PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Starbucks says a settlement it reached with two black men arrested at one of its Philadelphia shops includes an offer of a free college education. The coffee shop chain says the two can complete their degrees through a partnership it has with Arizona State University. Starbucks and the men said Wednesday that the full terms of the financial settlement will remain confidential.
The announcement came the same day Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson reached an agreement with Philadelphia. They will each get a symbolic $1 each from the city, and Philadelphia has pledged $200,000 to start a program for young entrepreneurs. The men were led away in handcuffs from a Starbucks last month after the manager called police, saying they refused to buy anything or leave. They were released from jail with no charges filed.
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania judge is examining security footage from a booze-filled Penn State fraternity party from the night a pledge was fatally injured as he seeks to determine whether there’s enough evidence for prosecutors to pursue criminal charges against 12 fraternity members. The first day of a preliminary hearing for the second set of Beta Theta Pi brothers to face charges ended inconclusively Wednesday but may conclude this week.
Judge Steven Lachman is reviewing the footage to see if there’s sufficient support for the hazing, reckless endangerment, conspiracy and alcohol offenses that defendants face. They are accused of crimes related to the February 2017 death of 19-year-old pledge Tim Piazza of Lebanon, New Jersey. Piazza suffered a fractured skull and severe abdominal bleeding the night of a pledge bid acceptance ceremony.
DALLAS, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a Pennsylvania man posted a graphic picture of a nude infant on Facebook to express his feelings about President Donald Trump, leading to child pornography charges. The (Wilkes-Barre) Citizens’ Voice reports that 46-year-old Peter Austin Frateschi, of Back Mountain, told Luzerne County detectives he found the image in a Google search and that the naked bottom represented his view of Trump.
They say he told them he “may have been intoxicated” and never would have posted it had he known that the image depicted an infant girl since “that kind of stuff disgusts him.” Investigators said they were unable to find the image in a Google search. Frateschi was charged with child pornography and criminal use of a communication facility. His attorney didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Lawyers for an investigative reporting organization are suing the Philadelphia region’s main transit agency after it refused to run ads about the group’s stories on racial disparities in mortgage lending. The American Civil Liberties Union, along with co-counsel representing the Center for Investigative Reporting, filed the federal lawsuit Wednesday alleging the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority officials violated the center’s free speech rights. SEPTA denied the center’s request to buy bus ads showing its findings.
A SEPTA spokesman said the agency’s advertising restrictions are necessary and constitutional. SEPTA increased its advertising restrictions to prohibit political speech or speech causing public debate after a 2015 lawsuit over the agency’s refusal to run ads it deemed anti-Islamic. A federal judge ruled the agency must run those ads. The Associated Press independently reviewed and confirmed the center’s story on mortgage lending disparities.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — High school seniors have had the dance party of their lives, celebrating College Signing Day with Michelle Obama in Philadelphia. Obama showed off her moves Wednesday beside A-listers such as Robert De Niro, Rebel Wilson, Bradley Cooper and Zendaya to celebrate the fifth annual event.
The celebrities and former first lady were at Temple University to congratulate high school seniors who have decided to pursue higher education. Obama urged audience members to believe in themselves and ask for help when they need it. Obama spearheaded College Signing Day while she and her husband still occupied the White House in 2014. In past years, Obama has hosted College Signing Day events in New York, Detroit and in San Antonio, Texas.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania will fill the empty seat of resigned U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan in a special election on Nov. 6, the day of the general election. Wednesday’s announcement by Gov. Tom Wolf also will apply to the expected resignation of U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent. That would leave a special election winner just two months in office before a successor picked in the general election takes over for a full two-year term in Congress.
Meehan and Dent, both Republicans, were facing a hostile electorate in 2018 in increasingly liberal eastern Pennsylvania districts. Meehan resigned abruptly on Friday, three months after it emerged that he had used taxpayer money to settle a former aide’s sexual harassment charges. Dent said last year that he wouldn’t run for another term, and last month said he’d resign sometime in May.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Features
NEW YORK (AP) — Remember the Trump-linked data firm at the heart of the Facebook privacy scandal? Forget it — the company is going away. Cambridge Analytica is declaring bankruptcy and shutting down. And you don’t have to be a detective to know why. The company is blaming “unfairly negative media coverage” and says it has been “vilified” for actions it says are both legal and widely accepted as part of online advertising. Cambridge Analytica said it has filed papers to begin insolvency proceedings in the U.K. It will also seek bankruptcy protection in a federal court in New York.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The TV academy is reviewing Bill Cosby’s four Emmy Awards and inclusion in the academy’s Hall of Fame following his sexual assault conviction. An academy spokesman said Cosby’s 2003 Bob Hope Humanitarian Award also is under review. Cosby’s spokesman didn’t immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.
Although the academy hasn’t decided whether he’ll keep his honors or remain in the Hall of Fame, Cosby’s name already is gone from a list of Hall of Fame honorees on the academy’s website. A bust of Cosby no longer will be part of a rotating Walk of Fame exhibit honoring TV heavyweights at the academy’s Los Angeles headquarters, the spokesman said. Last week, jurors in Pennsylvania convicted Cosby of drugging and molesting a Temple University employee in 2004. He awaits sentencing.
