TribLive stories, Page 2128
‘Last lap’ focuses Frazier for PIAA Class 2A softball championship
Before every practice this season, the Frazier softball team takes a lap around Commodore Park. As they circle the field, they touch the banners on the outfield fence. On Wednesday morning as they prepared for the Class 2A state championship game, the Commodores made their run for the last time...
High school scores, schedule for June 12, 2019
Baseball PIAA Playoffs Class 6A Championship Friday’s schedule Souderton vs. Central Bucks South at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, 10:30 a.m. Class 5A Championship Thursday’s schedule Red Land vs. Lampeter-Strasburg at Penn State’s Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, 7 p.m. Class 4A Championship Friday’s schedule Selinsgrove vs. Beaver...
San Francisco prosecutors turn to AI to reduce racial bias
SAN FRANCISCO — In a first-of-its kind experiment, San Francisco prosecutors are turning to artificial intelligence to reduce racial bias in the courts, adopting a system that strips certain identifying details from police reports and leaves only key facts to govern charging decisions. District Attorney George Gascon announced Wednesday that...
Wife of U.S. Rep. Hunter to change plea in corruption case
SAN DIEGO — The wife of U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter is planning to change her not-guilty plea in a federal corruption case alleging the couple spent more than $250,000 in campaign funds on vacations and other personal expenses, setting up the possibility she will testify against her husband, a close...
Mothers: Air Force failed when child sex assaults reported
To the mothers, the 13-year-old boy appeared largely unsupervised as he roamed among the clusters of townhomes on the U.S. Air Force base in Japan. It would have been unremarkable — the neighborhood was full of kids — except that young girls were starting to report the boy had led...
Catholic bishops approve new sex-abuse reporting hotline
BALTIMORE — U.S. Catholic bishops voted Wednesday to create a new national sex-abuse hotline run by an independent entity, a decision that represents one of the church’s most tangible steps yet in confronting its sex-abuse crisis. The hotline, which would field allegations that bishops committed abuse or covered it up,...
Experts: Spy used AI-generated face to connect with targets
LONDON — Katie Jones sure seemed plugged into the Washington’s political scene. The 30-something redhead boasted a job at a top think tank and a who’s-who network of pundits and experts, from the centrist Brookings Institution to the right-wing Heritage Foundation. She was connected to a deputy assistant secretary of...
Utah police: Deputy shooting suspect left home with a gun
LOS ANGELES — The Utah man accused of shooting an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy Monday and killing another man an hour earlier had told his family he wanted to “make it on his own or die,” police said Wednesday. The family of Rhett Nelson, 30, contacted St. George...
3 life sentences without parole for man who killed 3 Muslims
DURHAM, N.C. — Moments after a North Carolina man pleaded guilty to gunning down three Muslim university students, a prosecutor played a cellphone video of the slayings in court Wednesday as one of the victims’ relatives fainted, others wept and a man cursed the confessed killer openly. Craig Stephen Hicks,...
Federal hate crime charges filed in black church fires
NEW ORLEANS — The son of a Louisiana sheriff’s deputy is facing federal hate crime charges in connection with three fires that destroyed African American churches this year. Holden Matthews , 21, was charged in a six-count federal indictment that was unsealed Wednesday. The indictment charges Matthews with three counts...
Lock HIM up? Dems weigh what to do about Trump’s deeds
WASHINGTON — With a familiar chant, President Trump’s backers regularly called for Hillary Clinton to be thrown in prison during the 2016 campaign. Now top Democrats are grappling with fraught questions about whether to lock HIM up. As Democrats in Congress press for continued investigation of Trump while he remains...
Pennsylvania Senate backs bill to expand role of nurse practitioners
HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s Senate is advancing legislation that backers say will help make health care more available through nurses, and less expensive. The Senate voted 44-6 Wednesday to allow certified nurse practitioners to practice independently of physicians. Supporters say 22 other states have similar laws. The Pennsylvania Medical Society opposes...
