Today's News-Tuesday, November 13th

Two Pottsville men were arrested for breaking and entering a city home Sunday night. Officers responded to 726 Mine Street, finding that John Liptok and Scott Parsons broke into Donald Lab’s home through a basement window. They reportedly took a case of beer. When apprehended, police found the beer, partially consumed, in Liptok's vehicle. Both men were arraigned on criminal trespass, conspiracy and other offenses and taken to Schuylkill County Prison, being unable to post bail.

At Monday night's Pottsville City Council Meeting, awards were presented and upcoming activities were announced. Jerry Enders, chairman of the Great Pottsville Cruise, presented the council with a number of checks. The money was raised by the various activities that connected with the cruise. The checks were given to a number of organizations, such as the Pottsville Recreation Commission and the Pottsville Police Department, which will help supply the police officers with equipment. The Pottsville Lions Club is hosting an event that will be held on December 7th, 8th, and 9th. This event is triggered towards children and will be held at the Majestic Theatre, completely free of charge. There will be a visit from Santa, Christmas candy will be handed out and The Polar Express will be shown. Santa will arrive at Pottsville on Saturday, November 24th at 6:00 p.m. The Annual Mayor's Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place, along with a parade and entertainment at the First United Methodist Church. Afterwards, everyone is invited back to the Humane Fire Company, where children up to 10 years of age will receive a free gift. This is Allie Raring reporting.

Police in Pottsville and surrounding communities are being kept busy tracking down a rash of thefts from unlocked vehicles. The Republican and Herald report that more than 50 vehicles have been opened by unknown thieves over the past several weeks in Pottsville, Minersville, Norwegian and Cass Township. Police believe that the culprits are checking vehicles as they walk along, looking for opportunities to strike. Items of different values, include a 45 caliber handgun, a GPS system and two laptop computers have been taken. But the thieves have not been damaging vehicles to gain access. Obviously, the first line of defense is to keep your car locked at all times. Second, if you see people who may be looking for an opportunity to raid a vehicle, contact police at once.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania lawmakers will have a chance to ask questions today about the pending sale of one of the nation’s largest nursing-home chains to a private equity firm. Representatives of Manor Care Inc. and The Carlyle Group will appear at a hearing of the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee. Rep. Phyllis Mundy says she wants to know how the buyout will affect staffing and care for patients at 46 Pennsylvania nursing homes owned by Manor Care Inc., including one here in Schuylkill County. Manor Care shareholders approved a $4.9 billion buyout to take the company private in October. The state Health Department is reviewing The Carlyle Group's applications for licenses to run the company's Pennsylvania facilities.

A public forum on mental illness and the criminal justice system is slated for tonight at Schuylkill Campus, Penn State. The free event will include panelists from the justice system, mental health and mental retardation professionals, and educators, as they explore the myriad of issues that people with mental illness face as they pass through the criminal justice system.
The program begins at 6pm at the Morgan Auditorium at Schuylkill, and is sponsored by Schuylkill County Affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Penn State University Schuylkill Campus Criminal Justice Department, & Schuylkill County’s Interagency Forensic Task Force.

The story of a landmark court decision about intelligent design and evolution comes to television this evening. We told you last week that the Dover School Board case, decided by Pottsville resident and US District Judge John Jones, was being adapted into a two-hour presentation for NOVA on public television. That show will air tonight at 8pm on WVIA Channel 44. In addition to the show this evening, Jones was scheduled to appear on the Today show this morning between 9 and 10 am, along with possible guest spots on Fox News and CNN. Jones spoke with WPPA and T102 News last week about the case and the continued notoriety surrounding it.
You can hear the interview with Judge Jones in its entirety on WPPA’s For Your Information, this afternoon at 3pm.

