Daughters rode in inflated pool as mom drove it home atop car, police say
A mother in Dixon, Ill., trying to transport an inflated pool from her friend’s house to her own Tuesday had her two juvenile daughters ride inside the pool as she drove with it atop her SUV, police said. Jennifer A. Janus Yeager, 49, has been charged with child endangerment and...
Rattlesnake, uranium, whiskey found during traffic stopVideo
GUTHRIE, Okla. — Police in Oklahoma say they found a rattlesnake, a canister of radioactive powdered uranium and an open bottle of Kentucky Deluxe whiskey during a traffic stop of a vehicle that had been reported stolen. The traffic stop happened June 26 in Guthrie, about 30 miles north of...
Former Pa. Congress members tackle civics education
It might be time to hit the civics books. Citing recent surveys that found only 26% of Americans could name all three branches of government and 37% could not name any of the rights guaranteed by First Amendment, a coalition of former Pennsylvania members of Congress is joining with eight...
Irwin woman receives national award for infection prevention efforts
Terri Lee Roberts of Irwin has made infection prevention her life’s work, and that work was honored recently with the 2019 Heroes of Infection Prevention Award for Education, presented by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. Roberts is a senior infection preventionist at the Patient Safety Authority...
Pennsylvania must get tough on crime guns, prosecutor says
The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office says it wants to improve the management and use of firearms-sales databases so that law enforcement can better clamp down on gun violence. Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Thursday that he wants police departments to enter serial numbers from every crime gun into a law-enforcement...
Court: Risks justify redacting Pa. abortion clinic worker names
HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania court says security risks for people who work in abortion clinics justify a decision to redact their names and license numbers before making government records available to the public. A three-judge Commonwealth Court panel said Thursday the state Health Department acted properly when it removed professional...
AG report: Unnecessary standardized tests cost Pa. taxpayers $18 million
Pennsylvania taxpayers are paying nearly $18 million a year for unnecessary standardized tests administered to high school seniors across the state, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale charged in a report issued Wednesday. The 18-page report “Where did your money go?” examines the costs associated with the Keystone Exams. DePasquale said his...
Pennsylvania State System universities freeze tuition, Pitt hikes rate
For the first time in 20 years, and the second time ever, tuition will not rise this year at the 14 state-owned universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Basic tuition for in-state undergraduate students will remain at $7,716 for the 2019-20 school year. That comes after a...
New Orleans braces for slow-moving possible weekend hurricane
NEW ORLEANS — Mandatory evacuations were ordered southeast of New Orleans on Thursday as the city and a surrounding stretch of the Gulf Coast braced for a possible hurricane over the weekend that could unload heavy rain and send water spilling over levees. All eyes were on a weather disturbance...
Democrats acknowledge questioning Robert Mueller ‘will not be easy’
WASHINGTON — Some are watching old video of his previous testimony. Others are closely re-reading his 448-page report. And almost all are worrying about how they’ll make the most of the short time they’ll have for questioning. Robert Mueller, the Democrats know, will be tough to crack. The stern, reticent...
Diplomats shaken by resignation of Britain’s ambassador to U.S.
WASHINGTON — The abrupt resignation of Britain’s ambassador to the United States over leaked cables critical of the Trump administration may have jolted official Washington, but it’s unlikely to have a lasting impact on the U.S.-British relationship or diplomatic practice. Current and former diplomats say the leak of Ambassador Kim...
McGrath flip-flops on Kavanaugh confirmation after backlash
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — U.S. Senate candidate Amy McGrath said she would have voted to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court and then just hours later she changed her mind. The Courier Journal reports that the reversal came after her comments were slammed on social media by both...
Divisive telescope to restart building next week in Hawaii
HONOLULU — Construction on a giant telescope will start again next week after lengthy court battles and passionate protests from those who say building it on Hawaii’s tallest mountain will desecrate land sacred to some Native Hawaiians. State officials announced Wednesday that the road to the top of Mauna Kea...
Candidate: Woman reporter needs chaperone to cover him
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Republican candidate for Mississippi governor says he would not let a woman journalist follow him while campaigning unless she was accompanied by a male colleague — and now he’s trying to raise campaign money based on that because he says the “liberal media” are attacking...
Colorado settles suit by transgender inmate who alleged rape
DENVER — Colorado reached a $170,000 settlement with a transgender woman who sued the state and alleged being raped, assaulted and harassed while held in a men’s prison, state officials said Wednesday. Officials said the agreement does not force broad policy changes for transgender inmates in Colorado’s prisons, but the...
New holding center for migrant children opens in Texas
CARRIZO SPRINGS, Texas — A former oilfield worker camp off a dirt road in rural Texas has become the U.S. government’s newest holding center for detaining migrant children after they leave Border Patrol stations, where complaints of overcrowding and filthy conditions have sparked a worldwide outcry. Inside the wire fence...
Pa. state police report 9 killed in crashes over 5-day Fourth of July holiday
The Pennsylvania State Police reported that nine people died in eight crashes over the Fourth of July holiday, the second deadliest Independence Day stretch in the last five years. Four of those roadway deaths happened in Western Pennsylvania, data for the state police’s five-day enforcement period shows. Three people died...
Casey, Toomey react to plea-deal controversy surrounding Labor Secretary Acosta
Pennsylvania’s U.S. senators disagree whether Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta should resign amid growing criticism over a 2008 plea deal he negotiated with an accused sex offender who now faces new sex-trafficking charges. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, joined a growing chorus that includes House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and...
Driver escapes injury when saguaro cactus pierces windshield
An Arizona driver avoided a prickly situation when a cactus came through their car windshield. A saguaro cactus smashed through the front glass and came to rest in the passenger area of the black Infinity sports car Wednesday morning, according to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. ?Motor Vehicle Collision Involving...
Trump directs government to revamp care for kidney disease
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the government to revamp the nation’s care for kidney disease so that more people whose kidneys fail have a chance at early transplants and home dialysis. Trump said his order was intended to increase the supply of donated kidneys, make...
Pennsylvania approves revamped effort to auction mini-casino licenses
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania will try again to award licenses for five more mini-casinos, part of an aggressive gambling expansion authorized in 2017 by a cash-hungry state government. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday approved a motion to restart auctions Sept. 4, under orders by a provision slipped into a...
Report: Pennsylvania had record year for natural gas production
Pennsylvania had a record year for natural gas production in 2018, the state Department of Environmental Protection said on Wednesday. Unconventional well operators produced 6.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2018 — an increase of .8 trillion cubic feet over 2017 and the largest volume of natural gas...
Man survives unprotected plunge over Niagara Falls
A man has survived the drop over Niagara Falls without any protective gear. The Niagara Parks Police reported that a man “in crisis” was seen climbing over over a retaining wall into the river at around 4 a.m. on Tuesday. He was swept over the 188-foot-high Horseshoe Falls and later...
Officials confirm alligator living in Chicago lagoon, drawing curiosity seekers
Chicago officials confirmed an alligator is living in Humboldt Park Lagoon after several people reported seeing the animal there Tuesday morning and others shared photos of it. Chicago police were called to the 1400 block of North Humboldt Drive about 12:15 p.m. after someone called 911 “saying they saw a...
Police: Woman throws snake at driver in carjacking
GREENVILLE, S.C. — Police say a woman stole a vehicle after throwing a snake at the driver, then crashed through barricades set up for a pole-vaulting exhibition in South Carolina. In a statement, Greenville Police identified the suspect as 29-year-old Hilmary Moreno-Berrios. They she was hurt in Friday’s crash and...
