Today's News-Thursday, January 8, 2009

CHAIN REACTION CRASH

A portion of northbound Interstate 81 was shutdown due to a chain reaction crash Wednesday afternoon. While a full report has not yet been released by state police yet, we know that four people were injured and four tractor trailers and a PennDOT truck were involved in the crash on the foggy interstate near exit 131, Route 54, at Mahanoy City. The accident happened around 1pm, and shut the northbound lanes down for several hours for cleanup. The identities of the drivers nor their conditions are available this morning.At least 5 vehicles were involved in a chain reaction crash on Interstate 81 Wednesday afternoon. It happened after 1pm at mile marker 131 at Mahanoy City.

Here's video of the scene from WPPA/T102 News:

I 81 CRASH



STUDENT CHARGED IN THEFTS

An Orwigsburg teen has been charged with misdemeanor theft charges following an incident at Blue Mountain High School. Schuylkill Haven state police say that on Monday, 18 year old Markea Dawn Weller is alleged to have rifled through the personal items 9 females in the locker room while they were taking gym class. Over $300 dollars was taken. Weller then returned
back to the school office, where she was serving a suspension.

HEARING RESCHEDULED

Yesterday's ice storm forced postponement of several meetings at the Schuylkill County Courthouse. The weekly Commissioner's work session was rescheduled till Friday morning at 10. Prior to that meeting, a public hearing will be held on the use of Section 108 loan guarantee funds, according to county economic director Mark Scarbinsky. It begins at 9am in the Commissioners Board Room.

ARGALL REMINDS EMERGENCY PERSONNEL ABOUT TAX CREDIT

With tax filing season just around the corner, Representative Dave Argall reminds emergency responders that they may qualify for a tax credit on their state return. Act 66 provides for the credit, up to $100 dollars to residents who are active members of a volunteer fire or ambulance service. To qualify, the individual must have earned a total of 50 points during 2008 through certification training and other requirements. For more information, log on to Argall's website, www.daveargall.com, and click on Emergency Responder Tax Credit.

STATE POLICE KEPT BUSY OVER HOLIDAY TRAVEL PERIODS

State police in the region were kept very busy during the recent holiday travel periods. According to Trooper Ed Maloney of Troop L, which includes Schuylkill Haven and Frackville barracks, there were more than 150 crashes, 12 of which were alcohol related. Troopers arrested 26 drivers for DUI, and issued several hundred various traffic citations.

BLOOD DONOR DAYS CONTINUE

Wednesday's ice storm is now a faded memory, but the need for blood donations never takes a snow day. WPPA and T102 are urging you to give blood today and tomorrow during Blood Donor Days. The drive at Fairlane Village Mall Wednesday realized about half of their goal, so its time to step it up in Schuylkill Haven at Jerusalem Lutheran Church today from noon till 6pm. The goal is 126 units. Make your appointment by calling 800-GIVE-LIFE or stop by the church at 252 Dock Street. Tomorrow's bloodmobile site is at the Auburn Fire and Ambulance Building. Thanks for helping save a life by giving blood.

Bush to discuss education law in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A school in Philadelphia's Northern Liberties neighborhood is getting ready for a visit from President George W. Bush. The president plans to offer a defense of the No Child Left Behind law when he visits the General Philip Kearny School. Thursday's visit comes on the seventh anniversary of the day he signed thelaw, which tries to force schools to improve test scores each year. The law has grown more unpopular since it was enacted. That's
partly over funding issues and partly because some parents think schools spend too much time on test preparation. President-elect Barack Obama pledged during the campaign to overhaul the law, but his campaign also said he wouldn't stop the annual tests.

Large Philadelphia heroin ring busted

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia police say they've busted a major heroin ring with a sophisticated packaging operation. Police say they raided a house in the city's Oxford Circle
neighborhood Wednesday night and found more than 3,500 grams of heroin. Deputy Commissioner William Blackburn says police also found two guns and an extensive packaging system that was running in the basement. Three men were arrested. Their names weren't immediately released. Police say the ring was supplying drug dealers in North Philadelphia and the city's Kensington and Fairhill neighborhoods.

Pa. judges split on who can perform marriages

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - There have been four court cases in the last two years about whether weddings performed by Internet-ordained ministers are legal in Pennsylvania. The answer is still unclear. A judge in York County struck down a wedding by a Universal Life Church minister in 2007. That's because the minister held no regular meetings and had no place of worship. But judges in Bucks, Philadelphia and Montgomery counties agreed with the American Civil Liberties Union that the government can't pass judgment on how a religion forms its ministry. The Philadelphia test case involves lawyers Peter Goldberger and Anna Durbin, who were married in 1976 by a Roman Catholic priest. The priest was ordained, but was working as a law clerk at the time of the wedding and had neither a church nor a congregation.

Matthews says he won't run for Pa. Senate seat

WASHINGTON (AP) - MSNBC political commentator Chris Matthews has told his colleagues he won't be leaving television to run for a U.S. Senate seat from Pennsylvania. MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines says Matthews told the staff of his "Hardball" show Wednesday that he's not going to run for the seat against Republican Sen. Arlen Specter in 2010. There's been speculation that Matthews would challenge Specter, and there have been published reports that Matthews has privately discussed the possibility. The 63-year-old Matthews is a Philadelphia native. He ran for a northeast Philadelphia congressional seat in 1974 but lost the Democratic primary. Matthews also has worked as an aide on Capitol Hill.

