HOUSTON — The first slots casino in southwestern Pennsylvania opened with great fanfare Monday, with hundreds of people lining up to try their luck.

The Meadows Racetrack & Casino became the fifth gambling parlor in Pennsylvania when it opened at 8:45 a.m., after a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The slots casino opened a week late because security improvements were needed.

Over the weekend, invited guests tried out the 1,738-machine facility, allowing state game regulators to ensure things were running smoothly and raising $100,000 for charity, officials said.

The casino is housed in a temporary structure that eventually will be replaced by a permanent parlor near the Meadows' harness track, which is slated to open in 2009.

DUQUESNE — A dump truck hauling scrap metal ran into a commuter bus at a bus stop Monday, pushing it into a utility pole and injuring at least 20 people, transit officials said.Passengers were getting off the bus in Duquesne when the bus was hit from behind, said Bob Grove, a spokesman for the Port Authority of Allegheny County.The impact pushed the bus "a significant distance" into a utility pole, he said. Scott Adams, assistant police chief in Duquesne, said the bus severed the pole.The bus driver was taken to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh with a head injury, Grove said. The truck driver and others on the bus also were taken to hospitals; none appeared to have life-threatening injuries, Grove said.The accident remained under investigation and no charges had been filed.

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania's state flag might soon become more recognizable under legislation that passed the state House of Representatives on Monday.The chamber voted 164-31 to add the words "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" in yellow silk block letters to the blue banner.Backers said about half the states already include their names on their flags. The state flag was most recently updated 100 years ago, when the background color was mandated to be the same shade as found on the national flag.Pennsylvania's flag includes its coat of arms, including the motto: "Virtue, Liberty and Independence."

JOHNSTOWN — A Johnstown teenager has been charged with killing a terrier by putting him in a washing machine.Klynn M. Cvejkus, 18, is accused of entering an unoccupied home, reportedly owned by a relative, and putting the dog in the washing machine. Cvejkus pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of cruelty to animals and criminal trespass.Police said the house's water had been turned off while the homeowners were away, so the machine didn't fill with water. They said the dog died of a broken neck.The home's owner, Jean Bopp, told the district judge she found the dead terrier in March when she was preparing to move back into the house.