(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

By MATTHEW LEE AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Madeleine Albright, a child refugee from Nazi- and then Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe who rose to become the first female secretary of state, has died at age 84. Her family says she died of cancer on Wednesday. Albright was a mentor to many current and former American statesmen and women. President Bill Clinton chose Albright as America’s top diplomat in 1996, and she served in that capacity for the last four years of the Clinton administration. At the time, she was the highest-ranking woman in the history of U.S. government. In 2012, President Barack Obama awarded Albright the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

(File Photo of Waitress Janice Wagner moves chairs in the outdoor seating area at Agolino’s Restaurant in West Pittston, Pa., Tuesday, June 16, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. (Christopher Dolan/The Times-Tribune via AP)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Tipped employees in Pennsylvania will soon have to make more than four times as much money in tips to be paid below the state’s minimum wage. That’s under a new regulation approved Monday. It could take effect in the coming months. Currently, employers can pay tipped employees less the state’s minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, to as low as $2.83 if they make at least $30 a month in tips. Under the newly approved rule, that monthly tip threshold will rise to $135 a month. The rule also says an employee must spend at least 80% of their time on tipped work to be classified as a tipped employee.

(Photo of Bullet proof vests that are being sent ti Ukraine, Photo courtesy of Pa. Media Services) 
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania State Police and the state Capitol Police are donating used body armor to efforts in Ukraine to deliver humanitarian aid amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Col. Robert Evanchick, the state police commissioner, said the ballistic vests and helmets are intended for Ukrainian police officers and aid workers in Ukraine. The two agencies produced about 110 used police bulletproof vests and 15 surplus ballistic helmets that they were no longer using. Gov. Tom Wolf said it is surplus equipment that would be thrown away otherwise. Wolf noted that his administration is working on collecting food and mask donations for Ukraine, as well.

(File Photo of the two Pa State Troopers killed in the line of duty early Monday morning by a woman accused of driving under the influence)  

(Philadelphia, Pa.) (AP) A judge has denied bail to a woman charged with third-degree murder in an early morning crash on a Philadelphia interstate that claimed the lives of two Pennsylvania troopers and a civilian. Twenty-one-year-old Jayana Tanae Webb was ordered held pending an April 5 hearing on charges that also include second-degree manslaughter of a law enforcement officer and vehicular homicide while driving under the influence. WCAU-TV reports that defense attorney Michael Walker argued that his client was a first-time offender and posed no danger to the public, but the judge agreed with prosecutors that there was a public safety issue. Walker said later that his client was “devastated.”

(File Photo)
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh officials say five police officers will be fired following an internal investigation into the death of man who police shocked with a stun gun multiple times. Fifty-four-year-old Jim Rogers died a day after police used a stun gun on him in connection with an alleged bicycle theft in October. Pittsburgh’s Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt did not release the names of the officers or details of the investigation. That’s per the police department’s collective bargaining agreement which affords each officer the opportunity to use arbitration to challenge the discipline imposed. Schmidt said three more officers will keep their jobs.

(File Photo)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is reversing decisions from last year and says it won’t allow beer and wine licensees to sell edible products containing the marijuana extract CBD. CBD is a nonintoxicating chemical compound, one of many chemicals found in cannabis. Marketers say CBD can treat a range of ailments. Wednesday’s decision to rescind approval was made at the request of the state Department of Agriculture. A board spokesperson says the department told the liquor board that the sale of such consumable products is illegal in Pennsylvania.

(File Photo)

(North Fayette Twp., Pa.) TSA officers found a loaded .357-caliber handgun in a 49-year-old male passenger from Munhall’s backpack at the main security checkpoint of Pittsburgh International Airport yesterday afternoon according to Allegheny County Police.
The man did have a concealed carry permit . The FBI was notified and is investigating
The TSA us reminding passengers that bring firearms into an airport checkpoint can face federal civil fines from the TSA up to $10,000. Repeat offenders can be fined up to $13,910.

The National Weather Service in Moon Twp. has issued 
TORNADO WATCH UNTIL 1000 PM EDT FOR THE
 FOLLOWING COUNTIES:
ALLEGHENY,BEAVER,GREENE AND 
WASHINGTON