HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Democrat in Pennsylvania’s state Senate is switching his registration to become an independent and will caucus with the Republican majority. Sen. John Yudichak of Luzerne County said Tuesday that registering as an independent is the only way he can faithfully and fully serve his district. Yudichak’s departure comes after Democrats picked up six seats in the past year. Yudichak won a third Senate term last year. He’s occasionally split with Democratic leadership on floor votes.

A state representative wants to make bullying illegal. Democratic Rep. Brandon Markosek introduced an anti-bullying proposal that gives police the tools they need to fight bullying in schools. Markosek said he was bullied as a child and that bullying in schools shouldn’t be tolerated. Markosek represents the 25th district of Allegheny County, which includes Monroeville, East Pittsburgh and McKeesport.

Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Felipe Vazquez is facing nearly two dozen new counts in Westmoreland County after being arrested for sexual assault. In his second preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Vazquez was charged with 11 counts of child pornography, along with 10 counts of unlawful contact with a minor. According to a police affidavit, police found an iPhone XS and a MacBook Pro at Vazquez’s Pittsburgh apartment. On those devices, detectives said they saw seven photos and three videos of an underage girl in “various stages of nudity.” Police say Vazquez requested the images and videos from the girl. The 28-year-old Vasquez has pleaded not guilty to charges that he had sex with a 13-year-old girl in a car, however he admitted to exchanging sexually explicit pictures with the victim. The defense fought for a $1 million bond and electronic monitoring, but the judge denied bond.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Two Seneca Valley high school students are in police custody after a gun was found in a parked car on campus. Seneca Valley School District Superintendent Dr. Tracy Vitale says several students reported seeing a gun in a student’s possession at Intermediate High School Tuesday morning. Vitale says police believe the weapon may have been sold to another student. Both students were removed from school grounds and taken into police custody. Vitale says all students in the district are safe.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A teenage girl has been charged with murder and other counts in the shooting death of a man killed last year during a robbery at a Pittsburgh apartment. City authorities say the 17-year-old girl lured 24-year-old Julian Carpenter to the apartment where he was killed July 2. He died at a hospital on Nov. 4, nearly four months after the shooting. The alleged shooter was shot and killed two weeks after the robbery by a police officer investigating a similar robbery in Penn Hills.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR WEDNESDAY, NOV. 20TH, 2019

TODAY – OVERCAST. HIGH – 45.

TONIGHT – PARTLY CLOUDY. LOW – 31.

THURSDAY – OVERCAST. HIGH – 51.

A compromise package to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage for the first time since 2009 is advancing in the Legislature, up against a deadline for Governor Tom Wolf to relent on his effort to extend overtime pay eligibility to thousands of workers.  A Senate committee on Monday passed a measure to raise the minimum wage in four steps to $9.50 in 2022.  Its prospects in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives are unclear.  The bill is more modest than what Wolf proposed in January.

The Aliquippa Economic Development Corporation has received  a $400,000 Tax Credit.  Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano reports….

Chick-fil-A said Monday that it had stopped making charitable donations to the Salvation Army and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, groups that have been widely criticized by advocates for lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender rights.  The fast-food chain, a longtime target of LGBTQ rights groups because of its stance on same-sex marriage, has met resistance in recent months as it has looked to expand in the United States and other countries.  Equal rights advocates described Chick-fil-A’s decision to stop funding the charities as a positive step, but called on the chain to do more.