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Pa. child welfare agency leader accused of falsely ending cases

HARRISBURG (AP) — The head of a county child welfare agency in northeastern Pennsylvania was charged Tuesday with ordering workers to falsely close files on allegations of child abuse and neglect in response to public reports of a significant backlog of cases. The attorney general’s office accused Joanne G. Van Saun, 58, of Dallas, Pennsylvania, with child endangerment and obstruction for ending assessments in order to clear the backlog at the Luzerne County Department of Children and Youth Services. She resigned from her position as agency director on Friday. Van Saun’s ...

Ex-ambassador, investment CEO seeks Senate seat

HARRISBURG (AP) — Carla Sands, former President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Denmark, announced Tuesday that she will join the crowded Republican primary field for Pennsylvania’s open U.S. Senate seat. She brings possibly significant personal wealth to the race, as well as ties to Trump in a race where such ties may be meaningful in a contested primary. Sands for months has made the rounds of the state Republican Party’s circuit of dinners, meet-and-greets and fundraisers, introducing herself to party rank-and-file members after moving back from Copenhagen and selling her ...

Union will defend teachers in ‘critical race theory’ fights

One of the nation’s largest teachers unions on Tuesday vowed to defend members who are punished for teaching an “honest history” of the United States, a measure that’s intended to counter the wave of states seeking to limit classroom discussion on race and discrimination. In a virtual address to members of the American Federation of Teachers, president Randi Weingarten said the union is preparing litigation and has a legal defense fund “ready to go.” She promised to fight “culture warriors” who attempt to limit lessons on racism and discrimination by labeling it as ...

No death penalty sought in I-80 death

LEWISBURG (AP) — A Texas man will not face a possible death penalty if he is convicted of first-degree murder in the slaying of a woman whose body was found on Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania earlier this year. Union County District Attorney D. Peter Johnson officially ruled out the possibility of capital punishment Thursday in the case of 29-year-old Tracy Ray Rollins Jr. of Dallas, PennLive.com reported. Johnson said he agreed not to seek the death penalty if Rollins waived his preliminary hearing, which he did in May. Rollins is charged with homicide and abuse of corpse in the ...

Police: 1 dead, 3 injured in fire

WEST YORK(AP) — Improper disposal of fireworks sparked a blaze in a Pennsylvania duplex that killed one child and left another child and their two parents hospitalized, authorities said. The borough police chief says “negligent fireworks disposal” led to the blaze in one half of the West York duplex just before 11 p.m. Saturday, the York Daily Record reported. Chief Matt Millsaps says officials are trying to find out who was using the fireworks before the blaze. James Hope, assistant chief of the West York Fire Department, said officials believe the family was asleep at the ...

Local firefighter dies due to injuries from Monday crash

RENOVO — A Burnham man has died due to injuries sustained in a crash earlier this week in Clinton County. Chief Logan Fire Co. firefighter Zachary Logan, of Burnham was driving at 3:01 p.m. Monday on state Route 120 in Noyes Township, Clinton County when he left the roadway via the East berm as he was traveling North along state Route 120, according to Pennsylvania State Police Lamar. Police said Logan lost control of his 2003 Kenworth T800 and then attempted to regain control of the vehicle before he re-entered the roadway, traveled in a northwest direction and stuck an ...