WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. House is marching toward a historic evening vote to impeach President Donald Trump. As debate proceeded on Wednesday, Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi insisted Congress must “defend democracy” by evicting him from the White House. Trump would be just the third American president to be impeached, a distinctive dark mark on his tenure. From the White House, he tweeted that despite the Democrats’ patriotic talk, they were actually perpetrating “an assault on America.” He and his Republican supporters say the Democrats are just trying to remove a president they couldn’t beat at the ballot box.

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Law groups representing immigrants say the immigration court system under the Trump administration has become a “deportation machine.” A lawsuit filed in federal court in Portland, Oregon, on Wednesday says that the immigration courts have the ultimate goal of deportation rather than fair adjudication. Melissa Crow of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, says this case has the potential to provide fairness to asylum seekers and others who have been the target the Trump administration’s rhetoric and policies.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is maintaining a schedule as active as any of her younger Supreme Court colleagues, despite being treated for cancer twice in the past year. Ginsburg said Tuesday that she is “feeling fine,” in one of three public appearances this week. The frail-looking liberal icon may be the only thing standing between President Donald Trump and his opportunity to name a third justice to the Supreme Court. But she appears to be making few concessions to her health. Still, it’s reasonable for her fans to wonder, shouldn’t Ginsburg be taking it easy if her goal is to outlast Trump’s presidency?

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s six-page letter to her slamming the chamber’s articles of impeachment was “really sick.” Asked about her initial reaction to the letter by CNN, Pelosi said “no reaction” as she walked through a corridor at the Capitol with other Democrats. When asked “Why not?” Pelosi responded “I’ve seen the essence of it. It’s really sick”. Trump’s angry letter objected to the House of Representatives’ articles of impeachment and accused Democrats of “perversion of justice and abuse of power.” President Trump also maintained that he did nothing wrong in seeking foreign investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden, attacking Democrats for focusing on impeachment rather than other issues. He also claimed that “more due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials” versus his impeachment inquiry. The president said he did not believe his letter would change anything, but that he was registering his objections “for the purpose of history.”

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, reacting to a comment by President Donald Trump about whether the high court could stop impeachment proceedings against him, said the president “is not a lawyer.” Ginsburg’s remarks came during an interview with the BBC posted Tuesday. Trump had tweeted earlier this month: “Radical Left has NO CASE. Read the Transcripts. Shouldn’t even be allowed. Can we go to the Supreme Court to stop?” The BBC asked Ginsburg what her reading of the Constitution was in this context. She replied: “The president is not a lawyer. He’s not law trained.” She was also asked about senators making up their minds in advance of any impeachment trial. “Well if a judge said that, a judge would be disqualified from sitting on the case,” she said.

(Photos of Connie Javens taken by Sandy Giordano)

Connie Javens is retiring as county treasurer…as we hear in this report from Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano:

A man and two teenage boys are facing disorderly conduct charges for allegedly covering two cars and a home with slices of cheese. Pennsylvania state police say the prank occurred in Girard early Saturday. But it’s not clear what motivated it. The names of the three suspects — a 17-year-old Girard boy and two Lake City residents, ages 17 and 18, — have not been released. Authorities say they admitted their involvement in the prank but won’t say why they did it.

A high school teacher from Plum borough and his wife are accused of burglarizing a neighbor’s house. According to court documents, Michael Verrico and his wife took an odd collection of items, and got a teenager to help them. The neighbor’s house was in foreclosure and they allegedly entered an unlocked closed garage door and took the items, according to the criminal complaint. Police interviewed the 17-year-old and three other kids who said Verrico destroyed evidence and told them to lie to police. Verrico is on administrative leave from the Plum School District where he teaches physical education at Oblock Junior High School. He is now charged with felony burglary, corruption of minors and tampering with evidence. According to the criminal complaint, the couple allegedly took sheets, a washing machine, five suits and a broom.

Gas prices in Beaver County are down slightly this week by about 2 cents. Beaver County Radio News intern Alex D’Itri has more. Click on ‘play’ to hear Alex’s report…