U.K., EU announce change to Brexit deal ahead of key vote
STRASBOURG, France — Britain and the European Union emerged from last-minute talks late Monday to announce they had finally removed the biggest roadblock to their Brexit divorce deal, only hours before the U.K. Parliament was due to decide the fate of Prime Minister Theresa May’s hard-won plan to leave the...
House Democrats to look for more evidence of voter suppression
WASHINGTON — House Democrats plan to expand their investigation of possible voter suppression to North Carolina and probably Kansas, the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee said. “We’re looking at the most egregious situations,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md. Cummings said his committee could wind up investigating at...
Devoted wife, mother, took care of injured daughter
Donna Liberatore took care of her daughter Stacie, who suffered a traumatic brain injury in a car wreck near Mountain View on July 4, 1990, and was hospitalized for eight months. “She was the devoted therapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist. She did a tremendous job in getting her (Stacie’s)...
Federal court moves to unseal documents in Jeffrey Epstein sex scandal
MIAMI — A federal court of appeals in New York on Monday took the first step in unsealing documents that could reveal evidence of an international sex trafficking operation allegedly run by multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein and his former partner, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell. The three-judge panel for the U.S. Court...
9-year-old Los Angeles area girl found in duffel bag ID’d
LOS ANGELES — Investigators have identified a Los Angeles-area girl found dead in a duffel bag along a suburban equestrian trail, and two people have been detained in connection with the case. The coroner’s office determined the girl was 9-year-old Trinity Love Jones and ruled her death a homicide, the...
‘I’m not for impeachment,’ Nancy Pelosi says, potentially roiling fellow Democrats
WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview that she opposes moving to impeach President Trump even though she believes he is “unfit” for office — her first definitive statement on the subject and one that stands to alienate members of her own Democratic Party who are intent...
PennDOT grades itself in performance report
PennDOT released its first performance report on efforts to address funding, mobility and safety on the state’s roadways, giving itself marks ranging from marginal to getting better in more than two dozen categories. “This report is a true reflection of the department’s focus on safety,” PennDOT Secretary Leslie S. Richards...
Agents seize $77 million of cocaine at New York-area port
NEWARK, N.J. — Customs agents have seized the biggest shipment of cocaine recovered at the ports of New York and New Jersey in 25 years. U.S. Customs and Border Protection says 3,200 pounds of the drug in 60 packages were seized at Port New York/Newark on Feb. 28. The street...
Casey, Toomey launch federal judicial candidate search
With three pending nominees to vacancies in Western Pennsylvania’s federal court, U.S. Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Lehigh Valley, and Bob Casey, D-Scranton, on Monday began soliciting applications from those interested in filling additional federal judicial vacancies in the district. The announcement came a week after President Trump nominated Robert Colville and...
State prisons will allow arts and crafts when children visit parents
Pennsylvania’s state prisons will allow incarcerated parents and their children to do arts and crafts in visiting rooms to make children more comfortable with the experience, Department of Corrections officials said Monday. Coloring books, markers, paper and other craft supplies will be available during visiting hours, all of which will...
Trump: Making daylight saving time permanent is ‘OK with me’
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump thinks it’s a good idea if daylight saving time becomes permanent. A federal law specifies that daylight time applies from 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March until 2 a.m. on the first Sunday of November in areas that do not specifically exempt themselves....
Dallastown toddler nearly died, OD’ed on father’s fentanyl, police say
A Dallastown man whose toddler nearly died of a fentanyl overdose more than two years ago is now locked up, accused of child endangerment for allegedly leaving the deadly opioid within reach of his two young children. The concentration of fentanyl in the 14-month-old girl’s system was higher than a...
Trump’s record $4.7 trillion budget relies on strong growth
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump proposed a record $4.7 trillion federal budget for 2020 on Monday, relying on optimistic 3.1 percent economic growth projections alongside accounting shuffles and steep domestic cuts to bring future spending into promised balance in 15 years. The deficit is projected to hit $1.1 trillion in...