65,000 volunteers expected for Phila. MLK Day

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Organizers of the 14th annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service say they expect a record 65,000 volunteers to participate this year - up about 5,000 over last year. Founder and director Todd Bernstein says the volunteers will
participate in more than 750 community service projects throughout the region. Philadelphia's service day is by far the largest of many held nationwide on Jan. 19, the federal holiday honoring the civil rights leader. The Corporation for National and Community Service coordinates
similar efforts nationwide. A spokesman for that group, Sandy Scott, says the No. 2 turnout last year was in Washington, D.C., which had about 20,000 volunteers. Scott says Philadelphia is
expected to be by far the largest this year as well.

Penn State hopes to defray some health care costs

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Penn State University employees may not get pay raises next year, though the school president says the university hopes to defray rising health care costs for workers. Graham Spanier says he's hoping to freeze employee contributions to health premiums for the increase that would otherwise be implemented in 2010. He also says the school plans to freeze increases on parking fees. All told, those actions may cost the university $4 million.
Those details were part of a lengthy letter from Spanier to faculty, staff, students and alumni summarizing how the economic downturn is affecting Penn State. The university has more than 40,000 employees statewide. More than half work at main campus in State College.

Feds allege voter intimidation in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The U.S. Justice Department is suing the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense and three of its members over what authorities allege was Election Day voter intimidation in Philadelphia. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Philadelphia
alleges that two men intimidated voters Nov. 4 by standing outside a polling place wearing party uniforms. A video of the men, one holding a police-style baton weapon, was widely distributed on the Internet. After the election, party chairman Malik Zulu Shabazz told Fox News that the men were there to provide security because people wearing Nazi insignia had been intimidating voters earlier in the day. The party did not immediately respond to a request for comment
Wednesday evening.

W.Pa. man guilty in pipe bomb, weapons case

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A western Pennsylvania man accused of leaving threatening messages on a state trooper's answering machine has been convicted of possessing a machine gun and pipe bombs. Authorities searched 59-year-old Dana McCall's house in Ashland Township and his camp in February after he allegedly left messages for a trooper who cited him for a summary violation that carried a small fine. The messages included language about "relentless, excruciating pain," the sound of gunfire and dialogue about killing a police officer. The search turned up pipe bombs and bomb making items, a machine gun with a heat-seeking device and literature on bombs, booby traps and devices used to deliver poison. A federal jury convicted McCall on Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

Pa. teen admits to charge in alleged school plot

POTTSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania teenager has admitted to an attempted murder count for planning an attack at his high school. A magisterial district judge says prosecutors agreed Wednesday to drop all charges except the attempted murder count. The case was then moved to juvenile court, where the 15-year-old admitted to the charge. Investigators say the teen planned to open fire on students at Pottstown High School last month with guns stolen from his father. Authorities say the boy asked a friend to hold several guns, but the friend instead threw them in a river. The father reported the weapons missing, prompting a police investigation and the boy's arrest. Sentencing is expected in the next month.

Rendell seeks confirmation of 5 Cabinet selections

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell is asking the state Senate to confirm five Cabinet secretaries, including one who has served on an acting basis for nearly a year. The Democratic governor wants lawmakers to endorse his picks to head the state departments of Aging; Environmental Protection; Health; Labor and Industry; and Revenue. Sandi Vito was named acting Labor and Industry secretary in February. The others are also currently serving as acting secretaries. Rendell's other choices are John Michael Hall to run the Department of Aging, John Hanger at Environmental Protection, Everette James to oversee Health and Stephen Stetler to be in charge of the Revenue Department. Cabinet nominations require a majority vote of the Senate for confirmation.

Pa. work worth $600,000 to firm named in NM probe

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A California company under investigation in connection with campaign contributions to New Mexico's governor has made about $600,000 from a no-bid contract it holds with a Pennsylvania state agency. CDR Financial Products Inc. was hired by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Authority in 2003 to serve as an adviser on complex
investments known as swap derivatives. Authority director Brian Hudson says the Beverly Hills-based firm received $599,000, most of it as a percentage on bond issues that the authority floated in the early years of the contract. He says CDR's expertise translated into at least $2 million in savings for the authority, which helps arrange financing for first-time homebuyers.
CDR and its owner, David Rubin, contributed $40,000 to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell's campaigns.

JERUSALEM (AP) - Lebanon's prime minister is condemning rocket attacks on Israel, saying the attackers undermine stability. Lebanese guerillas have fired a second barrage of rockets into
northern Israel, striking a nursing home and injuring two people. The attacks threaten to open a second front for the Jewish state as it pushes forward with its offensive in the Gaza Strip.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraqi police say five soldiers are dead and eight more wounded after two roadside bombs simultaneously struck an army patrol. Insurgents have frequently targeted Iraqi security forces in a bid to disrupt recent security gains.

WASHINGTON (AP) - An independent study suggests the U.S. and its partners have been shortsighted in their effort to rebuild Afghanistan. A report set to be released today by the United States Institute of Peace says the Obama administration should think of the project as the work of at least a decade.

WASHINGTON (AP) - With health care issues near the top of the heap for the new administration, the first cabinet choice to get a Senate hearing is Tom Daschle. The former Senator is President-elect Barack Obama's choice for health and human services secretary. He appears today.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The new president officially gets elected today in Washington. The House and Senate will come together in a centuries-old tradition to count the electoral votes from the November election. Vice President Dick Cheney sit next to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to preside over the joint session of Congress that will formally declare Barack Obama will be the 44th president of the United States.