Today's News - Saturday, November 1, 2008

The pastor of two Butler Township churches is free on bail today but still faces numerous sex-related charges and has been at least temporarily removed from his position as Schuylkill County Prison chaplain. As reported by the Republican and Herald, Alan R. Sienkiewicz of Auburn, posted $50,000 straight cash bail on Friday and went free, a prison spokesman said Friday afternoon. However, prison Warden Eugene Berdanier said Sienkiewicz has been temporarily suspended from his position as chaplain pending resolution of the charges, which stem from alleged sexual assaults against a teenage girl. Sienkiewicz's preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 7 before Magisterial District Judge James R. Ferrier, Orwigsburg.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - There's more bad financial news for Pennsylvania's state government. The state's revenues for the four-month-old fiscal year are now $565 million, or 7 percent, below expectations. The budget gap also widened at a faster rate. The shortfall that grew to $281 million during the first three months of the fiscal year - July through September - doubled in October. State Revenue Secretary Tom Wolf blamed more than half of the October shortfall on losses that the state treasury suffered in the stock market decline. He said the administration will take steps to keep the budget balanced. On Thursday, Gov. Ed Rendell said outlined $311 million in potential spending cuts.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell's administration says low-income Pennsylvanians can apply for home heating aid for the upcoming winter season starting Monday. The Department of Public Welfare says more families will be helped with additional federal funding given to the Low Income Home Energy Program, or LIHEAP. Officials say Pennsylvanians whose annual incomes are up to 210 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for the program this year. That means a family of four with an annual income of up to $44,443 can qualify. Rendell has also directed the department to increase the minimum cash grant to families from $100 to $300, and raise the maximum crisis grant for heating emergencies from $300 to $800. The state has a toll-free LIHEAP hotline at (866) 857-7095.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - John McCain will be stumping in Virginia today, as he works to convinvce voters that Barack Obama's lead is shrinking. McCain will also make a stop in New York to show up on Saturday Night Live tonight. Obama has visits Nevada, Colorado and Missouri.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama's aunt, a Kenyan woman quietly living in public housing in Boston, is in the country illegally. Her request for assylum was denied by an immigration judge four years ago. It's unclear if the Bush administration or John McCain's campaign were involved in releasing this information.

SUMTER, S.C. (AP) - A jail official says a 22-year-old South Carolina man is facing murder charges after a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed while trick-or-treating. The boy's father and
brother were also shot, after deciding to stop at a few homes following a city-sponsored event in downtown Sumter.

ADRIAN, Mich. (AP) - A 16-year-old girl who killed her grandmother by poisoning her with morphine has been sentenced to life in prison, though she could be paroled in 20 years. Kristina
Adkins was just 13 when it happened, and no specific reason for the murder has ever been given.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Los Angeles jury is deliberating a paparazzo's claim that actor Keanu Reeves should pay him more than $700,000 for knocking him down with his Porsche. He says his wrist is permanently injured. Reeves' lawyers say it's just a "paparazzo gone wild."