Couple sentenced to jail for attack on Pittsburgh teacher
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A judge has sentenced a woman and her boyfriend to jail in an attack on a teacher in Pittsburgh.
Thirty-year-old Daishonta Williams and 27-year-old Vincent Beasley were both ordered Monday to serve 11½ to 23 months in jail on November guilty pleas to aggravated assault and conspiracy.
Authorities say the October 2017 assault followed an incident involving Williams’ daughter at Pittsburgh Martin Luther King PreK-8. They say Williams hurled a brick, striking the teacher in the face, and Beasley grabbed her from behind and kicked her.
Both defendants apologized in court to the teacher, who said she sustained a concussion and just returned to work two weeks ago.
Williams wept and begged to be spared jail, citing her three children, but the judge said the defendants’ actions have consequences.

Push resumes to recognize official Pennsylvania amphibian
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Senate wants to make the slimy and unsightly Eastern hellbender the state’s official amphibian, an effort to highlight the plight of a creature whose numbers researchers say are declining because of pollution in rivers and streams.
The bill passed 48-1 on Monday, and goes to the House.
The sponsor, Sen. Gene Yaw, says members of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s student leadership council came up with the idea and Lycoming College’s Clean Water Institute helped draft a proposal.
The Senate passed a hellbender bill last year, but it died in the House, where it encountered competing legislation promoting the Wehrle’s salamander.
According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the hellbender is an aquatic salamander that can grow up to two feet long, making them the largest North American amphibian.

Virginia governor consults with officials on whether to quit
By ALAN SUDERMAN, Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam consulted with top administration officials Monday about whether he should stay in office or resign amid an uproar over a racist photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page.
Practically all of the state’s Democratic establishment — and Republican leaders, too — turned against the 59-year-old Democrat after the picture surfaced of someone in blackface next to another person in a Ku Klux Klan hood and robe.
The sense of crisis deepened as the official next in line to be governor, Democratic Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, denied an uncorroborated allegation of sexual misconduct first reported by a conservative website. Fairfax told reporters that the 2004 encounter with a woman was consensual, and he called the accusation a “smear.”
Northam stayed out of sight as he met with his Cabinet and senior staff, following a meeting the night before with minority officials in his administration. The governor wanted to hear their assessment of whether it is feasible for him to stay in office, according to a top administration official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The meetings included frank conversations about the difficulties of governing under such circumstances, the person said.
The state government was thrown into confusion by the scandal on what was already one of the legislature’s busiest days of the session, with the House and Senate each seeking to complete legislation to send to the other chamber.
Finance Secretary Aubrey Layne said he told Northam that the state cannot afford a prolonged period of uncertainty over his future. Northam’s office is in the middle of negotiations with GOP lawmakers over a major tax overhaul and changes to the state budget. The Republican Party controls both houses of the legislature.
“One way or the other, it needs to be resolved,” Layne said.
The furor over the picture erupted on Friday, when Northam first admitted he was in the picture without saying which costume he was wearing, and apologized. But a day later, he denied he was in the photo, while also acknowledging he once put on blackface to imitate Michael Jackson at a dance contest decades ago.
The scandal threatens to cripple Northam’s ability to govern. In another sign Monday of the challenges he could face if he tries to stay in office, Katherine Rowe, president of the College of William & Mary, canceled an appearance by Northam at an event this Friday because his presence would “fundamentally disrupt the sense of campus unity we aspire to.”
Northam, who is one year into his four-year term, has also lost the support of many declared and potential Democratic presidential candidates.
The state’s Republican House speaker said there is “a rightful hesitation” among lawmakers to seek Northam’s impeachment or removal, and they are hoping he steps down instead.
“Obviously on impeachment, that’s a very high standard,” Speaker Kirk Cox said. “And so I think that’s why I think we have called for the resignation. We hope that’s what the governor does. I think that would obviously be less pain for everyone.”
If Northam does resign, Fairfax will become the second African-American governor in Virginia history.
Referring to the allegation against him, Fairfax said he was not surprised it came at a critical time for the office of governor: “It’s at that point that they come out with the attacks and the smears. It is unfortunate. It really is, but it’s sadly a part of our politics now.”
The Associated Press is not reporting the details of the accusation because AP has not been able to corroborate it. The Washington Post said Monday that it was approached by the woman in 2017 and carefully investigated but never published a story for lack of any independent evidence. The Post said the woman had not told anyone about it, the account could not be corroborated, Fairfax denied it, and the Post was unable to find other similar allegations against him among people who knew him in college, law school or in politics.
The woman did not immediately respond Monday to a voicemail, text message or email from an AP reporter.
The allegations were first reported by Big League Politics, the news outlet that first published the yearbook image.
Northam, a pediatric neurologist who came to politics late in life, spent years courting the black community in the run-up to his 2017 race for governor.
He recently came under fire from Republicans who have accused him of backing infanticide after he said he supported a bill loosening restrictions on late-term abortions.
Late last month, Florida’s secretary of state resigned after photos from a 2005 Halloween party showed him in blackface while dressed as a Hurricane Katrina victim.
___
Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

