Today's News-Saturday Nov. 24th

SHENANDOAH - Downtown Shenandoah has been hit by another big fire. The latest broke out late Friday night in the one hundred block of North Main Street and had crew on the scene well into this morning. According to the Republican and Herald, Shenandoah police Chief Matthew R. Nestor was one of the first to arrive on seen and found that there was thick smoke coming from the former Davidson's furniture store, now Berk's Thrift Store, and the fire quickly grew out of control. Firefighters from all over Schuylkill, Columbia, and Luzerne counties were called in to help battle the flames and to supply water tanker runs from the Schuylkill County Fire School grounds to help supplement the borough’s hydrant system. Four buildings were either destroyed or heavily damaged, and several other buildings in the area received some damage from the inferno. The thrift shop is next to a bar called "Thunder Road." The bar's bouncer told WNEP News he spotted the flames, and unsuccessfully tried to break in to the thrift shop to put the fire out. The bar was evacuated, and no one inside was hurt. The bar has been open for less than one year. The last big fire in Shenandoah was in June, when flames wrecked buildings on Market Street. The investigation continues on this fire in Shenandoah. WPPA Radio News will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

MINERSVILLE - Some local businesses say the employability skills of new graduates are steadily decreasing in Schuylkill County, but a new course offered to seniors in five county school districts is working to reverse the trend. Enter the YES - Your Employability Skills - Certificate Program to help alleviate the lack of employable skills. According to the Republican and Herald, the 120-hour program is a year-long, curriculum-based, elective course that teaches students skills such as conflict resolution, goal-setting, writing, interview training, resume writing and job application tips, according to the Northeast Pennsylvania Manufacturers and Employer's Association Web site. Schuylkill Haven School District was the first to enroll in the program in Schuylkill County; Blue Mountain, Mahanoy Area, Minersville and Pottsville high schools followed. Pennsylvania is the only state implementing the YES program, which enrolls more than 700 students in 29 schools throughout the state, according to Darlene J. Robbins, president of the Northeast Pennsylvania Manufacturers and Employers Association.

SHENANDOAH - For the first time in two decades, Santa Claus parachuted into Shenandoah Friday. According to the Republican and Herald, several hundred - some who remembered the formerly annual event, along with a new generation of spectators - gathered in Veterans Stadium to witness the revival of a popular tradition. According to residents, hundreds of people used to gather for the day-after-Thanksgiving spectacle. The tradition came to a halt in the late 1980s after an elf, accompanying Santa, went off course and landed on a spectator. Santa wiggled his black patent leather boots as he cruised over the bleachers and onto the football field, landing almost exactly on the bright orange target spread out on the 50-yard line.

SOUTH MANHEIM TOWNSHIP - A man was killed in a two-vehicle accident on Schuylkill Mountain Road in South Manheim Township on Friday afternoon. According to the Republican and Herald, Schuylkill County Coroner David J. Dutcavage stated, Edward J. Brennan Jr. was towing a trailer with his van and was traveling westbound when his vehicle became disabled about two-tenths of a mile east of Berne Drive. Brennan got out of his van and was working between the rear of the van and the front of the trailer when another vehicle also traveling westbound collided with the rear of the trailer, pinning Brennan between the van and trailer. Brennan was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:30 p.m. by Deputy Coroner Mark Wessner. Brennan's son, who was traveling with Brennan, was not hurt. No further information was available Friday night.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd has unseated Prime Minister John Howard in Australia's national election. Howard has conceded defeat. The sweeping victory ends an 11-year conservative era and promises major changes in Australia's policies on global warming and the Iraq war.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pervez Musharraf's re-election as President of Pakistan has been formally ratified by Pakistan's electoral commission. But the troubles continue. Militants killed as many as 35 people in suicide attacks today on a checkpoint outside army headquarters and a bus carrying intelligence agency employees.

BAGHDAD (AP) - The U.S. is blaming Shiite extremists backed by Iran for yesterday's bombing at a pet market in central Baghdad. At least 15 people were killed. The military says four militants captured in raids overnight confessed to being part of an Iranian-backed group.

KALAPARA, Bangladesh (AP) - Rescuers are working to remove fallen concrete slabs, looking for victims of a bridge collapse today in southwestern Bangladesh. Officials say the bridge collapsed under the weight of thousands of cyclone victims heading to an aid center. Only one death has been confirmed.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (AP) - The wiring of a new module at the international space station is being wrapped up today. Commander Peggy Whitson and astronaut Daniel Tani need to hook up more electrical and fluid connections linking the space station and the compartment so a new lab can dock there in December.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Southern California, already charred by major wildfires, is waiting nervously as the latest Santa Ana winds kick up. Gusts to 75 miles-an-hour are expected today before the winds die down tonight. Dry conditions and low humidity make the danger high. Nearly 1,500 firefighters are ready to go to work.

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) - Hitting an iceberg wasn't part of the package, but that's what happened to passengers who shelled out thousands of dollars for an Antarctic cruise adventure. All the passengers and crew of the MS Explorer are safe but the ship sank yesterday about 20 hours after hitting the 'berg.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal officials have told local law enforcement agencies to be on alert for possible terror threats ahead of next week's Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland. The Department of Homeland Security says an "abundance of caution" prompted the warning.

PHOENIX (AP) - A Mexican man who entered the U.S. illegally is a hero for saving a nine-year-old Arizona boy whose mother had crashed their van on a remote Forest Service road Thanksgiving Day. The man found the boy wandering in the desert and gave him his coat and comforted him until help arrived the next morning. The mother died of her injuries. The Mexican is in the custody of the Border Patrol.