Penguins’ Gonchar practices, may play in Game 7 vs. Capitals

CANONSBURG, Pa. — Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar has practiced for the first time since injuring his right knee during a collision with Alex Ovechkin and hopes to play in Wednesday’s Game 7 against Washington.

Pa. high school orders shot glasses as prom favors; official says party committee low on funds

LITITZ, Pa. — A Pennsylvania high school ordered more than 450 shot glasses for its prom, a move the assistant principal now says sent the wrong message.

Police: Pa. man stole box with baby’s ashes during burglary, may not have known what it was

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A western Pennsylvania man has been ordered to stand trial on charges he stole a wooden box containing a baby’s cremated remains during a home burglary.

No place like home? Try Pa. neighbors’ attic, where man kicked out next door lives for 10 days

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — A man has admitted living in a northeastern Pennsylvania family’s attic for more than a week and occasionally going into the house when no one was there.

GOP leaders say ex-Homeland Security boss Tom Ridge weighing bid for Arlen Specter Senate seat

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Tom Ridge, the former governor who became the nation’s first homeland security chief, may challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in the state next year, Republican Party leaders confirmed Tuesday.

Tom Ridge, nation’s first homeland security secretary, weighing bid for Specter’s Senate seat

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Tom Ridge is considering running against Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania next year.

Pa. judge sets $20,000 bond for Erie mother convicted of swinging baby like a bat during fight

ERIE, Pa. — A Pennsylvania judge has set bond at $20,000 cash for a woman appealing her conviction for swinging her infant at her boyfriend during a fight in 2006.

Tom Ridge weighing possible bid for Specter’s Senate seat, chairman of GOP campaign group says

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee says Tom Ridge might run against Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania next year.

Suburban Philadelphia man charged with fatal shooting sparked by beer pong dispute

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — One man is dead and another in jail after what suburban Philadelphia police say was an argument over a drinking game that escalated into a fatal shooting.

Man charged with fatal shooting sparked by beer pong dispute in suburban Philadelphia

BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — One man is dead and another in jail after what police say was an argument over a drinking game that escalated into a fatal shooting.

Police: The proof is in the pudding in 3 Pa. burglaries; chocolate sauce and paint help, too

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A Pennsylvania man has been accused of burglarizing at least three apartments and vandalizing them with spray paint and chocolate pudding — after police say he was found covered in chocolate syrup.

Pa. poll shows Specter with 20-point lead over ex-Rep., suggests Ridge would give him trouble

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sen. Arlen Specter boosted his 2010 re-election prospects by switching to the Democratic Party, but may be vulnerable if the GOP can persuade former Gov. Tom Ridge to run, according to a poll released Monday.

Pa. jury rules epithet-laden brawl that led to illegal immigrant’s death was not a hate crime

POTTSVILLE, Pa. — Prosecutors called the beating death of an illegal immigrant from Mexico a hate crime, and they urged an all-white jury in Pennsylvania coal country to punish two white teenagers for their roles in the attack.

Pa. teens acquitted of all serious charges in fatal beating of illegal Mexican immigrant

POTTSVILLE, Pa. — An all-white jury on Friday acquitted two Pennsylvania teenagers of all serious charges against them stemming from the fatal beating of an illegal Mexican immigrant last summer. A representative for the victim’s family called the result an outrage.

It’s not just a U2 song: Thieves make western Pa. town place ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’

WINFIELD, Pa. — It’s not just a U2 song anymore. Officials said some thieves turned a western Pennsylvania township into a place “Where the Streets Have No Name.” Winfield Township supervisor Glenn Nagle revealed at a meeting Thursday that every one of the township’s road signs was stolen in a 48-hour period beginning April 6. The township has since spent about $4,000 replacing the aluminum signs, which cost about $100 each.

Edward Gorey exhibition shows artist/author’s combination of satirical humor and macabre tales

CHADDS FORD, Pa. — In Edward Gorey’s world, malevolent forces hover around Edwardian mansions, fashionable people cluster uneasily in drawing rooms and scores of tiny tots come to unspeakable ends — all narrated with dispassion and illustrated with macabre pen and ink drawings.

