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Good evening! Here’s a look at AP’s general news coverage today in Pennsylvania. For questions about the state report, contact the Philadelphia bureau at 215-561-1133. Ron Todt is on the desk. Editor Larry Rosenthal can be reached at 215-446-6631 or [email protected].
A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories may not develop, or late-breaking and more newsworthy events may take precedence. Advisories, digests and digest advisories will keep you up to date.
Some TV and radio stations will receive shorter APNewsNow versions of the stories below, along with updates.
UPCOMING TOMORROW:
PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERAL
HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Senate plans to vote on whether to remove from office the state’s attorney general, who’s been without a law license for more than three months while she fights criminal charges. Attorney General Kathleen Kane says the Senate has no authority to remove her. By Marc Levy and Mark Scolforo. UPCOMING: NewsNow by 3 a.m. EST, updates from 11 a.m. EST session,with 600 words by 6 p.m. EST.
OTHER TOP STORIES:
PENNSYLVANIA BUDGET
HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf warned lawmakers on Tuesday that Pennsylvania’s finances are a ticking time bomb amid a record-long budget gridlock, sending them a spending proposal for the coming fiscal year with no full plan in place for the fiscal year that began back in July. By Marc Levy and Mark Scolforo. SENT: About 790 words. AP Photos.
With:
—BC-PA–PENNSYLVANIA BUDGET-HIGHLIGHTS.
—BC-PA–PENNSYLVANIA BUDGET-TEXT.
PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERAL
HARRSIBURG — Pennsylvania senators planned a Wednesday vote on whether to remove Attorney General Kathleen Kane on grounds that her suspended law license has rendered it impossible for her to do the job. By Mark Scolforo. SENT: About 560 words.
LONELY PLANET-PHILADELPHIA
PHILADELPHIA — Lonely Planet is giving some love to the City of Brotherly Love, naming Philadelphia the top place to visit in the United States in 2016. The company known for its travel guides says in its Tuesday announcement that Philadelphia “is experiencing a transformation to its urban core, yet retaining its deep American history and uniquely gritty flavor.” By Kristen De Groot. SENT: About 330 words.
PEOPLE-BILL COSBY
LOS ANGELES — A judge has dismissed model Janice Dickinson’s defamation claim filed against Bill Cosby’s former lawyer for denying her allegations that the comedian had drugged and raped her in 1982. SENT: About 330 words.
ZIKA-PENNSYLVANIA
HARRISBURG — Two female Pennsylvania residents tested positive for the Zika virus, however they are mild cases and the public is not as risk, Pennsylvania health authorities said on Tuesday. SENT: About 220 words.
WINTER WEATHER
BOSTON — A wind-driven winter storm that brought blizzard conditions to Cape Cod fell short of forecast snowfall totals and spared the Northeast the widespread power outages that had been predicted. By Mark Pratt. SENT: About 630 words.
With:
— WINTER WEATHER-PENNSYLVANIA — Authorities are reporting no widespread problems reported on state-related highways in Pennsylvania due to the storm, although Interstate 81 southbound in Schuylkill County was closed due to a tractor-trailer crash.
COUNTING THE HOMELESS
NEW YORK — Over the past few weeks, thousands of clipboard-toting volunteers have fanned out across some of the nation’s largest cities, tasked with a deceptively complex job: counting the number of homeless people sleeping on the streets. They’ve had to do it under difficult conditions that some social service groups say are bound to produce an inaccurate tally. The official counts are done once a year, in the dead of winter, when homeless people are more likely to be hunkered down in places that are hard to see. By Jonathan Lemire. SENT: About 900 words.
BUSINESS:
ALPHA NATURAL RESOURCES-BANKRUPTCY
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Alpha Natural Resources says it has received a $500 million offer from existing lenders for the potential sale of the bankrupt coal producer’s core assets. SENT: About 280 words.
EXCHANGE:
EXCHANGE-FASTNACHT DAY
BRIDGEPORT — It’s that time of year when all of us are Pennsylvania Dutch for a day, regardless of our heritage, and even if we can’t say “fastnacht.” It’s pronounced faws-nahk (translation from German: “night before the fast”), but Suzy-Jo Donuts owner Ray Barkmeyer has yet to turn customers away because they failed to properly articulate the name of the doughy confection that shows up every year shortly before Lent. “I still have problems saying it myself,” noted Barkmeyer with a laugh. Whether you know it as Fastnacht Day, Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, the day before Ash Wednesday is when the Pennsylvania Dutch historically head for their pantries to purge the shelves of all the flour, sugar, butter and lard to merge these diet-busting ingredients into the densely caloric confections known as fastnachts. Gary Puleo, The (Norristown) Times Herald. SENT: About 500 words.
IN BRIEF:
BILLS-MCCOY-NIGHTCLUB FIGHT — Prosecutors are reviewing a police file as they decide whether to charge Buffalo Bills running back LeSean McCoy in a Philadelphia nightclub brawl that left two off-duty police officers injured.
EDINBORO LOCKDOWN — A man has been sentenced to 15 to 40 years in prison in the shooting death of a friend outside an off-campus apartment complex near a northwestern Pennsylvania university.
PREGNANT WOMAN SLAIN — An appeals court has ordered a new trial for a western Pennsylvania man convicted in the 2012 death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child.
DEAD BODY IN MOTEL — A judge has ruled that a man charged in a slaying at an eastern Pennsylvania motel can’t fire his lawyers.
