TODAY'S NEWS - SATURDAY APRIL, 3, 2010

TODAY'S NEWS - SATURDAY APRIL 3, 2010

LOCAL NEWS

Brandon Short, 29 of Ohio, was arrested for being a fugitive from justice in Ohio after it was discovered that he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest in that state. Short, who was just released from the Federal Corrections Institution of Schuylkill County, Butler Twp, was then arraigned in front of District Court Justice Bayer and was unable to post $50,000 bail and was then committed to the Schuylkill County Prison.

STATE NEWS

AMERICAN-TERROR PLOT
2nd American woman charged in 'Jihad Jane' case

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal prosecutors have filed terrorism
charges against a pregnant American woman in the so-called Jihad
Jane case. The two American women are accused of plotting online to
attend a terror training camp.
Jamie Paulin-Ramirez flew from Ireland yesterday to
Philadelphia, where she was arrested. Her 6-year-old son flew with
her and was placed with child protective service workers.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press that Paulin-Ramirez is
pregnant. The official was not authorized to discuss that detail
and spoke on condition of anonymity.
A detention hearing is scheduled for next week.
Last month, authorities in Ireland detained Paulin-Ramirez and
six others as they investigated an alleged plot to kill a Swedish
cartoonist whose drawing had offended Muslims.
Those suspects were linked to Colleen LaRose, a 46-year-old
woman who had traveled to Europe but was arrested last fall when
she returned to the U.S.

GOVERNORS-EXTREMISTS-PENNSYLVANIA
Letter to Rendell, governors prompts FBI warning

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Ed Rendell's office says he is one of the
governors who received an anti-government group's letter in recent
days asking him to leave office.
Rendell's spokesman Gary Tuma said yesterday that the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security had notified the office such a
letter would arrive.
The FBI is warning police that the call to remove governors
could provoke violence.
The group called the Guardians of the free Republics says on its
Web site that it wants to "restore America" by peacefully
dismantling parts of the government.
Tuma says threat letters aren't uncommon and that Rendell has
been going about his normal duties. Capitol police are on
"heightened awareness," but officials won't say if that's because
of the letter.
The FBI expects all 50 governors will receive such letters.

PITTSBURGH BISHOP HOSPITALIZED
Pittsburgh bishop hospitalized for kidney stone

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh's Roman Catholic bishop is
recovering after surgery to remove a kidney stone.
Bishop David Zubik was hospitalized yesterday morning at UPMC
Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh.
A spokesman for the diocese says Zubik was taken to the hospital
around 5 a.m. after experiencing severe pain.
A hospital spokeswoman says the 60-year-old Zubik is recovering.
Other priests filled in for him during Good Friday services.
The diocese says Zubik is expected to remain in the hospital
overnight and officials don't know if he'll be recovered in time
for Easter Mass.

BANK OF AMERICA-LAYOFFS
Bank of America to close cent. Pa. call center

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Bank of America will close a central
Pennsylvania call center as part of an overall restructuring
following its merger with Merrill Lynch.
Company spokesman T.J. Crawford said yesterday about 165
employees will lose their jobs at the State College center.
Bank of America was one of the top employers in Centre County.
Crawford said operations are expected to wind down by the end of
June, and that the company would assist affected workers.
Bank of America had said after acquiring Merrill Lynch in
December 2008 that it expected to trim its total workforce by about
30,000 over three years.

PHILLY POLICE SHOOTING
Philly officers fatally shoot man at playground

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia police say a man fatally shot
by police officers at a playground was wanted on federal weapons
charges.
The shooting happened at a park in the city's Germantown section
around noon yesterday.
A police spokesman, Lt. Frank Vanore, says there were several
children in the area but police quickly got them out of the way and
they were never in danger.
Vanore says three plainclothes officers spotted a man they
believed was a suspect in a previous shooting.
He said the officers followed him into the playground, where he
pulled a gun and fired at them.
The officers returned fire, killing the suspect, identified by
police as 26-year-old Vincent Parson. Vanore says Parson was wanted
on federal firearms charges.
No one else was hurt.

