MICHAEL RUBINKAM

Associated Press Writer
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Pa. residents sue gas driller over polluted wells

Pat Farnelli says there's something in the water at her house. The last time she drank it, she says she vomited four times. It's made her children sick, too.

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High School Sports Hall of Fame going up in Pa.

A new national museum honoring excellence in scholastic sports is going up in eastern Pennsylvania, spotlighting the high school exploits of pro superstars like LeBron James but also cheering former top athletes who excelled away from the playing field.

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Production of swine flu vaccine is way behind

The federal government originally promised 120 million doses of swine flu vaccine by now. Only 13 million have come through.

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Civil liberties groups: Police overreacted at G-20

Police used all the nonlethal tools at their disposal to thwart protesters at the Group of 20 summit this week, firing bean bags, hurling canisters of smoke and pepper spray, using flash-bang grenades and batons and deploying a high-tech sound-blasting device meant to push back crowds.

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Clemency ruling delayed for lifers in Pa. prison

Two Pennsylvania inmates who have won plaudits for their decades-long efforts to reduce prison violence and counsel troubled youths will have to wait a little longer to hear whether their life sentences will be commuted.

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Pa. high court orders new hearing for mass killer

The state Supreme Court has ordered another competency hearing for a man who killed 13 people in a 1982 shooting rampage in northeastern Pennsylvania.

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Pa. loner's last date deadly for aerobics class

Mary Primis had already taught several high-intensity fitness classes that day, putting dozens of students through their sweaty paces while barely breaking one herself.

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Pa. high court: Save records of judicial scandal

The state Supreme Court bowed to pressure and abandoned its plan to destroy the records of thousands of juveniles who appeared before a corrupt judge between 2003 and 2008.

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Calif. mom exposes abuses of exchange students

In a few weeks, thousands of foreign exchange students will arrive in the United States for what they hope will be a rewarding time of study and cultural enrichment. Shortly after that, Danielle Grijalva's phone will start ringing, and her e-mail inbox will begin filling up. It happens every year.

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Judge rejects plea deals for 2 ex-Pa. judges

A federal judge has rejected plea agreements for two northeastern Pennsylvania judges in a kickback scheme involving juvenile detention facilities.

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Exchange student neglect leads to calls for reform

During his year as a foreign exchange student in the United States, 18-year-old Carlos Villarreal lived not with a welcoming family, but with two ex-convicts in a seedy house that smelled of dog feces and where the food was labeled "DO NOT TOUCH." He left 14 pounds lighter.

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Sealed divorce record offers privacy to Jon & Kate

Jon and Kate Gosselin don't live in Montgomery County, Pa. So why are the stars of "Jon & Kate Plus 8" getting divorced there?

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Kate Gosselin says marriage 'irretrievably broken'

Kate Gosselin says in divorce papers that her marriage to Jon is "irretrievably broken." The star of TLC's "Jon & Kate Plus 8" filed for a no-fault divorce Monday in Montgomery County Court outside Philadelphia. She said in papers that she's willing to "negotiate a fair and reasonable" settlement with her husband of 10 years.

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For D-Day vets, an emotional return to Normandy

Nathan Kline wrapped a white monogrammed scarf around his neck and placed a bulletproof prayer book in his left shirt pocket. He'd followed the same routine for all of his previous bombing runs over Europe, but the teenager from Allentown, Pa., knew there was nothing routine about this mission.

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Pa. labor officials probing 'Jon & Kate' complaint

In a cold dose of reality for reality TV, Pennsylvania's Labor Department has opened an investigation into whether the hit show "Jon & Kate Plus 8" is complying with state child labor laws.

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Sands opens casino at former Bethlehem Steel mill

A safety officer at the mill for 26 years, Joe Koch felt each twist as Bethlehem Steel, a titan that armed the U.S. military and helped shape skylines across the country, careened into bankruptcy.

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A makeover for Pa.'s notorious kids-for-cash court

For the first time since a jaw-dropping scandal involving crooked judges and troubled kids, voters in northeast Pennsylvania are getting a chance to assert themselves at the ballot box — and, perhaps, to start fixing the problems that have turned this former hub of coal mining into a hothouse of corruption.

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Corrupt Pa. judge seeks dismissal of kids' lawsuit

A Pennsylvania judge who pleaded guilty to corruption is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit filed on behalf of hundreds of children who allege he violated their civil rights by taking money in exchange for sending them to private detention centers.

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Federal judge blocks charges in Pa. 'sexting' case

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a prosecutor from filing child pornography charges against three northeastern Pennsylvania teenagers who appeared in racy photos that turned up on classmates' cell phones.

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Sold! Bargain-hunters buying groceries at auction

Out of toilet paper? Need to pick up a few things for dinner? Take a number and start bidding.

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Book: Columbine shooters mentally ill, not bullied

Shortly after the massacre at Columbine High School, a question popped into Peter Langman's mind: What would possess a child to pick up a gun, take it to school and mow down his classmates?

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Haring or not, huge painting on sale for 99 cents

A 7-foot painting that may or may not be the work of famed pop artist Keith Haring went on sale on eBay Friday night. Opening bid: 99 cents.

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Pa. judges face 3rd suit over alleged kickbacks

Two disgraced Pennsylvania judges charged with taking kickbacks to send youth offenders to private detention centers are facing another civil lawsuit tied to the scandal.

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Paper: $3.5M defamation award fixed by Pa. judge

A newspaper said Thursday that a $3.5 million defamation award against it was fixed by a corrupt judge with connections to a reputed mobster at the heart of the case.

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Lawsuit: Pa. university covered up sexual assaults

A state university in the Poconos was sued Friday by five former students and one current student who claim they were sexually assaulted or propositioned by a top university official with a national reputation in higher-education circles.

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