Today's News-Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Bomb threat delays opening of Penn State Schuylkill

Penn State Schuylkill Campus will open late this morning. Campus officials alerted us this morning that a reported bomb threat will delay the opening of the campus today until 12noon. Stay tuned for more updates.

Pottsville native to receive Knights of Columbus award

A Pottsville serviceman's memory is being honored tonight with an award from the Knights of Columbus. Captain David Boris, who was killed in combat in Afghanistan a year ago, will be awarded the God and Country Award posthumously by the Schuylkill Council 431 at a special mass tonight at 7pm at St Patrick's Church in Pottsville. Boris was a Pottsville High and US Military Academy graduate, and was on a 15-month deployment with the 91st Cavalry Regiment when he died. The God and Country Award is given by the Knights of Columbus to those who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to the Catholic faith and to public service. This is the first such award given by the Schuylkill Council.

Locust Gap man killed in crash

A Locust Gap man is dead from injuries suffered in a crash along Route 901 Tuesday afternoon. 24-year-old Paul Fuller the Third was driving west in Coal Township when he lost control of his Dodge Avenger, crossed the road and struck a utility pole. Coal Township police say that the car returned to the road and collided with a dump truck driven by 49-year-old Kevin Boylan of Locust Gap. Fuller was taken to Shamokin Area Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The crash happened after noon yesterday.

Theft and vandalism to vehicles at bowling alley

Pottsville police are investigating the theft of a vehicle and vandalism of three others Monday night at Strikers bowling alley parking lot. The stolen vehicle, a GMC Jimmy, belonged to Thomas Frantz of Schuylkill Haven. The drivers side window was apparently kicked in to gain entry. Three other cars parked in the lot, belonging to Wade Sterner of Pottsville, Matthew Himmelreich of Cressona and Derek Stephens of Pottsville, all were damaged by the vandals and items taken.

Vandalism at soccer field

Schuylkill Haven state police are looking for the vandals who damaged property at a youth soccer field. Sometime over the past three days, vandals kicked in the door of a concession stand at the North Schuylkill Youth Soccer Association field in Barry Township and spray painted graffiti on the side of the building and a soda machine. Troopers continue their investigation.

Damages done to cars at North Manheim business

Over $8-thousand-dollars damages resulted from vandalism at a North Manheim Township business over the weekend. Schuylkill Haven state police say that vandals slashed 20 tires on 4 vehicles and a trailer at Top Guns Incorporated on Route 61. In addition, three tires were damaged on a 1982 Corvette owned by Deborah Schwenk of Cressona. Anyone with information should call state police at 593-2000.

W.Pa. teacher's aide suspended over Obama remarks

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A teacher's aide at a suburban Pittsburgh vo-tech school has been suspended over racially insensitive remarks he allegedly made about President-elect Barack Obama. The alleged remarks were reported by a student who said she overheard them being made to another student. Principal Eric Heasley of the A.W. Beattie Career Center says the aide will remain suspended during an investigation. The
unidentified aide was suspended without pay Friday. The school serves Pittsburgh's northern suburbs.

Catholic bishops will fight Obama on abortion

BALTIMORE (AP) - The nation's Roman Catholic bishops are vowing
to forcefully confront the Obama administration over its support for abortion rights. Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, Pa., says he plans to counter Vice President-elect Joseph Biden. He's a Catholic native of
Scranton who supports keeping abortion legal. Martino says Biden shouldn't be saying he learned his values in Scranton. Martino says that doesn't make sense when his position contradicts Catholic teachings.
Martino spoke in Baltimore, where the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is holding its annual fall meeting.

Pa. state university chiefs get 2008-09 raises

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Most leaders of Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities are getting bigger salaries this year. A State System of Higher Education spokesman said Tuesday that 13 university presidents are receiving raises of 2 percent to 11 percent for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
The new salaries are retroactive to July 1. They range from $189,195 for Mansfield University's president to $253,428 for Indiana University of Pennsylvania's president. All 13 are getting merit increases. Five presidents are also getting increases intended to make their salaries more competitive. System spokesman Kenn Marshall says the new salaries still fall below the national median for presidents of similar schools. West Chester University's interim president wasn't eligible for a merit increase this year.

Johns Hopkins names Penn provost as new president

BALTIMORE (AP) - Johns Hopkins University named its new president on Tuesday - Ronald J. Daniels, a Canadian law professor who comes to Baltimore from the University of Pennsylvania, where he had been provost. Ronald J. Daniels is known for a social conscience as well as
his leadership and fund-raising abilities. As dean of the University of Toronto law school, the 49-year-old Daniels increased the school's endowment from $1 million to $57 million. He also organized an international conference on anti-terror legislation following the 9/11 attacks. Daniels has spent the last three years at Penn, where he focused
on faculty retention and recruitment and increasing student support.
Daniels succeeds William Brody, who is retiring.