California Clean Slate Law follows Pennsylvania’s lead
California may soon follow Pennsylvania’s lead in sealing criminal records for nonviolent offenders who did the crime and paid their time. The New York Times reported that California lawmakers are weighing a proposal similar to Pennsylvania’s law — and may take it one step further. While the Pennsylvania law kicks...
Trump defends ‘Tim Apple’ comment, says he was saving time
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says he didn’t slip up when he referred to Apple CEO Tim Cook as “Tim Apple” at a White House meeting. Trump tweeted Monday: “I quickly referred to Tim + Apple as Tim/Apple as an easy way to save time & words. The Fake News...
Democrats pick Milwaukee for 2020 convention over Miami, Houston
MILWAUKEE — Democrats picked Milwaukee on Monday to host their 2020 national convention, setting up the party’s standard-bearer to accept the presidential nomination in the heart of the old industrial belt that delivered Donald Trump to the White House. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez chose Milwaukee over Houston and...
Coach, wife electrocuted while installing new scoreboard
BRISTOL, Fla. — Officials say a high school baseball coach and his wife were electrocuted while installing a new scoreboard at a Florida baseball field to replace one that had been destroyed by Hurricane Michael. Liberty County School Board member Kyle Peddle tells the Tallahassee Democrat that Coach Corey Crum...
Girl found dead in duffel bag in Los Angeles County is identified
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County investigators have identified a girl found dead in a duffel bag along a suburban equestrian trail, and two people have been detained in connection with the case. The Sheriff’s Department said late Sunday the coroner’s office determined the girl was 9-year-old Trinity Love Jones...
Search continues in 2007 disappearance of Beaver County woman
CHESTER, W.Va. — The FBI is trying to solve the 12-year-old disappearance of a Pennsylvania woman who vanished after leaving West Virginia casino. The FBI in Pittsburgh says in a statement Karen S. Adams of Independence Township, Pennsylvania, went to the nearby Mountaineer Casino Racetrack and Resort in Hancock County,...
2020 Democrats aim to make inroads in rural America
DENMARK, S.C. — Deanna Miller Berry doesn’t often see presidential candidates. So when New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker recently came to Bamberg County, South Carolina, she was primed to unload about a contaminated water system. “What is your plan to fix it?” Berry asked, her eyes narrowed. Booker, former mayor...
Ethiopia mourns crash victims as plane’s ‘black box’ found
EJERE, Ethiopia — Ethiopian Airlines has grounded all of its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft as “an extra safety precaution” following the crash of one of its planes in which 157 people were killed, a spokesman said Monday, as Ethiopia marked a day of mourning and the plane’s damaged “black...
Growing number of Boeing Max 8 planes grounded after crash
BEIJING (AP) — Aviation authorities in China, Indonesia and Ethiopia ordered airlines on Monday to ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 planes after one of the aircraft crashed in Ethiopia, killing all 157 people on board. The crash of the Ethiopian Airlines jet shortly after it took off from Addis...
Engine trouble prompts Boeing 737 United plane to issue emergency
HOUSTON — Federal authorities say a United Airlines flight declared an emergency when an engine shut down as the plane was descending into Houston. Flight 1168 was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members when engine trouble began late Sunday as the plane neared George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston....
Pa. man admits to fatally shooting roommate over discarded Chick-fil-A bag
PHILADELPHIA — A Bucks County man told police he was so upset that his roommate left an empty Chick-fil-A bag in their apartment late Saturday, he initiated a violent argument that turned fatal. Gregory Hylton, 40, has been charged with criminal homicide and possession of an instrument of a crime,...
Woman trying to take a selfie with a jaguar when it attacks her, authorities sayVideo
A woman was attacked by a jaguar as she was apparently trying to get a photo outside the big cat’s enclosure at Wildlife World Zoo in Arizona, authorities said. Shawn Gilleland, a spokesman for the Rural Metro Fire Department, told The Washington Post on Sunday that fire crews said the...