PA SEWER OVERFLOW
Sewer overflow creating hazard in suburban Philly

ELKINS PARK, Pa. (AP) - State environmental officials say a
sewer line has overflowed and contaminated several creeks in a
suburban Philadelphia community.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says the
sewer line in Cheltenham Township spilled raw sewage into the
Tookany and Frankford creeks.
Crews are working to filter and chlorinate the discharge.
Meanwhile, the DEP is advising people to stay out of the creeks
until the problem is resolved.
Officials believe the overflow started during the recent rain
storms.

ATTEMPTED RAPE SLAYING
Arrest made in Pa. attempted rape, fatal beating

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Police in Philadelphia have made an arrest
in the attempted rape and fatal beating of a woman behind a city
deli.
Twenty-one-year-old Sharod Graham is facing murder and attempted
rape charges in the vicious assault that killed Eraina Merritt.
Police said deli employees went behind the store to take out the
trash and saw a man hitting a naked woman on the ground. They broke
up the attack and the assailant fled.
The 47-year-old mother of four never regained consciousness
after last week's assault in the city's Olney neighborhood, and
police could not interview her. She died Monday.
Police said her attacker was caught on a security videotape at
the deli earlier on the night of the assault.

SNOW-911 DEATH
Pittsburgh medic fired following man's death

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh officials have fired an emergency
medical worker following the death of a man who waited 30 hours for
help during a snowstorm despite repeated calls to 911.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's office says Josie Dimon was fired
Thursday. Her dismissal stems from the death of 50-year-old Curtis
Mitchell during a February storm that dropped nearly two feet of
snow on the city.
Mitchell and his girlfriend called 911 10 times seeking help for
his abdominal pain but medics couldn't reach their home because of
the snow. Mitchell was asked to walk to them instead.
Three other medics were also suspended. The paramedics union has
said they would fight the suspensions.

HISPANIC INMATE DEATH
Ex-fiancee: Former chief admitted inmate killing

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The ex-fiancee of a former Shenandoah
police chief says he admitted taking part in the beating death of a
Hispanic teenager while he was in police custody more than five
years ago.
A lawyer for the parents of 18-year-old victim David Vega read
excerpts from Angela Pleva's statement in U.S. District Court in
Harrisburg on Thursday.
Pleva said former chief Matthew Nestor told her that he and
another officer killed Vega in November 2004 after "things got out
of hand."
The defendants maintain Vega hanged himself, but the parents'
lawsuit alleges the two officers beat him and then tried to make
his death look like a suicide.
Defense lawyers are asking Judge John Jones to dismiss the
lawsuit or at least bar Pleva from testifying.

STEELERS-HOLMES
Fla. woman wants to press charges against Holmes

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - A Florida woman suing Pittsburgh Steelers
receiver Santonio Holmes now wants to press charges against him.
Anshonae Mills says Holmes grabbed her face and threw a glass at
her in an Orlando nightclub March 7. In her lawsuit, she claims
Holmes and a police officer intimidated her so she wouldn't press
charges.
But Orlando police Sgt. Barbara Jones said yesterday that Mills
changed her mind about pressing charges. Jones says the case has
been reactivated.
Jones did not release more information about the investigation.
Holmes denies hurting Mills. According to a police report, he
told an officer that Mills grabbed his wrist and called him a
racial name.
Messages left for Holmes' and Mills' attorneys weren't
immediately returned.

COLLEGE CAFETERIA ACCIDENT
Pa. college cafeteria worker trapped in dumbwaiter

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A cafeteria worker at Lehigh University is
recovering after he was accidentally pulled into a dumbwaiter and
was trapped for nearly two hours.
It was around noon yesterday when the worker got stuck in the
device, which carries food trays down a narrow shaft from the
second floor to the first floor.
One witness says he held onto the man's legs for an hour and a
half while rescue personnel worked to free him.
A Lehigh spokeswoman, Jennifer Tucker, says the worker was
conscious and talking after rescue workers freed him shortly before
2 p.m. He was taken to the hospital with cuts.
Tucker says workers will inspect the machine while the cafeteria
is closed this weekend and try to determine how the accident
happened.


