AP PA Headlines 3/22/19
PITTSBURGH (AP) — An expert in police use of force says a former officer did everything by the book in a fatal encounter with an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer. Retired Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Clifford W. Jobe Jr. testified for the defense at the homicide trial of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld, who’s charged with gunning down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II.
Rosfeld fired three bullets into Rose after pulling over an unlicensed taxi that had been used in a drive-by shooting. Rose, a passenger in the car, was shot in the back as he fled. Jobe told jurors Thursday that Rosfeld followed proper procedure. Prosecutors say Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose had a gun. The trial resumes Friday with Jobe back on the stand for cross-examination.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The nation’s first supervised drug injection site is one step closer to opening in Philadelphia. Officials with Safehouse, the nonprofit that wants to open the first site, said Thursday the group is in negotiations to sign a lease in Kensington, a neighborhood known as the center of the city’s opioid crisis.
The announcement comes a month after Philadelphia’s top federal prosecutor filed a suit to stop Safehouse from opening a site.
Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Safehouse was offered a property by an anonymous owner. Rendell is on the board of Safehouse. Radio station WHYY was first to report the latest developments. Philly.com reports Safehouse vice president Ronda Goldfein said the lease is for a “nominal” fee. Philadelphia has the highest opioid death rate of any large U.S. city.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf is pitching his plan to finance a multibillion-dollar capital plan by taxing Marcellus Shale natural gas production as a way to help Pennsylvania schools clean up environmental health hazards. The Democrat on Thursday toured Taggart Elementary School in Philadelphia as he works to raise support for his plan. That school like others in Philadelphia is in the midst of removing lead paint.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported last year that 80 of the city’s 148 elementary schools had at least 50 reports of environmental hazards, such as flaking lead paint. Wolf’s proposal will be up to the Legislature, where the Republican-controlled House has rejected Wolf’s previous overtures to tax natural gas. Under Wolf’s plan , a $4.5 billion bond would fund a wide range of projects, from controlling floodwaters to fighting blight.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s elected fiscal watchdog is urging state lawmakers to rescue a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission that’s deep in debt from payments it’s forced to make to the state, despite annual toll increases. Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said Thursday the annual toll increases are driving motorists away, but aren’t reducing the commission’s rising debt.
Meanwhile, the commission’s debt is limiting improvements to its 552 miles of highway. A federal lawsuit is seeking to end the turnpike commission’s annual payments. The tab is $450 million a year under a 2007 state law designed to pump more money into Pennsylvania’s highways and public transit systems. Meanwhile, state budgetmakers have been diverting constitutionally restricted highway dollars to cover fast-rising state police costs. Senate Transportation Committee Chair Kim Ward says she’ll assemble working groups to tackle the issues.
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — A scientific report says the Great Lakes region is warming faster than the rest of the U.S., which likely will bring more flooding and other extreme weather such as heat waves and drought. The warming climate also could mean less overall snowfall even as lake-effect snowstorms get bigger, according to the report released Thursday by a team of researchers from universities primarily from the Midwest.
The report also predicts more severe algae blooms in the Great Lakes, which make it unsafe for swimming and increase the costs of treating the water. Farming could be hit especially hard, with heavy rains delaying spring planting and dry spells requiring more irrigation during summer. Beaches, dunes and shorelines will be more vulnerable to erosion. The Chicago-based Environmental Law & Policy Center commissioned the report..
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Features
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Have you ever typed a password into the wrong block in a web form — only to be shocked to see it spelled out, instead of being rendered in a series of dots? That feeling — millions of times over — is what Facebook is confirming. The social networking site says it had stored millions of user passwords in plain text for years. The disclosure by Facebook comes after a security researcher posted about the issue online.
Facebook says there’s no evidence employees had abused access to this data. And the company says the passwords were stored on internal company servers, no outsiders could access them. Still, it’s another stumble for the company where a sizable chunk of the world’s residents share all manner of personal information.
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The University of Mississippi’s leader says he agrees that a Confederate soldier monument should be moved from its current spot on campus. Interim Chancellor Larry Sparks has issued a statement saying he’s discussing relocation with historic preservation officials.
