Jury awards ex-veterans affairs official $200K in lawsuit

World's oldest person dies in New York at age 116

Good morning! Here's a look at AP's general news coverage today in Pennsylvania. For questions about the state report, contact the Philadelphia bureau at 215-561-1133. Joe Mandak is on the desk. Editor Larry Rosenthal can be reached at 215-446-6631 or lrosenthal@ap.org. A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories may not develop, or late-breaking and more newsworthy events may take precedence. Advisories, digests and digest advisories will keep you up to date. Some TV and radio stations will receive shorter APNewsNow versions of the stories below, along with updates. TOP STORIES: WRESTLER-GIRLFRIEND'S DEATH ALLENTOWN — A competency hearing is scheduled for former professional wrestling star Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, who's charged in the death of his mistress more than three decades ago. By Michael Rubinkam. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: Updating from 1:30 p.m. hearing, 400 words by 5 p.m. EDT. AP Photo. COP-KILLER'S PEN PAL PLEA PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto wants a pen pal site for inmates to remove a profile posted by triple cop-killer Richard Poplawski. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: 400 words by 2 p.m. MOLD OUTBREAK-HOSPITAL ICU PITTSBURGH — The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a ventilation system linked to a deadly mold outbreak at a Pennsylvania hospital should be avoided for patients with weakened immune systems. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: 250 words by noon EDT. INMATE MURDER SUSPECT-TRIAL KITTANNING —An inmate who escaped from jail while behind bars for a parole violation has been convicted of murder for killing an acquaintance while on the run and then stealing her boyfriend's truck. SENT: 482 words, AP Photo. ELSEWHERE: CICADA TIME-THINGS TO KNOW COLUMBUS, Ohio — The 17-year cicadas are coming again, millions of them, with their unnerving red eyes, orange wings and cacophonous mating song that can drown out the noise of passing jet planes. By Mitch Stacy. SENT: 705 words, AP Photos. EX-NHL PLAYER-DRUG CHARGES BOSTON — Kevin Stevens, a former two-time Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins player from Massachusetts, has been charged in federal court with conspiring to sell oxycodone in the state. SENT: 145 words. MEMBER EXCHANGE: EXCHANGE-TEENIE HARRIS ARCHIVIST PITTSBURGH — Dominique Luster, the new archivist for the Charles "Teenie" Harris Archive at the Carnegie Museum of Art, first saw the photographer's images of African-Americans in Pittsburgh while studying at the University of Kentucky. Her impressions changed when she moved to Pittsburgh a year-and-a-half ago. By Marylynne Pitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. SENT: 366 words. IN BRIEF: —OBIT-PETER LIACOURAS — Peter Liacouras, who as president helped transform Temple University from primarily a commuter school to a major public research institution, has died. He was 85. —TAINTED TREATS — Two girls who put dishwashing liquid and dead skin in baked treats for students visiting a western Pennsylvania junior high school have been suspended and cited for disorderly conduct. —OFFICER FIRED-THEFT — A Pennsylvania police officer has been fired more than two years after she was accused of stealing thousands of dollars from a group dedicated to helping children. —DISTRICT JUDGE-THEFT CHARGES — The state attorney general is hoping an eastern Pennsylvania district judge will be arraigned Friday on charges he stole more than $113,000 from his office and the volunteer fire company where he served as treasurer. —CONVICTED MOLESTER-SUICIDE — A Pennsylvania prosecutor says a convicted child molester fatally shot himself the day he was to be sentenced. —VETERANS AFFAIRS OFFICIAL-LAWSUIT — A federal jury has awarded a former veterans affairs director $200,000 in his lawsuit against a northeastern Pennsylvania county and two former commissioners. —MOTHER-CAR EXHAUST — A 7-year-old Pennsylvania boy tells police his mother told him and his 5-year-old sister to "die for something special" before she allegedly tried to kill herself and them by piping vehicle exhaust into her car. —POLICE THREATENED-BOND LOWERED — A man charged with threatening to shoot state troopers and blow up their barracks in central Pennsylvania could be out of jail soon because no troopers showed up to testify at his preliminary hearing. —WRONG HOME INVASION — Intruders in a Philadelphia home invasion may have picked the "wrong house." —SEX OFFENDER-CHILD PORN — A Pennsylvania judge has sentenced a repeat sex offender to serve a life term under the state's three strikes law, calling him depraved and a danger to others — particularly children. —TRUCKER KILLED-TURNPIKE — A tractor-trailer driver has been killed after crashing his rig through guardrails and over a steep embankment on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. ___ If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please email them to phillyap@ap.org. If you have photos of regional or statewide interest, please send them to the AP state photo center in New York, 888-273-6867. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or 877-836-9477. MARKETPLACE: Calling your attention to the Marketplace in AP Exchange, where you can find member-contributed content from Pennsylvania and other states. The Marketplace is accessible on the left navigational pane of the AP Exchange home page, near the bottom. For both national and state, you can click "All" or search for content by topics such as education, politics and business.

AP-PA--Pennsylvania News Digest, PA