Construction begins on $15M, 12,000-square-foot heart center

Extreme drought conditions expanding across Northeast US

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 A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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: UBER-AUTONOMOUS CARS SAN FRANCISCO — Ride-hailing service Uber says it will start hauling passengers with self-driving cars on the streets of Pittsburgh in next several weeks. By Justin Pritchard and Tom Krisher. SENT: 810 words, AP Photos. UPCOMING: Developing, AP Video. COUNTY JAIL-EXTORTION SCRANTON — A second employee at a northeastern Pennsylvania county jail has been charged with extorting money and drugs from inmates in return for special privileges and has agreed to plead guilty. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: 400 words by 3 p.m. EDT. MISSING TWINS PITTSBURGH — A Pennsylvania mother charged with concealing information about twins who welfare workers haven't been able to locate for 10 years says they're living with a family friend in Georgia. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: 450 words by 3 p.m. ELSEWHERE: MED-HEALTHBEAT-ZIKA VACCINES-Q&A WASHINGTON — Wanted: Volunteers willing to be infected with the Zika virus for science. By Lauran Neergaard. SENT: 1061 words, AP Photos. NORTHEAST DROUGHT BOSTON — The drought affecting the Northeast United States is getting worse in some areas. SENT: TIME BANDIT HARTFORD, Conn. — A 40-year-old Cuban national faces five years in federal prison in a string of burglaries at outlet stores in six states. SENT: 139 words. IN BRIEF: —TAUNTING VICTIM'S FAMILY — A man expected to plead guilty to murder in Pennsylvania shocked the court by declaring his innocence, sticking out his tongue at the victim's family and saying "ha ha ha ha" several times. —SEVERE STORMS-PENNSYLVANIA-TREE — Four family members are recovering from injuries suffered when part of a tree downed by severe storms fell on their campsite at a central Pennsylvania resort. —FATAL INTERSTATE CRASH — One person is reported dead after a multi-vehicle crash on Interstate 81 in central Pennsylvania. —SANDUSKY ATTORNEY-INVESTIGATION — An attorney who represented former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky at his sex abuse trial will spend 5½ to 18 years in prison for stealing about $767,000 from clients. —TRANSIT BUS CRASH — Authorities say a transit bus crash in Pennsylvania has sent at least 17 people to the hospital. —AMUSEMENT PARK-DRUG ARRESTS — Police say they made dozens of drug arrests at a Pennsylvania amusement park. —BODY FOUND NEAR INTERSTATE — Two men are facing charges in the slaying of a man who was shot to death and found near Interstate 83 in central Pennsylvania. —DROWNING-PENNSYLVANIA RIVER — Officials say a man has drowned in the Lehigh River following a group outing in a state park in eastern Pennsylvania. —FATAL DOUBLE SHOOTING — Police say a double shooting in north Philadelphia has left one man dead and another seriously wounded. —STORE CLERK-SHOOTING — Police are looking for a suspect who tried to rob a corner store, but left with a gunshot wound instead. —SICK PUPPY BACKLASH — A Pennsylvania district attorney has gotten a local animal cruelty agency to no longer enforce animal abuse cases after the prosecutor contended the agency's head mishandled a case involving a severely malnourished puppy. SPORTS: FBN--EAGLES-STEELERS PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles meet on Thursday night in the second preseason game for both teams. Game begins at 7 p.m. EDT. UPCOMING: 700 words, AP Photos. BBN--DODGERS-PHILLIES PHILADELPHIA — Bud Norris (6-9) starts for the Dodgers against Jerad Eickhoff (8-12) and the Phillies. By Aaron Bracy, Game begins at 7:05 p.m. EDT. UPCOMING: 650 words, with hometown lead on losing team. AP Photos. ___ 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.

BC-PA--Pennsylvania News Digest, PA