In blow to GOP, Supreme Court won’t block PA redistricting
By MARK SCOLFORO and MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let a court-ordered redrawing of congressional districts in Pennsylvania proceed, denying a plea from Republicans legislative leaders to block it.
Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency appeals from Pennsylvania, rejected the request from the GOP leaders and voters that the court put on hold an order from the state Supreme Court that could now produce new congressional districts in the coming two weeks.
The Pennsylvania high court ruled last month that the map of 18 districts violated the state constitution because it unfairly benefited Republicans.
The U.S. Supreme Court typically does not review state court decisions based on a state’s constitution, but the Republicans asked the high court to make an exception.
The decision comes just four days before the Republican-controlled Legislature’s deadline for submitting a replacement map for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to consider.
The Democratic-majority state Supreme Court has ruled that if lawmakers and the governor can’t agree to a plan, the court will quickly move to adopt one.
Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation has been 13-5 in favor of Republicans during the three election cycles since the GOP-drawn 2011 map took effect. Democrats have about 800,000 more registered voters than Republicans and hold all three statewide row offices, but Republicans hold solid majorities in both chambers of the Legislature.
Under the process laid out two weeks ago by four of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices, all Democrats, the Legislature has until Friday to pass a new map, after which Wolf will have until Thursday, Feb. 15, to decide whether to endorse it and submit it to the justices.
The state Supreme Court said it expected new districts to be in place by Feb. 19, and the new map will be in play for the May 15 congressional primaries.
Republican leaders successfully defended the 2011 plan against a separate lawsuit in federal court and have complained that the state court order did not provide sufficient guidance for them to draw a new map.
A group of voters persuaded all five Democrats on the state’s seven-justice high court that the map violated the state constitution. The Jan. 22 majority order said new districts should be compact and contiguous and only split counties, cities, towns, boroughs, townships or wards when needed to ensure population equality.
The quick turn-around the majority ordered last month caused one of the Democrats on the court, Justice Max Baer, to state he was “concerned that the procedure detailed by the court may not provide the parties with due process moving forward.”
Late last week the two highest-ranking Republican leaders in the General Assembly, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and House Speaker Mike Turzai, sought recusal of one of the Democratic justices, David Wecht. They argued Wecht had made statements critical of gerrymandering during his successful 2015 campaign that they viewed as evidence of bias.
On Monday, Republican Justice Sallie Mundy filed a notice that she had received a $25,000 campaign donation from Scarnati but was confident she could rule fairly in the case.
The U.S. Supreme Court last month delayed a lower-court order that would have produced new congressional districts in North Carolina. The justices are currently considering challenges to Wisconsin’s state legislative districts and a congressional district in Maryland.
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Sherman reported from Washington.

THIS AFERNOON BEAVER FALLS FIRE OFFICIALS WILL BEGIN THE PROCESS OF DETERMINING THE CAUSE OF A FIRE THAT TOTALLY DESTROYED A HOME ON 9TH AVENUE YESTERDAY MORNING. FIRE CHIEF MARK STOWE GAVE OUR NEWSMAN PAT SEPTAK AN UPDATE MOMENTS AGO…

….BEAVER FALLS FIRE CHIEF MARK STOWE.

ALIQUIPPA’S MAYOR RECENTLY VISITED HEMPFIELD AREA HIGH SCHOOL…AS WE HEAR IN THIS REPORT FROM BEAVER COUNTY RADIO’S SANDY GIORDANO:

P&LE RAILROAD IN ALIQUIPPA HAS CONFIRMED THAT SOME INTERIOR RENOVATIONS ARE NOW IN PROGRESS. BEAVER COUNTY RADIO NEWS CORRESPONDENT SANDY GIORDANO HAS DETAILS…

Shell’s Pipeline plans for the area have ended up being a cause of concern for Ambridge officials. Beaver County Radio News Correspondent Sandy Giordano explains why….

WEATHER FORECAST FOR MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH, 2018

TODAY – SNOW SHOWERS THIS MORNING. REMAINING
PARTLY CLOUDY THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
HIGH – 27.

TONIGHT – MORE SNOW SHOWERS DEVELOPING TONIGHT.
ACCUMULATION LESS THAN AN INCH. LOW – 21.

TUESDAY – CLOUDY. HIGH AROUND 30.

Fire crews are on the scene of a fully engulfed structure fire on 9th Ave. in Beaver Falls. Crews were called to the scene mid morning today, Sunday Febuary 4, 2018. Upon arriving the structure was fully envolved to the point where eventually the structure collapsed. Tune into AM Beaver County with Matt Drzik and Pat Septak tomorrow morning for more on this story. We will also keep you up to date on Beaver county radio.com and our Facebook page.

By MESFIN FEKADU, AP Music Writer
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jennifer Lopez raised money for Hurricane Maria victims in Puerto Rico, celebrated an anniversary with beau Alex Rodriguez and covered Prince songs at a pre-Super Bowl concert in Minneapolis.
Lopez headlined the DIRECTV NOW Super Saturday Night concert, working the stage with sizzling and sharp dance moves and singing hits like “I’m Real” and “Love Don’t Cost a Thing.”
She changed at least seven times during the nearly two-hour concert: She started in a body suit and then switched to a loose jersey that read “J LO” and the No. 13 — one of the many odes to A-Rod.
When she performed her new dance single “Us,” released on Friday, she said worked on the song a year ago — around the time she started dating the former New York Yankee player. Lopez also used a baseball bat as a prop during “Jenny from the Block.”
Though Super Bowl 52 is happening Sunday, when the New England Patriots take on the Philadelphia Eagles, Lopez said “the big show is tonight.”
“You get full time, you get over time … we can do whatever we want to do. There are no censors, ain’t no time delay. We came to play,” she said.
She sported a dramatic, long fur-like coat during a dance break for “If You Had My Love,” weaving in a bit of Sheila E’s “The Glamorous Life.”
Appropriately, she sang a medley of Prince songs for the Minneapolis crowd — including “When Doves Cry” and “Darling Nikki” — and even slide across the stage on her knees while a guitarist gave his best impression of The Purple One. It earned roars from the crowd.
Lopez, 48, also covered Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”; danced to Cardi B’s “Bodak Yellow” and Camila Cabello’s “Havana”; was joined by Ne-Yo for a duet of “All I Have”; and let DJ Khaled work the audience up while she changed outfits.
At one point she said, “We need something sexy for the sexy people from Minneapolis,” and was joined by shirtless male dancers. In a lingerie ensemble, she danced sensually on a chair as red lights shined onto the stage.
She closed the set with a festive vibe with “Let’s Get Loud,” as her dancers played congos and pyrotechnics burst in the air.
Saturday’s concert raised awareness for post-Hurricane Maria relief and recovery effort in Puerto Rico. AT&T said it would match charitable contributions up to $200K to the Hispanic Federation, and it would give a $1 donation to the Hispanic Federation for every tweet using the hashtag #JLoNOW.
Lopez said she wanted “to help all of our friends in Puerto Rico who are still trying to rebuild their lives.”
“Together we can do great things,” she told the audience.