NFL remarks on football-brain link come before court ruling

House votes to legalize medical marijuana in Pennsylvania

Good evening! Here's a look at AP's general news coverage today in Pennsylvania. For questions about the state report, contact the Philadelphia bureau at 215-561-1133. Ron Todt is on the desk in Philadelphia. Editor Josh Cornfield can be reached at 215-561-1133 or lrosenthal@ap.org. A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories may not develop, or late-breaking and more newsworthy events may take precedence. Advisories, digests and digest advisories will keep you up to date. TOP STORIES: PENNSYLVANIA BUDGET HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf threatened Wednesday to veto a fresh piece of spending legislation that Republicans offered as an end to an eight-month budget fight, but that the Democrat criticized as "irresponsible and unbalanced" without a tax increase. By Marc Levy. SENT: About 560 words. With: — PENNSYLVANIA BUDGET-HIGHLIGHTS. XGR-MEDICAL MARIJUANA HARRISBURG — A proposal to allow patients who suffer from a list of ailments to obtain marijuana for therapeutic purposes is nearing a final vote in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and the measure appears on track to become state law in the near future. By Mark Scolforo. SENT: NewsNow. UPCOMING: About. 450 words by 7 p.m. EDT. FUGITIVE SLAIN-POLICE CHIEF BOSTON — For more than two decades, Donald Eugene Webb was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, suspected of fatally shooting the police chief in a small Pennsylvania town in 1980 before vanishing. Webb has the dubious distinction of having one of the longest tenures on the list. The FBI, still dogged by the killing, recently stepped up publicity around its $100,000 reward to try to focus attention on the long-cold search for Webb. By Denise Lavoie. SENT: About 630 words. APPEALS COURT APPOINTMENT PITTSBURGH — President Barack Obama has nominated a federal prosecutor from Pittsburgh to fill a seat on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The nomination of Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Ross Haywood was made Tuesday, a day before the president nominated District of Columbia Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland to the U.S. Supreme Court. SENT: About 420 words. COOKOUT AMBUSH PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh's mayor and its police are bracing for possible retaliation after last week's ambush shooting at a cookout in neighboring Wilkinsburg that killed five people and an unborn child. SENT: About 400 words. CHIPOTLE-TWITTER FIRING HAVERTOWN — An administrative law judge says Chipotle's social media policy violated the National Labor Relations Act when the company fired an employee who criticized the fast-food outlet on Twitter. SENT: About 400 words. CPR-AIRPORT KIOSKS Lickenbrock taught himself the lifesaving skill at one of the kiosks, then used it just two days later to revive Ferguson, who had been hit by lightning. By Kathy Matheson. SENT: About 660 words, AP Photos, AP Video. CIVIL RIGHTS CASES-POLICE PITTSBURGH — Federal prosecutors declined to pursue civil rights allegations against law enforcement officers 96 percent of the time since 1995, a newspaper found, with most experts blaming the low prosecution rate on the difficulty of winning such cases. SENT: About 550 words. PHILADELPHIA TOURISM-EMBEZZLEMENT PHILADELPHIA — The former chief financial officer of the Philadelphia-area tourism bureau has been charged with embezzling $200,000 from the nonprofit organization, spending the money on fancy dinners, skin care regimens and a New York furrier, a district attorney said Wednesday. SENT: About 310 words. EXCHANGE: EXCHANGE-HAIRCUT AND BEER INDIANA, Pa. — A new Indiana business is aiming to revamp the old-fashioned barber shop into a place that men of all ages will look forward to going to, whether it's for a haircut, the environment, or the cold draft beer that comes with every standard adult cut. Indiana native Matt Kowchuck, who said he has been cutting hair for 20 years, opened Matt's Cuts last month with an eye to creating a "man cave" atmosphere. "I think all guys in general are tired of going to beauty salons and getting their hair cut by women," he said. "They want a guy's atmosphere." Besides the warm chocolate leather, dark wood furniture and two flat-screen TVs — one of which is equipped with a PlayStation game console, and the other streaming sports — he offers one complimentary draft beer from Levity Brewing Co. with every adult haircut as long as the guest is 21 years or older. Casey Kelly, Indiana Gazette. SENT: About 870 words. IN BRIEF: PENNSYLVANIA CONGRESSMAN-INDICTED — A federal judge has rejected a Pennsylvania congressman's motion to dismiss a racketeering case against him, clearing the way for a trial scheduled for May. CAMPAIGN 2016-PENNSYLVANIA — Supporters of failed presidential candidate Marco Rubio are ending a court challenge seeking to knock Republican presidential rival John Kasich off Pennsylvania's primary ballot. CHILDREN'S MUSEUM-BANKRUPTCY — A Philadelphia children's museum has emerged from the bankruptcy it declared after borrowing more money than it could pay back to renovate a new home in