A new report is raising environmental concerns over a plan to retire four nuclear power plants in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The organization “Nuclear Matters” says the closure of the Beaver Valley Power Station in Shippingport would set back regional attempts to cut back on emissions that cause global warming. In all, those plants produced 39-million megawatt-hours of energy last year alone. All four of the plants will close within the next four years.

WEATHER FORECAST FOR TUESDAY, APRIL 24TH, 2018

TODAY – PERIODS OF RAIN. HIGH – 54.

TONIGHT – A STEADY RAIN THIS EVENING. SHOWERS
CONTINUING OVERNIGHT. LOW NEAR 40.

WEDNESDAY – RAIN SHOWERS IN THE MORNING WITH
OVERCAST SKIES LATER IN THE DAY.
HIGH – 56.

Waffle House slaying suspect arrested after massive manhunt
By SHEILA BURKE, Associated Press
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The mentally unstable gunman suspected of opening fire at a Waffle House restaurant in the middle of the night was arrested not far from his apartment Monday after hiding from police for more than a day following the attack that killed four people, authorities said.
Authorities had mounted a massive manhunt for 29-year-old Travis Reinking, after the Sunday morning attacks, in which a gunman clad only in a jacket used an AR-15 rifle to kill four and injure others.
Metropolitan Nashville Police announced Monday on Twitter that he was taken into custody not far from his apartment.
A detective from the department’s specialized investigations division’s narcotics unit spotted Reinking in a wood area near a construction site, Lt. Carlos Lara told news reporters.
He said construction workers told officers a person matching the suspect’s description walked through the area and into woods. When confronted, the suspect lay down on the ground, and officers cuffed him, Lara said.
He said Reinking carried a black backpack that held a silver semi-automatic weapon and .45-caliber ammunition. Detectives cut the backpack off of the suspect, he said.
Police spokesman Don Aaron said Reinking requested a lawyer, was taken to a hospital and would later be booked on four counts of criminal homicide.
Reinking, described as a white man with brown hair, opened fire with an AR-15 in the Waffle House parking lot and then stormed the restaurant shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday, police say. Four people were killed and four others were injured before a quick-thinking customer wrestled the assault weapon away, preventing more bloodshed. Reinking then disappeared, police said.
Police say about 20 people were in the Waffle House at the time of the shootings. They included people of different races and ethnicities, but the four people killed were minorities_three black and one Hispanic.
It’s not clear why Reinking opened fire on restaurant patrons, though he may have “mental issues,” Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said earlier.
Police said Reinking stole a BMW days before the attack. The car was quickly recovered, but authorities did not immediately link it to Reinking.
Meanwhile, authorities in Illinois shared past reports suggesting multiple red flags about a disturbed young man with paranoid delusions.
In May 2016, Reinking told deputies from Tazewell County, Illinois, that music superstar Taylor Swift was stalking him and hacking his phone, and that his family was also involved, according to a report released Sunday.
Reinking agreed to go to a local hospital for an evaluation after repeatedly resisting the request, the sheriff’s report said.
Another sheriff’s report said Reinking barged into a community pool in Tremont, Illinois, last June, and jumped into the water wearing a pink woman’s coat over his underwear. Investigators believed he had an AR-15 rifle in his car trunk, but it was never displayed. No charges were filed.
Last July, Reinking was arrested by the U.S. Secret Service after he entered a restricted area near the White House and refused to leave, saying he wanted to meet President Donald Trump. Reinking was not armed at the time, but at the FBI’s request, state police in Illinois revoked his state firearms card and seized four guns from him, authorities said.
The AR-15 used in the shootings was among the firearms seized.
In August, Reinking told police he wanted to file a report about 20 to 30 people tapping into his computer and phone and people “barking like dogs” outside his residence, according to a report.
“There’s certainly evidence that there’s some sort of mental health issues involved,” Tazewell County Sheriff Robert Huston said. But he said deputies returned the guns to Reinking’s father on the promise that he would “keep the weapons secure and out of the possession of Travis.”
Reinking’s father “has now acknowledged giving them back” to his son, Aaron said. A federal official says the father could face charges for returning guns.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special Agent Marcus Watson said at a news conference Monday that Jeffrey Reinking’s act of returning the guns to his son is “potentially a violation of federal law.”
Phone calls to a number listed for the father, Jeffrey Reinking, went unanswered.