LEICESTER, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts police department says a fingerprint left in a hunk of Play-Doh led them to a shoplifting suspect. Leicester (LESS’-tuhr) police responded to Walmart on Dec. 11 after an employee found several electronic anti-theft devices that had been covered in the malleable clay-like toy in an apparent attempt to neutralize them.
The attempt to disable the spider-wrap devices failed, and the suspect had fled. He did, however, leave a fingerprint impression in the Play-Doh. Police announced Monday the Connecticut Forensics Laboratory helped find a match for the print. Police charged 55-year-old Dennis Jackson with unlawful removal of an anti-theft device. Police say he has a long criminal record and faces arrest warrants in at least two other states.
Jackson is jailed and it’s not clear if he had a lawyer.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — State police say drivers clamored to pick up cash on an interstate in Indianapolis after the back doors of a Brinks armored truck swung open and hundreds of thousands of dollars flew out. State police spokesman Sgt. John Perrine says investigators don’t know exactly how much cash was in the truck when its lost its load about 9 a.m. Wednesday on Interstate 70 on the city’s southwest side.
Perrine says it was definitely hundreds of thousands. Officers blocked traffic as they helped collect money from along the highway. Perrine says an undetermined amount remains unaccounted for as some drivers stopped to scoop up cash. Perrine says anyone who picked up the money could be charged with theft and he urged them to contact state police to return it.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky Horse Park plans to unveil a statue of a horse that became a hero during the Korean War. A statement from the park says the 1,000-pound statue of Sgt. Reckless will be unveiled Saturday, May 12. The small mare had a racing background and was purchased by the U.S. Marines to carry ammunition. In a 1953 battle, she carried more than 9,000 pounds of ammo on her back and made 51 trips to gun sites. She was wounded twice, but carried on. She also helped evacuate dead and wounded soldiers. The statue in Lexington will be unveiled by four Korean War veterans who served with the horse.
UNDATED (AP) — Some experts are worried that people are getting so reliant on their phones for directions that they no longer know how to read a map. Sir Anthony Seldon, who is vice-chancellor of Buckingham University and former private school head teacher is warning that modern satellite navigation systems are leaving youngsters unaware of their surroundings and how “space relates to other space”. He says there is a risk that modern technology is “infantilizing” people, making lives easier but less “meaningful.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Sports, Scores & Skeds
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bryce Harper hit a leadoff homer and drove in three runs, Stephen Strasburg struck out 11 over seven innings and the Washington Nationals beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-3 for their fourth straight win. Matt Adams clubbed his third homer in two games for Washington.
NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL has suspended Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson three games for an illegal hit on Pittsburgh’s Zach Aston-Reese. Aston-Reese was stick handling near the Capitals bench when Wilson drilled the rookie with his left shoulder. The league ruled that Wilson made Aston-Reese’s head the point of contact and that the collision was avoidable.
MIAMI (AP) — Aaron Nola allowed four hits in 7 1/3 innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-0 victory over the Miami Marlins. Cesar Hernandez led off the game with a home run and Maikel Franco had two doubles and drove in a run for the Phillies, who snapped a season-high, four-game losing streak. The Phillies play on WKOK while our normal programming continues at WKOK.com.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Washington Capitals will be without forward Tom Wilson for a portion of their playoff series against Pittsburgh. The NHL’s Department of Player Safety suspended Wilson for 3 games for what it deemed an illegal hit on Pittsburgh’s Zach Aston-Reese in Game 3 that left Aston-Reese with a concussion and a broken jaw. The play overshadowed Washington’s 4-3 win that gave the Caps a 2-1 lead in the series.
Here are the scores from yesterday’s sports events:
———
INTERLEAGUE
Final St. Louis 3 Chi White Sox 2
———
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Boston 5 Kansas City 4
Final Cleveland 12 Texas 4
Final Detroit 3 Tampa Bay 2, 12 Innings
Final Minnesota 4 Toronto 0
Final N-Y Yankees 4 Houston 0
Final L-A Angels 10 Baltimore 7
Final Oakland 3 Seattle 2
———
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Colorado 11 Chi Cubs 2
Final San Francisco 9 San Diego 4
Final Washington 9 Pittsburgh 3
Final Atlanta 7 N-Y Mets 0
Final Philadelphia 6 Miami 0
Final Milwaukee 3 Cincinnati 1
Final L-A Dodgers 2 Arizona 1
———
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Utah 116 Houston 108
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Tampa Bay 4 Boston 1
Final San Jose 4 Vegas 0
TODAY’S SPORTS SCHEDULE
———
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Toronto at Cleveland 1:10 p.m.
N-Y Yankees at Houston 2:10 p.m.
Detroit at Kansas City 2:15 p.m.
Toronto at Cleveland 4:40 p.m.
Boston at Texas 8:05 p.m.
Minnesota at Chi White Sox 8:10 p.m.
Baltimore at L-A Angels 10:07 p.m.
Oakland at Seattle 10:10 p.m.
———
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pittsburgh at Washington 1:05 p.m.
Atlanta at N-Y Mets 1:10 p.m.
L-A Dodgers at Arizona 3:40 p.m.
———
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Cleveland at Toronto 6:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at Boston 8:30 p.m.
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Washington at Pittsburgh 7:00 p.m.
Nashville at Winnipeg 9:30 p.m.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
