US official: Trump administration to force asylum seekers in San Diego to wait in Mexico starting as soon as Friday
SAN DIEGO (AP) — US official: Trump administration to force asylum seekers in San Diego to wait in Mexico starting as soon as Friday.

Senate rejects rival Dem, GOP plans for reopening government
By ANDREW TAYLOR and ALAN FRAM, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A splintered Senate swatted down competing Democratic and Republican plans for ending the 34-day partial government shutdown on Thursday, leaving President Donald Trump and Congress with no obvious formula for halting the longest-ever closure of federal agencies and the damage it is inflicting around the country.
In an embarrassment to Trump that could weaken his position whenever negotiations get serious, the Democratic proposal got two more votes than the GOP plan. There were six Republican defectors, including freshman Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who’s clashed periodically with the president.
There were faint signs that lawmakers on both sides were looking for ways to resolve their vitriolic stalemate. Moments after the votes, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., went to the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
But Thursday was mostly a day for both parties, in conflicting ways, to show sympathy for unpaid federal workers while yielding no ground in their fight over Trump’s demand to build a border wall with Mexico.
The Senate first rejected a Republican plan reopening government through September and giving Trump the $5.7 billion he’s demanded for building segments of that wall, a project that he’d long promised Mexico would finance. The 50-47 vote for the measure fell 10 shy of the 60 votes needed to succeed.
Minutes later, senators voted 52-44 for a Democratic alternative that sought to open padlocked agencies through Feb. 8 with no wall money. That was eight votes short. It was aimed at giving bargainers time to seek an accord while getting paychecks to 800,000 beleaguered government workers who are a day from going unpaid for a second consecutive pay period.
Flustered lawmakers said the results could be a reality check that would prod the start of talks. Throughout, the two sides have issued mutually exclusive demands that have blocked negotiations from even starting: Trump has refused to reopen government until Congress gives him the wall money, and congressional Democrats have rejected bargaining until he reopens government.
Thursday’s votes could “teach us that the leaders are going to have to get together and figure out how to resolve this,” said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 2 Senate GOP leader. He added, “One way or another we’ve got to get out of this. This is no win for anybody.”
For now, partisan potshots flowed freely.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., accused Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross of a “let them eat cake kind of attitude” after he said on television that he didn’t understand why unpaid civil servants were resorting to homeless shelters for food. Even as Pelosi offered to meet the president “anytime,” Trump stood firm, tweeting, “Without a Wall it all doesn’t work…. We will not Cave!” and no meetings were scheduled.
As the Senate debated the two dueling proposals, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the Democratic plan would let that party’s lawmakers “make political points and nothing else” because Trump wouldn’t sign it. He called Pelosi’s stance “unreasonable” and said, “Senate Democrats are not obligated to go down with her ship.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., criticized the GOP plan for endorsing Trump’s proposal to keep the government closed until he got what he wants.
“A vote for the president’s plan is an endorsement of government by extortion,” Schumer said. “If we let him do it today, he’ll do it tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.’
Still smarting from its clash with Pelosi over the State of the Union, the White House closely monitored the Senate votes and Trump spoke with lawmakers throughout the day. He was waiting to see if many Democrats crossed over to back his plan, but West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin proved to be the only one.
Even so, there were suggestions of movement.
Vice President Mike Pence attended a lunch with GOP senators before the vote and heard from lawmakers eager for the standoff to end, participants said. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said their message to Pence was “Find a way forward.”
In consultation with their Senate counterparts, House Democrats were preparing a new border security package they planned to roll out Friday. Despite their pledge to not negotiate until agencies reopened, their forthcoming proposal was widely seen as a counteroffer to Trump. Pelosi expressed “some optimism that things could break loose pretty soon” in a closed-door meeting with other Democrats Wednesday evening, said Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Ky.
The Democratic package was expected to include $5.7 billion, the same amount Trump wants for his wall, but use it instead for fencing, technology, personnel and other measures. In a plan the rejected Senate GOP plan mirrored, Trump on Saturday proposed to reopen government if he got his wall money. He also proposed to revamp immigration laws, including new restrictions on Central American minors seeking asylum in the U.S. and temporary protections for immigrants who entered the country illegally as children.
In another sign of hope, Thursday’s vote on the Democratic plan represented movement by McConnell. For weeks, he’d refused to allow a Senate vote on anything Trump wouldn’t sign and has let Trump and Democrats try reaching an accord. McConnell has a history of helping resolve past partisan standoffs, and his agreement to allow Thursday’s vote was seen by some as a sign he would become more forcefully engaged.
With the impacts of the shutdown becoming increasingly painful, however, lawmakers on both sides were trumpeting their willingness to compromise in the battle over border security and immigration issues, such as protection against deportation for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.
“We can work this out,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey, D-N.Y.
At a panel discussion held by House Democrats on the effects of the shutdown, union leaders and former Homeland Security officials said they worried about the long-term effects. “I fear we are rolling the dice,” said Tim Manning, a former Federal Emergency Management Agency official. “We will be lucky to get everybody back on the job without a crisis to respond to.”
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AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro and writers Catherine Lucey, Laurie Kellman and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that the vote for the Republican plan was 50-47, not 51-47 as initially announced by the Senate.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she’s willing to meet with President Donald Trump “anytime” to discuss ending the partial government shutdown. Pelosi told reporters Thursday she’s “still optimistic” Senate Republicans will vote for the Democratic bill to temporarily reopen government and hold talks on Trump’s demand for $5.7 billion for a border wall. Trump responded on Twitter saying, “without a Wall it all doesn’t work…. We will not Cave!”

