AP PA Headlines 12/20/19
HARRISBURG (AP) –The National Weather Service has added snow squalls to the dangerous events that trigger cellphone warnings, along with tornadoes and flash floods. The goal is to prevent deadly highway crashes like the one triggered by a whiteout on Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania in February 2016.
Cellphones from Maine to West Virginia buzzed a startling warning Wednesday afternoon as a cold front from Canada triggered squalls as it moved through the Northeast. Researchers say improvements in radar technology and computer modeling are allowing better short-term forecasting that enables the warnings. The weather service doesn’t say if squall warnings were issued prior to a fatal pile-up on I-80 in Union County.
HOLLY SPRINGS, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a former nurse secretly videotaped more than 200 patients at a Pennsylvania hospital, including nearly two dozen children, and sexually assaulted two patients in the emergency room. Thirty-nine-year-old Michael Bragg of Chambersburg is charged with nearly 400 criminal counts. A judge denied bail Thursday and sent him to jail. The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office says Bragg sexually assaulted a nude, unconscious woman in the emergency room of UPMC Carlisle, and touched the breasts of another emergency room patient.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — At least one person is presumed dead and another is missing in an explosion and fire that rocked a Philadelphia neighborhood. More than 100 firefighters battled flames that shot out the tops of the homes in south Philadelphia. Three row houses collapsed, and two others sustained heavy damage. Firefighters tried rescuing someone trapped in the debris but were unable to reach the victim. Officials say a second person in an adjacent building remains missing. The cause is under investigation.
ECORSE, Mich. (AP) — U.S. Steel Corp. says it will indefinitely idle major operations at factories near Detroit. The company said it would send notices to 1,545 employees at Great Lakes Works, although it anticipates that the actual number of people affected will be lower. Great Lakes Works, which serves the auto industry, is along the Detroit River in River Rouge and Ecorse. U.S. Steel said it expects to begin idling the iron and steel-making facilities around April 1 and the hot strip mill rolling facility before the end of 2020.
ERIE, Pa. (AP) — A coke plant in northwestern Pennsylvania has shut down. Erie Coke turned away employees who showed up for work Thursday morning. The company has faced mounting regulatory pressure over its environmental record. The city of Erie had recently forced Erie Coke to halt the discharge of wastewater into the municipal sewer system. That came after Pennsylvania environmental officials denied the renewal of the company’s operating permit and took legal action to get the plant shutdown, citing years of environmental violations. Erie Coke employed more than 130 people at the plant, which produces a key ingredient in the steelmaking process.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Multiple human trafficking victims are alleging major hotel chains have ignored the problem on their premises for years. Lawyers for the victims say hotel chains turned a blind eye to obvious signs of trafficking, from multiple men visiting a single room to repeat cash-only payments. The lawyers asked a federal panel earlier this month to assign a single federal judge to oversee at least 21 lawsuits against hotel chains currently pending in 11 states. The complaints say the hotels have failed to identify, investigate and report suspected human trafficking and have thereby profited from the crime.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Features
NEW YORK (AP) – An upcoming ‘Meet the Press’ special is taking a look at political disinformation. Host Chuck Todd says the special was in the works even before his interviews with two Republican senators made its pertinence clear. The end-of-year show talks to top journalists, shows how Russian disinformation works and traces how a political lie is born and spread.
Todd’s interviews with Sens. John Kennedy and Ted Cruz on the Ukraine were contentious. Todd says it’s tough being a political journalist and acknowledges that he let some of the attacks he faced get to him. The special is scheduled to air Dec. 29. Meet the Press airs on WKOK and WKOK.com at noon on Sundays.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Force” is back. And that means people will be flocking to the multiplex — and staying off social media, lest any of their soon-to-be-former friends start dropping spoiler alerts. “The Rise of Skywalker” is the third trilogy in the movie series that got under way back in 1977. The cast includes a mix of veterans and newbies. Mark Hamill is back in his role as Skywalker. Meanwhile, Naomi Ackie makes her franchise debut as the noble warrior named Jannah. She hadn’t even been born yet when the original “Star Wars” movie premiered.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — Most robbers know it’s a bad idea to leave fingerprints behind at the scene of a crime. In New Mexico, a suspect in a pizza joint robbery didn’t leave fingerprints — but did leave a face-print behind. Police in Las Cruces say the suspect in a June robbery of a Pizza Hut face-planted himself into a glass door while fleeing — and left DNA evidence behind. The genetic material was swabbed and sent to a lab, where authorities matched it to 19-year-old Markell Deshaun Barnes. He was taken into custody last week in Albuquerque.
