HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party chairman resigned Friday, acceding to Gov. Tom Wolf’s request that he step down in the wake of conflicting messages over how the party should respond to sexual misconduct allegations against politicians and party officials. The last straw seemed to be Marcel Groen’s comments to a columnist this week.
He said the rift underscored the divide between Wolf — who has called for two Democratic state lawmakers to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct — and Groen, who has not lined up the party behind Wolf on it. In a statement, Groen said he did nothing wrong and disagreed with Wolf’s “assessment,” but he agreed to resign because he did not want to be a distraction to the party.
BETHEL PARK, Pa. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence stumped on Friday for a Republican congressional candidate and slammed his Democratic opponent, trying to help the GOP keep the seat in its House majority in the first congressional race of the year. The seat is open because the anti-abortion Republican who held it, Tim Murphy, quit after his hometown newspaper reported he had suggested a mistress get an abortion when they thought she might be pregnant.
Pence addressed about 150 supporters on Friday at a community center in Bethel Park, a borough of greater Pittsburgh. He said state legislator Rick Saccone stands with President Donald Trump’s agenda, including the recently passed tax bill, but ex-federal prosecutor Conor Lamb doesn’t stand with Trump or support those tax cuts.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Features
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An effort is underway to stop a Little Rock radio station’s annual “Babe Bracket,” which allows listeners to vote on 16 local female television anchors in a beauty and popularity contest sponsored by a lingerie shop. A TV station news director who once supported the contest wrote in a blog post Thursday that it was time to end the competition, which is modeled after the NCAA men’s basketball tournament known as “March Madness.”
He and some listeners to the morning call-in radio show say the contest, which started in 1997, doesn’t acknowledge the women’s professional accomplishments and wrongly concentrates on their attractiveness and personality. Others say there’s nothing wrong with it. The contest begins each March with 16 women in eight pairs. Listeners to a KABZ show titled “The Show With No Name” vote on which women they like best. Eventually, 15 are eliminated. Past winners have received a crown and flowers. Stephanie Sharp, an anchor at KARK television, said that amid an international backlash against sexual harassment, the contest is outdated.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan has a new cafe where customers can enjoy coffee brewed and served by a robot barista.
The robot named Sawyer debuted this week at Henna Cafe in Tokyo’s downtown business and shopping district of Shibuya. The shop’s name in Japanese means “strange cafe.” The single-armed robot scans a ticket purchased from a vending machine and greets the customer. “Would you care for a delicious coffee?” the barista, with a screen showing a pair of cartoon eyes, asks in a flat tone.
“I can make one better than human beings around here.” It grinds the coffee beans, fills a filter and pours hot water over a paper cup for up to five people at once. A cup of brewed coffee costs 320 yen ($3) and takes a few minutes. Sawyer can also operate an automated machine for six other hot drinks including cappuccino, hot chocolate and green tea latte. Customers, many of them young men, took photos with their smartphones while they waited in line.
APOLLO, Pa. (AP) — A family has been reunited with its dog 10 years after the dog went missing. Debra Suierveld and her family assumed their dog Abby had died after she ran away in 2008 from their home in Apollo, but decade-old sadness turned to joy on Saturday when Suierveld received word someone had found the dog.
The black Labrador mix showed up on George Speiring’s front porch in Lower Burrell, 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of Apollo. Speiring contacted Animal Protectors of Allegheny Valley, which discovered the dog’s microchip and was able to contact Suierveld. Someone had taken good care of Abby over the years. Abby is in great health and remembers things the family taught her, Suierveld said.
EASTON, Md. (AP) — A waterfowl hunter is in stable condition after a dead goose fell from the sky and knocked him unconscious. Robert Meilhammer of Dorchester County was hunting with three other people when one of them fired at a flock of Canada geese overhead in Easton, near the Miles River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Maryland Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson said a falling goose hit Meilhammer, knocking him out and causing head and facial injuries. The Washington Post reports that when he came to, he knew who he was, but “little else,” according to a Natural Resources police officer. The agency tweeted Friday that Meilhammer was in stable condition and awaiting more tests at a Baltimore trauma center.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is punting on the question of who will win the Super Bowl. The president was asked by reporters Friday if he had a prediction and took a pass. He says: “I better not get involved.” Trump is spending the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles meet Sunday in the 2018 Super Bowl.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved
Sports, Scores & Skeds
Newsradio 1070 WKOK and WKOK.com have a busy weekend of news, sports and AccuWeather. Today onWKOK, we may have a triple-header, with Shikellamy wrestling at 1pm, then there may be a second match on the air at 4. Shikellamy plays boy’s basketball tonight. Tomorrow, the usual Sunday morning line-up includes Legends of Success with John Resnick. The Westwood One takes over with Super Bowl coverage at 2.
