HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – A 16-year-old girl is being credited with using a baseball bat to beat a man who was attacking her mother. According to police, 43-year-old Dominic Pelligrini, was attacking the 41-year-old victim inside the Natrona home when the teenager heard her mother screaming and yelling for help. She told police when he tried to come after her, that’s when she grabbed the baseball bat. The badly beaten Pelligrini is charged with aggravated assault.

WASHINGTON, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say an explosion believed to have been caused by a gas leak reduced a Washington County home to a pile of rubble and injured five people. The (Washington) Observer-Reporter reports that Wednesday afternoon’s blast near a high school in North Franklin Township was widely felt around the area. Township supervisor Bob Sabot said he was told three firefighters, the homeowner and a neighbor were injured but none of the injuries appeared life-threatening.

The Beaver County Commissioners reacted this morning to the news that Amazon will invest more than 30-million dollars in a new center in Findlay Township that could create at least 800 jobs. On ‘Ask the Commissioners’ during Teleforum on Beaver County Radio this morning, commissioner Sandie Egley said this is not only a big win for Beaver County…and also a big win for Dick Shaw, who is perhaps most remembered locally for leading the charge in getting the former Route 60 designated as Interstate 376.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Some Baltimore residents say that if President Donald Trump cares about rats in their city, he should persuade his son-in-law to do a better job as landlord. Jared Kushner’s family firm owns thousands of apartments and townhomes in the Baltimore area, and has long been accused of failing to maintain them. Baltimore County accused the Kushner Companies of hundreds of violations. A company statement says Kushner is proud of its Baltimore-area apartments.

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge has set a tentative trial date next year for the wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein. U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said Wednesday that June 2020 is the earliest Epstein will stand trial on sex trafficking and conspiracy charges. He has pleaded not guilty and is currently being held in a Manhattan jail.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The drug industry lobby says the Trump administration’s plan to let Americans import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada is “far too dangerous.” Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America says there’s “no way to guarantee the safety of drugs” coming from outside the U.S. It also says law enforcement has repeatedly warned that importation schemes could worsen the U.S. opioid crisis.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvanians who prefer not to be identified as male or female will soon have a gender-neutral option on their state-issued driver’s licenses. The Daily Item of Sunbury reported PennDOT expects to have the new procedure in place by the middle of next year. It will let motorists use “X” as a third option to indicate gender.

President Donald Trump could be left off the primary ballot in California next year if he does not release five years of his tax returns, because of a new law that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Tuesday. California is the first state to require presidential candidates to release their tax information, though lawmakers in at least 25 states have introduced similar legislation since Trump won the presidency. Although not required to do so, Trump was the first presidential candidate in more than 40 years not to release his taxes, and he has continued to refuse to reveal them as president. The law is likely to face legal challenges, but Newsom said his state is “well within its constitutional right”.

WEST MIFFLIN, Pa. (AP) — UPDATE: Authorities say a woman suspected of urinating on potatoes at a Walmart in Allegheny County has turned herself in. West Mifflin police say 20-year-old Grace Brown is facing multiple charges including criminal mischief, open lewdness and public drunkenness. Brown turned herself in Tuesday after learning that authorities were looking for her. Authorities had posted surveillance photos of the incident on their Twitter account.

EAGLEVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is expected to be released from jail after serving less than a year for a grand jury secrecy violation. The 53-year-old Kane is scheduled to get out of the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in the Philadelphia suburbs on Wednesday morning.