Party who will select a nominee to run in the special election. The sprawling district covers all or parts of 15 counties. Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats there by nearly 100,000.
KUTZTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania police department’s request for volunteers to get drunk for law and order purposes generated a predictably enthusiastic response. The Kutztown Police Department sought three volunteers to drink hard liquor to the point of inebriation so officers could be trained how to administer field sobriety tests during traffic stops.
A call for volunteers on Facebook accumulated hundreds of responses and over 1,000 shares in less than a day. The post was soon updated with the news that the department had its volunteers for the April 4 training session. Volunteers were required to have a clean criminal history and have a responsible party to take care of them after the training. Participants are also required to be willing to drink hard liquor until inebriated.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police say an officer was struck by a ricochet bullet after a police sergeant opened fire on an attacking dog in Philadelphia. The police officer, sergeant and a probation officer were at a home in north Philadelphia Thursday evening to serve a warrant when the dog got loose.
Authorities say the dog attacked the police and probation officers, and the sergeant fired four shots at the dog, killing it. The police officer suffered a hand injury from the ricochet bullet, and the probation officer was bit in the lower back by the dog. Both officers were treated at Temple University Hospital and later released..
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Features
LONDON (AP) — Facebook has purged hundreds of Russian-linked pages, groups and accounts from the social networking site. The site says the Russian-linked entities were part of two big disinformation operations targeting users outside the U.S. The company says the two networks were engaged in what it calls “coordinated inauthentic behavior” on Facebook and its sister site, Instagram.
Facebook’s head of cybersecurity policy writes in a blog post that one of the networks operated in countries in Central and Eastern Europe, the Baltics, Central Asia and the Caucasus, while the other focused on Ukraine. U.S. tech companies have stepped up their efforts to dismantle disinformation campaigns — to head off the kind of abuses used by Russian groups to sway public opinion before the 2016 presidential election.
NEW YORK (AP) — Gladys Knight says she’s proud to represent her hometown of Atlanta when it hosts the Super Bowl by singing the national anthem. Knight says the NFL recently announced a new social justice program called Inspire Change, and she’s proud to be a part of it. Maroon 5, Big Boi of Outkast and Travis Scott will perform the halftime show. The Super Bowl is Feb. 3..
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PA Sports, Scores & Skeds
Shikellamy vs. Selinsgrove wrestling was on WKOK and WKOK.com. In an exciting, come from behind win, Shikellamy won the match in the last period of the last bout, 33-22.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Eddie Faulkner is the new running backs coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Faulkner replaces James Saxon, whose contract was not renewed after the Steelers finished 9-6-1 and missed the playoffs. Faulkner comes to the Steelers from North Carolina State, where he spent the last six years as tight ends/running backs coach and special teams coordinator. Faulkner worked closely with Pittsburgh rookie running back Jaylen Samuels, who caught a school-record 202 passes with the Wolfpack. The Steelers play on our sister station 100.9 The Valley.
BOYS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Millville 63, Midd-West 37
Mount Carmel 71, Benton 22
GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Juniata Valley 55, Claysburg-Kimmel 8
Lourdes Regional 50, Weatherly 48
Pottsville Nativity 48, Tri-Valley 35
Tamaqua 51, Pine Grove 37
Warrior Run 51, Towanda 29
POSTPONEMENTS AND CANCELLATIONS
Line Mountain vs. Millersburg, ppd.
Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Washington 101 N-Y Knicks 100
Final Charlotte 114 Sacramento 95
Final Philadelphia 120 Indiana 96
Final Toronto 111 Phoenix 109
Final Denver 135 Chicago 105
Final OT L.A. Lakers 138 Oklahoma City 128
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Boston 5 St. Louis 2
Final N-Y Islanders 4 New Jersey 1
Final N-Y Rangers 4 Chicago 3
Final Toronto 4 Tampa Bay 2
Final Anaheim 3 Minnesota 0
Final Winnipeg 5 Nashville 1
Final L.A. Kings 2 Dallas 1
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (5) Gonzaga 73 Loyola Marymount 55
Final (6) Michigan St. 70 Nebraska 64
TODAY’S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Memphis at Boston 7:00 p.m.
Miami at Detroit 7:00 p.m.
Brooklyn at Orlando 7:00 p.m.
San Antonio at Minnesota 8:00 p.m.
Cleveland at Utah 9:00 p.m.
New Orleans at Portland 10:30 p.m.
Golden State at L.A. Clippers 10:30 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Montreal at Columbus 7:00 p.m.
Toronto at Florida 7:00 p.m.
Ottawa at Carolina 7:30 p.m.
N-Y Islanders at Washington 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at Calgary 9:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Arizona 9:00 p.m.
Buffalo at Vancouver 10:00 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
- Michigan at (16) Buffalo 7:00 p.m.
(19) Maryland at Ohio St. 6:30 p.m.
Xavier at (22) Villanova 8:30 p.m.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved