THE LITTLE FREE PANTRY IN ALIQUIPPA IS COMING UP ON ITS 2ND ANNIVERSARY. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS MORE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

Four decades after Three Mile Island became synonymous with America’s worst commercial nuclear power accident, financial rescues of nuclear power plants are stirring the highest levels of government. Legal appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court and a debate among federal energy regulators over protecting ratepayers are loose ends dangling as Pennsylvania lawmakers prepare to decide whether to help their state’s nuclear power plants.

Seeking to prevent a health care crisis in Pennsylvania, physicians, administrators, attorneys and industry professionals told members of the House Majority Policy Committee during a public hearing in Harrisburg today that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court must not change a rule dealing with medical malpractice lawsuits. Committee Chair Rep. Donna Oberlander (R-Clarion, Armstrong & Forest) said the proposed rule change to allow venue shopping could reverse progress that has been made to help ensure access to medical care for all, and called for Pennsylvania citizens to file comments about the proposal with the courts prior to a final decision on the rule changes…

Pennsylvania’s new mandatory threat reporting system for schools drew thousands of tips in its first month. Officials said this week the Safe 2 Say Something program run by the attorney general’s office fielded more than 4,900 reports since it was launched in early January. The reports come in through the phone, by email and via an app. They are fielded by a team at the attorney general’s office headquarters in Harrisburg.

On the heels of last week’s anniversary of the shooting deaths of high school students in Parkland, Florida, some Pennsylvania state Senators are looking for ways to reduce gun violence in the state. Don Rooney has more…

THE BEAVER COUNTY SAFE SCHOOL COALITION IS HOSTING A SYMPOSIUM TODAY TO DISCUSS SCHOOL SAFETY EFFORTS IN THE COUNTY. THE SAFE SCHOOL SYMPOSIUM WILL BE HELD FROM 8 A-M TO 3 P-M AT CCBC. THE EVENT IS OPEN TO MEMBERS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT, SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS AND SCHOOL DIRECTORS. THE EVENT WILL TALK ABOUT MULTI-AGENCY COORDINATION IN DEALING WITH SCHOOL THREATS, MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID, TRAUMA AND ITS IMPACT ON STUDENTS AND MORE. MATT DRZIK WILL BE THERE AND WILL HAVE A FULL REPORT FOR US ON AM BEAVER COUNTY TOMORROW MORNING BEGINNING AT 6:30.

PennDOT District 11 is announcing water line installation work on Route 18 (7th Avenue) in the City of Beaver Falls will begin today, weather permitting. A single-lane restriction will occur on northbound Route 18 between 14th Street and 15th Street weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Friday, March 1. Crews from the Beaver Falls Municipal Authority will conduct water line installation work.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH, 2019

TODAY – CLOUDY SKIES. A FEW FLURRIES OR SNOW
SHOWERS POSSIBLE. HIGH NEAR 30.

TONIGHT – A FEW FLURRIES POSSIBLE THIS EVENING.
SOME CLOUDS OVERNIGHT. LOW – 16.

TUESDAY – PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH – 34.

Pope asks for prayers for sex abuse summit at Vatican
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is asking for prayers for this week’s sex abuse summit at the Vatican, calling abuse an “urgent challenge of our time.”
He has summoned bishops to Rome to help him chart a way forward after decades of abuse by priests and prelates and the systematic cover-ups of that by their superiors. The scandals have eroded Catholics’ trust in the Vatican and in church leaders like bishops.
Francis told pilgrims and other visitors Sunday in St. Peter’s Square that beginning Thursday, the heads of episcopal conferences worldwide will discuss “protection of minors in the church.”
He said: “I ask prayers for this appointment, which I wanted as an act of strong pastoral responsibility in the face of an urgent challenge of our time.”

White House indicates Trump to veto disapproval of emergency
By ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A top adviser to President Donald Trump indicated Sunday that Trump is prepared to issue the first veto of his term if Congress votes to disapprove of his declaration of a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The West Wing is digging in for fights on multiple fronts as the president’s effort to go around Congress to fund his long-promised border wall faces bipartisan criticism and multiple legal challenges. After lawmakers in both parties blocked his requests for billions of dollars to fulfill his signature campaign pledge, Trump’s declared national emergency Friday shifts billions of federal dollars earmarked for military construction to the border.
White House senior adviser Stephen Miller told “Fox News Sunday” that “the president is going to protect his national emergency declaration.” Asked if that meant Trump was ready to veto a resolution of disapproval, Miller added, “He’s going to protect his national emergency declaration, guaranteed.”
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra told ABC’s “This Week” that his state would sue “imminently” to block the order, after the American Civil Liberties Union and the nonprofit watchdog group Public Citizen announced Friday they were taking legal action.
Democrats are planning to introduce a resolution disapproving of the declaration once Congress returns to session and it is likely to pass both chambers. Several Republican senators are already indicating they would vote against Trump — though there do not yet appear to be enough votes to override a veto by the president.
The White House’s Miller insisted that Congress granted the president wide berth under the National Emergencies Act to take action. But Trump’s declaration goes beyond previous emergencies in shifting money after Congress blocked his funding request for the wall, which will likely factor in legal challenges.
Trump aides acknowledge that Trump cannot meet his pledge to build the wall by the time voters decide whether to grant him another term next year, but insist his base will remain by his side as long as he is not perceived to have given up the fight on the barrier.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he believes Congress needs to act to “defend” its powers of the purse.
“I do think that we should not set the terrible precedent of letting a president declare a national emergency simply as a way of getting around the congressional appropriations process,” he said.
Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas, a critic of Trump’s border policies, said he would support legislation to review Trump’s emergency declaration, saying, “It sets a dangerous precedent.”
“My concern is our government wasn’t designed to operate by national emergency,” he told CBS.
Trump ally Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told ABC that he believes there are enough GOP votes to prevent the supermajorities required to override a veto.
“I think there are plenty of votes in the House to make sure that there’s no override of the president’s veto,” he said. “So it’s going to be settled in court, we’ll have to wait and see.”