TimesLeader.com

9:48 PM

W-B business group backs mayor’s plans

WILKES-BARRE – Mayor Tom Leighton espoused optimism and promises of better things to come Friday when he gave his annual report to the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association.

8:59 PM

GOP’s Madeira looks to challenge Carney

A Luzerne County resident who previously was involved in a multi-county campaign plans to seek the Republican nomination in the 10th Congressional District.

8:57 PM

Woman’s screams chase intruders

WYOMING – A Swoyersville police canine chased down an alleged burglar Thursday after he was scared away by a young woman who had stayed home from school.

8:55 PM

Man gets 4-8 years in fatality

WILKES-BARRE – A Bear Creek Township man who was found guilty in November in a driving-under-the-influence crash that claimed the life of Michael Coffee was sentenced Friday to four to eight years in state prison.

5:30 PM

PSU earns top-10 finish

Penn State's 19-17 win over LSU in the Capital One Bowl landed the Lions in the top 10 of the final coaches' and AP polls.

8:52 PM

Police investigate downtown shooting

WILKES-BARRE - Police are investigating a shooting at the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, 32 E. Union St., a building that houses Luzerne County Career Link, Luzerne County Human Services, and Veterans Employment Services, just before 4 p.m.

4:39 PM

VP Biden's 92-year-old mother dies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Joe Biden's 92-year-old mother has died after becoming seriously ill in recent days.

3:47 PM

Toole resigns as a Luzerne County judge

Michael Toole has submitted his resignation as a Luzerne County judge, according to the governor's office.

2:31 PM

Source: DA to seek indictment of Jackson doctor

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Prosecutors are prepared to seek an indictment of Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the pop star's death, the Associated Press has learned.

3:01 PM

Christmas terror suspect pleads not guilty

DETROIT (AP) — A not guilty plea has been entered on behalf of a Nigerian man charged with attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner on Christmas Day.

7:30 PM

Woodham guilty of third-degree murder

12:10 PM

Fire at Jenkins Township lumber business

JENKINS TWP. - A home improvement retailer is partially open for business after a fire early Friday morning.

3:01 AM

Icy state Route 115 proves fatal

BEAR CREEK TWP. – A woman was killed and a mother and her 7-year-old son were seriously injured in a three-vehicle crash early Thursday morning on state Route 115.

3:26 PM

Inmate died from swine flu

A convicted murderer serving a life sentence at the State Correctional Institution at Dallas died of causes related to the swine flu, an official confirmed Thursday.

7:20 AM

Prison will contest Hyder claim

WILKES-BARRE -- Luzerne County prison Warden Joseph Piazza said the prison is contesting a claim for workers’ compensation that was filed by Deputy Warden Sam Hyder.

9:35 AM

Polachek Gartley fills court positions

Luzerne County Court of Common Please Judge Tina Polachek Gartley has hired her staff, according to court orders filed in the prothonotary’s office.

7:20 AM

Women testify about fight in bar

WILKES-BARRE – Melba Cruz and her three friends had a night out Feb. 23, 2008. First they went to Cherry’s Bar in Wilkes-Barre, then to the former Glass Bar in Edwardsville, Cruz testified Thursday.

7:20 AM

Judge: Re-trial warranted in Ciavarella case

WILKES-BARRE – A Luzerne County senior judge said in court papers that a $3.6 million verdict awarded in a legal malpractice case should be stricken and a new trial be scheduled.

January 8

Good Fellos moves to larger location

LAFLIN – After a few months, veteran restaurateur Tony Stella has settled in to his new location along state Route 315.

January 8

Mohegan Sun plan gets conditional OK

PLAINS TWP. – The township planning commission voted Thursday evening for the conditional approval of the expansion of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.

1:09 PM

Casinos bet on new jobs from bill

PLAINS TWP. – Before the ink had dried on the bill legalizing table games in Pennsylvania, people were contacting Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs seeking one of the 400 jobs the expansion of gaming is slated to create at the Luzerne County facility.

January 8

Police: Betting is school matter

KINGSTON – Police decided against looking into the Super Bowl pool at the Wyoming Valley West Middle School, citing a lack of resources for a criminal investigation.

3:37 AM

Hazleton mayor’s water proposal is popular way to make money in Pa.

HAZLETON – The director of an agency that helps financially distressed municipalities regain footing said Mayor Lou Barletta’s proposal to sell the city’s municipal water system is a plan that has gained popularity in the state.

3:22 AM

Timber Ridge opening allows Valley Crest sale

After four years of waiting, Luzerne County Commissioners will be free to sell the Valley Crest Nursing Home property in Plains Township next month because the home’s operator is moving into its new facility.

