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Pa. budget talks heated as deadline nears

HARRISBURG (AP) — Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro is trying to wrap up his first budget by Saturday’s start of the new fiscal year, as he works to balance Pennsylvania’s politically divided Legislature in perhaps the biggest test yet of his political skills under the Capitol dome. The last few days have become particularly contentious, as a constellation of public school advocates have organized to oppose an emerging agreement between Shapiro and Republicans who control the Senate majority. The contention is primarily around what Republicans call “lifeline scholarships,” using ...

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — The last of several teenagers charged in the shooting death of a classmate in a drug-related robbery more than three years ago in Pennsylvania has been sentenced to prison following a plea deal. Damien Green, now 19, was sentenced Friday to 15 to 30 years after pleading guilty to third-degree murder in Blair County Court, The (Altoona) Mirror reported. Prosecutors agreed to reduce the charge from second-degree murder, and Green also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery and illegal use of a communication facility. Prosecutors said Green and ...

Cabrini University to close after ‘23-24 school year, Villanova will acquire campus

RADNOR, Pa. (AP) — Cabrini University has announced that it will close at the end of the 2023-24 school year, with Villanova University assuming ownership of the nearby land in the Philadelphia suburbs where the fellow Roman Catholic university is located. Cabrini’s interim president Helen Drinan called it “difficult news” in a video statement Friday, saying the 66-year-old institution would graduate “it’s final class” in 2024. “Faced with significant financial challenges, exacerbated by declining enrollment and the COVID-19 pandemic,” Drinan said, officials ...

Section of heavily traveled I-95 collapses

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An elevated section of Interstate 95 collapsed early Sunday in Philadelphia after a tanker truck carrying flammable cargo caught fire, closing a heavily traveled segment of the East Coast’s main north-south highway indefinitely, authorities said. Transportation officials warned of extensive delays and street closures and urged drivers to avoid the area in the city’s northeast corner. Officials said the tanker contained a petroleum product that may have been hundreds of gallons of gasoline. The fire took about an hour to get under control. The northbound ...

Pa to invest in growing its space ecosystem

PITTSBURGH – During the Keystone Space Conference in Pittsburgh, Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Rick Siger announced new investments by the Shapiro Administration to boost Pennsylvania’s leadership in the aerospace sector. Siger highlighted a $200,000 award through the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority to the Keystone Space Collaborative to support the region-wide pilot Keystone Space Innovation Challenge program. He also announced that DCED has approved an expansion of the Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Zone (KIZ) in ...

Judge weighs child sex case

Altoona Mirror HOLLIDAYSBURG — A Blair County judge is being asked to render verdicts on child rape, sexual assault, pornography and related charges in a case where the defendant’s cellphone video recordings were offered Thursday in court as evidence against him. Richard Scott Sensibaugh, 37, asked for the trial-by-judge on 59 counts of child sexual offenses filed in 2021 by state police at Hollidaysburg. While defense attorney Lyle Dresbold of Pittsburgh conceded to Judge Jackie Bernard that guilty verdicts would be appropriate for some offenses, Dresbold challenged other ...