Obama union support far above average in 4 states

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - President-elect Barack Obama won the votes of most union members who cast ballots in last week's election. But union members in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Washington and Michigan were especially supportive. An exit poll by The Associated Press found that the Democratic presidential candidate received 60 percent of the union vote in 14 states where voters were asked if they were union members. The survey found that Obama was favored by roughly seven in 10 union voters in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Washington and Michigan. In all four states, union support for Obama was stronger than it was for Democrat John Kerry in 2004. And although union membership has been dwindling nationally, all four have membership rates higher than the national average of 12 percent of wage and salary workers.

Toll Brothers 4Q home-building revenue declines

HORSHAM, Pa. (AP) - Luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc. says its revenue dropped 41 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter as demand and home shopper traffic in October fell to "record lows." Chief Executive Robert Toll says the preliminary signs of stability in the market he discussed in early September were reversed by the financial crisis. Fears of job losses, a large decline in consumer spending, plummeting stock markets all contributed to drive cancellations up 30 percent. Toll says preliminary home-building revenue declined to $691 million in the three months ended Oct. 31, while backlog dropped 54 percent. Net signed contracts for the quarter also slid 27. Toll Brothers plans to release full results for the quarter on Dec. 4.

Up to 13 Conn. papers may close if no buyer found

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) - Yardley, Pa.-based Journal Register Co. plans to close two daily newspapers and 11 weeklies in Connecticut if it can't sell them. Employees of The Herald of New Britain and The Bristol Press were told Monday that the daily newspapers will close if a buyer
isn't found by Jan. 12. The same memo was sent to employees at the 11 weekly papers in the company's Imprint Newspapers division. A call to Journal Register's headquarters for elaboration wasn't returned. Journal Register has been the subject of speculation all year as sagging revenues and its massive debt pushed its credit rating into junk status. The company's stock traded above $23 a share a decade ago. It now goes for about a penny and was removed from the listings of the New York Stock Exchange in April.

Part-time veterans' nurses to get full pensions

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Pittsburgh attorney is applauding a Washington, D.C.-based pension review board for ruling that veterans' nurses who worked part-time in the 1960s, 70s and 80s must get full pensions.
Attorney Timothy O'Brien represented 158 nurses in their benefits' appeal. He said Tuesday that the August decision by the Merit Systems Protection Board may apply to several dozen nurses nationwide who worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs prior to April 1986. O'Brien says the final order only became official in late October, when the 60-day appeal period passed without the government filing an appeal. The order says the nurses who appealed to the board should have
their pensions recalculated so each will get full-time credit for the part-time work they did.

Democratic aides: Pelosi supports automakers help

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic aides say Speaker Nancy Pelosi intends to seek legislation to provide relief to the battered auto industry, and wants it done in a post-election session of Congress likely to convene in the next few days. Pelosi is not expected to specify how large a bailout she wants. The aides who described her views Tuesday did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss it publicly. The speaker's decision comes a few days after General Motors
warned it is rapidly running out of cash, and Ford announced its situation was only slightly better. President Bush would have to agree to sign the legislation, which would be passed well before President-elect Obama takes office.

FDIC head says new mortgage plan insufficient

WASHINGTON (AP) - The head of the FDIC says a new joint government-industry effort to help struggling homeowners is insufficient to bring widespread changes in home loans. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair says the new plan "is a step in the right direction but falls short of what is needed." Bair has been saying the government needs to do more to help tens of thousands of home borrowers avert foreclosure. Under the new plan announced Tuesday, the most sweeping effort yet, the interest rate on existing mortgages would be reduced so that borrowers wouldn't pay more than 38 percent of their income on housing expenses.

Asian markets falter

HONG KONG (AP) - Asian stock markets are into negative territory
again as evidence mounts that a worsening global economy has taken
a toll on companies. Investors found few reasons to buy after Wall Street pulled back as it became clear that slowing consumer demand was hitting a wide cross-section of companies. Major Asian indices all lost ground. The included the Shanghai Composite Index in China, where growing skepticism over the likely effectiveness of the country's $586 billion stimulus plan clouded sentiment. Corporate Asia only added to the gloom as leading Japanese energy producer Inpex Holdings cut its forecasts amid slumping oil prices. There were also signs that Chinese shoppers were holding back after figures showed a softening in the country's retail sales in October compared with a year earlier.

Most in AP poll confident Obama will fix economy

WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama has apparently inspired confidence in his ability to fix the economy. More than 70 percent
of the people surveyed say they think he'll do what's needed to deal with the economic problems. Nearly all Democrats and most independents -- and 44 percent of the Republicans who were surveyed -- expressed that belief. The poll found a willingness to wait on one of the keynote items
of Obama's agenda -- tax cuts. Only about one out of three people surveyed by the Associated Press and GfK said they wanted Obama to
make those cuts a top priority when he takes office. Even fewer wanted higher taxes on the rich to be a primary goal. Instead, 84 percent said strengthening the economy should be a top-tier priority. Overall, 68 percent said they think that when Obama takes office in January, he'll be able to enact the policies he pushed during his presidential campaign.
Three quarters of those surveyed said the election made them feel hopeful. Six in ten reported feeling proud -- including a third of Republicans. Just half of those surveyed said they want Obama to make a U.S. troop pullout from Iraq a top focus.

