Today's News-Saturday, October 6th

POTTSVILLE - A wild early-morning car chase, the discovery of a weapon and a bag of drugs and, finally, a cooperative spouse led Pottsville police to a methamphetamine lab in the city's Jalappa section Friday and the arrest of two men, according to police Chief Joseph H. Murton V and the criminal complaint. As reported by the Pottsville Republican and Herald. The chase led authorities to find the evidence - including gloves, tubing, pots, propane cylinders and a glass jar coated with white powder residue - in the garage at the home of Charles S. Brilla, 37, of 821 Water St., according to the criminal complaint. Brilla was arrested, along with Michael John Setlock Jr., 34, who has no known address, police said. Brilla was charged with two felonies, criminal conspiracy and possession with intent to manufacture methamphetamine; and a misdemeanor, possession of drug paraphernalia, according to the criminal complaint. Brilla was arraigned Friday afternoon before Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko, Port Carbon. Unable to post $50,000 straight cash bail, he was committed to Schuylkill County Prison, Pottsville. Setlock was arraigned on the same drug charges as Brilla, for which a $50,000 straight bail was also set, as well as 11 charges in relation to the vehicle chase. For these charges, Plachko set a straight bail of $10,000, Unable to post the total $60,000 straight bail, Setlock was also placed in county prison. The lab they used was a mobile lab. Brilla and Setlock used it in wooded areas either in Norwegian or East Norwegian Township.

MINERSVILLE - Investigators are looking for the cause of an overnight fire in Minersville. The alarm at 600 School Street came in around 11:00 p.m., last night. The double block home was filled with flames when fire personnel arrived. Fire was shooting out the front windows into the street. A home next door was damaged before the flames could be brought under control. Everyone inside got out safely, and no one was hurt. There was no immediate word on the cause. A State Police fire marshall is now part of the investigation. According to reports at the scene, it was a challenge getting fire trucks to the incident due to narrow streets. Tune into WPPA/T-102 Radio News as information becomes available.

EAST NORWEGIAN TOWNSHIP - State Police at Schuylkill Haven and Frackville are investigating an incident at the intersection of Route 61 and Tunnel Road by the Wendy's Restaurant. 37 year old Steven Close was struck by a Chevy S-10 pick up at 10:20 last night. Close was transported to the Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center.

BUTLER TOWNSHIP - Fire destroyed a home in the Homesville section of Butler Township around 9:40 last night. Firefighters from Girardville responded to the blaze at 323 Homesville Road to find the back of the home fully involved. The home was being renovated at the time of the fire. The fire was quelled in about 15 minutes and the incident is under investigation. WPPA/T-102 Radio News will provide information as it becomes available.

WHITE HOUSE (AP) - Debate over a bill that would expand a children's health insurance program goes to the airwaves today. In his weekly radio address, President Bush says the proposed 35-billion-dollar expansion of the program is too generous. Democrats say Bush is heartless.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Sam's Club is removing ground beef patties made by Cargill from its shelves after reports that four Minnesota children who ate them got sick from E. coli. The recall comes as another meat company, Topps, announces that it's closing for good after its own major recall.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A suicide car bomber has struck a U.S. military convoy in Afghanistan, killing at least one American soldier and four Afghan civilians. The attack targeted U.S. troops responsible for training Afghan soldiers and police. Today is the sixth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf is expected to sweep today's presidential election, but his eligibility as a candidate is still in question. Pakistan's high court is deciding whether the key U.S. ally can legally run while still serving as head of the military.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) - Track star Marion Jones is due back in court in January to be sentenced on charges of lying to federal authorities in a doping investigation. She pleaded guilty
yesterday, admitting she used steroids. Prosecutors indicate she'll get no more than six months in jail.

DETROIT (AP) - A federal prosecutor from Florida has killed himself after being jailed on charges that he flew to Detroit to molest a five-year-old girl. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Atchison had been arrested in an online sex sting. Authorities aren't saying how he died.

LONG HILL, N.J. (AP) - A New Jersey girl is in the hospital after her mother tried to strangle her at a wildlife refuge yesterday. Authorities say the girl lost consciousness, and the mother, apparently thinking the child was dead, then stabbed herself to death. Officials say the girl was not seriously injured.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Police in Philadelphia are planning to charge a man being questioned in the killing of two guards during an armored-car heist Thursday. Authorities say the suspect was
picked up yesterday on an unrelated warrant.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia Senator John Warner is out of the hospital and back on the job after undergoing medical procedures to fix an abnormal heartbeat. The 80-year-old Republican says he feels fine. And he says his heart condition has nothing to do with his decision to retire next year.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Protesters around the world are speaking out against the military government of Myanmar. Amnesty International has organized marches in more than two dozen cities. The demonstrations come after Myanmar's government admitted detaining hundreds of monks who protested last week.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Sam's Club has pulled a brand of ground beef patties from all its stores after reports that four children were sickened with E. coli in patties in Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Topps Meat Company has announced it's going out of business because of a massive recall last week.

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - Fred Goldman has to return a Rolex to O.J. Simpson because it's a fake. Attorneys for Goldman had seized the watch to satisfy a small part of the multimillion-dollar wrongful death judgment against Simpson. But a judge says the watch is so cheap it's exempt.