Pennsylvania Senate debates move to replace voting machines
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Senate is debating legislation that seeks to delay the ability of the state government to decertify voting machines in expectation of replacing them all by 2020’s presidential elections.
Tuesday’s debate emerged a year after Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf pushed for new machines following warnings by federal authorities that Russian hackers targeted Pennsylvania and at least 20 other states during 2016’s presidential election.
However, Republican senators have complained that Pennsylvania is rushing to buy machines at considerable taxpayer expense when there’s no legitimate example of a voter irregularity in the state.
Pennsylvania is one of 13 states where some or all voters use machines that store votes electronically without printed ballots or another paper-based backup that allows a voter to double-check how their vote was recorded.

POWAY, Calif. (AP) — The man accused of opening fire inside a Southern California synagogue earned good grades in high school and swam on the varsity swim team. John T. Earnest also made the dean’s list both semesters last year as a nursing student at California State University, San Marcos. His embrace of white supremacy and anti-Semitism has dumbfounded people who thought they knew him. In high school, he basked in the applause of classmates for his piano solos at talent shows.

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press secretary Sarah Sanders says Tuesday’s infrastructure meeting between President Donald Trump and Democratic lawmakers was “excellent and productive.” Trump met with Democratic lawmakers at the White House, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying afterward Trump agreed to a $2 trillion price tag for infrastructure investments. The two sides haven’t decided on how to pay for it.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania is getting an unexpected windfall, as internet sales tax revenues are coming in at a rate of nearly four times what had been projected for the current fiscal year. The state’s revenue department officials say Pennsylvania estimated to collect about $50 million this year from the tax on online transactions, but it’s now looking like about $200 million will be actually remitted. Pennsylvania imposed sales tax on people who use online marketplaces to sell their wares two years ago.

BREAKING NEWS OUT OF THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE THIS NOON…A DRUG RAID IN AMBRIDGE. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS DETAILS. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

TAXES MAY BE GOING UP IN THE HOPEWELL SCHOOL DISTRICT. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO WAS AT LAST NIGHT’S HOPEWELL SCHOOL BOARD MEETING. Click on ‘play’ to hear Sandy’s report…

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams tells The Associated Press she won’t run for a U.S. Senate seat in 2020 despite being heavily recruited by national party leaders. Abrams left open the possibility of running for president, though she says she’s in no hurry to make that call as she continues her advocacy on voting rights and educating citizens ahead of the 2020 census. The decision is a blow to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as he tries to plot Democrats’ uphill path to a majority.

Slippery Rock University is getting an apology from Dr. Phil McGraw. The television talk show host wrote an apology to the school yesterday for referring to it in a recent interview as a non-trophy university. McGraw says he didn’t know Slippery Rock was a real school and now has respect for what the university stands for.

MCKEESPORT, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a western Pennsylvania man flushed his grandparents’ ashes down a toilet after his mother kicked him out of her home. Thomas Wells was arraigned Monday on two counts of abuse of a corpse and a criminal mischief charge. McKeesport police say the 33-year-old Pittsburgh man had been staying with his mother for a brief time before she asked him to leave last September. She says a relative later told her what happened with the ashes. Authorities say Wells denied flushing the ashes.

A deadly “super bug” is slowly spreading across the United States, and it could arrive in western Pennsylvania soon. The CDC calls it a global health threat. It was first recognized in Japan a few years ago, and now it has found its way to our shores. The Health Department is putting all medical facilities on high alert to watch for and test for candida auris. If discovered, patients are isolated, and since it is a fungus that resists traditional anti-fungal medications, docotrs say you have to use combinations of drugs. It can be treated, but doctors say there is a “fairly high” mortality rate if it gets into the bloodstream….about 30 to 60 percent. Again, all local hospital are watching for this, and there have been no cases in the Pittsburgh area or Pennsylvania yet.