NEW YORK (AP) — Jury selection in Harvey Weinstein’s rape trial concluded Friday after an arduous two-week process, setting the stage for testimony to begin in the next week. The lawyers and judge halted the selection process after 12 jurors and three alternates had been seated. The main jury has seven men and five women. Three alternates were also chosen. The final tally mostly erased a gender imbalance. Hours earlier, that led to complaints by prosecutors that the defense was deliberately trying to keep young women off the panel. Weinstein is charged with raping a woman and sexually assaulting another woman. He has pleaded not guilty and said any sexual activity was consensual.

UNDATED (AP) — Joe Biden has secured a weighty Deep South endorsement for his presidential campaign. Alabama’s lone Democratic House member on Friday announced her support for the former vice president. Terri Sewell marks Biden’s 11th endorsement from the Congressional Black Caucus, more than any other 2020 Democrat. Sewell also expands Biden’s footprint across the critical slate of March 3 Super Tuesday states. Sewell tells The Associated Press that Biden has a strong record on voting rights, health care and other matters critical to her district. And Sewell says Biden is Democrats’ best candidate to take on President Donald Trump. Sewell calls the Republican president the “No. 1 threat” to Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights legacy.

UNDATED (AP) — A large, colorful pest from Asia is costing the Pennsylvania economy about $50 million and eliminating nearly 500 jobs each year. That’s according to a Penn State study released Thursday. The study represents researchers’ first attempt to quantify the destruction caused by the spotted lanternfly. It was first detected in the U.S. in 2014, in Pennsylvania’s Berks County. It’s since overrun the state’s southeastern corner and spread into nearby states including New Jersey, Delaware and Virginia. Penn State economists estimated the financial impact on industries most susceptible to spotted lanternfly, including nurseries, vineyards, Christmas tree growers and hardwood producers.

The largest chocolate nut bar ever created was unveiled at the Mars Wrigley plant in Waco, Texas on Thursday. The candy bar is 12 feet long, 24 inches high, 26 inches wide, and weighs more than two tons, getting the Snickers bar into the Guinness World Record book, proving everything is bigger in Texas. The Snickers bar was built by Mars Wrigley associates using the same classic ingredients found in every snickers bar, including milk chocolate, nougat, caramel and peanuts. The company created the giant candy bar for the Super Bowl. The Snickers will appear in a Super Bowl commercial on Feb. 2. After that, it will be given to Mars employees across the country.

A Florida woman who fed vultures, alligators and other wildlife behind her home has agreed to pay 53-thousand dollars to settle a lawsuit brought by homeowners association. Neighbors and the homeowners association says Acosta Rya’s nocturnal and daytime feedings attracted flocks of defecating and vomiting vultures, along with raccoons, alligators and bobcats.

Pennsylvania is one of 13 states suing to stop cuts into the food stamp program. Attorney General Josh Shapiro says if the cuts go through, about 80-thousand Pennsylvanians will be impacted. Shapiro says the cuts directly undermine the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As of now, the change is set to go into effect April 1st.

Some Pittsburgh high school students are fighting what they call an outdated hair policy, a policy they claim is racially biased. An African American student at Central Catholic High School was recently told to change his hair or go home. The dress code at Central Catholic prohibits lines, braids, locks and twists – but some students say that rule is outdated in 2020. Now his classmates are getting signatures from students in an effort to convince the administration to change its hair policy. The students say those styles are a part of the African American culture…and they plan to give the signed petition to school leaders.

(All photos  taken by Matt Drzik)

BREAKING NEWS: Firefighters were called to a house fire this morning in Rochester borough. The fire started after 8 a.m. at a home in the 500 block of Lacock Street. When crews got there, the flames had consumed the home. We’re working to find out if anyone was inside at the time, but we’re told by Beaver County Emergency Services that there are no injuries.

 

 

BREAKING NEWS: At least one person is dead following a crash involving a dump truck in Lawrence County this morning. The crash was first reported around 9 a.m. at Routes 288 and 18 in Wampum. A tri-axle truck and red vehicle collided, trapping one person in the car. The Lawrence County Coroner’s Office says one person died in the crash. The name of the victim has not yet been released. Route 18 was closed for an extended period of time. Traffic was being re-routed from Koppel, Beaver County, through Ellwood City and back into Wampum.

A plane flying from New York to Chicago had to make an emergency landing at Pittsburgh International Airport in Moon Township after a man on board became unresponsive. Once the plane landed around 1 p.m., the man was taken to a hospital where he later died. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as 48-year-old Thomas Guziak of Tinley Park. A cause of death was not released by the coroner.