Trump to call for unity, face skepticism in State of Union
By JULIE PACE, AP Washington Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House says President Donald Trump will call for optimism and unity in his State of the Union address, using the moment to attempt a reset after two years of bitter partisanship and personal attacks.
The question is: Will anyone buy it?
Skepticism will emanate from both sides of the aisle Tuesday when Trump enters the House chamber for the primetime address to lawmakers and the nation.
Democrats see little evidence of a president willing to compromise. And even Trump’s staunchest allies know that bipartisan rhetoric read off a teleprompter is usually undermined by scorching tweets and unpredictable policy.
Still, the fact that Trump’s advisers are looking for a different approach is a tacit acknowledgement that the president’s standing is weakened as he begins his third year in office.

Pittsburgh, Pa  – Allegheny Health Network’s West Penn Burn Center is stressing the importance of burn prevention as the American Burn Association (ABA) kicked off its National Burn Awareness Week on Sunday. In 2018, the West Penn Burn Center saw an increase in burn-related injuries increase by 15 percent with scalds being the top reason for pediatric admissions.

Every year, the ABA designates the first week of February to mobilize organizations across the country to increase awareness of the frequency and causes of burn injury in America. In particular, the week sheds more light on the susceptibility of children when it comes to burn-related injuries. Each day, more than 300 children are seen in emergency rooms and two children die from burn injuries across the country.

West Penn Burn Center is the only burn center in the region to receive the honorable verification seal acknowledging excellence in pediatric burn management from the ABA and the American College of Surgeons. Every year, the clinical team treats roughly 500 new patients, averaging three to five pediatric admissions every month due to scalds.

“Children are particularly at high-risk for burns because of their immature motor and cognitive skills, dependence on adult supervision and inability to quickly identify and react to harmful situations, among other reasons,” said Ariel M Aballay, MD and director of the West Penn Burn Center. “At West Penn, we’re committed to providing a full spectrum of advanced care and support for children with burn injuries, and their families.”

Extending beyond clinical care, the West Penn Burn Center understands the psychological impacts of burn injuries, especially those that occur during adolescence. In addition to clinical consultation for patients, the Center hosts an annual summer Burn Camp at Camp Kon-O-Kwee in Zelienople.

“Burn Camp offers the opportunity for kids to feel truly comfortable talking about their shared experiences, knowing that they will not be judged by their peers and reassured that they comprise their own unique community. We recognize that burns in children can be traumatic, life changing events,” continued Aballay.

And these events continue to occur at a consistent pace, according to the ABA. The proportion of burn center admissions due to scalds continues to increase each year, with scalds comprising 35 percent of all admissions to U.S. burn centers.

“A major component that will drive these numbers down is the ongoing efforts to educate children and their families while also equipping them with necessary resources that help to create safer environments at home and at school,” said Aballay. “To that end, the West Penn Burn Center offers free burn prevention and safety programs to local schools in its service region and to former patients, at no cost.”

Celebrating its 50^th anniversary milestone, the West Penn Burn Center was established in 1969 and is a national leader in innovative burn care. For more information on the Center or to learn more about its community-based programs, visit ahn.orgor call 412-578-5295.

This story is a press release by the AHN.

The president of a Virginia university says Gov. Ralph Northam won’t be a part of her official inauguration this week after the revelation of a racist photo in his medical school yearbook. William & Mary President Katherine Rowe said in a statement Monday that Northam was scheduled to participate in Friday’s celebration, but now he won’t be part of the program. Under the circumstances she says Northam’s “presence would fundamentally disrupt the sense of campus unity we aspire to.”

 The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Pennsylvania says adjusting state laws to protect victims’ rights is easier and more flexible than amending the state Constitution, and the group says it isn’t in favor of the proposed Marsy’s Law. Andrea Sears reports…

Pennsylvanians hoping to hunt big game with powerful semiautomatic rifles are not going to get the chance this year.  The state Game Commission announced over the weekend that the use of semiautomatic centerfire rifles for big game hunting will not be permitted for the 2019-2020 season.  The reported reasons include public input and opinions from the General Assembly, among others.

There are 96 Pennsylvania State Troopers set to get to work.  The 154th cadet class graduated in Harrisburg Friday and will be off to their respective new barracks starting this week.  The P-S-P now has just shy of 45-hundred troopers state wide.