3:03 AM

Accidents prompt call for public safety corridor on State Route 115

BEAR CREEK TWP. -- The fatal accident on State Route 115 on Thursday morning and Luzerne County Senior Judge Chester Muroski’s accident Monday night underscore the need for a public safety corridor on the heavily traveled road, Bear Creek Community Charter School representatives said Thursday night.

January 8

PennDOT warns about slick roads

DUNMORE – Given the recent crashes that may be related to weather conditions, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation issued an advisory to motorists to be conscious of sudden snow showers that can quickly cause hazardous road conditions.

3:51 AM

Health officials: Get H1N1 shot

WILKES-BARRE – Health officials recommend that people take advantage of local swine flu vaccination clinics today and Saturday in anticipation of another wave of influenza expected later this winter or early spring.

January 8

Prison eyes Valley Crest items

WILKES-BARRE -- Officials with the Luzerne County prison toured the former Valley Crest Nursing Home property on Thursday in search of equipment that could be used at the county lock-up.

January 8

Assault charges against ex-Pioneers dismissed

PITTSTON – Testimony from two Wilkes-Barre officers that they had direct knowledge of an alleged assault involving two former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneer players outside a nightclub in July was not enough Thursday to send the most serious charges against the two men to court.

January 8

Juvenile hearings to resume

HARRISBURG – The Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice will hold its next hearing regarding the Luzerne County juvenile scandal in Harrisburg on Thursday and Friday, Jan. 21-22.

3:41 AM

Dem candidate unveils ‘Project Main Street’ plan

PLAINS TWP. -- Lackawanna County Commissioner Corey O’Brien, a Democratic candidate for Congress in the 11th Congressional District, on Thursday unveiled his “Project Main Street” plan.

January 8

Railcars being moved out of residential areas

WILKES-BARRE – The railcars are moving and the stops signs are staying.

10:18 AM

Obama: ‘Buck stops with me’

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama declared Thursday “the buck stops with me” for the nation’s security, taking responsibility for failures that led to the near-disastrous Christmas attack on a Detroit-bound airliner and vowing the problems would be corrected.

10:03 AM

Complete Text: Remarks by the President on Strengthening Intelligence and Aviation Security

January 8

Renewable energy on menu for info breakfast

A statewide environmental advocacy group is holding an informational breakfast locally on Jan. 15 to garner public support for two state bills that would increase the amount of renewable energy electricity companies are required to buy for customers.

January 8

Three dead in plant shooting

ST. LOUIS — A disgruntled worker embroiled in a pension dispute with his company walked into the plant and opened fire Thursday, killing three people and wounding five before apparently killing himself.

January 8

Contest for 11th deemed closer

The race for Congress in the 11th District has already caught the eye of observers at one of Washington D.C.’s leading political publications.

January 8

Medicaid $$ sought for all

OMAHA, Neb. — Sen. Ben Nelson said Thursday he’s asked Democratic leadership to extend to all states the extra Medicaid funding promised to Nebraska in the health care reform bill.

January 8

Abuse high at juvenile centers

WASHINGTON — Nearly one out of every three youths at 13 juvenile detention facilities have reported some type of sexual victimization, according to a government study issued Thursday that found widespread reports of youth sex abuse at correctional centers.

January 8

Wife says alleged CIA bomber hated the United States

ISTANBUL — A Jordanian doctor-turned-suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees at a base in Afghanistan is regarded by his family as a martyr in Islam’s holy war against the United States, his wife said Thursday.

January 8

LOCAL BRIEFS

DUNMORE – Pennsylvania Department of Transportation District 4, which encompasses Lackawanna, Luzerne, Pike, Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyoming counties, has released a summary of its projects completed in 2009.

3:52 AM

International News brief

Thousands of Afghans shouting “Death to America!” protested the killings of children Thursday, the latest in a string of controversial cases in which international forces have been blamed for civilian deaths.

January 8

Hungry burglars surf porn on Internet

NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. — A string of bizarre office burglaries in which thieves took money and ate candy and food while watching Internet porn is perplexing police.

January 8

Good holiday sales report is gift to retail stores

NEW YORK — Last-minute holiday shoppers brought relief to the nation’s retailers, handing them modest sales gains for the season and prompting several chains to raise their fourth-quarter profit outlooks.

January 8

Banks getting rate advice

WASHINGTON — Financial regulators told banks Thursday to have procedures in place to minimize their risks from loans when rock-bottom interest rates start to rise.