Teen's death at special-needs school ruled a homicide

Team building, communication part of the fun in escape rooms

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. Kristen de Groot is on the desk. Editor Josh Cornfield can be reached at 215-446-6631 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 A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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. Some TV and radio stations will receive shorter APNewsNow versions of the stories below, along with updates. UPCOMING SATURDAY: PENNSYLVANIA BUDGET HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf promised $2 billion in cuts and savings in his new proposal to fix the state's deficit-riddled finances, but that's not necessarily what he delivered. His budget plan is lean in a lot of ways, but he climbed to the $2 billion figure by counting new sources of revenue that may never materialize and federal funding that, arguably, would have come to the state regardless. By Marc Levy. UPCOMING: 700 words by noon ET. UPCOMING SUNDAY: HOLLAND TUNNEL WEAPONS CACHE The fates of three Pennsylvania residents who said they were on a rescue mission to help save a teenager from a drug house when they were stopped at the Holland Tunnel with a cache of weapons could be decided by a New Jersey judge Monday. But for the young woman herself, the story has already ended tragically. By Josh Cornfield. UPCOMING: 500 words by noon. FRIDAY'S TOP STORIES: PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY PHILADELPHIA — District Attorney Seth Williams has announced he won't run for a third term amid an FBI probe into $160,000 worth of gifts he initially failed to report. Reports show the gifts included a new roof, a $2,700 couch and luxury vacations. He has agreed to pay $62,000 in related fines. By Maryclaire Dale. SENT: 500 words. With AP photos. FORD-AUTONOMOUS CAR INVESTMENT SAN FRANCISCO — Ford Motor is spending $1 billion to take over a robotics startup to acquire more of the expertise needed to reach its ambitious goal of having a fully driverless vehicle on the road by 2021. The big bet announced Friday comes just a few months after the Pittsburgh startup, Argo AI, was created by two alumni of Carnegie Mellon University's robotics program, Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander. By Michael Liedtke. SENT: 587 words. AP Photos NYDK512-0211161223. ELSEWHERE: GREAT LAKES-AQUACULTURE FENTON, Mich. — A member of Congress is sponsoring a bill to prohibit fish farming in waters of the Great Lakes within the United States. Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan says poorly operated aquaculture facilities can increase pollution, destroy fish habitat, spread disease and introduce non-native species. CASSELMAN COAL MINE GRANTSVILLE, Md. — The Maryland Department of the Environment is giving a western Maryland coal mine permission to increase the amount of water it discharges into the Casselman River as production increases. The agency announced on Thursday its final determination to renew a discharge permit for the Casselman Mine, owned by Corsa Coal Corp. of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. IN BRIEF: —SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOL-DEATH — The death of a 17-year-old boy at a private Philadelphia school for children with special needs has been ruled a homicide. —LANDFILL LANDSLIDE — The body of a missing Pennsylvania landfill worker who was buried when a mound of garbage and dirt slid down onto him has been found. —HIGH SCHOOL GAME-RACIST CHANTS — Parents say black high school basketball players were targeted with racist chants during a game in western Pennsylvania where the home team was celebrating "Hick Night." —MILITARY-BLIMP — The U.S. Army is denying 35 claims for more than $1.5 million in damage caused when a blimp broke loose in Maryland and came to rest in the Pennsylvania countryside in 2015. —TROOPER ASSAULT-ARREST — Police say a suspect has been arrested for assaulting a trooper after a traffic stop on a busy western Pennsylvania highway after being on the run for a month. —MARTIN SHEEN-JUDGE — Martin Sheen has briefly reprised his "West Wing" role as president in a new ad backing his friend seeking election as a Pennsylvania judge. —SOLITARY CONFINEMENT RULING — Pennsylvania prisons can no longer keep former death-row inmates in solitary confinement after their sentences have been changed. —PITTSBURGH-LIGHT RAIL — Passengers are facing delays on Pittsburgh's light rail. The Port Authority of Allegheny County says Friday's delays are related to a power problem. —PHILADELPHIA POLICE-TATTOOS — The Philadelphia Police Department will implement a new policy on tattoos in the wake of a controversy. —FUEL SPILL-EVACUATIONS — Dozens of residents are back home after a fuel spill forced their evacuation in Bucks County. —HOME INVASION — Police saved two Philadelphia women in the middle of a home invasion. —METH LAB-WESTMORELAND — Police say they have found evidence of a meth lab in a Westmoreland County mobile home. —ATTEMPTED ROBBERY-DELI — Police say a Philadelphia deli owner shot a man who tried to rob him. SPORTS: DIAMONDBACKS-PIRATES TRADE PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates bolstered their infield depth on Friday, acquiring Phil Gosselin from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league pitcher Frank Duncan. The 28-year-old Gosselin hit .277 with 12 doubles, two home runs and 13 RBI in 122 games for Arizona in 2016. He led the majors in both pinch hit appearances (83) and pinch hits (20) last season. Both numbers set new club records. PIRATES-MCKECHNIE FIELD RENAMED PITTSBURGH — McKechnie Field, the longtime spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates, is getting a new name. The club announced Friday it has reached a naming rights agreement with Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine to rebrand the stadium LECOM Park. ___ 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.

BC-PA--Pennsylvania News Digest, PA