MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Prosecutors’ case against former Officer Derek Chauvin drew toward a close Monday with tender memories from George Floyd’s younger brother and testimony from a police use-of-force expert who said no “reasonable” officer would have done what Chauvin did.

By DEBBIE WACHTER

Bobby Terpilowski is playing for a championship Tuesday.

Lawrence County reported a combined 37 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday and Monday, state health officials reported.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden White House is amplifying the push for its $2.3 trillion infrastructure package with the release of state-by-state breakdowns that show the dire shape of roads, bridges, the power grid and housing affordability.

HARRISBURG — Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday that all Pennsylvanians 16-and-over will be eligible to schedule COVID-19 vaccinations beginning on Tuesday.

An Ellwood City man was killed and two others were seriously injured in a one-car accident just after midnight on Thursday in Mercer County, state police said.

Twenty-three of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties got funding from a non-profit organization largely funded by a donation from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to help cover the increased costs associated with running an election during a pandemic.

The philanthropy of a New Castle woman and her family is being posthumously recognized for helping to fund the research of oncologist Dr. Dennis J. Slamon at the University of California in Los Angeles.

Elijah Groves just wants more ease while singing and dancing at Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School.

A Sharon woman is accused of providing two people with fentanyl, which ended up causing them to overdose.

Four girls have been charged with arson, accused of setting a fire that destroyed an unoccupied Ferndale Borough house last week and sent a police officer and a firefighter to the hospital, Ferndale police Chief John Blake said Friday.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Derek Chauvin's defense attorney was questioning George Floyd's girlfriend about the couple buying drugs when he abruptly shifted gears for what seemed an innocuous question: He presumed the couple had pet names for each other. Under what name, he asked, did she appear in …

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two big South Korean electric vehicle battery makers said Sunday they have settled a long-running trade dispute that will allow one company to move ahead with plans to manufacture batteries in Georgia.

PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It was supposed to be a unifying weekend for a Republican Party at war with itself over former President Donald Trump’s divisive leadership. But Trump himself shattered two days of relative peace in his closing remarks to the GOP’s top donors when he insulted the part…

Lawrence County reported 15 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, state health officials reported.

New Castle News picked up four honors, including a first place for NCN Editor Jeffery Gerritt, in the annual Best of CNHI editorial contest, sponsored by CNHI LLC., an Alabama-based media company with more than 90 local news outlets in 21 states.

The number of abortion providers and the number of abortions provided in Pennsylvania have both decreased over the last decade, lawmakers were told at a House health committee hearing on Thursday.

Shenango Township’s announcement that it will place liens on homes that have not been connected to public sewer and water lines has gotten results.

MILLCREEK TOWNSHIP (AP) — A New Castle man is in the Erie County Prison after he was thrown out of a bar for allegedly harassing another patron for wearing a face mask then tried to reenter the establishment armed with a gun and fired a shot.

Department of Health Acting Secretary Alison Beam on Friday urged Pennsylvanians to cancel unneeded vaccine appointments. 

Lawrence County reported 16 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, state health officials reported. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden released a $1.5 trillion wish list for his first federal budget Friday, asking for substantial gains for Democratic priorities including education, health care, housing and environmental protection.

A revived financial picture for Lawrence County has enabled the commissioners to fully repay its $3 million tax anticipation loan, just three months into the year.

UPMC has begun administering its first doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine in Venango County for residents in a nine-county area that includes Lawrence County.

A 50-year-old North Hill man won’t face homicide or other charges for fatally shooting Darius Ramsey, 22, of Young Street, during a shoot out Thursday afternoon.

HERMITAGE — A normally quiet place, Dr. Charles Gulland’s office in Hermitage was bustling Wednesday afternoon as staff members loaded vehicles in preparation for their annual deliveries to the area’s first responders.

New Castle's city council opened bids to purchase two vacant lots and acted on several resolutions and conditional use requests at a quick meeting Thursday evening.

The state will roll out a new website for people seeking jobless benefits in June, updating a 40-year-old computer system that was strained by the unprecedented spike in unemployment claims last year as the pandemic shutdown vast swathes of the economy.

HARRISBURG (AP) — Voters who sign a Pennsylvania political candidate's nominating petition have to list the address where they are registered to vote or it does not count, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden, in his first gun control measures since taking office, announced a half-dozen executive actions Thursday aimed at addressing a proliferation of gun violence across the nation that he called an “epidemic and an international embarrassment."

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A major Pennsylvania construction contractor was charged Thursday with stealing tens of millions of dollars from its own workers by systematically violating state and federal prevailing wage laws on taxpayer-funded public infrastructure projects.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — George Floyd died of a lack of oxygen from being pinned to the pavement with a knee on his neck, a medical expert testified at former Officer Derek Chauvin’s murder trial Thursday, emphatically rejecting the defense theory that Floyd's drug use and underlying health proble…

New Castle police are investigating a shooting in Neshannock Village that claimed the life of a New Castle man Thursday afternoon.

Lawrence County Common Pleas Judge John W. Hodge crafted what he saw as an appropriate sentence Thursday for a 22-year-old man accused raping a 6-year-old girl when he was about 14 years old.

BAGHDAD (AP) — The mission of U.S. forces in Iraq has shifted to training and advisory roles, allowing for redeployment of combat forces remaining in the country, U.S. and Iraq delegates said Wednesday, after a third round of strategic U.S.-Iraq talks.

The state House on Wednesday passed legislation that would open a window for lawsuits by survivors of childhood sex abuse without first seeking to change the Constitution.

State officials say they believe the state may be nearing a plateau in this new surge, even as COVID cases continue to climb.

Educate and assist — the Crisis Shelter of Lawrence County wants to do both throughout April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The lack of a quorum postponed New Castle's planning commission and an appeal that could bring craft spirits to the downtown area.