[naviga:h3]Toomey criticizes Trump’s actions[/naviga:h3]

BETHLEHEM — U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey took several shots at President Donald Trump Thursday.

Toomey said he hopes investigators get to the bottom of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. He also panned Trump’s response to the violence in Charlottesville, Va., and criticized the Republican president’s pardon of former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Toomey spoke Thursday at a televised town hall.

Protesters outside called the town hall a sham, noting the studio audience was limited to 54 people. They said Toomey should meet with a wider range of constituents in a larger venue.

Toomey said he takes questions from constituents all the time and isn’t interested “in a disruptive event.”

Trump has defended his response to the deadly violence in Virginia and his pardoning of the sheriff.

[naviga:h3]Profs try to develop ‘fake news’ filter[/naviga:h3]

UNIVERSITY PARK, — Two Penn State professors have received $300,000 from the National Science Foundation to develop technology that will enable digital devices to weed out “fake news.”

The university said Dongwon Lee, a professor of information sciences and technology, and S. Shyam Sundar, a communications professor, are working on the project.

Lee said, “Fake news has been around for decades” but has been “exacerbated” on Internet and social media platforms.

The professors plan to investigate “characteristic indicators of fake news.”