Free Republic

From Penna's Department of State web site, early results: Keller (R) 7577 Friedenberg (D) 3297

BERN TWP., Pa. - The rush is on for gun permits in Berks County. "We actually had to turn people away a couple of times last month. We can only process so many because the Pennsylvania issue check system gets bogged down and it takes longer and longer to get a response back," Berks County Sheriff Eric Weaknecht said Tuesday. The sheriff said his office usually issues about 600 permits each month, but in December, it gave out more than 1,700, the result of President Barack Obama promising executive action in an effort to combat gun violence. "I think a...

<p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A group of tourists who ran up the "Rocky" steps got a knockout photo at the top - a selfie with Rocky himself.</p> <p>Peter Rowe said he and two friends had just finished racing up the staircase at the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Saturday when they saw Sylvester Stallone.</p>

OKLAHOMA CITY — Megan Courtney and Aiyana Whitney each had 11 kills, and Penn State defeated Brigham Young 25-21, 26-24, 25-14 Saturday to win their second consecutive NCAA women’s volleyball championship. Micha Hancock had 36 assists and five digs for the Nittany Lions. The senior from nearby Edmond won in front of family and friends in her final college match. Her expert setting helped the Nittany Lions neutralize the nation’s No. 1 blocking team. Penn State (36-3) won its sixth title in eight years and No. 7 overall to break a tie with Stanford for the most titles. Jennifer Hamson...

PITTSBURGH — Former U.S. Attorney General and former Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh has been hospitalized in Pittsburgh after suffering a mild stroke. His wife, Ginny Thornburgh, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review the stroke happened Saturday at their weekend home in Ligonier. She said a doctor told her that 81-year-old Dick Thornburgh "will do well from a recovery point of view." She says he's resting comfortably at UPMC Presbyterian hospital. As governor in 1979, Thornburgh led the state during the Three Mile Island nuclear crisis. The Republican later served as U.S. attorney general under both presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush....

Imagine going to the dentist for a free regular checkup, and getting a free $25 gift card in return. It’s happening right here in Pennsylvania, and taxpayers are paying for all of it. Every year, Pennsylvania spends $20 billion to provide medical care to low-income and disabled residents. But one of the biggest problems the state has is getting people to use those medical services for preventative care. Now a new program designed to address that problem has some people outraged. "I am upset." Michelle Tonkin is seeing red thanks to a Walmart gift card, which she recently got in...

Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent said Penn State's culture is not to blame for Jerry Sandusky's decades of child sexual abuse, according to a review of the university's internal investigation by Joe Paterno's family. Dent, in a telephone interview Friday, said he had read summaries of the review commissioned by the late head football coach's family. The review is set to be published Sunday morning. "To blame the culture of Penn State for Sandusky's crimes is a horrible mistake," Dent said Friday, characterizing the findings of one of the experts commissioned by the Paterno family. "To blame the culture of...

Inquirer staff Posted: Thursday, January 31, 2013, 5:47 PM The son-in-law of Gov. Corbett, a narcotics officer with the Philadelphia Police Department, is under investigation by the FBI and was removed from the street today, sources said. The Philadelphia Police department confirmed that a narcotics officer was taken off the street and placed on administrative leave Thursday, following the results of an FBI and Internal Affairs investigation. The department said it would not identify the officer because he had not been arrested or formally charged. He was identified by sources as Gerold Gibson, Corbett's son-in-law. Gov. Corbett, attending a Chamber...

By Adam Lidgett Collegian Staff Writer The three former Penn State administrators charged with perjury in relation to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case have all filed motions referencing the way a former university attorney testified against them to the grand jury — and some legal experts are saying the case is tainted because of it. Both former Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and former Interim Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Gary Schultz have filed to have their Dec. 13 preliminary hearing postponed. Both men say they believed former university counsel Cynthia Baldwin was representing them...

EBENSBURG, Pa., -- A Pennsylvania municipality is seeking a buyer or tenant for a unique property -- the former county prison. The Ebensburg Borough Council said the back portion of the facility, which is newer than the front, is being used to house county records, but the front portion, which was the original Cambria County Prison, has been vacant for 15 years, WJAC-TV, Johnstown, Pa., reported Thursday. "If it wasn't the landmark that it is in town, if it wasn't on the national list of historic places, we still couldn't tear it down," Ebensburg Borough Manager Dan Penatzer said. "I...

