WASHINGTON (AP) — The second highest ranking official at the State Department faced off with senators demanding to know why he didn’t know more about the Trump administration’s backchannel diplomacy with Ukraine and the dismissal of the former U.S. ambassador to Kyiv. Both issues are at the heart of the impeachment inquiry into the president. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan was questioned Wednesday during his confirmation hearing.

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — A wind-driven wildfire burning northwest of Los Angeles has grown to 1,300 acres. The Ventura County Fire Department says the blaze is threatening 6,500 homes. The fire erupted before dawn Wednesday between the cities of Simi Valley and Moorpark and has been spread by strong Santa Ana winds. Flames have approached the hilltop Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, but a spokeswoman says no damage has occurred.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A state House investigative committee says Pennsylvania’s lobbyist disclosure law should be overhauled so that lobbyists, rather than the entities they’re working for, have to report meals, gifts and other spending meant to influence government. The House Government Oversight Committee report released Wednesday also recommends changes to how lobbyist spending reports are audited.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Economic information is showing manufacturing jobs vanishing in Rust Belt states critical to the reelection prospects of President Donald Trump. In his 2016 campaign, Trump won such states and more in part with promises of a revival in the coal and steel industries. A year ahead of the 2020 election, both sectors are faltering. On Tuesday, another major mining firm, Murray Energy, filed for bankruptcy, sparking new worries in communities in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Sean Parnell, a Fox News contributor, says he’ll run for Congress in Pennsylvania, confirming what President Donald Trump announced during an appearance last week in Pittsburgh. Parnell said Wednesday that he’ll run for Pennsylvania’s politically divided 17th District, which runs from Pittsburgh’s suburbs through Ohio River towns to the Ohio border. The seat is held by freshman Rep. Conor Lamb, a Democrat who beat third-term Republican Keith Rothfus last year by 12 percentage points.

Ohio teenagers hoping to get behind the wheel will have to wait a bit longer under a bill that will undergo a full House vote. The Ohio House Transportation and Public Safety Committee voted 11-to-4 on Tuesday to advance a bill that would raise the minimum age to get a probationary driver’s license from 16 to 16 1/2. The current eligibility age for a learner’s permit will remain at 15 ½ but the new bill will require the individual to hold that permit for one year before they can get their license, instead of six months. Under the new law, a new driver will be able to bypass the probationary license process when they turn 18. A similar bill was introduced in November 2017 but failed.

A Harmony Township man is accused of charging thousands of dollars to a stolen credit card at a local Walmart.  Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has details…

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A report from Georgetown University shows that the rate of children in Pennsylvania without health insurance stayed at 4.4 percent for 2016 to 2018. Andrea Sears reports…

Bills now in the General Assembly would put less emphasis on standardized testing for teacher evaluations in Pennsylvania public schools. Andrea Sears reports…

A warrant has been issued for a Baden man accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend in Ambridge. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano has more…

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