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Pa. house explodes, cops find pot plants next door

CORAOPOLIS, Pa. (AP) -- Investigators have been trying to find the cause of an explosion that destroyed a house near Pittsburgh, and led to drug charges against a neighbor after authorities found marijuana plants in the aftermath of the blast.

Bank scammers turn to texting, bank official says

BERWICK -- A scam text message sent out to area cell-phone owners Sunday appears to be aimed at stealing their bank account information, a local bank official said. If you received a message purportedly from First Keystone Community Bank warning of debit card issues, the best thing you could do is delete and ignore it, said Matt Prosseda, the bank president. No one should call the number listed in the fake text, he said. The message seemed like it was sent to "random people" with cell phone numbers starting 570-204 - a Bloomsburg exchange, he said.

Groom forgets bride at gas station

BERLIN (AP) -- A German couple's marriage got off to a rocky start when the groom forgot his bride at a highway gas station on the way home from their honeymoon, only noticing she was missing after hours had passed. Police said Friday the couple was heading home to Berlin from France when the man pulled over near the central town of Bad Hersfeld late Thursday to fill up their van. The woman had been sleeping in the back but got up -- unbeknownst to the man -- to use the toilets and he drove off before she returned.

TV ad puppets electrify gay rights debate

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The goal was merely to promote clean energy in Israel -- but television ads starring a pair of male puppets called "plug" and "socket" have instead unleashed a debate about gay pride. The puppets, named Sheka and Teka in Hebrew, have appeared in ads for the state-owned Israel Electric Corp. for more than a decade. Israelis have long playfully questioned whether they might be gay. But the arrival of a baby puppet in the new campaign set off fresh speculation about their sexual orientation.

Five shot at ethnic festival

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A police helicopter that happened to be near a Tulsa events center Saturday night when a gunman shot and wounded five people at a Hmong New Year's festival spotted a suspicious vehicle driving away from the scene, which eventually led to the arrest of two suspects, authorities said. Police Capt. Mike Williams said both suspects, like those celebrating inside the Green Country Event Center, are Hmong -- an Asian ethnic group mainly from Laos. He said investigators hadn't determined a motive for the attack, but that both men would be charged.

The PE Sneak Peek: Oct. 11, 2013

Here's a look at the stories that are keeping our reporters busy Friday: * A local police officer is found dead by her own hand. * A recent local high school graduate was among those badly hurt in a bus crash this week on I-80. We'll have more on her recovery. * Should Pennsylvania raise its top speed limit? See what one legislator will propose. * Del Monte makes a billion-dollar business decision that could impact its Columbia County pet food plant.

70 mph on Pa. highways? Proposed change is on the way

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A leading Pennsylvania state senator said Friday it's time to increase the state's maximum allowable speed limit from 65 mph to 70 mph. Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati announced plans to introduce legislation that would allow -- but not mandate -- the higher maximum speeds on interstates, including the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Scarnati, R-Jefferson, said the 70 mph limit would help traffic move better and make the delivery of goods more efficient.

Man says 1973 UFO incident turned life upside down

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (AP) -- Charles Hickson never regretted the notoriety that came his way after he told authorities he encountered an unidentified flying object and its occupants 40 years ago on the banks of the Pascagoula River. Until his death in 2011, Hickson told his story to anyone who would listen. But Calvin Parker Jr., the other man present for one of the most high-profile UFO cases in American history, has never come to terms with what he still says was a visit with gray, crab-clawed creatures from somewhere else. He says the encounter on Oct. 11, 1973, turned his life upside down.

Pa. chief's hearing halted when gun falls on floor

GILBERTON, Pa. (AP) -- A hearing for a Pennsylvania police chief who made profanity-laced Internet videos about liberals and the Second Amendment was halted suddenly Thursday night after a handgun belonging to one of his supporters slid out of its holster and crashed onto the concrete floor. The loaded semi-automatic handgun landed inches away from Gilberton Chief Mark Kessler and his attorney. It did not go off, but attorney Joseph Nahas said that he and other officials were concerned about the safety of everyone in the tiny, crowded meeting room at borough hall.

Pa. man guilty of killing 75-year-old over alleged love triangle

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) -- A jury has convicted a western Pennsylvania man of third-degree murder over the death of an elderly man that authorities allege stemmed from a love triangle involving the younger man's girlfriend. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that 37-year-old Jonathan Godines of Brownsville was convicted in the November 2011 death of 75-year-old John Eicholtz. The jury deliberated a little more than three hours. Godines had denied that the fight was due to jealousy and cited a traffic dispute.