Today's News- Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

Trailer theft in work zone

A Hazleton construction company is the latest victim of theft. Over the weekend, someone removed a trailer owned by Slusser Brothers, which was parked in the crossover at mile marker 115 on Interstate 81. The 8 foot trailer contained equipment for a road paver. Contents were valued at $40-thousand-dollars. The white trailer has Slusser Brothers decals on it, and was bearing Pennsylvania plates, XDS-5718. Frackville state police are investigating.

Pottsville City Council

A number of items were discussed at Monday's Pottsville City Council meeting. Reporter Allie Raring has more:

RARING COUNCIL

Assault in Pottsville

A Pottsville man is behind bars after assaulting his girlfriend early Sunday. City police were called to the 700 block of West Market Street, where 42-year-old Michael Hutchings had assaulted his girlfriend, 51-year-old Marilyn Borinsky. Hutchings reportedly dragged Borinsky into the house, hit her and ordered his dog to attack her. Police report that Hutchings was drunk, and was taken into custody. He was arraigned on charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness, and remanded to Schuylkill County Prison in lieu of $10-thousand-dollars bail.

Baylor contests election rules

A challenger in the 29th Senatorial district race is taking his concerns to court. Dennis Baylor of Tilden Township is an independent candidate seeking to unseat Republican Jim Rhoades. He is pursuing a lawsuit against the Pennsylvania Department of State, stating that tough requirements to get on the ballot are unfair to independents. The Republican and Herald reports that the process of gathering signatures to appear on the ballot have cost him a significant amount of time and money. He has been able to get his name on the ballot in Schuylkill, Carbon, Lehigh and Berks counties, but not on Northampton and Monroe's ballots for the November election. Rhoades is also being challenged by Democrat PJ Symons for the Senate seat.

Pine Grove woman threatened

An Annville woman is under arrest for threatening a Pine Grove woman. Jonestown state police say that 58-year-old Sue Hess of Pine Grove was staying at the Annville home of 35-year-old Pamela Lynch and 34-year-old Joel Blair to keep them from fighting. Lynch reportedly threatened to slice Hess's throat while the pair were fighting Sunday. Police were called to the home 3 times due to the arguments. Lynch was charged with making terroristic threats, harassment and disorderly conduct.

Regola withdraws from Pa. Senate race

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A state senator from western Pennsylvania whose gun was used by a teenage neighbor in an apparent suicide is abandoning his campaign for another term. State Department officials said they received paperwork Monday from Sen. Robert Regola, notifying them of his decision to remove his name from the ballot. The Westmoreland County Republican was unchallenged in the primary. Last month, he was acquitted of criminal charges that he
lied about how he stored the gun and whether it was ever kept in his son's room.

Aide admits conspiring with Fumo during FBI probe

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Federal prosecutors say an aide to state Sen. Vincent Fumo destroyed nearly all of the Philadelphia powerbroker's pre-2005 e-mail messages. Computer technician Leonard Luchko has pleaded guilty to all 29 conspiracy and obstruction-related counts he
faced. Prosecutors will seek a maximum two years in prison for Luchko in exchange for his testimony. Prosecutors say Luchko was heeding the Democratic senator's orders when he destroyed years of e-mail messages. At the time, the FBI was investigating whether Fumo extorted large corporate donations for a nonprofit he allegedly controlled. Fumo's lawyer says he has no comment.

McCain calls for diplomatic action against Russia

ERIE, Pa. (AP) - Republican presidential candidate John McCain is calling for an emergency meeting of G-7 nations to deal with Russia's attacks on Georgia. McCain said Monday in Erie, Pa., that Moscow appears intent on toppling the Georgian government. McCain also said NATO's North Atlantic Council should convene an emergency session to demand a ceasefire. He said the Council should begin discussions on both the deployment of an international
peacekeeping force to South Ossetia and the implications for NATO's future relationship with Russia. Russia is fighting on the side of pro-Moscow South Ossetia, a breakaway province of Georgia. Georgia was formerly part of the Soviet Union. McCain said the US and its allies should condemn Russian aggression. McCain is in Pennsylvania for a two-day campaign visit that will
also take him to Harrisburg, Lancaster and York.

Repair work to begin on leaky Pa. Capitol dome

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - State officials say work is expected to begin this week on repairs to fix leaks in the Pennsylvania Capitol's 102-year-old dome. The leaks have soaked the interior brick walls along the dome's lower section, leaving white salt deposits behind. They've also
damaged a plaster wall near one of the Rotunda's murals. The Department of General Services has set aside $6 million for the project, which could take as long as a year. Cornelius Rusnov of the department says the project is considered to be a "100-year fix" for the problem. Rusnov says the project will require work crews to apply a careful hand to prevent any architectural damage to the dome.

4 alleged cult members charged in toddler's death

BALTIMORE (AP) - Four members of an alleged religious cult have now been charged with murder in the death of a Baltimore toddler whose body was found in Philadelphia. Those charged include Ria Ramkissoon, the 21-year-old mother of Javon Thompson. Baltimore police say 40-year-old Queen Antoinette, 21-year-old Marcus Cobbs and 20-year-old Trevia Williams have also been charged. Williams turns 21 on Tuesday. Court documents show that members of the religious group known as 1 Mind Ministries stopped giving food and water to Javon in late
2006 or early 2007, in part because he wouldn't say "Amen" after meals. The boy was not yet 2 years old at the time. The documents show that Javon's body was placed in a suitcase, which was hidden in Philadelphia before police found it this spring.

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's foreign minister says Georgia's president "better go" and Georgian troops should stay out of South Ossetia for good. Sergei Lavrov's comments come as French
President Nicolas Sarkozy is heading to Moscow to broker a truce in the fierce conflict.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush says the situation in Georgia raises serious questions about Russia's intentions there. One senior official says the U.S. and other allies think Russia has
been planning the invasion for some time and instigated it by sending pro-Russian forces to attack Georgian villages.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A number of tax experts in Washington say Barack Obama's latest tax relief plan is a dud. Obama wants to exempt seniors making under $50,000 from paying federal income taxes. One expert says the plan benefits a group that doesn't need help as much as others.

BALTIMORE (AP) - Police in Baltimore say a toddler whose remains were found inside a suitcase in Philadelphia was starved to death by members of a religious cult his mother joined. Javon Thompson was 15 months old when adults stopped feeding him in December of 2006. Investigators were told it was because he wouldn't say "amen" after meals.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Advocacy groups say the movie "Tropic Thunder" goes too far in the way it portrays people with mental disabilities. Some scenes feature liberal usage of a disparaging
term used to describe the mentally disabled. There was a large protest at the Los Angeles premiere Monday.