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Ex-head of Pa. teachers union sentenced for theft

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) -- The former president of a northeastern Pennsylvania teachers union will serve a year behind bars for embezzlement. Authorities say 48-year-old Lisa Barrett stole nearly $60,000 from the Wyoming Area Teachers Union. They say she spent it on personal shopping, traveling and dining. Barrett cried as the sentence was handed down Friday in federal court in Scranton. She told the judge that she became overwhelmed as she tried to please everyone. Authorities say Barrett took the funds between 2007 and 2012. Her lawyer says the union has been repaid.

Pa. man, 70, killed in early morning house fire

LEECHBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Officials say an elderly southwestern Pennsylvania man is dead following an early morning house fire. The Westmoreland County coroner's office says 70-year-old Dennis Zidek was found dead at his home in Allegheny Township around 4:30 a.m. Saturday. Cause and manner of death will be released following an autopsy and fire investigation. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports Zidek's wife was hospitalized with burns.

Washington blow dart suspect: 'I'm a moron'

COLFAX, Wash. (AP) -- A man accused of shooting a woman and man with a blow dart in two separate attacks in Washington state has made his first court appearance on assault charges. KREM-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1ejbCCi) 18-year-old Joseph Gillies of Tacoma appeared in court Thursday in Whitman County. He was released from jail until his next court appearance at the end of the month. Gillies is accused of shooting a woman with a blow dart Jan. 12 on the Washington State University campus. He's also accused of hitting a man with a dart two days later while walking in Pullman.

Police: 3 dead after shooting at Maryland mall

COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) -- Someone armed with a gun opened fire at a busy shopping mall in suburban Baltimore on Saturday. Three people died, including the person believed to be the shooter, police said. The shooting took place at the Mall in Columbia, a suburb of both Baltimore and Washington, according to Howard County police. Someone called 911 at around 11:15 a.m. to report a shooting at the mall. Police responded to the scene and found three people dead, including one person who was found near a gun and ammunition. No details were released about their identities.

Wanted man arrested after falling through ceiling

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- A man wanted by Colorado authorities is in custody after he fell through a ceiling while being chased by police and took refuge in a bathroom. Colorado Springs police say 27-year-old Andrew Stiern burst into Comfort Dental on Thursday and attempted to escape through the roof. But the attempt failed when he fell through the ceiling. Police say he then barricaded himself inside a bathroom and refused to surrender. After negotiating with police, Stiern turned himself in.

Cops probing seventh plunge by PSU student since '12

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Police were trying to find out who supplied alcohol at a party where a Penn State student fell from an apartment balcony. A State College police search warrant indicates the student told police he was drinking beer and vodka and using drugs before he fell. The student was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after falling about 1:45 a.m. Sunday, according to The Centre Daily Times (http://bit.ly/1blraVf ).

2 charged, 2 sought in Pa. beating of homeless man

READING, Pa. (AP) -- Two people have been arrested and two others are being sought for repeatedly beating a homeless man as he slept inside an eastern Pennsylvania laundromat. The owner of the laundromat told Reading police that the homeless man was permitted inside to rest on bitterly cold nights. On Jan. 12, the man was sleeping when four people from a nearby bar came in and beat him. Surveillance cameras released by police Thursday show the group returning four more times, each time kicking and punching the motionless man as he lay on the floor.

The PE Sneak Peek: Jan. 24, 2014

Here's a look at the stories that are keeping our reporters busy Friday: * A man in his 50s is sent to jail for molesting a girl when she was 10. Find out how long he'll be locked up in our breaking online report. * The grief of losing a son is made worse by vandalism to his grave, a mother says. * It's prison for a burglar whose loot included guns he sold to other criminals.

Charity offers overnight spot to stay warm

BLOOMSBURG -- AGAPE plans to open its headquarters to anyone who needs warmth starting tonight. The group, best known for its recovery work after the 2011 flood, will open 19 E. Seventh St. for business from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. each night beginning now and and running until at least Saturday, Feb. 1, said AGAPE's director Eileen Chapman. That's in addition to its regular hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Chapman said.

New Catholic bishop named for area

HARRISBURG (AP) -- Pope Francis has named a Pennsylvania native as the new bishop for the Catholic church's Harrisburg diocese. An announcement from the Vatican on Friday says current Lexington, Ky. bishop Ronald Gainer will succeed the late Joseph McFadden, who died in May. The Harrisburg Diocese includes Columbia, Montour and Northumberland counties, along with 12 other counties. Sixty-six-year-old Gainer was born in Pottsville and ordained a priest for the Allentown diocese in 1973. He became bishop of Lexington in 2003.