NATIONAL NEWS

NORTHEAST FLOODING
Little by little, flood problems are clearing in Rhode Island

WARWICK, R.I. (AP) - Small signs of normalcy are returning to
flood-soaked Rhode Island but forecasters say the main river
causing the problem may not drop below its banks until at least
tomorrow.
The National Weather Service says the Pawtuxet River in Cranston
is expected to drop to minor flood stage by evening.
The Cranston mayor's office said yesterday that a sewage pump
station that had been disabled by flooding is back in full
operation.
And flood-weary travelers who struggled through massive traffic
jams to get to Rhode Island's major airport are getting some relief
with the reopening of a connector road from Interstate 95.
Some of the shellfish beds closed due to sewage overflows are
set to reopen today.
President Barack Obama has approved a request to declare the
entire state a disaster area eligible for federal assistance.

REFINERY SAFETY
Study shows US refineries have bad safety record

WASHINGTON (AP) - A study shows U.S. oil refineries have an
ongoing problem with accidents that turn deadly, losing four times
as much money from such incidents than refineries in the rest of
the world.
The insurance company report was obtained Friday by The
Associated Press.
Federal officials say the problem is highlighted by a string of
deadly explosions, including one that killed five people Friday at
a Tesoro Corp. refinery in Washington state.
The cause of the blast was under investigation. The blaze
started during maintenance work on a unit that processes highly
flammable liquid derived during the refining process.
Six investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard
Investigation Board were dispatched to the scene.

REFINERY FIRE
5th person dies after WA refinery blast

ANACORTES, Wash. (AP) - Tesoro Corp. says a fifth person has
died of injuries suffered in a deadly blast and fire early Friday
at the company's oil refinery at Anacortes, Wash.
On its Web site, Tesoro identified the fifth victim as
36-year-old Donna Van Dreumel, employed at the plant since 2001.
She died Friday night at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Two other badly burned refinery employees are hospitalized in
critical condition at Harborview.
Killed at the scene were 31-year-old Matthew C. Bowen of
Arlington; 43-year-old Darrin J. Hoines of Ferndale; and
50-year-old Daniel J. Aldridge of Anacortes, according to the
Skagit County coroner. A 29-year-old woman died of her burns at
Harborview earlier Friday; she was identified by the company as
Kathryn Powell.

CHINA MINE
UPDATE: Tomorrow is earliest time for possible large-scale mine
rescue attempt

BEIJING (AP) - Officials say tomorrow is the earliest any
large-scale rescue can be mounted at a Chinese mine where 153
workers have been trapped for almost a week.
The first group of rescuers and divers is inside the flooded
mine, where there's been no further sign of life after some tapping
and possible shouting yesterday.
The state-run China Central Television reports seven rescuers
and four divers entered the mine today.
Rescuers had cheered Friday after hearing the tapping noises and
possibly shouting. They lowered pens and paper, along with glucose
and milk, down metal pipes to the spot where the tapping was heard.
Government officials say the mine flooded last Sunday afternoon
when workers digging tunnels broke into an old shaft filled with
water. Experts say it could still take days to reach the miners.

IRAQ
Men in Iraqi army uniforms kill 25 in Sunni area

BAGHDAD (AP) - Officials say gunmen wearing Iraqi military
uniforms raided homes in a Sunni village south of Baghdad, killing
25 people, including five women.
In the hours after Friday night's shootings, Iraqi officials
cordoned off the area to search for suspects and helicopters
swarmed overhead.
Most of the dead were members of local Awakening Councils -
Sunni fighters who changed the course of the war when they revolted
against al-Qaida in Iraq.
Police say the victims were handcuffed and shot,
execution-style.
An official at Iraq's Interior Ministry confirmed the attack and
said the victims were 20 men and five women and that the attackers
were in military uniform.