Nevada law prevents most employers from rejecting pot-users
LAS VEGAS — Two backers of a pioneering Nevada law to prevent employers from rejecting job-seekers based on a pre-employment marijuana test cast the effort Wednesday as an anti-discrimination measure in a state where recreational pot sales are booming and rules about legal marijuana consumption are evolving. The law, which...
Dallas law firm places winning bid for Robert E. Lee statue
AUSTIN, Texas — A Dallas-based law firm placed the winning $1.435 million bid for a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that the city put in an online auction almost two years after removing it from a state park. Holmes Firm PC made the top offer for the bronze...
Editorial: DUI task forces done in public interest
About 30 people die in an impaired driving crash every day, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That is one every 48 minutes. It’s a horrifying figure but considerably less grim than 30 years ago when it was one death every 15 minutes. We know that people pay...
House oversight panel backs contempt vote in census dispute
WASHINGTON — A House committee voted Wednesday to hold two top Trump administration officials in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with subpoenas for documents related to a decision adding a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The Democratic-controlled House Oversight Committee voted 24-15 to advance contempt measures against...
Maine becomes 8th state to legalize assisted suicide
AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine legalized medically assisted suicide Wednesday, becoming the eighth state to allow terminally ill people to end their lives with prescribed medication. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, who had previously said she was unsure about the bill, signed it in her office. Oregon was the first state to...
1st black priest in U.S., ex-slave, positioned for sainthood
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Pope Francis on Wednesday deemed the first known black Roman Catholic priest in the United States to be “venerable,” positioning the former slave for possible sainthood. The pontiff’s designation of the Rev. Augustine Tolton as venerable, meaning the church intensely scrutinized his life and recognizes it as...
Former Trump aide Hicks agrees to Judiciary interview in Russia meddling investigation
WASHINGTON — Former White House Communications Director Hope Hicks has agreed to a closed-door interview with the House Judiciary Committee, the panel announced Wednesday. The panel subpoenaed Hicks last month as part of its investigation into special counsel Robert Mueller’s report and obstruction of justice. The interview will be held...
After emotional testimony from 9/11 responders, House panel votes to replenish victim fund
WASHINGTON — The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously in support of a bill that would give fresh money to a compensation fund for those who are sick or dying from illnesses linked to their work amid the toxic debris at 9/11 attack sites. The vote comes a day...
Analysis: Koepka the man to beat U.S. Open at Pebble BeachVideo
A step-by-step guide to winning the U.S. Open, which begins Thursday at Pebble Beach: Step No. 1: Don’t hit it into the rough. Step No. 2: There is no Step No. 2. Just follow Step No. 1. That might be overly simplistic, but staying on the fairway will go a...
New Kensington to install more LED streetlights
New Kensington is moving ahead with the installation of new LED streetlights downtown. City council on Monday authorized City Clerk Dennis Scarpiniti and City Engineer Tony Males to enter into negotiations for the new lights. They will be negotiating with representatives from Connected Energ Group and Tudi Mechanical Systems. Scarpiniti...
Ohio Township road reopens after slide
Slide remediation work is complete on Red Mud Hollow Road in Ohio Township. PennDOT District 11 announced Route 4043 (Red Mud Hollow Road) opened to traffic Wednesday after having been closed since April 29 between Mt. Nebo and Creese roads. PennDOT conducted the work....
Baldwin High School welcomes new principal
Shaun Tomaszewski once dreamed of becoming a doctor. Then, he fell in love with teaching. As someone who thrives in areas where he’s passionate, Tomaszewski jumped ship on his initial plans to enter the medical field and went for a job he loved. After nearly a decade in education serving...
Public input vital to New Kensington’s ‘SmartGrowth,’ officials say
New Kensington officials are steering the city on a course that not only will bring growth, they say, but do it in an intelligent manner. That was the message Brian Clark, a consultant working with city council and the city’s redevelopment authority, had for city residents this week. Clark gave...