SAN FRANCISCO (PA) – A San Francisco woman has hired a plane to fly a banner with her dog’s information over the city in hopes of finding her stolen dog. Emilie Talermo is offering a $7,000 reward to recover her blue-eyed miniature Australian Shepherd. He was stolen from outside a grocery store Saturday.
She says she wants to reach as many people as possible to help keep an eye out for the 28-pound dog. Jackson is white, black, and gray and has bright blue eyes. She hired an airplane to fly a banner that will have the search website address on it and will circle over San Francisco and Oakland for two hours Friday.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
PA Sports, Scores & Skeds
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — James van Riemsdyk scored twice and the Philadelphia Flyers took advantage of some sloppy defense and a strong power play to beat the short-handed Buffalo Sabres 6-1. The Sabres were without captain Jack Eichel, the NHL’s second-leading goal scorer who was a late scratch after participating in pregame workouts with what was called an upper-body injury.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Dallas Cowboys can win the NFC East with a win against the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles would have to beat the Cowboys and win next week against the Giants to make the playoffs. The Cowboys are counting on injured quarterback Dak Prescott to be healthy enough to lead them to victory. Prescott is playing with a sore shoulder, a finger injury on his throwing hand and was limited this week in practice. The Cowboys are 7-2 in their past nine games in Philadelphia. The Eagles play on our sister station Eagle 107 at 3pm Sunday.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Pittsburgh’s game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday has taken on a playoff feel. That’s because the Steelers can earn a postseason berth with wins in their last two games. Things would get a lot more difficult if Pittsburgh loses on the road at New York because it would end the regular season at AFC North champion Baltimore. The Steelers will see a familiar face on the other sideline in running back Le’Veon Bell. He was a three-time Pro Bowl pick with Pittsburgh but sat out last season in a contract dispute before signing with New York. The Steelers play on our sister station 100.9 The Valley at 11am.
Thursday’s Scores
By The Associated Press
BOYS BASKETBALL
Central Mountain 61, Mifflinburg 54
Scranton Prep 52, Williamsport 39
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Lourdes Regional 51, Schuylkill Haven 8
Sayre Area 43, Troy 27
Tamaqua 59, Pottsville 25
Towanda 59, North Penn-Mansfield 50
Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Utah 111 Atlanta 106
Final Milwaukee 111 L.A. Lakers 104
Final San Antonio 118 Brooklyn 105
Final Houston 122 L.A. Clippers 117
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final SO N-Y Islanders 3 Boston 2
Final OT Columbus 3 Los Angeles 2
Final Philadelphia 6 Buffalo 1
Final OT Dallas 4 Tampa Bay 3
Final OT Ottawa 5 Nashville 4
Final Chicago 4 Winnipeg 1
Final OT Montreal 4 Calgary 3
Final Carolina 3 Colorado 1
Final Minnesota 8 Arizona 5
Final OT Vancouver 5 Vegas 4
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (4)Duke 86 Wofford 57
Final Seton Hall 52 (7)Maryland 48
Final (12)Auburn 79 NC State 73
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TODAY’S SPORTS SCHEDULE
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NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Memphis at Cleveland 7 p.m.
Sacramento at Indiana 7 p.m.
Detroit at Boston 7:30 p.m.
Washington at Toronto 7:30 p.m.
Dallas at Philadelphia 8 p.m.
New York at Miami 8 p.m.
Phoenix at Oklahoma City 8 p.m.
Minnesota at Denver 9 p.m.
Orlando at Portland 10 p.m.
New Orleans at Golden State 10:30 p.m.
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NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Dallas at Florida 7 p.m.
Toronto at N-Y Rangers 7 p.m.
Washington at New Jersey 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at Edmonton 9 p.m.
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TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
CCSU at (23)Penn St. 6 p.m.
(Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)