THE BEAVER COUNTY COMMISSIONERS HELD THEIR REGULAR PUBLIC MEETING THIS MORNING…WHERE STATE AND COUNTY OFFICIALS ISSUED PROCLAMATIONS IN MEMORY OF THE LATE DICK SHAW. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS MORE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

THE CENTER TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS HAVE ISSUED AN UPDATE ON THE PROPERTY WHERE THE GAS LINE EXPLOSION OCCURRED IN EARLY SEPTEMBER. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS MORE. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

THIS WEEKEND’S BEAVER COUNTY SNOW SHOVEL RIDING CHAMPIONSHIP HAS BEEN MOVED TO NEXT SATURDAY – GROUNDHOG DAY, FEBRUARY 2ND, WEATHER PERMITTING. THE EVENT WILL BE HELD AT OLD ECONOMY PARK, JUST OFF ROUTE 989 IN ECONOMY BOROUGH. ANYONE CAN ENTER AND THERE IS NO REGISTRATION FEE. REGISTRATION FOR THE EVENT IS HELD ON THE SATURDAY OF THE EVENT AT 11 TO 12 NOON IN THE MAINTENANCE BUILDING AT THE PARK ACROSS FROM THE BARN. BEAVER COUNTY RECREATION & TOURISM DIRECTOR TIM ISHMAN SAYS A DECISION EACH WEEK IS MADE BEFORE 12 NOON EACH THURSDAY.

Wolf takes new step on marijuana with town hall sessions
By MARC LEVY, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration is taking a new step in its exploration of legalizing marijuana, with Lt. Gov. John Fetterman preparing a series of town hall-style public listening sessions.
Fetterman, himself an advocate for legalizing marijuana, said Thursday he’ll hold a listening session in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties in the coming months. Fetterman also says he’ll accept comments submitted through other means.
The step comes after the Democratic governor changed his tune last month, saying it’s time for Pennsylvania to take a serious look at legalizing marijuana. Before that, Wolf had said Pennsylvania wasn’t ready and gave no sign it was worth immediately studying.
Wolf now says Pennsylvania can’t ignore movement in New York and New Jersey toward legalizing marijuana. Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Legislature has been hostile to the idea.

Investigators are working to determine if the owner of Ellwood City Medical Center has committed any financial crimes. Lawrence County District Attorney Joshua Lamancusa is looking into bank records for a pair of open-ended mortgages taken out a few months ago totaling six-point-five million dollars. Despite that influx of cash, the medical center has had nine issues with its payroll since August, including last Friday when employees were paid minimum wage for the hours they worked.

Big Beaver Falls Area schools are getting a big grant. The 110-thousand-dollars is coming from Chevron Appalachia and their Project Lead The Way non-profit, which supports learning experiences and development in biomedical, computer, and engineering sciences. The district will split the funds between their schools to create more STEM opportunities for its students.

Crews are working to repair one of Monaca’s four water wells. The borough’s manager tells the Beaver County Times one of the wells will be down until repairs are completed next week. Some residents may notice a stronger smell of chlorine as the other wells take on the extra processing. Borough officials do say the water is safe.