WASHINGTON (AP) — The GOP-held Senate is poised to swiftly reject a $4.5 billion emergency border bill passed by the House. The Senate has instead teed up a vote on a similar but bipartisan alternative as Congress tries to deliver aid to the southern border before the government runs out of money to care for thousands of migrant families and unaccompanied children. The vote will put pressure on the Democratic-controlled House to simply accept the Senate measure and send it to President Donald Trump.

UNDATED (AP) — The owner of the largest oil refinery complex on the East Coast is telling officials that it will close the facility after a fire last week set off explosions and damaged equipment there. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement Wednesday that Philadelphia Energy Solutions has informed him of its decision. Kenney says the more than 1,000 workers there will be impacted. The 150-year-old oil refining complex processes 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

A woman got more than she ordered when a large rat fell from the ceiling of a Buffalo Wild Wings and onto her table. Alisha Norman stopped in the Los Angeles restaurant for lunch when she heard a noise above her and a rat fell onto her menu. A manager came over and removed the rodent with two plates and threw it away. The manager blamed nearby construction…and also took care of the bill. The restaurant has been closed for cleaning and sanitizing.

UNDATED (AP) — Comedian Bill Cosby has filed a lengthy appeal of the sex assault conviction that landed him in prison and says the judge allowed testimony from other women accusers that wasn’t relevant. Cosby’s lawyers say the accounts from the five other women were ‘strikingly dissimilar’ to that of trial accuser Andrea Constand and too remote in time to her 2004 encounter with Cosby.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania voters would be able to vote in primaries even if they aren’t Democrats or Republicans and have easier absentee ballot deadlines under election law changes being considered by the Legislature. The Senate on Tuesday voted 42 to 8 for a bill that would let unaffiliated voters decide which major party primary they want to cast their ballot in. The House subsequently teed up a bill with a set of election rule changes and could pass it as early as Wednesday.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale is telling fellow Democrats that he’s going to run for Congress in a Harrisburg-area district that’s in Republican hands. Two Democratic Party figures say DePasquale told them and others that he’s planning to announce his candidacy in July. They spoke on condition of anonymity because DePasquale hasn’t made his formal announcement yet. Asked about it Tuesday, DePasquale wouldn’t discuss it, saying only that he’ll talk about it soon.

Pennsylvania is one of only six states that still imposes a sentence of life without parole. One state Senator says that creates more problems than it solves. Don Rooney has more…

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives is advancing a just-unveiled $34 billion compromise budget plan after hard criticism by rank-and-file Democrats, including a floor fight over whether Democrats could criticize the package for lacking a minimum wage increase. The main budget bill passed Tuesday, 140-62. The spending plan is agreed to by leaders of the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf. Senate approval also is required.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A lawsuit claims employees of a Pittsburgh nursing home shared a nude photo of a resident on social media. According to the lawsuit, the photo taken on New Year’s Eve at Paramount Senior Living at Seven Fields showed the 83-year-old woman, who suffers from dementia, naked below the waist and sitting in a shower chair. The suit claims the photo was posted on Snapchat and shared with other staff members by Facebook Messenger.

(Photos taken by Sandy Giordano)

MONACA COUNCIL IS MOVING AHEAD ON PROJECT APPROVALS. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS DETAILS. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…