Today's News-Tuesday, July 24th

A community is in mourning today following the death of a mother and son in a Cressona fire yesterday. The early morning fire gutted the Shaak family home at 75 Wilder Street, and took the life of Lisa Shaak and her 4 year-old son Joab. Shaak's husband James, 9-year-old Noah and Lisa's mother Sandy Spirko were all able to escape. James was taken to the hospital for treatment. The home was reportedly engulfed in flames when the alarm was called in after 2am. Lisa Shaak was apparently protecting her son from the smoke and flames in a second floor hallway when she was overcome. State police fire marshal John Burns determined that the fire originated in the basement of the home. Damages are estimated at $200-thousand-dollars. Fire crews from Schuylkill and Berks counties battled the blaze.

A Pottsville woman is charged with stealing money and other crimes from her Berks county employer. 26-year-old Patricia Ann Long is accused of various offenses after she submitted false invoices to her employer, JMH Trailers, of Hamburg. The invoices quoted work that was never performed. Long submitted the bogus bills for a non-existent company, and received over $16-thousand-dollars in the process. Long is also accused of having another check written out to her non-existent company for more than $40-thousand-dollars, but that check was not honored by the bank. She is also accused of taking more than $3-thousand-dollars in cash that she received on behalf of the company, which should have been deposited in the bank. The thefts took place from May to July of this year. Long voluntarily turned herself in and was arraigned yesterday on 6 felony and 8 misdemeanor counts. She was released on her own recognizance. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 30th.

State police are looking for the persons who broke into a West Brunswick Township home yesterday. Troopers from Schuylkill Haven say that between 7 am and 9:45 last night, someone entered a home on Summer Valley Road by prying open a breezeway door. Once inside, the thieves rummaged through the home, removing several items and damaging others. They were gone from the scene when the owner's returned. The investigation continues.

The first day of Joe Snedeker’s "GO JOE" tour came to a wild conclusion in downtown Pottsville yesterday. Polka music, classic cars and a crowd of hundreds welcomed the WNEP weatherman to downtown Pottsville yesterday. Snedeker embarks on the Go Joe ride each year to raise money for St. Joseph's Center in Dunmore, a facility for those with severe mental and physical challenges. He is riding his bicycle across northeast and central Pennsylvania this week. Snedeker tells us that the idea started small, and he hopes that it will create a legacy for St. Joe's. The quirky weatherman was joined by meteorologist Tom Clark, and Pennsylvania Outdoor Life host Don Jacobs during the stop, which included live TV appearances during the evening’s newscasts. Mary Adams of Pottsville tells us that she watches Joe nearly every day and enjoys his antics. Today, Snedeker left Pottsville, riding to Knoebel's Amusement Resort in Elysburg for lunch, and ends his day in Lewisburg, Union County. GO JOE!

An Illinois man who was being transported by Shenandoah police threatened those officers Sunday night. 34-year-old Charles Horn was being taken to the Shenandoah police holding cell at the request of Frackville police. During transport, Horn shouted profanities at the police and threatened to kill the officer. In addition, Horn was kicking at the windows in the car. Captain Jamie Gennarini, who was driving the prisoner, pulled over and told Horn to settle down or he would spray him with pepper spray. Horn didn’t heed the warning, and was sprayed. At the station, Horn spit on one of the officers and had to be subdued before returning him to the cell. Horn was arrested by Frackville police Sunday night for public drunkenness. Frackville police asked Shenandoah PD for help, leading to the fracas. Horn is a construction worker who has been in the Frackville area for a while.

WHITE HOUSE (AP) - President Bush is heading to South Carolina today to make his case for giving his Iraq strategy more time. He's visiting Charleston Air Force Base to address airmen and watch a C-17 cargo jet be packed with supplies and equipment heading for Iraq.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Democratic presidential candidates were in Charleston last night for another debate. This time they took questions from the public, submitted via YouTube. Some of the presentations were earnest, some bizarre. One political analyst sees the forum as a gimmick that might be necessary to hold interest in a long campaign.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Amid high-level security talks in Baghdad between the U-S and Iran, violence continues. At least two dozen people are dead and even more are hurt after a suicide bomber struck a busy commercial district in a Shiite city south of Baghdad.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The federal minimum wage goes up today. Workers now get paid at least five dollars, 85 cents an hour. That's a 70-cent increase. President Bush signed legislation in May that calls for minimum-wage jobs to pay at least seven dollars 25 cents an hour by 2009.

NEW YORK (AP) - Drew Carey: Come on Down. The comic tells David Letterman that he's replacing Bob Barker on "The Price is Right." Carey says he knows what a big responsibility it is to host the longest-running game show in American T-V and says he hopes to "keep it that way."

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Saylor says his dissent against reinstating pay raises for elected judges reflected independent thinking. He says it wasn't a bid to enhance his chances of winning a retention vote this fall. He says he treated the pay raise case just as he treats any other case that comes before the court.

NEW YORK (AP) - Former N-B-A referee and Pennsylvania resident Tim Donaghy (DAHN'-uh-hee) is expected to surrender to authorities later this week or early next week. Donaghy is being investigated for betting on games he'd officiated, although he has not yet been charged with any crime. N-B-A Commissioner David Stern has called a news conference today.

MEADVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A Crawford County man convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl is facing a five- to 15-year prison sentence. Prosecutors say 43-year-old Brian Catalano of Cambridge Springs sexually assaulted the teenager at his home in July 2005. He also was found guilty of having sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl -- and giving alcohol to both girls.

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A Lackawanna County Prison inmate is suing over how the prison staff responded when she went into labor. Shakira Staten says she pleaded for help for four hours yet was left to give birth alone. She's suing in federal court, alleging that the baby fell from her womb to the prison floor. A county commissioner says the jail staff did nothing wrong.

SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) - This week marks the fifth anniversary of the Quecreek Mine accident. Nine miners were finally rescued after spending 77 hours trapped below the surface of the earth. The miners became trapped by flooding water when they breached an abandoned mine. They had been relying on outdated maps which showed the mine was 300 feet away.