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Berwick nuke plant shuts down Unit 1 for turbine fix

BELL BEND - Workers at PPL's Susquehanna nuclear power plant disconnected its Unit 1 nuclear reactor from the regional power grid early Thursday, part of a planned outage during which the company plans to modify blades on its turbines, which have had problems with cracks developing in recent years. The modifications to be done on the turbines "are the first-phase of a long-term plan that is expected to resolve the turbine blade issues," the company said in a press release. Workers made the same modifications to Unit 2 during its regularly scheduled refueling outage, which is still ongoing.

What we're working on for May 7

Here's a look at the stories keeping our reporters busy Monday: * Police bust an underage drinking party in the early morning hours after one area school's prom. Reporter Julye Wemple talks with school officials, who are standing by to see if the students cited are theirs. * A man accused of kidnapping and robbing a couple pleads guilty in court. Reporter Leon Bogdan will tell you what the man can expect for a sentence.

What we're working on for May 4

Here's a look at stories being worked on in the Press Enterprise newsroom Friday afternoon: * A woman who drove around barricades on a flooded road in September 2011, causing a serious accident, gets a surprise sentence in Columbia County Court. Leon Bogdan reports. * A man who twice fled from Berwick Police, then injured an officer, makes his first court appearance. Julye Wemple was there. * A Benton man was killed and his wife injured in a crash southwest of Philadelphia Thursday. Kristin Baver is gathering information.

What we're working on for May 3

Here's a look at the stories keeping our reporters busy on Thursday: * A motorcyclist crashes along Route 11 this afternoon. Reporter Susan Schwartz is on scene. * A woman accused of stealing from her employer leaves a courtroom weeping. Kristin Baver has more on the story. * A local student-athlete who was caught with pot pleads to a lesser charge, then tells a reporter to "talk to the coach," for any comments about the case. * A former guard at a state prison is headed off to jail herself today. Courts reporter Leon Bogdan will tell you why.

Three friends of bombing suspects accused of hiding evidence

BOSTON (AP) -- Three college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev were arrested and accused Wednesday of removing a backpack containing hollowed-out fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room three days after the attack to keep him from getting into trouble. In court papers, the FBI said one of them threw the backpack in the garbage -- it was later found in a landfill by law enforcement officers -- after the young men concluded from news reports that Tsarnaev was one of the bombers.

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