PHOENIXVILLE, Pa., - Fans of the 1958 horror classic "The Blob" came to Phoenixville, Pa., Friday to celebrate the movie at the theater where its most famous scene was filmed. The climax of "BlobFest" at the Colonial Theatre was a re-enactment of that scene, in which the audience runs out screaming and trying to escape The Blob, KYW-TV, Philadelphia reported. The day for the festival was chosen, of course, because it was Friday the 13th. The low-budget movie about a pulsating alien life form that grows bigger and bigger by ingesting everything in its path featured Steven McQueen in his...

While Rep. Joe Sestak (D) appears to have seized the momentum in Pennsylvania’s Senate contest, Keystone State Republicans are far more active than Democrats in early voting activity, according to absentee balloting figures released by the state Wednesday at Roll Call’s request. Pennsylvania voters have requested nearly 127,000 absentee ballots so far. Of that total, Republican voters made up 50 percent and Democrats made up 42 percent, according to figures collected Tuesday afternoon. The state records show Republicans are returning their absentee ballots in greater numbers as well. The state has received about 40 percent of requested ballots, and Republican...

. . .State pension funds would be barred from buying into companies that make significant investments in Iran and Sudan under the law, which Gov. Rendel is likely to sign once state lawyers review it. . . .Pennsylvania's pension funds resisted past attempts to divest companies [in other countries]. . . . What made Harrisburg give in this time? "The different Jewish federations throughout the state" mobilized in support of the bill, said Matthew Handel, . . . who is chairman of the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition. . . .

After losing a total of five House seats in Pennsylvania over the past two cycles, a string of recent recruiting successes has boosted GOP prospects for regaining some of that lost territory in 2010. According to several sources familiar with their decisions, former U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, former Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick and former U.S. Attorney Thomas Marino are poised to announce campaigns against Democratic Reps. Jason Altmire , Patrick Murphy and Christopher Carney , respectively. What’s more, state Sen. Dave Argall (R) said Monday that he will challenge Rep. Tim Holden (D) in his conservative central Pennsylvania district, a...

Hazleton Mayor Louis Barletta and Gov. Ed Rendell traded barbs over a new city ordinance that cracks down on illegal immigrants, with Rendell saying during a Thursday stop in Scranton that it had been drafted by “mean-spirited” politicians who “feed off hate and divisiveness.” Barletta disagreed, saying the ordinance simply upholds the law. The only mean-spirited remarks that Barletta said he could recall were made by two members of the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs, who publicly called Hazleton a “Nazi city” and said that Latinos would never assimilate into American culture. The Associated Press and The (Scranton) Times-Tribune...

From the Rathskeller's website: END OF AN ERA! Rolling Rock, owned by Labatt's, has stopped making our popular pony bottles....we have only several hundred cases to sell!! Send a message to Labatt's and let them know just how much they suck!

Gallagher 'humbled' by huge turnout By Nichole Dobo ndobo@centredaily.com UNIVERSITY PARK - Deafening applause and shouts of "four more years" greeted Mike Gallagher as he walked into the Thomas Building at Penn State on Friday evening. He briefly left the auditorium as flags, prayers and patriotic music filled the hall and photos showing images of Sept. 11, 2001, were shown. Then, the talk-show host re-entered the room, shortly after 9 p.m. "I'm gonna start weeping," Gallagher said to more than 750 people in the audience. "I can't believe the feeling in this room tonight." Gallagher said he was "humbled" by...

NEW YORK - The former president of a defunct Hackensack brokerage firm was sentenced to nine months in prison Monday for making illegal campaign contributions to Sen. Robert G. Torricelli and former President Bill Clinton, as well as manipulating the prices of stocks. Lawrence Penna, 58, of Edgewater pleaded guilty in October 1999 to illegally funneling $20,000 to Torricelli's 1996 campaign and up to $12,000 to Clinton's reelection campaign by reimbursing "straw donors" after personally contributing the maximum. Federal election laws limit individuals to donating no more than $1,000 per election, and prohibit one donor from reimbursing another. Torricelli...