Fairmount Park's Memorial Hall. POLICE ACADEMY-CHEATING INVESTIGATION — The Pennsylvania State Police commissioner is requesting an outside investigation into misconduct as the agency probes possible cheating by cadets. TURNPIKE SPEED LIMIT — The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has approved an increase in the speed limit from 65 mph to 70 mph along most of the toll road. PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR-PROSTATE CANCER — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says he will have radioactive seeds implanted to treat what he calls a treatable form of prostate cancer he first disclosed last month. POLICE SHOOTING-KNIFE — A central Pennsylvania prosecutor says police officers were justified in shooting to death a man armed with a knife last fall. FATAL HEROIN OVERDOSE-INDICTMENT — A Pittsburgh man will face a federal judge today on charges he supplied painkiller-laced heroin that killed a Pittsburgh man and nearly killed a second last year. FATAL SHOOTING-ARGUMENT — A man has been jailed on charges he fatally shot another man after an argument at a western Pennsylvania public housing complex. SCAVENGER FINDS PIPE BOMB — Federal agents are investigating a pipe bomb found in a western Pennsylvania garbage container by a woman who was scavenging. CAR-SURFING DEATH — A cousin who was driving the car has been charged in the car-surfing death of a 15-year-old Pittsburgh boy who fell off the car face-first. NAZARETH TEACHERS — An eastern Pennsylvania borough's school district says a planned strike Friday by teachers may be illegal. BREAST MILK BANK — The first donor breast milk bank in the western Pennsylvania region is opening in Pittsburgh and will be the only one supplying hospitals throughout the state. DENSE FOG — Motorists are urged to use caution as dense fog blankets parts of Pennsylvania. FATAL ATV CRASH — Authorities say a western Pennsylvania man is dead following an all-terrain vehicle crash. MENINGITIS DEATH-STUDENT — School officials in Philadelphia say a 15-year-old boy has died of bacterial meningitis. SCHOOL BULLET THREAT — Police have charged a student with leaving a bullet and a threat of violence in a boys' bathroom at a central Pennsylvania high school. FATAL SHOOTING-ARGUMENT — A man has been jailed on charges he fatally shot another man after an argument at a western Pennsylvania public housing complex. SPORTS: NFL-CTE PHILADELPHIA — The NFL's sudden acknowledgement of a link between football and brain disease comes as a U.S. appeals court prepares to rule on the fairness of a likely $1 billion settlement that excludes future CTE diagnoses. By Maryclaire Dale. SENT: About 420 words. HKN--FLYERS-BLACKHAWKS CHICAGO — The surging Philadelphia Flyers travel to Chicago to take on the slumping Blackhawks. Philadelphia has won seven of nine to gain ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race, while Chicago has dropped four of five to fall off the pace in the tough Central Division. By Jay Cohen. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos. Game starts 7 p.m. EDT. PITT--PRO DAY PITTSBURGH — Tyler Boyd shook out his legs, put his hands on the goal line and tried not think about the most important 4.5ish seconds of his football life. The former Pittsburgh wide receiver took off in a flash, his white compression shirt, gray shorts and green-and-orange cleats a blur as two dozen NFL scouts looked on, thumbs hovering over stopwatches. Boyd powered his way through the end of his 40-yard dash, the scouts hitting the "stop" button in near unison. By Will Graves. BBO--PIRATES-ORIOLES SARASOTA, Fla. — Right-hander Juan Nicasio struck out 10 Orioles in four innings in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 9-3 loss to Baltimore on Wednesday. WRE--NCAA WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS STATE COLLEGE — Portraits of past NCAA wrestling champions line a far wall inside Penn State's practice facility, where Bo Nickal has spent a majority of his last two years hoping to add his own. The redshirt freshman now has his chance. He'll also have an opportunity to help the No. 1 Nittany Lions (16-0, 9-0 Big Ten) reclaim their hold on the college wrestling world when the NCAA Wrestling Championships begin Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York. By Travis Johnson. SENT: About 680 words. SWM--PIAA SWIMMING LEWISBURG — North Allegheny showed its strength during the morning preliminaries during the first day of the PIAA Class AAA boys' swimming championships at Bucknell University on Wednesday. ___ If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please email them to phillyap@ap.org. If you have photos of regional or statewide interest, please send them to the AP state photo center in New York, 888-273-6867. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or 877-836-9477. MARKETPLACE: Calling your attention to the Marketplace in AP Exchange, where you can find member-contributed content from Pennsylvania and other states. The Marketplace is accessible on the left navigational pane of the AP Exchange home page, near the bottom. For both national and state, you can click "All" or search for content by topics such as education, politics and business.

AP-PA--Pennsylvania News Digest, PA