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Pa. man appeals conviction in porn rival murder

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) -- A Virginia man convicted in the murder of a rival in the gay porn business in northeastern Pennsylvania is seeking a new trial, arguing that his attorneys weren't effective and claiming his co-defendant committed the murder. Thirty-two-year-old Harlow Cuadra of Virginia Beach, Va., was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2007 slaying of 44-year-old Bryan Kocis in his rural Dallas Township home.

1 person dead after crash with Pa. school bus

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. (AP) -- The driver of a car has died after witnesses tell police it spun into the path of a school bus in western Pennsylvania. New Kensington police Chief Thomas Klawinski confirmed the death in the crash Friday morning near Valley High School, about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh. Although the crash occurred on Route 366 near the high school, the bus was from the Highlands School District in neighboring Allegheny County and was taking students to a vocational school in Monroeville, several miles away. The crash was reported about 10 a.m.

Could beet juice be the answer to icy roads?

BUTLER, Pa. (AP) -- The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is experimenting with beet juice as a way to treat icy roads in especially cold weather. PennDOT officials tell KDKA-TV that chemicals in the juice are supposed to help road salt melt ice at lower temperatures. Typically, salt loses much of its effectiveness below 20 degrees, but when mixed with beet juice, the salt reportedly melts ice down to zero or even below-zero temperatures.

Son – not burglar – beat mother with sledgehammer, cops say

TYRONE, Pa. (AP) -- State police say a central Pennsylvania man claimed his mother was badly beaten by a burglar, but that her texts and phone calls to relatives -- and blood found on her son's clothes -- show he beat her with a sledgehammer while looking for prescription pills shortly after being released from a drug rehab center. The Altoona Mirror (http://bit.ly/191WwEF) 30-year-old Matthew James Baldessaro, of Tyrone, allegedly beat his mother just before noon Tuesday, not shortly before midnight as was originally reported by several media outlets.

Storm leads to school snow delays, closings

Schools around the area have delayed their openings or closed for the day as the clean-up from last night's heavy snow continues. Here are the delays announced so far, according to whlmam.com and wnep.com. * Bloomsburg, CLOSED * Bloomsburg Christian, CLOSED * Central Columbia, CLOSED * Columbia County Christian, CLOSED * Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech, CLOSED * Danville Area, CLOSED * Millville Area, CLOSED * Northwest Area, CLOSED

Early dismissals abound at schools

Schools around the area are dismissing early due to an impending snow storm, according to whlmam.com and wnep.com. * Bloomsburg secondary, 12:15 p.m., elementary 1:15 p.m. * Bloomsburg Christian 12:30 p.m., game tonight is canceled. * Central Columbia middle and high school, noon, elementary, 1 p.m. * Columbia County Christian noon, no afterschool activities * Columbia-Montour Vo-Tech, 12:30 p.m. * Danville Area, two hours early

Penn State's O'Brien leaving for Texans

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Bill O'Brien is leaving Penn State's reclamation project in his successor's hands. Less than two years after replacing Joe Paterno as coach of the Nittany Lions, O'Brien will return to the NFL as coach of the Houston Texans, leaving a proud Penn State program in peril once again. Two people familiar with the negotiations, speaking to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because an official announcement hasn't been made, said O'Brien reached an agreement Thursday night to coach the Texans.

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