It is not clear why Reinking moved recently from Morton, Illinois, and if it had anything to do with being near Swift, who has a home in Nashville. Police say he worked in construction for a while.
Police say Reinking drove into the Waffle House parking lot in his gold Chevy Silverado pickup early Sunday and sat there for about four minutes before opening fire outside the restaurant.
The victims fatally shot in the parking have been identified as Taurean Sanderlin, 29, of Goodlettsville, and Joe Perez, 20, of Nashville. Sanderlin was an employee at the restaurant.
One of the fatally wounded inside was DeEbony Groves, a 21-year student at Nashville’s Belmont University. She was remembered as an exceptional student who made the Dean’s list, and a tenacious basketball player.
Akilah Dasilva was also killed inside the restaurant. The 23-year-old from Antioch was a rap artist and music video producer.
He was at the restaurant with his girlfriend, 21-year-old Tia Waggoner, the paper reported. Waggoner was wounded and is being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dasilva’s family said she underwent surgery and doctors were trying to save her leg.
Police say Sharita Henderson, 24, of Antioch, was wounded and is being treated at VUMC.
Also wounded was James Shaw Jr., a 29-year-old restaurant patron who burned his hand grabbing the hot muzzle of the assault weapon as he wrestled the gun away. A Nashville native who works as a wireless technician for AT&T, Shaw said he was no hero — despite being hailed as one by Nashville Mayor David Briley.
Shaw said he pounced on the suspect out of self-preservation, after making up his mind that “he was going to have to work to kill me.”
___
Associated Press writers John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Ed White in Detroit; and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Wolf pushes to end gun-show exception to background checks
By MARC LEVY, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf on Monday asked the Legislature to pass a measure expanding background checks on firearms in Pennsylvania and end an exception for shotguns, sporting rifles and semi-automatic rifles that are sold at gun shows.
The Democratic governor appeared at a news conference in his Capitol office with officials from the Pennsylvania State Police supporting his call for action as lawmakers consider firearms-related measures in the wake of February’s Parkland, Florida, high school shooting that killed 17 people.
In a news conference with Pennsylvania State Police officials, Wolf called for the passage of “commonsense” gun safety laws “so that we can give back the fundamental expectation of safety, a fundamental right to all Pennsylvanians so we can prevent further needless violence.”
The Republican-controlled Legislature has long resisted gun-control measures and appears unlikely to expand background checks or ban certain devices, such as assault-style weapons or bump stocks, despite the governor’s support.
Those bills have languished in committee without action, despite bipartisan support.
“Universal background checks are one of the best ways we can keep weapons out of the hands of threatening individuals,” Wolf said.
Currently, background checks cover all sales of handguns, except for transfers within families.
The Senate last month unanimously passed a bill to force people with a domestic violence ruling against them to more quickly forfeit their firearms. Gun-rights groups dropped their opposition after negotiating last-minute changes to the bill, and Wolf on Monday renewed his call for the House to pass it and send it to his desk.
“I’m ready to sign this bill,” Wolf said. “I’m ready to do my part in ensuring that we are doing all we can to close dangerous loopholes and protect victims of domestic abuse.”
The House is eyeing similar measures, including one that would create an “extreme risk protection order” that allows a law enforcement officer, a family member or a household member to petition a judge to order the immediate, if temporary seizure of someone’s firearms.
The petition would have to be accompanied by allegations that the person represents a danger of suicide or “extreme bodily injury” to another person.
Under the Senate’s domestic violence bill, defendants in final protection-from-abuse cases would have to hand over their guns in 24 hours. Current law leaves forfeiture to a judge’s discretion, and the bill’s backers say judges order the forfeiture of firearms in 14 percent of protection-from-abuse cases.
In addition, people convicted of a domestic violence crime would have 48 hours to give up their firearms.
Under current law, people convicted of domestic violence have 60 days, although a person charged with a domestic violence crime typically loses their firearms well before a conviction, either as a condition of bail or of a temporary restraining order, defense lawyers say.
Another provision would narrow the definition of who may keep the firearms of someone who is convicted of a domestic violence crime or who is the subject of a restraining order.
Under current law, that person can give their guns to a relative, friend or neighbor, as long as they don’t live in the same home. The bill would remove that provision and limit custodians to a law enforcement agency, a federally licensed firearms dealer or a lawyer.