Two Tower City juveniles are in trouble with police after an incident in that western Schuylkill County borough yesterday. Sometime between 9pm Sunday and 3pm Monday, a 17 and 16 year old boy found a car owned by Jason Hutmaker of Palmyra at the W&R Auto garage on East Grande Avenue. He left it there for repairs, with the keys inside. The pair took the car on a joyride. When they were located, they admitted to the crime. Minor damage was reported.
Charges may be filed against the teens pending the completion of the investigation.

Congressman Tim Holden is putting his years of experience as Schuylkill County Sheriff to use in working for more disclosure of information from private prisons who do federal government contract work. Holden testified last week about measures that he introduced to require so-called "private prisons" that are awarded federal contracts to disclose the same information as public prisons. In an interview with the Morning Call, Congressman Holden is calling for more information from the private prisons, how they are staffed, how much training their guards receive and how many incidents with inmates occur at their facilities. Holden went on to say that the legislation will help to level the playing field for public prisons and their private counterparts. Private prisons have become more commonplace as the federal government tries to meet the demands of a growing prison population. The measures have a long road to becoming law, as it has yet to come up for a Judiciary Committee vote.

KUTZTOWN, Pa. (AP) - An 82-year-old Berks County country club that's hosted nine LPGA golf tournaments is auctioning off the contents of its clubhouse and outbuildings. Berkleigh Country Club President Donald Loughney explains that membership has shrunk from a one-time high of about 400 to about 125. Loughney says with higher assessments per member, for the last 10 years club officials "were never able to recruit more new members than we lost." The remaining membership has voted to sell the 300-acre Kutztown complex to Lehigh Cement, which has an adjoining quarry – and divide the proceeds. Members have already bought some prized trophies, plaques and paintings. A Monday auction of kitchen equipment and some club furnishings drew about 200 restaurant owners and other bidders.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (AP) - Some banking customers of Commerce Bancorp are being warned of a possible identity fraud problem. WCAU-TV in Philadelphia reports a letter to customers says a Commerce employee released customers' personal information to an outside party. The company said in a statement provided to the news station that only a small segment of the company's 3 million customers were impacted. Commerce officials say they've notified federal and state law enforcement. They're also providing affected customers a year's worth of credit monitoring services - something that goes beyond what's required by state laws in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania. A Commerce spokesman didn't immediately return an Associated
Press call for comment.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Analysts say they don't think a major turnover of the Hershey Company board will make it any more likely to buy or sell out to rival Cadbury Schweppes. If anything, analysts say it will make such a major deal less likely. Dissatisfied with the candy maker's performance, the charitable trust that controls Hershey is asserting more control. Yesterday, the Hershey Trust asked six directors to resign, while two others volunteered to resign. It then installed two of its own board members and others with a wealth of experience from the investment world or ties to Pennsylvania, including former Governor Tom Ridge.
Goldman Sachs analyst Steven Kron questions Hershey's ability to absorb Cadbury without significantly diluting profits. And he said he expects the Hershey Trust to look hard at improving the company's fundamental performance.

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The lawyer for a 14-year-old suburban Philadelphia boy who gathered weapons for a school attack says his client is "horrified" by the mass murder at a school in Finland. Dillon Cossey's lawyer says his client only acted on a fantasy level. He says Cossey wants to help authorities recognize when someone is about to turn violent and prevent real-life acts of violence before they start. The lawyer also says the two teens didn't know each other well. He says they only knew each others' screen names and discussed things like video games and their shared fascination with the Columbine school massacre. He says that fascination is shared by thousands of teenagers.

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - Their leader is under a detention order, but opposition activists in Pakistan are going on with a protest today as planned. One activist says police have tried to stop the procession. Meantime, Benazir Bhutto says Pakistan's president should resign.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Security in Iraq will be tested as the U.S. starts reversing its 30,000-strong troop build-up. One unit is already on its way home and four others will follow between January and July. Officials hope a decline in violence in Iraq won't prove fleeting.

WASHINGTON (AP) - After 30 years, the income gap between blacks and whites has widened. A study shows black women have made gains in their incomes, but the incomes of black men have declined. Incomes among white men have remained relatively stagnant, while those of white women have increased fivefold.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate bill aimed at making generic drugs available sooner has stalled in the face of heavy lobbying from the drug industry. The bill would ban settlements known as reverse payments, when brand-name drug companies pay generic ones to delay the introduction of generic drugs.

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait (AP) - People who have something to send to an overseas military member for the holidays should start packing it up real soon. The first deadline for holiday military mail is today for parcel post. And a cut-off for space-available mail comes on November 27th. The military's expecting a flood of holiday mail and wants to make sure it gets to the troops on time.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - After a break for the election,
Pennsylvania lawmakers are returning to the state Capitol to
continue work.
Senate Republican leaders spokesman Erik Arneson says finishing
work on Governor Ed Rendell's energy proposals will be high on the
list of things to do before the end of the year.
Arneson says passing open records legislation and a smoking ban
bill are other top priorities.
House Democrats are also expected to tackle property tax relief,
but Arneson says it's likely the Senate won't 't take up any bills
the House might send over until next year.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania lawmakers will have a chance
to ask questions today about the pending sale of one of the nations
largest nursing-home chains to a private equity firm.
Representatives of Manor Care and The Carlyle Group will appear
at a hearing of the House Aging and Older Adult Services Committee.
Representative Phyllis Mundy says she wants to know how the
buyout will affect staffing and care for patients at 46
Pennsylvania nursing homes owned by Manor Care Inc.
Manor Care shareholders approved a 4.9 billion dollar buyout to
take the company private in October. The state Health Department is
reviewing The Carlyle Group's applications for licenses to run the
company's Pennsylvania facilities.

MILTON, Pa. (AP) - A public meeting in Milton about new tolls on
Interstate 80 drew public officials and business owners who say
they are worried about business prospects.
About 100 people attended a meeting yesterday hosted by the
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission at Milton Area High School.
One businessman, Watsontown Trucking Company president Steve
Patton, estimated the tolls could cost him $700,000.
And Union County Commissioner Preston Boop said tolls on I-80
may harm efforts to lure businesses to the Great Stream Commons
business park in Allenwood.
The commission has fielded similar concerns and criticisms at
its other meetings across northern Pennsylvania.
Turnpike spokesman Bill Capone said the commission will try
place toll plazas in places where it will minimize the impact on
local drivers.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Those who worked with nuclear weapons
during the Cold War era are hoping that new documentation about
their exposure to radiation at Bethlehem Steel will help them gain
compensation.
Former steel worker Edwin Walker says he has discovered
documents indicating that recycled uranium was rolled into fuel
rods at the plant in suburban Buffalo, New York, between 1949 and
1952. That suggests workers were exposed to more dangerous forms of
radiation than previously thought.
Experts say recycled uranium contains more dangerous byproducts
than natural uranium, which the government acknowledges rolling at
Bethlehem Steel.
Walker helped organize the Bethlehem Steel Action Group to
pursue claims under a federal program for workers or survivors who
contracted cancer after unknowingly working in atomic weapons
programs.
Larry Elliott of the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health's Office of Compensation Analysis and Support says he is
trying to verify Walker's contention.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia City Council is putting off
debate on new ethics reforms until 2008, after mayor-elect Michael
Nutter takes office.
The political watchdog group Committee of 70 had authored four
ethics proposals that deal with lobbyists, gifts to city workers,
moonlighting, and nepotism.
The measures were scheduled to be argued today, but the hearing
is being delayed until Nutter and three new Council members are
sworn in.
Director Zack Stalberg says The Committee of 70 is pushing the
bills but asked for the delay because there is "very little time
(this year) to hold a hearing, amend the bills if necessary, and
get them passed." He also thinks there is a greater chance of
passage in the next council term.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A new study apparently confirms what real
estate agents in Philadelphia have been expecting: Home prices in
the city are on the decline for the first time in five years.
Wharton business school economist Kevin Gillen is out with his
latest quarterly survey of the city's real estate market. It covers
July, August and September.
Gillen finds that home prices in Philadelphia are dropping for
the first time since 2002, although the decline, he says, is "very
modest" - only one percent over three months.
Gillen says Philadelphia was late to the housing boom, so he's
not surprised the city is late to the downturn. He expects prices
continue to fall but at a slow pace - as he puts it, "like a
feather."

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Negotiators for the Pittsburgh Public Schools
and its teachers union say they'll meet again November 20th to talk
about a new contract.
The two sides met yesterday for just the second time since
October 11th.
Last week, the teachers voted to authorize a strike if contract
talks break down. It was the first strike authorization vote in the
city in more than 30 years.
No strike date has been set and officials aren't saying if any
progress was made yesterday.
The district's contract with its more than 4,000 teachers and
other employees expired June 30th.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Pittsburgh councilwoman is scheduled to be
in an Allegheny County courtroom to face trial for ethics
violations and theft.
Twanda Carlisle is scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. today.
Carlisle was defeated in the May primary and will be out of
office at the end of next month. In the meantime, she must defend
herself against charges she took $43,000 in kickbacks from friends
whom she had described as consultants.
The Allegheny County District Attorney's Office says Carlisle's
friends were paid city money for work that either wasn't done or
was of little value. The friends, in turn, allegedly paid much of
the money back to Carlisle.
She has denied wrongdoing.

CHERRY HILL, N.J. (AP) - Some Commerce Bancorp customers need to
be extra vigilant about identity theft.
The company has been warning customers that a bank employee
released customers' personal information to an outside party.
David Flaherty, a bank spokesman, won't discuss the incident
further.
The company says in a statement that only a small segment of the
company's 3 million customers are affected.
The bank is also providing affected customers a years' worth of
credit monitoring services -- something that goes beyond what's
required by state laws in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania.

PARKER, Pa. (AP) - Emergency crews are mopping up after a fire
at a house that exploded in Clarion County.
County emergency dispatchers say two people were taken by a
private vehicle to Clarion Hospital for injuries, and one has been
released. The condition of the other isn't available.
A dispatcher says the explosion was reported just after 5
o'clock this morning in Perry Township, near Clarion.
Officials aren't saying what may have caused the explosion.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - Dozens of guests and workers were
routed from a Luzerne County hotel after smoke filled the building.
Firefighters said a couple who had just been married had candles
burning on the nightstand in their room and that started the 6 a.m.
fire Monday at the Comfort Inn on Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre
Township.
Guests were evacuated to the parking lot, then allowed into the
lobby when the flames were out and the smoke cleared. No one was
injured.
Wilkes-Barre Township fire Chief John Yuknavich called the
evacuation "perfect."
Several rooms on the second floor of the hotel will be off
limits due to fire, smoke and water damage. The rest of the
building remains open.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Police say a teenager is charged in three
robberies of students on or near Drexel University's campus in
Philadelphia, but the holdups were not committed with a real
firearm.
Police Lieutenant Frank Vanore says the 17-year-old is believed
to have been one of a group of six teenagers involved in at least
six robberies during October.
No one has been injured in the holdups, and Vanore says a glue
gun has been recovered that is believed to be the weapon used.
Police say the 17-year-old is charged with three counts each of
robbery, aggravated assault and other offenses. His name has not
been released.

INDIANOLA, Pa. (AP) - Allegheny County police say they now
believe a hunter shot in a tree stand last month was targeted on
purpose and not shot accidentally by another hunter.
Nineteen-year-old Jason Davies Junior of Franklin Park says he
agrees with police.
Davies says he shouted then waved his hands twice to alert the
shooter that he was a hunter. Despite that, the other man fired a
shotgun at Davies, who was about 30 feet above ground.
Davies was hit in the face and right arm with shotgun pellets on
October 13th.
He is recovering. The unknown shooter drove away and has yet to
be found.

KUTZTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Kutztown University's student body could be
looking more diverse in the future. The school has opened an office
in Chennai, India.
Prospective students can stop by and access a special website on
KU computers. They can also print out application forms.
The school says there's a big interest in India in MBA, nursing,
and computer science programs.
The university hopes to have 15 to 20 Indian students enrolled
by the fall '08 semester.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh's iconic Heinz Ketchup sign will
soon be lit atop another building in the city.
Workers have removed the neon sign from the H.J. Heinz plant on
the city's North Side and installed it atop the Senator John Heinz
History Center across the Allegheny River.
The sign is a giant bottle of ketchup that empties and refills
itself every 30 seconds. The aluminum and steel sign is about 42
feet high and 32 feet wide.
The sign will be turned on again Friday, when the city marks the
beginning of the holiday season with its Light Up Night
celebration.
The sign was first unveiled in 1995.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - One of Pittsburgh's two historic Hot Metal
Bridges will reopen November 28th to carry bicyclists and
pedestrians across the Monongahela River.
The twin bridges were originally built to shuttle molten iron
between Jones & Laughlin Steel plants on either side of the river
early in the 20th century.
One bridge was converted for use by cars and trucks in 2000 and
the other was rehabbed for 10 million dollars as part of the Great
Allegheny Passage.
That 150-mile biking, hiking and walking trail connects
Pittsburgh to Cumberland, Maryland where travelers can continue on
the C&O Canal Towpath to Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A new report says the economic cost of the
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is now estimated at 1.6 trillion
dollars.
That's roughly double the amount of money the White House has
requested so far, and translates into a cost of nearly $21,000 for
a family of four.
The report from congressional Democrats on the Joint Economic
Committee includes "hidden" costs such as interest payments on
the money borrowed to pay for the wars. The total also accounts for
lost investment, the expense of long-term health care for injured
veterans and the cost of oil market disruptions.
Future economic costs would be even greater.
According to the report, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would
cost 3.5 trillion dollars between 2003 and 2017. It says that would
mean a cost of more than $46,000 for a family of four.

NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) - President Bush has vetoed a spending
measure for health and education programs that congressional
Democrats hold as a top priority.
His decision was announced on Air Force One as he flew to
Indiana for a speech blasting the Democratic-led Congress on its
budget priorities.
In prepared remarks, Bush criticizes Democrats for what he calls
a tax-and-spend philosophy, saying they were elected by pledging
fiscal responsibility, but so far they are "acting like a teenager
with a new credit card."
House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey (OH'-bee)
points to the more than 50 Republicans who supported the bipartisan
bill, saying the only reason Bush vetoed it is "pure politics."
Bush proposed nearly 4 billion dollars in cuts to this year's
health and education bill in the budget he presented in February.

NEW YORK (AP) - Stock prices are higher on Wall Street.
The strong showing comes as oil prices drop more than $2 a
barrel and Wal-Mart reports third-quarter earnings that topped
analysts' forecasts.
Oil futures prices fell after the International Energy Agency
cut its demand forecasts for the fourth quarter and next year. The
agency also said crude supplies are growing.
In addition to reporting an 8 percent gain in profits, the
world's largest retailer raised its earnings forecast for the year.

NEW YORK (AP) - Authorities in New York say officers fired 20
shots at a teenager who they thought was holding a gun.
Police say a 911 operator heard the teen yelling that he had a
gun. But the object Khiel Coppin was holding turned out to be a
hairbrush.
He was killed by the police gunfire.
The case evokes painful memories of previous police shootings,
including last November's shooting of Sean Bell, who was killed on
his wedding day.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already said that the incident will
be taken "very seriously."
Police say the teen began screaming from a window at his mother
and officers before climbing out the window and heading toward the
officers holding a black object in his hand.
Police say the officers ordered him to stop, but opened fire
after the teen kept approaching.

SUPREME COURT (AP) - The Supreme Court has taken no action so
far in the case involving the District of Columbia's ban on
handguns.
The justices discussed the case at their private conference on
Friday, but reached no resolution. Four justices must vote to grant
an appeal, and the court does not always reach a decision the first
time it discusses a case.
At issue is the capital's 31-year ban on handguns, among the
strictest gun-control laws in the nation. In March, a federal
appeals court struck down the ban as incompatible with the Second
Amendment.
The next time the court could announce its decision about
hearing the case is November 26th.

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) - A Pakistani government official says he
doubts opposition leader Benazir Bhutto (BEN'-uh-zeer BOO'-toh) has
closed the door completely to cooperating with President Musharraf
(moo-SHAH'-ruhv).
Sheikh Rashid Ahmed says Bhutto "talks one thing but walks in a
different way." He says she's trying to "create a disturbance"
because of declining public support for her party.
Bhutto is under house arrest for the second time in less than a
week. Authorities are trying to keep her from carrying out a march
by opponents of the government.
She says she has ruled out serving as prime minister under
Musharraf.
In the southern city of Karachi, Bhutto supporters fired on two
police stations in a poor district where her Pakistan People's
Party is popular. Officials say police used tear gas to disperse
demonstrators. Witnesses say a 9-year-old boy and a 22-year-old
woman have been injured in crossfire between demonstrators and
police.

LONDON (AP) - The British government says an outbreak of bird
flu in eastern England is the deadly H5N1 strain of the disease.
The return of the disease is yet another blow to farmers, who
are already struggling after herds were hit this year by
foot-and-mouth disease and bluetongue. The first mass outbreak of
bird flu was confirmed in Britain earlier this year.
Officials say the source of the outbreak has not yet been
identified, but it is closely related to the strains found in the
Czech Republic and Germany over the summer.
Officials had said previously that about 5,000 free-range
turkeys, 1,000 ducks and 500 geese on the affected farm were being
culled.
A two-mile protection zone and a six-mile surveillance zone have
also been created around the infected farm.

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Democratic presidential hopeful John
Edwards is upping the ante when it comes to helping parents take
time off from work.
The former North Carolina senator is in New Hampshire today,
where he's unveiling his proposal to spend 2 billion dollars a year
to help states create family leave programs. The idea is to offer
workers at least eight weeks of paid time off to care for a newborn
or ill family member.
His proposal is similar to those offered by his rivals, but
Edwards would put up more money. Hillary Rodham Clinton's plan
calls for 1 billion dollars a year and Barack Obama proposes 1.5
billion.
Edwards also would set a national goal of eight weeks of paid
leave for all by 2014.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - A Nebraska middle school teacher accused of
having sex with a 13-year-old student and fleeing with him to
Mexico has been fired.
Without public comment, the Lexington School Board voted 6-0
last night to terminate Kelsey Peterson's contract.
Peterson was put on administrative leave late last month after
allegations surfaced that she was having an inappropriate
relationship with the student.
She faces a federal charge of crossing state lines to have sex
with a minor, which is punishable by 10 years to life in prison and
a $250,000 fine. A judge denied bail for her last week.
Yesterday, Peterson's attorney argued that the boy shares more
responsibility for their relationship and flight than has been
alleged by authorities.
The attorney also says the boy might be older than 13 -- and
perhaps old enough that a statutory rape charge wouldn't apply.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A plastic surgeon who claims to have operated
on Kanye West's mother before she died says he did nothing wrong.
Dr. Jan Adams tells the celebrity Web site TMZ that he performed
a tummy tuck and breast reduction on Donda West, but that she might
have died from a heart attack, pulmonary embolism, or massive
vomiting.
Adams says Donda West consulted with him over a period of four
months, often changing her mind about the surgery. TMZ posted the
account yesterday.
It is unclear when or where Adams performed the surgery.
A coroner spokesman said yesterday that preliminary information
suggested West died from "complications of surgery." An autopsy
is expected to be conducted by tomorrow.
She died Saturday night at age 58.