Today's News-Thursday, November 6, 2008

A suspicious letter received at the Schuylkill County Courthouse prompted a lockdown yesterday morning. Schuylkill County EMA Executive Director Art Kaplan explains what happened:

KAPLAN

Courthouse employees in the Commissioners wing were kept inside and no one allowed to enter the building for about two hours. Berks County Hazmat checked out the suspected substance in the envelope and deemed not to be dangerous or toxic. The FBI, Pottsville Police and the US Postal Inspector are investigating the origin of the letter.

Shakeout of Tuesday election strengthens Dems position

Tuesday’s election is helping to strengthen the Democratic majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. The campaign spokesman for House Republicans says Democrats will have 103 or 104 seats of the 203 in the chamber, but several races in Chester and Montgomery County are still too close to call, according to the Associated Press. Democratic candidates lead in all three. Here in Schuylkill County, the 123rd and 125th districts continue to be held by Democrats Neal Goodman and Tim Seip, respectively, after Tuesday’s election.

Barletta pins loss to Kanjorski on Obama

Lou Barletta was supposed to be the rare Republican bright spot this election season. His national prominence rose in recent years because of his stand against illegal immigration, and the Hazleton mayor was viewed as one of the GOP's best hopes for picking up a House seat. In the end, though, Barletta couldn't overcome 12-term Democratic Rep. Paul Kanjorski's overwhelming fundraising advantage, and he tripped over Barack Obama's long coattails. The 71-year-old incumbent beat Barletta 52 percent to 48 percent. Republicans thought this was the year they would finally knock off Kanjorski, who has represented a blue-collar, heavily Democratic area of northeastern Pennsylvania for 24 years. But Obama won the 11th Congressional District by double digits. Barletta blames Obama for his defeat.

Embattled Pa. judge on paid suspension

A Luzerne county judge is suspended after a panel found she violated
"standards of common decency." Judge Ann Lokuta's paid suspension began Wednesday, and will be in effect until a hearing on whether Lokuta will be sanctioned for violating the state Judicial Code. Last week, the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline concluded that Lokuta violated ethics rules, failed to perform her duties, terrorized courthouse personnel and made her staff run her personal errands. Lokuta's lawyer says the court got everything wrong.

Knoll says she's out of the hospital

Pennsylvania's Lieutenant Governor Catherine Baker Knoll continues to recuperate from her battle with cancer. In a statement released yesterday, Knoll says she has left Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, where she went for intensive treatment in early October. Knoll has been battling neuroendocrine cancer, diagnosed in July. Knoll says she's now receiving physical therapy to deal with an infection that has slowed her recovery. She says she intends to return to her duties as lieutenant governor, but doesn't have a timetable, and has not considered stepping down.

Pa. 'bonusgate' defendants waive arraignments

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - All 12 defendants in a Pennsylvania legislative corruption investigation are waiving their arraignments. That's according to one of the deputy prosecutors for state Attorney General Tom Corbett. Deputy Attorney General James Reeder said Wednesday that all those charged decided not to show up at the Dauphin County Courthouse to hear the charges against them. He says he expects President Judge Richard Lewis to set a trial date soon. All of the defendants are connected to the House Democratic caucus and include one sitting state lawmaker. They are accused of overseeing or taking part in a vast operation to divert state dollars and employees for electioneering. One defendant, the former chief of staff to House Majority
Leader Bill DeWeese, has said he plans to plead guilty.

Widener U. gets $5M gift for leadership institute

CHESTER, Pa. (AP) - An alumnus of Widener University has given the school $5 million. It's the largest gift in the suburban Philadelphia school's history. The donation announced Wednesday will fund an institute for leadership at Widener. School officials say the institute will provide students, faculty and business executives with opportunities to develop or enhance their leadership skills. Officials say they won't identify the donor until a formal announcement on Saturday. Widener is a private university in Chester, about 15 miles southwest of Philadelphia. It was founded in 1821.

Officials: Emanuel offered chief of staff job

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic officials say President-elect
Barack Obama has picked Illinois Cong. Rahm Emanuel to be his White
House chief of staff. If Emanuel accepts, he would return to the White House where he served as a political and policy adviser to President Clinton. Two campaign officials say the appointment of a chief of staff
is not expected for at least a day. Obama's transition leadership team is expected to include John Podesta, who served as chief of staff under Clinton. And several Democrats also say that Massachusetts Sen. John
Kerry is actively seeking appointment as secretary of State in the
new administration.

Presidential race in NC turns to provisional votes

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina election officials say Barack Obama has about 14,000 more votes than John McCain in an race that has yet to be decided. About 40,000 privision ballots must be sorted, analyzed and counted before they can be added to the Election Day tally.
Many provisional ballots are cast when a voter's name does not appear on a precinct's rolls. Some voters cast provisional ballots even when they're not registered, and those votes may not be counted unless the person made an effort to register on time.

