TODAY'S NEWS: SATURDAY, AUGUST 20, 2011

A Thursday night fire in Mahanoy City that left seven people temporarily homeless was accidental, fire officials said Friday. As reported in the Republican and Herald, Anthony Blackwell, Mahanoy City Fire Department administrative assistant and safety officer, said the blaze that damaged four homes in the 300 block of East Pine Street about 10:45 p.m. was caused by an overloaded electrical outlet. It was determined the fire started inside a home at 326 E. Pine St. occupied by Emily Yacovelli and her son, Mark Yacovelli, and Paul Waselewski.

A Pine Grove man escaped injury after he fell asleep at the wheel of his car and hit a sign and several trees early Thursday, according to state police at Schuylkill Haven. Michael Griffith was driving a 1989 Oldsmobile Delta 88 west on Keefers Road when he fell asleep at 7:25 a.m., troopers said. He traveled across both lanes and the south berm, hit a sign owned by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, trees and a drainage pipe, before coming to rest on a grass embankment, troopers said. Troopers charged Griffith for failing to stay in his lane.

A 37-year-old Pottsville man was jailed after being arrested by Pottsville police in connection with an incident at 10:32 p.m. Wednesday. Police said Jamie Ebert was arraigned by on-call Magisterial District Judge Anthony Kilker, Shenandoah, on one count of indirect criminal contempt for violating a Protection From Abuse order. He was committed to Schuylkill County Prison unable to post 10 percent of $15,000 bail, police said. Police said Ebert violated the order by going to a home on East Norwegian Street and harassing his daughter.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Authorities in Pittsburgh say three people
have died in flash floods after heavy rains submerged cars. Rescue
crews used inflatable boats to reach other stranded drivers, some
of whom say that the waters near the city zoo were 6 feet deep.
Some drivers had to swim to safety from their cars. Station KDKA
reports the area received about 3 inches of rain in an hour.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Priests in Philadelphia's Roman Catholic
archdiocese have banded together to form an independent association
in the wake of the latest clergy-abuse crisis. Chris Walsh says the
Association of Philadelphia Priests has drawn about 100 priests to
recent meetings. He calls them "very Orthodox men who love the
church."

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Police in Philadelphia say a member of the
force has been arrested and charged with assaulting a former
girlfriend. Officer Sean Jang is facing counts including aggravated
assault and reckless endangerment for the alleged incident on
Tuesday. The 28-year-old officer was arraigned yesterday and
released after posting bail.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Pennsylvania lawyer is blaming an
addiction to video games for the sloppy legal work that's earned
him a three-year suspension. A state disciplinary panel concludes
that Mathew Eshelman retreated into the world of video games to
fight job stress and problems at home. The habit got the
43-year-old Carlisle lawyer fired from a firm in 2007.

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. (AP) - President Barack Obama says there
are common sense, economy-boosting, job-creating measures Congress
can get done right away if they put politics aside. In his weekly
radio and Internet address, Obama says members of Congress should
put country first and act together to put people back to work.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Ohio's governor says he hopes President Barack
Obama will "partner with Republicans" to grow the economy and
create jobs through lower taxes and reduced regulation. In the
weekly Republican radio and Internet address, Gov. John Kasich also
tells GOP lawmakers they should "not be stiff-necked" about
compromise on policy if it doesn't compromise their principles.

PHOENIX (AP) - A spokesman for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords says the
Arizona congresswoman know knows who was killed during the January
shooting rampage in Tucson that left her seriously wounded. The
Arizona Republic reports http://bit.ly/mXh3Ik that the Democratic
politician was told the names of the dead in late July.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Three people died and one person is missing
and presumed dead in flash flooding from a storm in Pittsburgh.
Water rose up to 9 feet on one road, submerging more than a dozen
cars, including one containing the victims -- a woman and two
children. Officials say rescuers floated over the car without
knowing it.

LONDON (AP) - Police say this month's disturbances in the
English city of Birmingham included gunshots fired by rioters at
unarmed police and a helicopter. West Midlands Police released
footage today showing masked men firing shots during riots on Aug.
9. The force said 11 shots were fired.