AFGHANISTAN
6 Afghan soldiers killed by German friendly fire

KABUL (AP) - The Afghan military says German soldiers traveling
to the scene of a deadly firefight with Taliban insurgents
accidentally killed six Afghan troops.
Three Germans died in the firefight with the militants Friday.
The German central command confirmed Friday's friendly fire
incident, but put the number of Afghan casualties at five. The
deaths occurred amid heavy fighting between German troops and
militants near the northern city Kunduz.
The German military said German soldiers fired on civilian
vehicles which didn't stop as ordered. The vehicles were later
found to have been transporting Afghan troops and an investigation
is pending.
The German troops who were attacked had been on a
bridge-building and mine-clearing mission southwest of Kunduz city.
The area used to be relatively calm area that has lately seen a
rising level of insurgent violence.

IRAN
NEW: Ahmadinejad: Sanctions aid, rather than hurt, Iran

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
(ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhahd) says new international sanctions over
Iran's nuclear program would only strengthen the country by helping
make it more self-sufficient.
In a speech Saturday, the Iranian president also said U.S.
pressure on Iran had backfired and made Washington more isolated in
the eyes of the world.
President Barack Obama said Thursday that six world powers
dealing with Iran's nuclear program will develop a package of
serious new punitive measures over its refusal to halt uranium
enrichment in the coming weeks.
China has not confirmed U.S. reports it has dropped its
opposition to possible new U.N. sanctions.
China has veto power in the U.N. Security Council and its
support would be key to passing a new resolution.

NKOREA-CHINA-KIM JONG IL
Report: NKorean special train arrives in China

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - Rising speculation of a visit by Kim
Jong Il has gotten a boost from the arrival of special train from
North Korea arrived in a Chinese border city early today.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports it hasn't been
confirmed that the North's reclusive leader is on the train. Yonhap
cited an unidentified government source who also says the arrival
could be an advance train preceding a trip by Kim.
Yonhap said later in a separate report that Kim did not appear
to have left for China, citing a North Korean radio report that he
attended an art performance.
Chinese and North Korean officials reached by The Associated
Press either said they didn't have information or would not
comment.
Kim rarely travels abroad and only under tight security. He last
visited China in January 2006.

GOVERNORS-EXTREMISTS
FBI warns letters to governors could stir violence

WASHINGTON (AP) - Investigators say they don't see threats of
violence in a message from an anti-government group telling many of
the nation's governor's to step down, but they worry about what it
could set off.
The group called the Guardians of the free Republics wants to
"restore America" by peacefully dismantling parts of the
government, according to its Web site. It sent letters to governors
demanding they leave office or be removed.
The FBI is warning police across the country the broad call for
removal of top state officials could lead others to act out
violently. At least two states beefed up security in response.
At least two states beefed up security in response.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he received one of the letters
but wasn't overly alarmed.
More than 30 governors received letters and authorities say they
think all 50 eventually will.

PUB FIRE
Fire above Minneapolis pub kills 6

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Investigators are trying to pinpoint the
cause of a fire that gutted a Minneapolis building containing
several apartments and an Irish pub, killing three adults and three
children.
Friends and family fear the victims were a bartender and several
of his girlfriend's relatives.
The blaze broke out early Friday in one of six apartments above
McMahon's Pub. The roof of the two-story building eventually
collapsed.
Authorities have not identified the victims.
But Champagne Gervais, the bartender's girlfriend, says her
mother, her brother and his three young children had been visiting
her boyfriend, Ryan Richner, on Thursday night. Richner lived in an
apartment above the bar.
A spokeswoman says the American Red Cross is helping eight
adults and five children displaced by the fire.

MALIBU CLIFF ASSAULT
Man, 31, arrested in attempted Malibu sex assault

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) - There has been an arrest in the attempted
sexual assault of a Malibu jogger who escaped by jumping off a
cliff and sliding about 100 feet down a steep hillside.
Sheriff's Lt. Richard Erickson says 31-year-old Christian Marcus
Verdin was arrested in San Bernardino Friday after detectives said
he matched DNA found at the crime scene.
The victim, a 35-year-old woman, had finished a run March 12 at
Point Dume State Park and was standing at the edge of a cliff when
she was grabbed from behind.
She and the man struggled for several minutes before she was
able to break away, run and jump off the cliff.
Deputies say the suspect got away in her Toyota Land Cruiser.
The victim was treated at a hospital for cuts and bruises.