POLICE OFFICER KILLED-PENNSYLVANIA — A western Pennsylvania prosecutor will have until March 26 to decide whether to seek the death penalty against a man charged in the shooting death of a police officer.
DOMESTIC DISPUTE-SHOOTING — Defense attorneys are seeking a mistrial for a woman charged in the2011 shooting death of her boyfriend in northeastern Pennsylvania.
SUPREME COURT JUSTICE-EMAILS — A Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice will go on trial before the state’s judicial ethics court in Philadelphia late next month.
AIR FORCE BASE-PITTSBURGH — The budget sent by President Obama to Congress on Tuesday includes $85 million to establish a squadron of C-17 carbon planes at a western Pennsylvania Air Force base.
MOLDING MACHINE DEATH — Authorities say a man was killed after a molding machine somehow turned on while he was working inside it at a central Pennsylvania foundry.
SCHOOL BUS-CAR CRASH — Authorities in central Pennsylvania say a crash between a car and a school bus killed one person in the car and sent a student from the bus and others to hospitals.
SHOOTING NEAR APARTMENTS — Police have an arrest warrant for a man who allegedly shot his cousin prompting a SWAT response at an apartment complex in the Pittsburgh suburbs.
WASHINGTON HOSPITAL-STRIKE NOTICE — A service workers union says it has reached a tentative contract with Washington Hospital in southwestern Pennsylvania.
HISTORIC BRIDGE DAMAGED — A historic southwestern Pennsylvania bridge damaged by an overweight truck has reopened to traffic.
SCAIFE-MOST GENEROUS AMERICAN — The Chronicle of Philanthropy is describing the late publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Dick Scaife, as 2015’s “most generous American.”
PHILADELPHIA MAYOR-SPRINGSTEEN SEATS — The mayor of Philadelphia is donating his suite at Friday’s sold-out Bruce Springsteen concert to a school district fundraising group.
TRUCK DRIVER KILLED — Delaware State Police say a Pennsylvania man driving an industrial truck was killed when the vehicle rolled over in Newark.
GENEVA COLLEGE PRESIDENT — Geneva College has picked alumnus and communications professor Calvin Troup as its new president. Troup currently teaches at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He’ll begin his new job in July at Geneva, a private, Christian school in Beaver Falls, about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.
RESTAURANT ROBBERY-SOLICITATION — Police say a woman tried to get a couple to rob the Pennsylvania fast-food restaurant where she worked. Police say 23-year-old Alayna Weishner-Rush asked the duo to rob the Burger King in Washington, Pennsylvania on Jan. 14. The suspect wanted them to rob the restaurant while she was working the drive-thru window, so she could split the money with them later.
OVERDOSE VICTIM-SEXUAL ASSAULT — A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to having sex with a drug overdose victim who was unconscious and later died. Thirty-nine-year-old Leonard McIntire, of Black Lick, will be sentenced by an Indiana County judge on May 23.
VACANT HOUSE-SWAT — An 18-year-old has been jailed on attempted homicide and other charges for allegedly shooting at three construction workers sent to winterize a vacant Pittsburgh home. Police haven’t explained why Marcus McBride, of Pittsburgh, was in the home Monday morning.
NATIONAL AVIARY-SLOTH — Pittsburgh’s indoor zoo dedicated to birds has welcomed its newest member — a two-toed sloth. National Aviary officials say the 3-month-old sloth, a gift from an anonymous donor, arrived by private jet from Florida Monday afternoon. AP Photos PAKS115-0208161327, PAKS113-0208161331, PAKS112-0208161321, PAKS110-0208161329, PAKS111-0208161333.
JEWELRY STORE HEIST — Police say a burglar drilled a hole through the wall of a vacant building and into a neighboring Pittsburgh jewelry store to steal money and jewels out of a safe. It happened Monday morning at Yuriy’s Jewelry Store.
POLICE OFFICER-ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING — A Lancaster police officer accidentally shot himself at the police shooting range. The shooting happened early Tuesday morning.
SPORTS:
HKN–DUCKS-FLYERS
PHILADELPHIA — The Anaheim Ducks head to Philadelphia to play the Flyers. UPCOMING. 650 words. Game starts at 7 p.m. EST. AP Photos.
BKC–T25-VILLANOVA-DEPAUL
ROSEMONT, Ill. — Villanova plays its first game as the nation’s top team when it visits DePaul. The Wildcats, who ascended to No. 1 for the first time when the poll was released on Monday, have won three straight and 12 of 13 overall. By Jay Cohen. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts 7:30 p.m. CT
BKC–T25-PITTSBURGH-MIAMI
CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The No. 12-ranked Miami Hurricanes seek their 10th consecutive home victory when they face Pittsburgh. By Steven Wine. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. 7 p.m. EST tipoff.
BKC–T25-DUQUESNE-DAYTON
DAYTON, Ohio — No. 23 Dayton — playing with its highest ranking so late in the season since 1968 — hosts Duquesne. By Joe Kay. UPCOMING: Game starts at 7 p.m. ET.
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MARKETPLACE: Calling your attention to the Marketplace in AP Exchange, where you can find member-contributed content from Pennsylvania and other states. The Marketplace is accessible on the left navigational pane of the AP Exchange home page, near the bottom. For both national and state, you can click “All” or search for content by topics such as education, politics and business.