Construction begins on $500M natural gas-fueled power plant

Heroin paraphernalia supplier gets sentence of time served

Good afternoon! 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. Kristen de Groot 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 A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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: LEGISLATURE PRAYERS-LAWSUIT HARRISBURG — A group that includes atheists is suing over the Pennsylvania House of Representatives' opening invocation, saying they've been excluded from giving them and compelled to stand during prayers in the chamber. By Mark Scolforo. UPCOMING: 500 words by 3 p.m. HEROIN PARAPHERNALIA PITTSBURGH — A more than 20-year battle between law enforcement and a Pittsburgh-area man who's repeatedly been convicted of selling drug-related paraphernalia is coming to an end. By Joe Mandak. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: Developing from sentencing hearing at 10 a.m. EDT; 450 words by 1 p.m. EDT. POWER COMPANY-PARK CLOSURE HOLTWOOD, Pa. — A power company has agreed to give a popular Pennsylvania park to a nature conservancy after getting zapped for closing it in the spring, but whether it will reopen remains to be seen. In late April, Talen Energy of Allentown booted the public from Holtwood Picnic & Recreation Area, a 400-acre tract in a rural farming area in Lancaster County that had served the public for at least 50 years. UPCOMING: 300 words. ELSEWHERE: MYLAN-EPIPEN Mylan is bulking up programs that help patients pay for its EpiPen emergency allergy treatment after weathering heated criticism about an average cost that has climbed more than 600 percent over the past decade. But the drugmaker didn't budge on its price hikes Thursday, which have drawn ire both in Congress and from families that have had to shell out increasingly large sums for the potentially life-saving treatment. By Tom Murphy. MOVED: 742 words. AP Photos NYBZ410-0825161124. DRUG DEATHS-OHIO CINCINNATI — Ohio officials say accidental drug overdoses killed a record 3,050 people in the state last year, or an average of eight per day. Ohio Gov. John Kasich will talk about the issue at a judicial summit involving authorities from nine states. By Kantele Franko and Dan Sewell. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: 500 words, developing from speech scheduled to begin at 12:45 p.m. EDT, AP Photos. TURKEY-EXTRADITION-Q&A WASHINGTON — Turkey says the United States is legally bound by a treaty to immediately hand over Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based Muslim cleric it accuses of plotting to overthrow Turkey's government. The U.S. government says it can't comply until Turkey can convince a judge its allegations against Gulen are legitimate. By Josh Lederman and Eric Tucker. IN BRIEF: —NATURAL GAS POWER PLANT — A Nebraska-based energy company has begun building a $500 million natural gas-fueled power plant in western Pennsylvania. —EX-PRISON WARDEN-THEFT — The former warden of a prison has pleaded guilty under a plea agreement to stealing $133,000 from a social club while he was the group's administrator. —BICYCLING GROPER — Police in Philadelphia are searching for a man who's been groping women while riding his bike. —HOSPITAL PARTNERSHIP — Officials say a Minnesota-based group of health care providers will give support to a hospital in Pittsburgh under a newly announced partnership. —STABBED FOR DRINKING BEER — Police say a Pennsylvania woman stabbed her husband with scissors because he drank one of her beers while she slept. —ATM UPGRADES — PNC Bank says it's upgrading 9,000 ATMs to improve transaction security. —PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE — Pennsylvania is launching its database on prescription drug dispensing in an effort to prevent their abuse. —DEPUTY SHOT-SUSPECT KILLED — Prosecutors say a Pennsylvania sheriff's deputy was justified in fatally shooting a prison escapee who fired at him first, hitting him in the face. —TODDLER FOUND DEAD — Jury deliberations continued for a third day Thursday for a woman charged in the death of her 3-year-old daughter, whose body was found in a western Pennsylvania ravine last year. —PITTSBURGH CHIEF-NO CONFIDENCE — Pittsburgh police Chief Cameron McLay says he's not getting the message the city's police union is trying to send with a threatened "no confidence" vote. —TURTLE KILLED-FIRECRACKERS — Police in Pennsylvania say two men and a 17-year-old boy are facing charges after they exploded two M-80 firecrackers on a turtle, killing the reptile. —STABBED FOR DRINKING BEER — Police have charged a Pennsylvania woman with stabbing her husband with scissors because he drank one of her beers while she slept. —CONVENIENCE STORE ROBBERY-SHOOTING — Police have been searching for a convenience store robber who shot an employee during the southwestern Pennsylvania heist. —TWO SHOOTINGS-ONE BLOCK — Philadelphia police are sorting out the details following two shootings on the same block of the city's embattled Germantown neighborhood. —PROFESSOR'S BLIGHTED BUILDING — A physics professor at a Pennsylvania university has been sentenced to five days in jail and fined more than $30,000 after a judge found him guilty of not having an occupancy permit and failing to fix a blighted, vacant building he owns. —PENN STATE-ABUSE-JUDGE — The judge who originally handled the criminal case against three Penn State administrators charged with covering up child-sex complaints about Jerry Sandusky has died. —MOLD CLOSES SCHOOLS — Schools remain closed in a central Pennsylvania district while officials await the results of tests for mold. SPORTS: WORLD CUP-CANADA-CROSBY Canada has chosen Sidney Crosby as its captain for the World Cup of Hockey. Crosby returns as Canada's captain after wearing the "C'' for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He is coming off his second Stanley Cup as captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins. By Stephen Whyno. MOVED 229 words. AP Photos NY183-0825161546. PIRATES-BREWERS MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers look to extend their winning streak to five games when they open a weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos. Game starts 7:10 p.m. CT. With hometown lead. ___ 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