Student, faculty and staff groups passed resolutions earlier this month asking Sparks to move the monument to a secluded Confederate cemetery on campus. Sparks hadn’t announced until yesterday that he agreed. Ole Miss has struggled to distance itself from Confederate imagery, installing plaques with historical context about the monument and about slaves who built some campus buildings before the Civil War.
BONN, Germany (AP) — An exhibit of art about Michael Jackson will go ahead in Germany, despite new controversy since the airing of the documentary “Leaving Neverland.” Curator Nicholas Cullinan of the Bundeskunsthalle in Bonn says the show was never meant to be celebratory, but to be “about the complexity of Michael Jackson, how he means very different things to many different people.” He says the exhibit, which had run previously in London, was scheduled for Bonn long before “Leaving Neverland” aired. The documentary is about two men who say Jackson abused them as boys.
GREECE, N.Y. (AP) — Rosa Ferrigno’s new suit takes recycling to an extreme — she knitted it from more than 300 plastic grocery bags. The 75-year-old woman from Greece in western New York whiled away the winter knitting a skirt and jacket from filmy brown bags scissored into thin strips that were tied together to make yarn. She lined it with cotton fabric.
The finished garment is quite chic, with a tweedy look from green printing on the brown bags. Her daughter, Fran Bertalli, tells the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle that Ferrigno has been knitting and sewing since her childhood in Sicily. Last summer, Ferrigno saw someone’s purse made from repurposed plastic bags and started her own bag projects, making two purses before the suit. She says she does it just for fun.
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man celebrated his wedding anniversary by showing up at the airport in a bunny costume similar to the one used when he first proposed to his wife. Londonderry resident Mark DeAngelis says he asked his wife Jolene to marry him on Easter 1998, surprising her in a bunny suit.
WMUR-TV reports DeAngelis went to the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in a bunny suit Tuesday to meet his wife and daughters, who were flying back from a vacation. DeAngelis says he brought a new ring in a larger silver egg for the couple’s 20th anniversary. Jolene says she was surprised and moved to tears. DeAngelis says the suit is almost identical to the one he wore 21 years ago.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
PA Sports, Scores & Skeds
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Penn State rolled through the first two sessions of the NCAA Wrestling Championships on Thursday and is poised to capture its eighth team championship in nine seasons. Like they’ve done in past years, the Nittany Lions jumped out to an early lead in the opening round and extended it with impressive performances in the second.
Nick Lee (141 pounds), Jason Nolf (157), Vincenzo Joseph (165), Mark Hall (174), Bo Nickal (197) and Anthony Cassar (285) each went 2-0 to advance to Friday’s quarterfinals and help Penn State take a 32 1/2-25 1/2 lead over second place Ohio State. Nolf and Joseph, two-time defending champions at their weight classes, combined for two pins and a technical fall, and Nickal, a two-time champion at 184 pounds, added two pins. Combined, Penn State wrestlers picked up 11 bonus-point wins in the first two sessions. Wrestling continues through Friday with the finals set for Saturday evening.
CHICAGO (AP) — Carter Hart made 40 saves and James van Reimsdyk snapped a tie in the third period, helping the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1. Corban Knight also scored as Philadelphia picked up a sorely needed victory after dropping three of four. The Flyers are trying to stay in the race for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — Bryce Harper showed off his mighty power a week before opening day. The slugger hit his first two Grapefruit League homers for the Philadelphia Phillies against Toronto, driving one completely out of the ballpark. The Phillies play on 1070AM WKOK tonight 6:30pm, while our normal programming continues on WKOK.com.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sidney Crosby’s goal in the shootout gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 victory over Nashville, ending the Penguins’ three-game losing streak. Bryan Rust scored in regulation for the Penguins, who moved into a second-place tie with the New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division with 91 points each. Bryan Rust scored in regulation for the Penguins, who moved into a second-place tie with the New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division with 91 points each. Ryan Ellis scored for Nashville.
