Pennsylvania category, Page 238
Man living in U.S. illegally sentenced for rape of girl, 12, in Lancaster County
LANCASTER COUNTY — A Guatemalan national who is living in the United States illegally will serve between six and 12 years in prison for the rape of a 12-year-old girl in Quarryville, according to the borough’s police department. Magdilio Diaz-Vasquez, 22, was sentenced on Jan. 18, the same day he...
Pa. man gets life for murder, attempted rape of teen cousin
CROYDON — A Pennsylvania man has pleaded guilty to the murder and attempted rape of his 14-year-old cousin who was stabbed dozens of times and also shot inside a home where they both lived. Colin Haag III entered his plea Thursday and was sentenced to life in prison without parole....
Pa. husband accidentally runs over, kills wife in their driveway
PALMER — Authorities say a man accidentally ran over and killed his wife in the driveway of their Pennsylvania home. Palmer Township police say the accident occurred around 3 p.m. Thursday, moments after 66-year-old Debra Mitchell got out of the car. Mitchell was walking toward the back of the vehicle...
Pa. medical marijuana sales top $130 million in program’s first year
Medical marijuana sales totaled more than $130 million during Pennsylvania’s first year of selling cannabis products to patients — surpassing the first-year sales of several neighboring states combined, state figures released Friday show. Gov. Tom Wolf signed the bipartisan bill to legalize medical marijuana in April 2016, and sales began...
Audit blasts failures in student loan servicers
A new audit by the U.S. Department of Education’s in-house watchdog blasts the agency for failing to ensure oustside contractors entrusted with overseeing the payment of more than $1 trillion in student debt are serving millions of Americans struggling to pay their federal student loans. NPR reported that an audit...
State Police nab 1,800 drivers for ignoring restrictions during winter storms
Pennsylvania State Police issued citations to more than 800 drivers of commercial vehicles — including tractor-trailers, flatbeds, box trucks and buses — for ignoring or violating emergency road restrictions during severe storms this week. Troopers have issued more than 1,800 such citations so far this year, figures provided by state...
‘Roadmap’ puts DEP squarely behind greater use of electric vehicles
It may not be the Green New Deal, but a new report by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection tries to nudge the state toward greater use of electric vehicles. The Pennsylvania Electric Vehicle Roadmap, developed over two years by the Drive Electric Pennsylvania Coalition, attempts to lay out strategies...
3 men, alligator snagged in Pennsylvania drug bust
A drug bust in Coatesville took a surprising turn when police discovered a 3-foot-long alligator during the search of a home. Authorities also found heroin, crack cocaine, marijuana, more than $5,000 in cash, and drug packaging materials, a discovery that led to the arrests of three men. Irvin “Gotti” Hawkins,...
Scientists warn ‘zombie’ deer disease could spread to humans
Just as mad cow disease eventually spread to humans, scientists are concerned that chronic wasting disease, or CWD, could end up infecting people. Speaking last week to lawmakers in Minnesota, Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said, “It is...
Thousands speak out on legalizing recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania
Thousands of Pennsylvanians have filed online comments in response to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman’s call for feedback on the pros and cons of legalizing recreational marijuana. Officials said Fetterman, who recently launched a 67-county statewide listening tour to gauge public sentiment on the issue, drew a crowd of more than...
State bill would add adult sex traffickers, customers to Megan’s Law lists
Sex trafficking is on the rise in Pennsylvania, and state Sen. Kim Ward wants authorities to better keep track of those convicted of the offense. Ward, R-Hempfield, is proposing a change to state law that would require those convicted of the sex trafficking of adults to be added to the...
Authorities: 2 Scranton women sitting in car shot, wounded
WILKES-BARRE — Authorities say two women sitting in a car were shot and wounded in northeastern Pennsylvania. But it’s not yet known what sparked the shooting in Wilkes-Barre, which occurred around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Authorities say the victims — identified only as two Scranton residents ages 19 and 20 —...
Dominion plans to reduce methane emissions 50 percent by 2029
Dominion Energy officials on Tuesday announced their intent to reduce methane emissions from their natural-gas infrastructure by 50 percent over the next decade, the equivalent of taking 2.3 million cars off the road for a year, or planting 180 million trees. The primary focus will be on reducing and eliminating...