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Philadelphia Eagles starting defensive tackle Tim Jernigan has returned to practice after missing two days this week because of an illness. The NFC champions had everyone participate as they continued preparations to face the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. Hall of Famer Brett Favre will address the Eagles on Saturday morning before the team holds a walkthrough at U.S. Bank Stadium.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid opened the first game of back-to-backs in his NBA career with 17 points and 11 rebounds to help lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 103-97 win over the Miami Heat. Ben Simmons scored 20 points. Miami turned a 28-point hole into a four-point game on Wayne Ellington’s 3-pointer with 25 seconds left, but the Sixers survived on a night that resembled a Super Bowl tailgate party for the neighboring Eagles.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Phil Kessel scored twice and added an assist, Evgeni Malkin added two goals and two assists, and the surging Pittsburgh Penguins rolled past the Washington Capitals 7-4. Bryan Rust, Carl Hagelin and Patric Hornqvist also scored for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who won their fourth straight to pull within four points of first-place Washington in the Metropolitan Division. Sidney Crosby had two assists to push his scoring streak to 11 games, the league’s longest active streak.
SCOREBOARD
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
BOY’S
Final Mount Carmel 46 Central Columbia 44
Final Juniata 63 East Juniata 15
Final Greenwood 54 Lancaster City Chr 31
GIRL’S
Final Shamokin 56 Selinsgrove 26
Final Lewisburg 37 Danville 35
Final Mifflinburg 55 Central Columbia 46
Final Mount Carmel 41 Warrior Run 27
Final Jersey Shore 39 Shikellamy 33
Final Midd-West 52 Central Mountain 45
Final Southern Columbia 45 South Williamsport 35
Final Hughesville 58 Line Mountain 45
Final Juniata 45 East Juniata 21
NATIONAL SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Final Charlotte 133 Indiana 126
Final L.A. Lakers 102 Brooklyn 99
Final Toronto 130 Portland 105
Final Boston 119 Atlanta 110
Final Philadelphia 103 Miami 97
Final Milwaukee 92 N-Y Knicks 90
Final Utah 129 Phoenix 97
Final New Orleans 114 Oklahoma City 100
Final Golden State 119 Sacramento 104
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Final Pittsburgh 7 Washington 4
Final Detroit 4 Carolina 1
Final San Jose 3 Columbus 1
Final Minnesota 5 Vegas 2
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Final (22) Rhode Island 81 VCU 68
TODAY’S SPORTS SCHEDULE
———
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION
Chicago at L.A. Clippers 3:30 p.m.
Washington at Orlando 7:00 p.m.
Miami at Detroit 7:00 p.m.
Philadelphia at Indiana 7:00 p.m.
Houston at Cleveland 8:30 p.m.
Utah at San Antonio 9:00 p.m.
Golden State at Denver 9:00 p.m.
New Orleans at Minnesota 9:00 p.m.
Dallas at Sacramento 10:00 p.m.
———
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE
Ottawa at Philadelphia 1:00 p.m.
Anaheim at Montreal 1:00 p.m.
Detroit at Florida 7:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh at New Jersey 7:00 p.m.
St. Louis at Buffalo 7:00 p.m.
Columbus at N-Y Islanders 7:00 p.m.
Colorado at Winnipeg 7:00 p.m.
Toronto at Boston 7:00 p.m.
N-Y Rangers at Nashville 8:00 p.m.
Minnesota at Dallas 8:00 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Vancouver 10:00 p.m.
Chicago at Calgary 10:00 p.m.
Arizona at L.A. Kings 10:30 p.m.
———
TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL
(2) Virginia at Syracuse 4:00 p.m.
(3) Purdue at Rutgers 4:00 p.m.
(4) Duke at St. John’s 12:00 p.m.
(5) Michigan St. at Indiana 8:15 p.m.
Georgetown at (6) Xavier 6:00 p.m.
Oklahoma St. at (7) Kansas 12:00 p.m.
(8) Cincinnati at UConn 12:00 p.m.
(9) Arizona at Washington 10:30 p.m.
(10) Texas Tech at TCU 2:00 p.m.
Vanderbilt at (11) Auburn 8:30 p.m.
(12) Oklahoma at Texas 6:15 p.m.
(13) Saint Mary’s (Cal) at San Diego 9:00 p.m.
BYU at (14) Gonzaga 10:00 p.m.
Kansas St. at (15) West Virginia 4:00 p.m.
Mississippi at (18) Tennessee 6:00 p.m.
Pittsburgh at (19) North Carolina 8:00 p.m.
(20) Clemson at Wake Forest 2:00 p.m.
(21) Kentucky at Missouri 2:00 p.m.
Alabama at (23) Florida 4:00 p.m.
Minnesota at (24) Michigan 2:30 p.m.
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved