Today's News-Friday, July 11th

A South Carolina couple and a child escaped injury in a crash on I-81 early Thursday. Nathan Roberts was driving south around 4am in Ryan Township when he fell asleep at the wheel. His car hit the guiderail, damaging more than 200 feet of the barrier. Frackville state police charged Roberts wil reckless driving and other traffic offenses. His vehicle was towed from the scene.

The conviction of a Lost Creek man on sex-related crimes has been upheld by state Superior Court. The three-judge panel ruled that Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin's ruling that 43-year-old Apolinar Ramierz-Briones understood his Miranda rights given to him in English was correct, and subsequent statements he made to police were voluntary and could be used against him.
Ramirez-Briones was convicted by a Schuylkill County jury in 2006 of rape and other sex related crimes against a 16-year-old girl. Those crimes occurred in 2005. He is serving a sentence of 8 to 17 years at SCI/Forest.

An investigation into shots being fired in a northern Schuylkill County community continues today. Police were summoned to South Spencer Street in the Altamont section of Frackville before 10pm last night. Reports indicate that one person was taken to the hospital in the incident. A suspect was taken into custody, but has not yet been identified as yet. Our attempts to reach West Mahanoy Township police were unsuccessful this morning.

Parents and concerned citizens offered their views about keeping the Ringtown Elementary School open last night. A planned hearing was attended by more than 70 persons, according to the Republican and Herald. The North Schuylkill school board voted in the spring to close the school and transfer about 140 students to the new North Schuylkill Elementary building at Fountain Springs. A group of parents had filed suit in county court to block the move. Judge Cyrus Palmer Dolbin imposed an injunction last month to stop the move, but allowed for last night's hearing. District officials offered their reasons for moving the students to the new school. Parents testified about class sizes, busing issues and losing their hometown school in Ringtown.

M&T Bank has been appointed to serve as custodian of Schuylkill County's retirement assets.
In a unanimous vote of the Retirement Board Wednesday, more than $88 million dollars will be transferred to the banking institution from First National Bank of Minersville, who handled the funds since 2003. Commissioner Chairwoman Mantura Gallagher said that seven banks expressed interest in the job, but M&T Bank offered the best deal to the county. She said that the fund regularly changes custodians.

Charges have been filed against 12 people, including a state representative from Beaver County, by the state Attorney General. As part of an ongoing public corruption investigation, AG Tom Corbett charged former House Democratic Minority Whip Mike Veon, Michael Manzo, former chief of staff for House Majority Leader Bill DeWeese and Beaver County Representative Sean Ramaley. The probe uncovered the illegal use of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, resources and state employees for campaign purposes. Corbett explains:

CORBETT

The grand jury investigation said that illegal bonuses were paid to staffers to do work on political campaigns, among other offenses. Other current and former Democratic staffers and their spouses are also implicated in the probe. The accused will face charges in Dauphin County court.

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A jury has heard closing arguments in the perjury and weapons trial against state Sen. Robert Regola. The Westmoreland County senator is accused of lying at a coroner's inquest into the death of his former neighbor, 14-year-old Louis Farrell.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Several people connected to the state House of Representatives' Democratic caucus have been brought before a judge in handcuffs. They're accused of participating in a scheme to have Pennsylvania taxpayers underwrite political campaigns.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Most students attending the University of Pittsburgh will pay a little bit more for tuition next year. The university's trustees have approved tuition increases of between 2 and 6 percent as part of the school's $1.7 billion budget for next year.

VINTONDALE, Pa. (AP) - A coal miner is dead after an accident in an underground mine. Indiana County Coroner Michael Baker says that 62-year-old William Pardee of Hastings died after he was pinned between a feeder machine and the mine wall.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A portion of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia is shut down in both directions because of a crash with fatalities. The crash caused the highway to close between Bridge Street and the Betsy Ross Bridge.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Fears about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have sent stocks tumbling on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrials have been down more than 200 points in afternoon trading. President Bush and Treasury Secretary Paulson both had words of support for the
companies and the crucial role they play in the housing market.

NEW YORK (AP) - Oil prices continue their skyward climb. A barrel of crude spiked to a new record above $147 a barrel. Rising hostilities between the West and Iran and the potential for attacks on Nigerian oil facilities gave investors reason to rush back into the energy markets.

WASHINGTON (AP) - His stepfather says learning the fate of Private Byron Fouty comes as "very sad relief." The Defense Department says the remains of Fouty and Army Sergeant Alex
Jimenez have been found and identified. The soldiers were kidnapped last year in an area south of Baghdad known as the "triangle of death."

HUDSON, Wis. (AP) - A day after Barack Obama devoted a day of campaigning to women's issues, John McCain is doing the same. The Republican told several hundred women in western Wisconsin that his tax cut plans would be especially helpful to women because so many of them own or work for small businesses.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal appeals court is striking down a signature component of President Bush's clean air policies. The court says the EPA overstepped its authority in issuing the Clean Air Interstate Rule. North Carolina and some electric power producers opposed parts of the regulation, which called on 28 states to reduce smog-forming and soot-producing emissions that can travel long distances in the wind.