US executes 2nd man in a week; lawyers said he had dementia
By MICHAEL BALSAMO and JESSICA GRESKO Associated Press
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — The United States has carried out its second federal execution in three days, killing by lethal injection a Kansas man whose lawyers contended he had dementia. Wesley Ira Purkey was put to death Thursday at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, for kidnapping and killing a girl in Missouri. He expressed remorse before his execution, saying he regretted the “pain and suffering” he caused. The victim’s father said he hoped Purkey “rots in hell.” The Supreme Court cleared the way for Purkey’s execution to take place just hours before. The Trump administration has pressed for a resumption of federal executions after a 17-year hiatus, and another man, Daniel Lewis Lee, was put to death Tuesday.

(Hopewell, Pa.) Hopewell Township Police Chief Brian Uhrmacher reported  Thursday Morning, July 16, 2020 that his officers responded to  a call for an unresponsive male at 2412 West Main St. at 10:55 p.m. Wednesday Night, July 15, 2020 .  When officers arrived they determined a male was deceased. Chief Uhrmacher reported that this is a homicide  investigation.  The Beaver County Detectives and Coroner ‘s office are assisting Hopewell Police in the investigation.

Pittsburgh, PA – PennDOT District 11 is announcing bridge inspection activities on Route 68 (Midland Beaver Road) in Industry Borough, Beaver County will occur Thursday through Saturday, July 16-18 weather permitting.

Traffic shifts will occur on the Route 68 bridge over the Norfolk Southern Railroad near Barclay Hill Road from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.  Crews from the Larson Design Group will conduct routine inspection activities.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.

Story by Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano

(Monaca, Pa.) Kelin J. Coleman, aka Kilo, NUSKIGANG KILO, is wanted on a warrant  by Monaca Police in connection with  an attempted homicide  that occurred early Saturday morning.  The shooting occurred  outside  Whiskey Rhythm Bar and Grill.

‘I’m not a bad guy’: Police video captures distraught Floyd
By STEVE KARNOWSKI and DOUG GLASS Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Newly public body-camera video from two Minneapolis police officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest shows a panicked and fearful Floyd pleading with the officers in the minutes before his death. Floyd tells officers he is “not a bad guy” as they try to wrestle him into a squad car. A few minutes later, with Floyd face-down on the street, the cameras record his fading voice as he eventually goes motionless. But the officers continue to keep him in a restrained position. The footage was filed last week by an attorney seeking to have charges dismissed against one of the four police officers charged in the case.

Andrea Sears, Keystone State News Connection

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Critics say an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution narrowly approved by the state Senate yesterday would allow the majority party to dominate the courts.

Pennsylvania’s appellate court judges are chosen in statewide elections. The proposed amendment would divide the state into judicial districts devised by the General Assembly and impose a residency requirement for candidates.

Sponsors say regionalizing judicial elections would make them more reflective of the state’s population. But Kadida Kenner, campaign director for We the People Pennsylvania, calls it a Republican attempt to gerrymander the state’s courts.

“They could have districts that pick up more red counties, which will give them more Republican judges,” says Kenner. “Versus a statewide election for our appellate court.”

To be enacted, the amendment must be approved by both the House and Senate again in the next legislative session and then be approved by voters in a statewide election.

Supporters of the measure say more than 60% of the state’s 31 appellate court judges come from Philadelphia and Allegheny counties, which are majority Democratic. But Kenner points out that those urban counties are where the best candidates work.

“These are our highest-level judges in the state and so they work with some of the larger law firms,” says Kenner, “some of the professors at larger schools who are able to be successful in this role.”

She adds that while the judges may live predominantly in those counties, they come from several different counties across the state and some are even from other states.

The amendment passed the House late last year on a mostly party-line vote with a few Republicans joining all the Democrats in voting no.

Kenner believes the motivation behind the measure is Republican anger over rulings that have gone against them.

“This started under the gerrymandering ruling and the unfair map,” says Kenner. “And this is an opportunity for them to basically seek revenge on our appellate court because they don’t agree with some of the rulings that have come out.”

She says partisan control of the courts, by either party, erodes the independence of the judiciary as a separate and equal branch of government.