NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s apparent suicide in a federal jail says surveillance video reviewed after the death shows guards did not check on inmates every half hour as was noted in log entries. Epstein is believed to have killed himself early Saturday at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York, where he was awaiting trial in a sex trafficking case.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal appeals court says high tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike don’t violate the right of truckers and other motorists to travel between states, upholding dismissal of their lawsuit. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday Pennsylvania’s use of turnpike tolls to pay other costs was authorized by Congress. The ruling upholds a federal judge’s decision in April to dismiss the lawsuit by the Missouri-based Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association and others.
Pipe replacement begins Thursday on Ohioville Road, otherwise known as Route 168, between Route 51 and Forest Lane. Work will take place between 7 am and 5 pm. Traffic will be detoured via Route 51 and Route 251.
An Ohio man is accused of forging checks from a local physical therapy office. Franklin Township Police say the owner of Burk Physical Therapy was contacted by Huntington Bank in June after a man attempted to cash a suspicious check from her bank account, and the man left after being pressed for more details on the check. The accused is being charged with 2 counts forgery, theft by deception, theft by unlawful taking, and access device fraud.
A new bill co-introduced by U. S. Senator, Pat Toomey, would give prosecutors another option to obtain death penalty sentences. Specifically, the bill would permit federal prosecutors to impanel a second jury for sentencing death penalty cases if the 1st jury does not reach a unanimous decision. “Eric’s Law”, named after Eric Williams, a federal corrections officer who was murded by an individual that received a second life in prison because one of the jurors would not vote for a death sentence. The bill is modeled after laws in California and Arizona.
U. S. Rep Conor Lamb sought help from President Trump, when concerning Beaver County’s 387 thousand dollar penalty from the IRS. Lamb explained the county’s predicament in a letter, saying the predicament stemmed from its former payroll supervisor’s inability to properly file payroll tax paperwork for 2016/2018. Officials say the taxes were paid, but the forms were not filed correctly. If the penalty is not waived, it will be on tax payers to pay it back.
A protest, including an inflatable baby Trump, accompanied the President’s visit to Beaver County yesterday. The majority of protesters targeted Shell and Trump’s changes to economic policies, but there were a few other issues addressed, including gun control and a woman’s right to abortion. Protesters came from Beaver County, Pittsburgh, and parts of Ohio.
Today- Areas of fog early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 82
Tonight- Some clouds. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 62
Tomorrow- Scattered showers and Thunderstorms. High 81
Wolf pursues changes to Pennsylvania’s charter school rules
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gov. Tom Wolf says Pennsylvania needs to improve the operational and reporting rules for charter schools and wants to change the regulations and laws that govern them.
The Democratic governor on Tuesday directed his Education Department to develop regulations to limit enrollment for underperforming schools and revamp admissions standards.
He wants charter schools to meet stricter transparency, ethics and financial management standards and to prevent them from overcharging public schools for their services.
The Pennsylvania Coalition of Public Charter Schools says some of what Wolf wants to do through executive orders and regulations isn’t lawful.
The group says, however, it supports holding all public schools to the same accountability and transparency standards.
Taxpayers fund the 180 charter schools, which are run by private boards. They enroll more than 137,000 students.
(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)
Shell estimates that there are 5,100 workers currently employed at the Shell Ethane Cracker Plant. One could assume then that all staff were in attendance at the plant on August 13 as U.S. President Donald Trump made his first visit to the massive plant off of Route 18.
Trump started off by warmly greeting his Beaver County audience, whom he quickly reminded everyone belonged to him in November 2016:
As was to be expected, the feeling of praise was mutually received and given by the President and the Shell workers, as Trump’s main focus was about American production.
He also heaped praise upon Shell itself, claiming that he loved the view of the cranes and trucks on site (saying it reminded him of playing with those toys when he was little). He also acclaimed Shell for being announced as the newest cooperators in Trump’s “Pledge To American Workers” initiative.
Though Trump did bounce around at times–chiding the likes of Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren & Joe Biden–for the majority he stayed focused on his self-claimed successes in helping American jobs and commerce survive and thrive.
If there was an enemy that Trump zeroed in on during the hour-and-change speech, it was China…the country with whom he felt was “screwing over” and “taking advantage” of America over years of attempts at socioeconomic dominance.
The crowd of workers were very positive of Trump and his speech, only booing at familiar targets like Hillary Clinton and the “Green New Deal”. In fact, the only level of agitation between the workers and Trump occurred after the speech, when the delayed departure of the presidential motorcade kept several hundred people inside the warehouse where the speech was held.
For more images from Trump’s speech at the Shell plant, check out the gallery below.
