Pennsylvania News
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Georgia man to plead in Pa. homeless check scam
PITTSBURGH (AP) — One of four Atlanta men charged with enlisting homeless people to cash counterfeit business checks in the Pittsburgh area is set to plead guilty in the scheme. Twenty-four-year-old Cordarell Pearson is scheduled to plead guilty Wednesday before a federal judge in Pittsburgh. Three of his friends remain charged in the case and are free awaiting trial. Federal
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Vet charged in killings wants to represent self
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — An Iraq war veteran accused of fatally shooting two people in a Pennsylvania sandwich shop shooting wants to represent himself at sentencing if he's convicted of first-degree murder next month. A Blair County judge scheduled a hearing for Feb. 29 on Nicholas Horner's request to represent himself during sentencing if he's facing the death penalty. Horner
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Pa. fugitive who once faked suicide arrested again
ERIE, Pa. (AP) — A man who once faked his own death to avoid prosecution has been arrested in another case after nearly 10 years on the run from authorities in northwestern Pennsylvania. Peter Michael Russell is back in Erie after being taken into custody last month following a domestic dispute in Las Vegas. Russell had been wanted in forgery
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Pa. school district approves ads inside buses
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania school district plans to put advertisements on the inside of its buses as it tries to deal with cuts in state funding. Parkland School District's board approved the plan Tuesday night to place ads on the inside of 46 high school buses in its first year. The district's remaining 50 buses would get ads
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Pa. man gets 20 to 40 years in mother's death
A western Pennsylvania man who pleaded guilty to shooting his mother to death more than a year ago has been sentenced to the maximum term of 20 to 40 years in prison. Twenty-four-year-old Andrew Choros of Cresson pleaded guilty to third-degree murder last month in Cambria County Court. Police said Choros shot and killed his 50-year-old mother, Sharon, in October
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Pa. Christian college sues over birth control regs
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Christian college in western Pennsylvania has sued the federal government saying regulations that require employers to offer birth control coverage that includes drugs that abort fertilized embryos are "directly at odds with the religious message it wishes to convey," and that President Barack Obama's announced compromise on the issue is "fictitious." Officials with Geneva College announced
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Pa. shelter owner to trial in euthanized dog case
MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. (AP) — The owner of a Pittsburgh-area animal shelter must stand trial on charges he stole more than $37,000 in state funds by telling a "sleeping" dogs lie. The agency's organized crime unit says 74-year-old Bernard Dudash collected the money from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for dogs he claimed to put to sleep, which never existed.
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Pa. lottery retiring "Gus" groundhog pitchman
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Gus the groundhog, the furry fictional pitchman for the Pennsylvania lottery, is headed for the unemployment line. Lottery officials say they are retiring the character described as "the second-most famous groundhog in Pennsylvania," Executive Director Todd Rucci said at a legislative hearing Tuesday that the television campaign featuring Gus ended this month, although he will still
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W. Pa. man convicted of killing 3 friends in crash
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A judge says Pittsburgh-area man is guilty of homicide by vehicle and involuntary manslaughter in a crash that killed three of his friends. Judge Jeffrey A. Manning convicted 21-year-old Ryan Safka of Upper St. Clair on all 11 charges stemming from an accident along Interstate 376 two years ago. The judge says he relied on evidence from
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Hermitage Woman Gets Prison in Daycare Fraud Ring
A 48-year-old woman will spend 16 to 48 months in prison and must repay $570,000 to the state Department of Public Welfare for a fraud involving two day care centers she ran in western Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Tuesday that Kelley Culp submitted false child-care and employee records to obtain more state funding than she was entitled to receive
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Non-Profit to Look at Health Impacts of Drilling
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A nonprofit group has opened an office to assess the public health impacts of Marcellus Shale gas development in western Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Tuesday that the Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project opened an office last week about 15 miles southwest of Pittsburgh. The group says there are growing local concerns over the potential health effects
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Lawsuit seeks to force Pa. speaker to hold races
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Residents of six Pennsylvania state House districts that aren't currently represented because their lawmakers have been elected to other offices are asking the state Supreme Court to force special elections to be held alongside the April 24 primary. Attorney Kevin Greenberg said Tuesday that the high court gave House Speaker Sam Smith and Secretary of State
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DA: Argument prompted father's fatal shooting