Reading Eagle cuts 52 jobs, about 12 percent of work force, citing troubled economy, industry

READING, Pa. — The publisher of the Reading Eagle says the newspaper company has laid off 52 workers.

Pa. police say home burglar took jellybeans from table, but nothing else

NORTH EAST, Pa. — Police in northwestern Pennsylvania say a burglar took some jellybeans from a home — but nothing else. Police said Thursday that they are stumped by the burglary in North East Township. Sgt. Mark Zaleski said it remains unclear whether the suspect wanted only jellybeans. Or maybe that’s all the thief had time to grab.

Pa. police say home burglar took jellybeans from table, but nothing else

NORTH EAST, Pa. — Police in northwestern Pennsylvania say a burglar took some jellybeans from a home — but nothing else.

Pa. sisters, age 65 and 70, accused of dealing heroin out of their homes for about 6 months

STROUDSBURG, Pa. — A northeastern Pennsylvania prosecutor said he’s shocked that two sisters accused of selling heroin are 65 and 70 years old. Monroe County District Attorney David Christine told reporters Wednesday that to look at the suspects, it’s hard to believe the charges they face.

GOP robocalls remind Democratic voters of Specter’s endorsement by Bush

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A national Republican group unleashed a statewide telephone blitz Wednesday against newly Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter — reminding thousands of Pennsylvania Democrats that President George W. Bush endorsed him in 2004 and that Specter angered labor unions just weeks ago by opposing a bill to make it easier for workers to form unions.

AP NewsBreak: GOP robocalls remind Democratic voters of Specter’s endorsement by Bush

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A national Republican group is hitting the telephones to remind Pennsylvania Democrats that Sen. Arlen Specter was endorsed by President Bush in 2004 and that he angered labor unions by opposing a bill to make it easier for workers to form unions.

Bogus repairman accused of scamming 85-year-old Pa. woman out of her electric scooter

JEANNETTE, Pa. — State police are looking for a bogus repairman who they say scammed an 85-year-old western Pennsylvania woman out of her electric scooter. State police said the man came to the woman’s home last month and told her he was there to take her scooter into his shop for repairs and an oil change. Police said the man told the victim she’d get her scooter back in about a week.

Audit says Pa. liquor agency showed ‘poor judgment’ in handing contract to employee’s husband

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board exhibited poor judgment but did not break the law in awarding a $174,000 training contract to a company headed by the husband of one of the agency’s managers, the state auditor general said Wednesday.

Specter’s switch to Democratic Party shakes Pennsylvania’s political establishment

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sen. Arlen Specter’s surprise defection to the Democratic Party scrambled the political calculus for both parties in next year’s Pennsylvania Senate race.

Pa. teen who punched Mexican immigrant who died says deal could limit prison time to 4 years

POTTSVILLE, Pa. — Almost from the beginning, Colin Walsh thought his friends were setting him up to take the fall for Luis Ramirez’s death.

Pa. teen says he yelled ethnic slurs at illegal Mexican immigrant who died in beating

POTTSVILLE, Pa. — An eastern Pennsylvania teenager has admitted to instigating a brawl with an illegal Mexican immigrant who died in the fight with the teen’s friends.

Trial begins for 2 teens accused of hate crime beating death of illegal immigrant from Mexico

POTTSVILLE, Pa. — One night last summer, a group of drunken teenage football players got into a wild brawl with an illegal Mexican immigrant. The immigrant wound up dead — and a jury on Monday began hearing testimony about how it happened and who was responsible.

AP Exclusive: Lobbyists mix charm, pressure in correspondence asking for Pa. governor’s help

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Newly disclosed correspondence between Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and lobbyists from last year shows he received particular pressure regarding a property assessment bill he eventually vetoed and a stalled proposal to extend health coverage to more of the uninsured.

Freighter fights back: hotbox hideout, standoffs gave way to revelry that ‘woke up Mombasa’

MERION, Pa. — Sailors have a short list of what to grab in an emergency.