Here are the scores from yesterday’s national sports events:
———
INTERLEAGUE
Final St. Louis 11 N-Y Yankees 3
Final Pittsburgh 7 Baltimore 5
Final Philadelphia 13 Toronto 6
Final Tampa Bay 8 Atlanta 1
Final Kansas City 14 Cincinnati 6
Final L-A Angels 2 Arizona 1
Final Seattle 6 Cincinnati 3
———
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Seattle 5 Oakland 4, 12 Innings
Final Detroit 5 Houston 3
Final Chi White Sox 12 Texas 2
Final Texas 7 Cleveland 3
Final Boston 8 Tampa Bay 0
———
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final N-Y Mets 6 Miami 0
Final San Francisco 5 Chi Cubs 5
Final Milwaukee 11 L-A Dodgers 5
Final Washington 7 St. Louis 1
———
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Denver 113 Washington 108
Final Charlotte 113 Minnesota 106
Final Atlanta 117 Utah 114
Final Sacramento 116 Dallas 100
Final Detroit 118 Phoenix 98
Final Golden State 112 Indiana 89
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Tampa Bay 6 Carolina 3
Final Boston 5 New Jersey 1
Final Florida 4 Arizona 2
Final Montreal 4 N-Y Islanders 0
Final St. Louis 5 Detroit 2
Final SO Pittsburgh 2 Nashville 1
Final Colorado 3 Dallas 1
Final Philadelphia 3 Chicago 1
Final Edmonton 4 Columbus 1
Final Calgary 5 Ottawa 1
Final Vegas 5 Winnipeg 0
Final L.A. Kings 4 San Jose 2
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (4) Gonzaga 87 Fairleigh Dickinson 49
Final (5) Michigan St. 76 Bradley 65
Final (7) Kentucky 79 Abilene Christian 44
Final (8) Michigan 74 Montana 55
Final (10) Florida St. 76 Vermont 69
Final (12) LSU 79 Yale 74
Final (13) Purdue 61 Old Dominion 48
Final (14) Auburn 78 New Mexico St. 77
Final (17) Kansas 87 Northeastern 53
Final (19) Wofford 84 Seton Hall 68
Final Florida 70 (20) Nevada 61
Final (23) Villanova 61 Saint Mary’s (Cal) 57
TODAY’S SPORTS SCHEDULE
———
INTERLEAGUE
Pittsburgh at Tampa Bay 1:05 p.m.
Texas at Chi Cubs 4:05 p.m.
Detroit at Atlanta 6:05 p.m.
N-Y Mets at Houston 6:05 p.m.
Philadelphia at N-Y Yankees 6:35 p.m.
Chi Cubs at Cleveland 9:05 p.m.
San Francisco at Kansas City 9:05 p.m.
———
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Chi White Sox at L-A Angels 4:10 p.m.
Boston at Minnesota 6:05 p.m.
Baltimore at Toronto 6:07 p.m.
L-A Angels at Seattle 9:40 p.m.
———
NATIONAL LEAGUE
St. Louis at N-Y Mets 1:10 p.m.
Arizona at L-A Dodgers 4:05 p.m.
Cincinnati at Milwaukee 4:05 p.m.
Washington at Miami 7:05 p.m.
San Diego at Colorado 9:40 p.m.
Colorado at San Francisco 10:05 p.m.
———
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Memphis at Orlando 7:00 p.m.
Denver at N-Y Knicks 7:30 p.m.
L.A. Clippers at Cleveland 7:30 p.m.
Oklahoma City at Toronto 7:30 p.m.
San Antonio at Houston 8:00 p.m.
Miami at Milwaukee 8:30 p.m.
Brooklyn at L.A. Lakers 10:30 p.m.
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Minnesota at Washington 7:00 p.m.
San Jose at Anaheim 10:00 p.m.
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
- Dakota St. at (1) Duke 7:10 p.m.
Gardner-Webb at (2) Virginia 3:10 p.m.
Iona at (3) North Carolina 9:20 p.m.
Colgate at (6) Tennessee 2:45 p.m.
- Kentucky at (9) Texas Tech 1:30 p.m.
Georgia St. at (11) Houston 7:20 p.m.
Arizona St. at (15) Buffalo 4:00 p.m.
Saint Louis at (16) Virginia Tech 9:57 p.m.
UC Irvine at (18) Kansas St. 2:00 p.m.
Oregon at (21) Wisconsin 4:30 p.m.
Iowa at (22) Cincinnati 12:15 p.m.
Ohio St. at (24) Iowa St. 9:50 p.m.
Washington at (25) Utah St. 6:50 p.m.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