THORNDALE, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say an argument prompted a Pennsylvania man to shoot and kill his father inside the family home. Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan says 26-year-old Derek Smith was taken into custody shortly after killing his father, Steve Washington, Monday evening at his Caln Township home. Smith was arraigned early Tuesday on charges including first- and
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Pa. Christian college sues over birth control regs
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A Christian college in western Pennsylvania has sued the federal government saying that requiring employers to offer birth control coverage that includes drugs that abort fertilized embryos are "directly at odds with the religious message it wishes to convey." The lawsuit filed Tuesday by Geneva College by the Alliance Defense Fund, also says that President Barack Obama's
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Cabot, Williams Announce New Marcellus Pipeline
ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) — A natural gas driller and a pipeline company are proposing to build a new pipeline to carry natural gas from Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale to the New York and New England markets. Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. and Tulsa, Okla.-based Williams Partners LP announced plans for the high-pressure, large-diameter pipeline on Tuesday. The 120-mile Constitution Pipeline
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Pa. man busted on drug warrant after casino win
ALTOONA, Pa. (AP) — A central Pennsylvania man accuse of dealing drugs had his luck run out when he won $2,500 playing blackjack at a casino near Philadelphia. Altoona police say 34-year-old Mateen Johnson was arrested Saturday because he had to produce identification to cash out his winnings at Philadelphia Park Racetrack & Casino in Bucks County. Casino officials learned
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Baby sitter pleads no contest in Pa. baby death
CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A baby sitter has pleaded no-contest to child endangerment in the death of a baby who police say was shaken to death by a 9-year-old girl in her central Pennsylvania home. Fifty-seven-year-old Dottie Bowers entered her plea Monday in Franklin County Court. She is scheduled to be sentenced April 18. Bowers was watching 10-month-old Heath Ryder
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AP reporting on NYPD is among Polk Award winners
NEW YORK (AP) — Four Associated Press reporters who uncovered controversial New York Police Department tactics used to investigate possible terrorist threats in the Muslim community and a 24-year-old crime reporter whose work helped expose the Penn State child sex scandal are among the recipients of the 63rd annual George Polk Awards in Journalism. The awards were to be announced
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Police: Driver to face charges in fatal Pa. crash
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a driver will face charges in a crash that killed another driver. Police say an officer spotted a sport utility vehicle driving erratically in the Pittsburgh suburb of Penn Hills on Saturday evening. Chief Howard Burton says the officer turned around and pursued the SUV, but was unable to catch up before
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Police: Car in fatal Pa. accident believed found
LEVITTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Police in suburban Philadelphia say they have recovered a car they believe to be the one that struck and killed a man over the weekend — but they are still looking for the driver. Authorities in Bucks County say 36-year-old Eric Beck of Levittown man was walking to a nearby store in Bristol Township to meet
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Death following shooting at Pa. gun club probed
LEESPORT, Pa. (AP) — Authorities say a man shot at an eastern Pennsylvania gun club has died. Northern Berks Regional Police were called to the Leesport Gun Club in Ontelaunee Township just after 5:30 p.m. Sunday. Chief Scott W. Eaken says a group of three or four people had been firing rifles, pistols and a shotgun for at least an
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Woman's trail of fake pregnancies ends in Pa. jail
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Amy Slanina is sitting in a western Pennsylvania jail cell on charges that she stole the services of a women's shelter by claiming to be the battered wife of a cop who shelter officials eventually determined didn't exist. But that arrest has shone a spotlight on her history, tracked down through court records and interviews conducted by
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Penn State dance marathon raises $10.68 million
Officials say the annual Penn State dance marathon has raised a record $10.68 million to benefit pediatric cancer patients, an event held for the first time without late coach Joe Paterno. The total shattered last year's record $9.5 million for the 46-hour event. It was announced Sunday afternoon to more than 700 dancers who began to tango and twist on
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WV man charged in Pa. crash that killed deputy
MOUNT MORRIS, Pa. (AP) — A West Virginia man has been charged with homicide by vehicle and murder of a law enforcement agent in a crash that killed a deputy sheriff in western Pennsylvania. Authorities in Greene County allege that 35-year-old Jerod Green of Morgantown, W.Va., was driving under the influence and hit another vehicle, but refused to stop and
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New rules for school background checks challenged
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Some teachers and other school employees who have criminal pasts are fighting to keep their jobs in light of a recently revised Pennsylvania law aimed at protecting children. The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News says at least four lawsuits have been filed around the commonwealth challenging the state Department of Education's application of new rules about criminal histories to current