Showdown over local gun laws looms in Pennsylvania

Penn State lawyer: Ex-coach 'walked away' from child abuse

BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — The Latest on lawsuit by ex-coach against Penn State (all times local): 5:50 p.m. A prosecutor, a longtime aide to head coach Joe Paterno, a Penn State lawyer and a university spokeswoman are the witnesses called to testify during the first day of trial in a former assistant football coach's lawsuit over his treatment by Penn State. Mike McQueary alleges the university retaliated against him because he became a key witness who helped convict Jerry Sandusky of child molestation four years ago. The trial began on Monday. The first day focused on McQueary's role in the Sandusky investigation and the decision to put him on paid administrative leave after Sandusky was first charged during the 2011 football season. Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers says she helped fine-tune a press release by then-President Graham Spanier that defended two of Spanier's top lieutenants — a statement the lawsuit claims made it appear that McQueary had lied. ___ 1:10 p.m. A lawyer for Penn State says it's not the university's fault that a former assistant football coach who reported Jerry Sandusky sexually abusing a boy can't find a new coaching job. University lawyer Nancy Conrad said during opening statements Monday in Mike McQueary's defamation and whistleblower lawsuit that by spending his entire career at Penn State he hasn't developed the network of contacts needed to find a new position. She says he was put on leave out of safety concerns, and she blamed national media and public opinion for ruining him. McQueary seeks more than $4 million in lost wages. His lawyer says Penn State's actions have led coaches in other programs to conclude McQueary must have done something wrong. The trial is expected to last about two weeks. ___ 12:15 a.m. A civil trial that's set to begin will determine if Penn State should pay for a claim it mistreated a former assistant coach who provided key evidence used to convict child molester Jerry Sandusky. Opening statements in Mike McQueary's lawsuit against the university where he played quarterback and coached are scheduled for Monday in a courthouse near the Penn State campus. McQueary claims the school defamed him, retaliated against him and misled him into thinking his report about Sandusky would be handled properly. He is seeking more $4 million in damages. A jury of nine women and three men was selected last week. McQueary testified during Sandusky's 2012 criminal trial that he saw Sandusky sexually abuse a boy in a team shower one night in early 2001.

The Latest: Trial begins in ex-coach's lawsuit vs. Penn St.