Nunn, Christopher said to get top transition posts

WASHINGTON (AP) - President-elect Obama has reportedly tapped
two more Washington veterans to help him with the transition. Senior government officials and others say Obama has hired former Georgia senator Sam Nunn to head his Pentagon transition team, and former secretary of State Warren Christopher to do the same at the State Department. Nunn is a former chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Obama has yet to announce his choice for defense secretary and secretary of state.

Obama scopes out daughters' new bedrooms

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush is sharing more details about his private meeting with President-elect Obama. Bush says after they talked about domestic and foreign issues, Obama wanted to see the future bedrooms of his young daughters. Bush also tells CNN that he called former President Clinton just before his meeting with Obama. He says he told Clinton that he hoped he could be as gracious as Clinton was to him.
Bush also says he's not sure what to expect when he leaves office. But he says his daily pace "will go from 100 mph to near zero overnight."

McCain: Don't blame Palin

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) - John McCain says Sarah Palin didn't hurt his presidential bid and he attributes anonymous criticism aimed at her following their loss last week to typical campaign sniping. The Arizona senator tells Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show" the Republican ticket faced a tough challenge from the start but disputed that a different vice presidential pick would have changed the outcome. He had only kind words for the Alaska governor and her family. But he didn't directly address criticism from unidentified McCain operatives who have reportedly said she was not prepared on foreign policy and blamed her for an expensive campaign wardrobe. McCain's taped appearance was scheduled for airing Tuesday night to coincide with Veterans Day.

Holiday job-seekers facing lots of competition from others newly
out of work

NEW YORK (AP) - It was just a year ago that managers at some retailers were having to scramble to find enough holiday workers. This year, they're turning people away in droves. Only one person out of every 45 who apply is being hired by department store operator Bealls Outlet Stores. A California 7-Eleven store received more than 100 applications
in a week and a half, for jobs that pay $8.50 an hour. Who are these jobseekers? They're not the teens or stay-at-home moms who are usually looking to make some extra cash around the holidays. This time, there are a lot of people who have been laid off in other sectors of the economy, and are desperate for a way to pay the bills. But they're applying for work in an industry that itself is drastically cutting back on holiday hiring because of the drop-off in consumer spending. A Michigan woman -- who was laid off along with her husband from an automotive industry job -- has been applying for part-time jobs at Toys 'R' Us, Home Depot and Lowes. Kimberly Caparo says she thought it would be "pretty easy" -- but, in her words, "there are thousands of us going for the same thing."

Report shows wide variation in premature birth rates

WASHINGTON (AP) - The March of Dimes says the rate of premature
births varies widely from state to state. The group's report says it's as low as nine percent in Vermont, and as high as 18.8 percent in Mississippi. The head of the March of Dimes, Dr. Jennifer Howse, calls that "a dash of cold water." The federal government set a goal of reducing premature births to no higher than 7.6 percent by 2010. The report from the March of Dimes shows little promise of meeting that goal. The report says among the factors contributing to premature births are lack of insurance and smoking. Women who don't have health insurance are more likely not to get proper prenatal care.

Police: Car bomb kills 3, wounds 10 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraqi police say a bomb in a parked car has blown
up in central Baghdad, killing three people and wounding 10 others.
The bomb exploded during the Wednesday morning rush hour in al-Nasir Square in the heart of the Iraqi capital. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information.

Angola says it will send troops to Congo

LUANDA, Angola (AP) - An Angolan government official says his country will send troops to Congo, where at least 250,000 people have been displaced by fighting. Angolan Deputy Foreign Minister Georges Chicoty did not say how many troops will go or what their mission will be. Southern African regional leaders meeting at a summit Sunday had discussed sending troops to reinforce the scattered Congolese army.
The city of Goma has been besieged by rebels loyal to renegade Gen. Lauren Nkunda since he reached the outskirts of provincial capital. The rebels have promised to fight any African troops that aid the Congolese army. Chicoty made the announcement on Angolan national radio after
attending a meeting in Brussels with European foreign ministers on
Tuesday.

Swift, Williams big winners at BMI Country Awards

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Taylor Swift's "Teardrops On My Guitar" won country song of the year, and Hank Williams Jr. was honored as a music icon during the 56th Annual BMI Country Awards. The awards were presented Tuesday in Nashville. Casey Beathard won songwriter of the year for the second time. Beathard co-wrote several recent hits including Kenny Chesney's "Don't Blink." Swift co-wrote "Teardrops On My Guitar." The song earned iTunes' No. 1 country song honors of 2007.
Williams joins Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and others as a BMI icon. His hits include "Family Tradition" and "Country Boy Can Survive." Even non-country fans know his "Monday Night Football" theme. BMI, or Broadcast Music Inc., is a performing rights organization.