LONDON (AP) — As Prince Harry and wife Meghan step back as senior royals, a debate is raging about what role racism played in fueling the couple’s discontent. When Harry began dating the biracial “Suits” actress, sections of the U.K. media hailed it as a sign that Britain had entered a “post-racial” era in which skin color and background no longer mattered, even to the royal family. But soon criticism grew, some of it with racial overtones, and so did Meghan and Harry’s unhappiness. U.K. Labour Party lawmaker Clive Lewis says the royal rift is evidence that Britain still has a problem with “structural racism.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren says she’d order her secretary of education to cancel up to $50,000 in college debt for about 95% of student borrowers on her first day in office. That would effectively erase outstanding loans for about 42 million Americans. The Democratic senator from Massachusetts vowed in a proposal released Tuesday to act immediately and not wait for Congress because the secretary of education already has broad authority to compromise on and modify student loans. Warren’s proposal came just hours before a presidential debate in Iowa, which holds its lead-off caucuses on Feb. 3.

A vacant Aliquippa home was damaged by fire last night. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has details. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

(Photos of school officials talking to parents, taken by Sandy Giordano)

The Hopewell School Board hosted a meeting last night about a proposal to move fourth graders to the junior high school beginning next school year. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano was there. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

(Photo provided with permission by Beaver Falls Police Department)

After a several months long investigation conducted by the Beaver Falls Police Department and the PA Attorney General’s Office, authorities have arrested a Beaver Falls man. Ernest Thornton was arrested at a traffic stop late yesterday. Approximately 2 ounces of crack cocaine was found in his vehicle. A search warrant was then executed at his residence in the 17-hundred block of 3rd Avenue in Beaver Falls. That’s where police found approximately 15 ounces of crack cocaine, multiple digital scales, a firearm and approximately $6000.00 in cash. Thornton was charged with multiple drug related offenses, a firearm offense and is currently in the Beaver County Jail.

Rep. Josh Kail (R-Beaver/Washington) announced that he has been assigned to serve on the powerful House Judiciary Committee for the remainder of the 2019-20 legislative session. The Judiciary Committee focuses on issues and legislation relating to the Judicial Code, the Crimes Code and the Domestic Relations Code. Topics overseen by the committee include identity theft, firearms laws, domestic violence, child abuse laws, state prisons, criminal law and civil law. Kail continues to serve on the House Education, Commerce, Gaming Oversight and Liquor Control committees.

Police say an Ohio man met an underage girl on Instagram and then traveled to Cranberry Township where he allegedly raped her. 19-year-old Tray Eisenbraun traveled from near Youngstown, Ohio, police said. He is a Megan’s Law offender, according to police. According to the criminal complaint, Eisenbraun took to social media sites like Instagram and Snapchat, striking up a relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Police say they met online in April 2019. A month later, detectives said Eisenbraun drove across state lines to meet her. The victim told police she thought they were going to dinner, but authorities said he took her to a wooded area and sexually assaulted her. Police said they not only have text messages, but the apps helped them gather evidence including pictures posted before and after the alleged crime and the suspect’s location. Detectives believe Eisenbraun has done this to other girls in Pennsylvania and Ohio…and they’re urging those girls to come forward.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — An Allegheny County man has admitted he sabotaged railroad signals. Twenty-six-year-old William Brown of Elizabeth on Monday pleaded guilty to two counts of terroristic attacks and violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation on land. Federal prosecutors say in November 2017 Brown detached four railroad signal antennas near Braddock and caused a complete signal failure by cutting cables. Prosecutors also say he severed signal wires near McKeesport. Brown faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 when he is sentenced in May.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR TUESDAY, JANUARY 14TH, 2019

TODAY – OVERCAST SKIES. HIGH – 54.

TONIGHT – PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW – 32.

WEDNESDAY – PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES DURING THE
MORNING HOURS WILL GIVE WAY TO
OCCASIONAL SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
HIGH – 52.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Democrat Cory Booker has dropped out of the presidential race after failing to qualify for the December primary debate. Booker announced Monday that he was ending a campaign whose message of unity and love failed to gain traction in a political era marked by chaos and anxiety. The U.S. senator from New Jersey had struggled in polling and fundraising since launching his bid last February. Booker was unable to hit 5% support in a single qualifying poll required to make it on the January debate stage. Booker’s departure leaves a field that was once the most diverse in history with just one remaining African American candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.