Tiny town's power surge fries computers, appliances, siding

Pittsburgh mayor goes inside for second police chief pick

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. 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 A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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: WILD WEST-OBSESSED MAYOR HARRISBURG — A former Pennsylvania mayor will learn if he'll spend time in jail after pleading guilty to accumulating Wild West artifacts he bought with public money for a museum that was never built. By Mark Scolforo. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: Updating from 1:30 p.m. EST sentencing; 400 words by 5 p.m. EST. MOLD OUTBREAK-HOSPITAL ICU PITTSBURGH — An attorney for the families of two organ transplant patients who are blaming their deaths on a mold outbreak at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is now also targeting the hospital network's linen vendor. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: 400 words by noon EST. TOWN POWER SURGE BROOKVILLE, Pa. — A power surge in a tiny western Pennsylvania borough damaged hundreds of homes, causing house fires and burning up computers and appliances. The director of Jefferson County's Department of Emergency Services says 911 calls started pouring in from Brookville on Jan. 20 just after noon. The borough 70 miles northeast of Pittsburgh has a population of about 4,000; at least 500 residents were affected. By Kristen de Groot. SENT: 130 words. UPCOMING: 300 words. PITTSBURGH POLICE CHIEF PITTSBURGH — Mayor Bill Peduto has promoted a 24-year veteran officer to the be his new police chief, going inside the department after an outside hire lasted barely two years. By Joe Mandak. UPCOMING: 450 words by 3 p.m. EST. TROOPER FATALLY SHOT HARRISBURG — A prosecutor says a preliminary review indicates police were justified in fatally shooting a man suspected of killing a Pennsylvania state trooper. By Mark Scolforo. SENT: 374 words. IN BRIEF: —SCHOOL CLOSED-LEAD CONCERNS — A prosecutor says state police will try to determine who knew what about problems with high levels of lead in water that forced a western Pennsylvania elementary school to close for two days earlier this week. —POLICE SHOOTING-ERIE — Police shot a man following a chase in Erie. —SENATOR CHARGED-COLLEGE PAYMENT — A federal judge has told attorneys she's "terribly close" to dismissing fraud charges against a Philadelphia state Sen. Larry Farnese even before they go to a jury. —KEVIN HART-PHILADELPHIA STREETS — It will be hard to get around parts of Center City in Philadelphia as crews are in town to shoot a new Kevin Hart movie. —HUSBAND-ASSISTED SUICIDE CHARGE — A 60-year-old Pennsylvania man is jailed on charges he took his 72-year-old wife out of a nursing home for a double-suicide attempt that failed. —TEEN-DRUG DEAL COLLATERAL — A Pennsylvania couple has been charged with holding a 15-year-old boy as collateral while they forced his 16-year-old brother to go and buy some marijuana for them. —SCHOOL CLOSED-LEAD CONCERNS — A prosecutor says state police will try to determine who knew what about problems with high levels of lead in water that forced a western Pennsylvania elementary school to close for two days earlier this week. —DEADLY POLICE CHASE — A preliminary hearing has again been postponed for a Pittsburgh man charged with homicide for crashing into a car and killing a family of three during a 100 mph chase on Thanksgiving. —FATAL ALLENTOWN STABBING — An eastern Pennsylvania man has been fatally stabbed while visiting his grandmother. —SCHOOL DISTRICT-BUILDING REPAIRS — The first assessment of the state of the Philadelphia School District's aging buildings in nearly 15 years identified more than 12,000 outstanding repairs that would cost close to $5 billion to fix. —TEACHER-DUI ARREST — A western Pennsylvania special education teacher has resigned after police charged him with driving drunk to work and crashing his car at the campus entrance of a high school. —DEATH ROW INMATE-NEW TRIAL — A Bucks County judge has ordered a retrial in the case of a death row inmate convicted of first-degree murder and other charges in the 2007 fatal shooting of two people in suburban Philadelphia. SPORTS: BKC-PITT'S FREEFALL PITTSBURGH — Kevin Stallings and Scott Barnes took turns standing at the dais plopped down near center court inside the Petersen Events Center last March ticking off the reasons — well, reason, mainly — Stallings left Vanderbilt after 17 years to become the head coach at Pittsburgh. By Will Graves. SENT: 961 words, AP Photos. BKC-COACHING CAROUSEL-HEAT CHECK The coaching carousel is a rite of late spring in college basketball, a chance for the next hot young coach to cash in on an unexpected March run or for more established faces to get a second (or third, or fourth) shot at turning around a floundering program. By Will Graves. SENT: 964 words, AP Photos. BKC--T25-ACC THIS WEEK UNDATED — North Carolina State's visit to No. 13 Louisville and No. 17 Duke's trip to No. 14 Notre Dame headline the week ahead in ACC play. Star freshman Dennis Smith Jr. is hoping to help the Wolfpack earn a second straight road win against a ranked team to follow Monday's win at Duke. SENT: 450 words, AP Photos. BKN--ROCKETS-76ERS PHILADELPHIA -- The Houston Rockets come to Philadelphia to play the 76ers. By freelancer Aaron Bracy. UPCOMING. 650 words, AP Photos developing from 8 p.m. EST start. ___ 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