Palin returns to Alaska to chants of '2012'

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Republican vice presidential nominee
Sarah Palin has returned to her home state of Alaska, where she was
greeted by dozens of supporters encouraging her to run for president in four years. The crowd chanted "2012! 2012!" as Palin disembarked her
airplane at the Anchorage airport. Asked by reporters if she might run for president, Palin said, "We'll see what happens then." The Alaska governor said she hoped to work with president-elect Barack Obama on energy policy. She was returning to the state after spending Tuesday night in Phoenix, where she watched election returns with her Republican running mate, Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Future of Alaska Sen. Stevens hangs by a thread

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Alaska Senator Ted Stevens' re-election
bid remains on thin ice. Stevens is ahead, but only about 3,500 votes separate the Republican from Democratic challenger Mark Begich.
Stevens' political future is now dependent on roughly 60,000 absentee ballots and 9,000 early votes and questioned ballots. Those votes won't be counted for days. Last week Stevens was convicted of seven felonies for failing to disclose more than $250,000 in gifts and services from an oil company executive. He stands to be the first convicted felon re-elected to the Senate. But Stevens' colleagues could also expel him and end the longest run by a Republican in the history of the body.

Administration speeding up on economic problems

WASHINGTON (AP) - As the number of days left in the White House
dwindle, the Bush administration seems to be picking up the pace
when it comes to getting the $700 billion financial rescue program
up and running. The Treasury Department has begun detailing how it plans to borrow a record $550 billion before the end of this year to back
the bailout. The plan is to sell $55 billion in bonds next week, including a
reintroduction of the three-year note. The massive borrowing is needed because of the cost of the bailout and a budget deficit that some believe could hit nearly $1 trillion next year. These efforts come amid a barrage of bad economic news. Later Thursday weekly unemployment figures will be released. Another report will likely show productivity slowed drastically in the third quarter this year.

Sources: Auto execs, UAW to meet with Pelosi

DETROIT (AP) - Top executives of GM, Ford and Chrysler plan to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Thursday to discuss the struggling industry's financial status. That word from people familiar with plans for the session, which will also be attended by the head of the United Auto Workers union. They're to discuss the credit crisis and access to government funding. Pelosi plans to call Congress into a lame-duck session to enact another stimulus program for the embattled economy.
The meeting comes as Detroit carmakers and their congressional
allies look for President-elect Obama's help lining up the federal
funding the industry needs to survive the slump. Michigan Sen. Carl
Levin says he's "very optimistic" that manufacturers are "going
to have a fighter in the White House," adding, "That's what we
need."

Hundreds of Prop 8 protesters take to L.A. streets

LOS ANGELES (AP) - More than 1,000 people who turned up for a
rally against the California's newly approved same-sex marriage ban
took to the streets of Los Angeles and West Hollywood and blocked
traffic. Los Angeles police officer Jason Lee says "the overall
indication is that the demonstrators and marchers are peaceful" in
the Wednesday night protest against Proposition 8, but says at least four people have been detained. Television cameras showed one protester jumping on top of a police car at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland. He was quickly wrestled to the ground by police and handcuffed. The rally broke into several separate groups as midnight
approached hours after the marching began, and protesters were
still walking amid traffic on Santa Monica and San Vicente Boulevards in West Hollywood.

Rice off to Mideast as peace deadline looms

WASHINGTON (AP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is off to
the Middle East yet again hoping to secure fragile Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and leave a viable process for the incoming Obama administration. With just 77 days left in office, she's making her eighth trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories since the parties set a year-end goal of reaching a peace deal last November. Meeting the target date for an agreement is now highly unlikely, especially with political uncertainty in Israel and the Bush administration's lame duck status.
Rice intends to press the two sides to carry on and, if possible, come up with an outline of how they can move ahead after Jan. 20.

Police: Twin blasts in Baghdad kill 4, wound 7

BAGHDAD (AP) - Police say four people have been killed and seven
others wounded after two roadside bombs exploded during the morning
rush hour near a checkpoint in central Baghdad. A security official says Thursday's attack in the capital's Sunni enclave of Sheik Omar happened at a checkpoint manned by members of the Awakening Council. Awakening Council is the term for mostly Sunni groups that have
joined forces with the Americans against al-Qaida in Iraq. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information to the media.

106-year-old Atlanta woman basks in Obama tribute

ATLANTA (AP) - At 106-years-old, Ann Nixon Cooper doesn't usually stay up past midnight. But on Election Night she had special reason to -- she was waiting for Barack Obama to mention her name. Cooper is one of the oldest voters for the nation's first black president, and the Obama campaign tipped her off that she'd be mentioned in his acceptance speech. Obama introduced the world to a woman who "was born just a generation past slavery; a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky." Obama read about her last month after Cooper voted early for him. He later called to thank her. Cooper didn't register to vote until 1941. She says before then, her husband "voted for the house." She says she feels "nothing but relief that things have changed as much as they have."