Canada police say driver that hit pedestrians in custody
By CHARMAINE NORONHA, Associated Press
TORONTO (AP) — A van apparently jumped a curb Monday in a busy intersection in Toronto and struck eight to 10 people and fled the scene before it was found and the driver was taken into custody, Canadian police said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the van to strike the pedestrians in a busy intersection in the north-central part of the city. Police did not immediately identify the driver.
“At this point it’s too early to tell what if any motive there was. We are also unable right now to tell the extent or the number of persons injured,” Toronto police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray said.
A witness,” Phil Zullo, told Canadian Press that he saw police arresting a man who had been driving a Ryder rental truck and saw people “strewn all over the road” where the incident occurred.
“It must have seen about five, six people being resuscitated by bystanders and by ambulance drivers,” Zullo said. “It was awful. Brutal.”
Toronto paramedic spokeswoman Kim McKinnon said first responders were on scene treating multiple patients, but wouldn’t confirm the number or severity of injuries.
Police shut down the Yonge and Finch intersection following the Monday afternoon incident and Toronto’s transit agency said it has suspended service on the subway line running through the area.
The incident occurred as Cabinet ministers from the major industrial countries were gathered in Canada to discuss a range of international issues in the run-up to the G7 meeting near Quebec City in June.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his sympathies for those involved. “Our hearts go out to everyone affected,” Trudeau said in Ottawa. “We are going to have more to learn and more to say in the coming hours.”

The boundary line between Center and Potter Township has been a topic of concern for supervisors and citizens alike since the arrival of the new Shell plant. On April 23, representatives from both townships gathered at the Potter Township Municipal Building for a discussion over the temporary plan put in place, known as AJMJ.

Potter Township chairwoman Rebecca Matsco led the meeting, and she discussed the reason that Potter Township engineers came up with the temporary AJMJ plan:

 

Matsco also mentioned that the issues surrounding AJMJ are steering towards an outcome that it was intended to avoid:

Center Township supervisor Rich George was very vocal about his concerns  surrounding AJMJ and the township borders, and particularly about the communication between sides. This led to a confrontation with Potter Vice Chairman Earl Shamp:

 

Despite such tensions, all parties agreed to meet again in the near future to discuss further about the issues at hand. When and where that meeting will take place has not been disclosed. The Potter Township officials gathered for a closed executive session immediately following the public meeting held Monday morning.

THE JURY HAS REACHED A VERDICT IN AN ALIQUIPPA DOUBLE HOMICIDE TRIAL. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS BEEN FOLLOWING THE TRIAL AT THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE SINCE THE BEGINNING. CLICK ON ‘PLAY’ TO HEAR SANDY’S REPORT…

 

Also attached is the Associated Press Story.

Man convicted of 1st-degree murder in drug-deal robbery case
BEAVER, Pa. (AP) — Jurors in western Pennsylvania who earlier reported a deadlock have convicted a man of first- and second-degree murder and robbery in what prosecutors call a drug deal robbery that claimed two lives.
The panel reached a verdict after resuming deliberations Monday in the trial of 19-year-old Lawrence Reddick Jr. in the 2016 deaths of 18-year-old Dane Mathesius and 16-year-old William Booher in Aliquippa.
Jurors reported an 11-to-1 deadlock Friday, saying one juror was “not following the definition of reasonable doubt,” but resumed deliberations after the definition was read to them.
The cases of two defendants have been adjudicated. Nineteen-year-old Ronald Foster was convicted of third-degree murder and sentenced to 34 to 70 years. Nineteen-year-old Deontae Jones said during testimony that he awaits sentencing on a juvenile court robbery conspiracy plea.