Penn State alumni trustees attack Louis Freeh investigation into Sandusky report
PHILADELPHIA — A report compiled by long-standing critics of Louis Freeh’s 2012 investigation into the sex-abuse scandal at Penn State University asserts that the former FBI director didn’t have the evidence to blame the school’s football “culture” as he did, much less prove that its leaders knew or conspired to...
Century-old Catholic church demolished after failing to sell
NANTICOKE — A century-old Roman Catholic church in Pennsylvania has been demolished. Some emotional parishioners were on hand as the cross-topped steeple of St. Joseph’s Church in Nanticoke toppled to the ground on Monday. St. Joseph’s has been closed since 2010, and the parish was consolidated with several other churches....
Harrisburg becomes 5th Pennsylvania diocese to open fund for abuse survivors
The Harrisburg Catholic Diocese’s Survivor Compensation Fund began taking applications Tuesday for compensation from victims of clergy sexual abuse. Harrisburg is the fifth of the state’s eight Catholic dioceses to launch a compensation fund for abuse survivors in the wake of the August 2018 grand jury report that detailed allegations...
Pennsylvania university system pledges to transform amid struggles
HARRISBURG — Leaders of Pennsylvania’s state-owned university system are promising a transformation amid declining enrollments, rising costs and lackluster state support. Tuesday’s hearing before the House Appropriations Committee comes after enrollment at the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education fell below 100,000 for the first time since 2001. The system...
140K pre-verify for REAL ID, PennDOT says
About 140,000 Pennsylvania residents have pre-verified for REAL ID, PennDOT announced Tuesday. Pre-verification will allow state residents to apply for REAL ID online once they are available in March, and get their REAL ID driver’s license or photo identification card in the mail. A REAL ID is optional for state...
Ex-congressman Tom Marino now cites health for resigning
HARRISBURG — Recently resigned U.S. Rep Tom Marino now says problems with his remaining kidney prompted him to leave Congress just three weeks after starting his fifth term. The 66-year-old Marino abruptly announced his resignation last month, saying he was taking a job outside government. But Marino told The Daily...
Attorney General sues Verizon over Amazon perks
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has sued Verizon for allegedly violating the Consumer Protection Law by not delivering free items it promised new customers. According to the lawsuit, Verizon offered free Amazon Echo devices and Amazon Prime subscriptions for customers who signed up for a two-year phone contract. This promotion...
AccuWeather agrees to pay $290,000 for discrimination, sexual harassment
AccuWeather agreed to pay $290,000 after an investigation found the company discriminated against female employees by subjecting them to sexual harassment and a hostile work environment. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs also found Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather did not exercise reasonable care to prevent and correct the discrimination and harassment....
Pennsylvania college student charged with stabbing homeless woman
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A college student from Pennsylvania has been charged with what police call the unprovoked stabbing of a homeless woman in downtown Providence. Police say 22-year-old Conor Noll, of Blandon, Berks County, was arraigned Monday on a felony assault charge. He’s a student at Johnson and Wales University....
Vulgar anti-Trump message in comic strip ‘Non Sequitur’ stirs anger
At first glance, Sunday’s “Non Sequitur” comic strip just showed bears dressed up like Leonardo da Vinci. The syndicated strip opens with Bear-Vinci holding a picture of a Virtruvian Bear. It ends with the ursine artist painting a Mona Lisa, who is also, you guessed it, a bear. They are...
Storm prompts vehicle limits, lower speeds on major highways
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania officials are announcing restrictions on some interstates will take effect overnight Monday into Tuesday as a significant winter storm is forecast. PennDOT is banning commercial vehicles at midnight on Interstate 70 from the Maryland line north to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. That’s when it’ll also ban commercial vehicles...
GOP pummels Gov. Tom Wolf’s minimum wage proposal
HARRISBURG — Hearings on Gov. Tom Wolf’s $34.1 billion budget plan kicked off with a volley of Republican attacks on the Democrat’s new proposal to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage. Monday’s first House budget hearing featured Republicans repeatedly criticizing the broader impact of a minimum wage increase, including whether it would...
