Pa. braces for economic impact as first big wave of jobless exhausts their benefits checks

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Thousands of jobless Pennsylvanians are joining the growing ranks of people around the country who are exhausting unemployment benefits, as some experts worry about another blow to a stumbling economy.

Youth offenders victimized by corrupt Pa. judge want convictions tossed, retrials barred

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — For years, prosecutors in northeastern Pennsylvania stood by and did nothing as a corrupt judge systematically violated the rights of more than 6,000 youth offenders who appeared in his courtroom, lawyers for some of the children asserted in court Friday.

Pa. plumber saves 7 ducklings trapped in drain, Momma scampers off with brood after rescue

GLENSHAW, Pa. — Even plumbers sometimes encounter unfathomable clogs. This is what happened to 49-year-old George Jessup on Saturday when he saw a duck near a storm drain in a suburban Pittsburgh neighborhood. The plumber tried to approach the duck but she “charged at me like a lion.”

Police: Woman warned not to disturb ‘alligator’ instead finds marijuana lab in Pa. home

DARBY, Pa. — Police said a woman defied a warning not to venture onto the second floor of a Philadelphia-area house because an alligator was kept there, and uncovered an operating marijuana lab. She tipped police, who searched the house in Darby, just west of Philadelphia.

Federal judge dismisses former GOP House candidate’s lawsuit against DA in Penn.

CLEARFIELD, Pa. — A federal judge has dismissed a former congressional candidate’s lawsuit against a central Pennsylvania prosecutor.

Reports of exchange students in US underfed, living in filth lead to calls for federal reform

SCRANTON, Pa. — During his year as a foreign exchange student in the United States, 18-year-old Carlos Villarreal lived not with a welcoming family, but with two ex-convicts in a seedy house that smelled of dog feces and where the food was labeled “DO NOT TOUCH.” He left 14 pounds lighter.

US embarrassment: Exchange students in Pa. underfed, lived in filth; federal reforms demanded

SCRANTON, Pa. — Federal regulators say they share the blame for failing to prevent the mistreatment of as many as a dozen foreign exchange students in northeastern Pennsylvania this past school year.

Judge OKs Pa. man’s extradition to Peru to stand trial on charges he killed his wife

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man is being extradited to Peru to stand trial for the murder of a 21-year-old woman he married there.

Wyeth says regulators in Chile grant 1st marketing approval to new type of Prevnar vaccine

COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. — Wyeth on Tuesday reported the first marketing approval for a new version of its vaccine Prevnar, as the drug was cleared by regulators in Chile.

A baby cut from the womb turns 1, and a grandfather grieves while planning a party

McKEESPORT, Pa. — Planning a birthday party is bittersweet for the grandfather of a 1-year-old who was cut from his mother’s womb.

Pa. swim club accused of racism to try to work out arrangement for minority children to return

PHILADELPHIA — A private suburban swim club accused of racism after it canceled the memberships of dozens of minority children says it will seek a meeting with the kids’ camps to work out an agreement for them to return.

Pa. man who blared porno soundtrack to chase away kids agrees to take anger management classes

PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. — A suburban Philadelphia man has agreed to take anger management classes for blaring a pornographic soundtrack to chase away kids playing outside his home. Michael Buck was arrested May 31 at his upscale Phoenixville cul-de-sac after irate neighbors told police they could hear the sexually explicit audio a block-and-a-half away.

Pa. swim club head says safety, not racism, was reason minority children not allowed back

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. — The head of a private suburban Philadelphia swim club on Friday defended its cancellation of the memberships of dozens of minority children, saying safety, not racism, was the reason.

Philadelphia-area man jailed 14 years for contempt of court to be freed

MEDIA, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man jailed for contempt of court for 14 years has been ordered released.

Another day camp says Pa. swim club accused of racism treated it well

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. — A second day camp whose children were turned away by a Philadelphia-area swim club later accused of racism says its group was treated well.

APNewsBreak: Pa. prosecutor says charges warranted in ‘criminal neglect’ of exchange students

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A California nonprofit placed foreign exchange students in deplorable conditions in Pennsylvania, with some becoming malnourished or living in homes strewn with dog feces, and a prosecutor said the neglect merits criminal charges.

Pa. agency to investigate allegations of racial discrimination at suburban Philadelphia pool

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. — State officials will investigate accusations of racial discrimination against a suburban Philadelphia swim club that allegedly reacted to a visiting group of minority children by asking them not to return.

Suburban Philly swim club accused of kicking out black kids denies racial discrimination

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. — A suburban Philadelphia swim club accused of kicking out a group of minority children visiting from the city denies any racial discrimination.

Pennsylvania agency looking into allegations of discrimination at Philly-area swim club

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission will investigate allegations of racial discrimination against a Philadelphia-area swim club accused of kicking out black and Hispanic children.

Camp director says Philly-area pool turned away minority children; legal action considered

HUNTINGDON VALLEY, Pa. — Members and officials of a private swimming pool in a predominantly white Philadelphia suburb reacted to a visiting group of minority children by asking them not to return and pulling other kids out of the water, a day camp director said, and the state is investigating.

Hide-and-seek win: Pa. toddler does such a good job hiding that parents have to call police

GREENVILLE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania toddler did such a remarkable job of hiding during a game of hide-and-seek that the family had to call police and firefighters to help find her.

West Pharmaceutical Services buys Plastef Investissements for undisclosed amount

LIONVILLE, Pa. — Medical products maker West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. said Tuesday it bought the drug delivery device assets of Plastef Investissements SA for an undisclosed amount, in a move to complement its safety needles.

Robert Taylor, former Philadelphia Bulletin publisher and free press advocate, dies at 96

BRYN MAWR, Pa. — Robert Taylor Jr., former publisher of the Philadelphia Bulletin and a champion of the free press, has died. He was 96.

Product pitchman Billy Mays remembered in his hometown near Pittsburgh as natural salesman

MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. — References to television pitchman Bill Mays’ trademark image were everywhere at his funeral Friday near Pittsburgh.

Product pitchman Billy Mays remembered in his hometown near Pittsburgh as bigtime salesman

MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. — Television product pitchman Billy Mays is being remembered as a pop culture icon.

Pa. boy, 2, dies after being accidentally left in hot minivan outside his day care center

PENNDEL, Pa. — A toddler left in a hot minivan outside his suburban Philadelphia day care center has died of hyperthermia.

Hershey’s closing its online gift service, cutting 12 jobs

HERSHEY, Pa. — People who like to order chocolate and gifts from Hershey’s online service won’t be able to after this month.

Pa. man gets 2-10 years in prison for helping son vandalize oil tank, damaging national forest

BRADFORD, Pa. — A northwestern Pennsylvania man was sentenced to two to 10 years in state prison for conspiring with his son to cause an oil spill in the Allegheny National Forest because he was upset with his former employer.

Police seek masked teens who took potato chips, soda from southwestern Pa. convenience store

UNIONTOWN, Pa. — Police are searching for three masked teens who burst into a southwestern Pennsylvania convenience store, but were content to steal only several bags of potato chips and bottles of soda. Uniontown police said the bandits struck about 12:45 a.m. Monday at a Sunoco A Plus store.

Biden announces program to expand broadband Internet access for rural areas at Pa. stop

WATTSBURG, Pa. — Vice President Joe Biden outlined a $4.7 billion loan and grant program Wednesday to develop the infrastructure needed to deliver broadband, or high-speed, Internet access to areas that are underserved or without access.