PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Public Schools and its teachers' union have reached a tentative contract agreement.

No details are being released until the union membership approves the agreement. This morning's agreement was reached after about 20 hours of talks.

The union's three bargaining units represent more than 3,400 teachers, classroom aides and technical-clerical workers.

The average salary for a city teacher is $62,000.

CORAOPOLIS — A Beaver County school district has fired a high school teacher who is accused of sending nude photos of herself to a 14-year-old student and who police say has admitted having sex with the boy.The Moon Area School Board voted unanimously to fire 26-year-old Beth Ann Chester, 26, of Scott Township, on Monday. She had taught health and physical education.Police say Chester confessed to having sex with the boy after a school event. She's charged with sexual abuse of children, corruption of minors and related counts for sending the teen nude pictures and salacious text messages.Chester had submitted a resignation letter on Dec. 27.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Planning Commission has approved the master plan for a new $290 million home for the Penguins.The 5-3 vote comes despite pleas from a neighborhood group that wanted a community benefits agreement before the plan was approved.The One Hill group wants a development fund from public subsidies and money from the hockey team. The group also wants a grocery store and first opportunity on jobs.Government leaders say they will try to lure a grocery store into the area and have pledged to help fund a neighborhood plan, resource center and a YMCA.The Penguins have pledged $2 million toward a grocery store.The new multipurpose arena will replace Mellon Arena, which was built in 1961 by displacing thousands of black residents.

HARRISBURG — A Republican state senator said Monday he plans to introduce legislation to privatize the Pennsylvania Turnpike in three sections and repeal a seven-month-old law that authorized new tollbooths on Interstate 80.The idea behind the legislation is to raise more than $1 billion annually for the state's crumbling highways and bridges and cash-strapped mass transit agencies.In a memo to other senators seeking support, Sen. John Gordner, R-Columbia, said Pennsylvania needs a money-raising alternative because of opposition to tolls on I-80 and the possibility that the federal government will reject the tolling plan.Gordner's idea is to auction the turnpike in three parts: the Ohio border east to Harrisburg; the New Jersey border west to Harrisburg; and the Northeast Extension.He said he hopes to introduce the bill in the next two weeks. One provision would prevent a foreign-owned entity from leasing the roadway, he said.

HARRISBURG — Gov. Ed Rendell plans to merge the agencies that regulate horse racing in Pennsylvania.The two agencies, which regulate harness racing and thoroughbred racing, would keep the same staff, but report to one board, instead of two.Rendell spokesman Chuck Ardo says the change is being made for the sake of efficiency, not because of problems with the boards.Pennsylvania has six horse racing tracks — three harness and three thoroughbred — and another harness racing track is licensed to be built.

DRAVOSBURG — Workers at United States Steel Corp.'s Irvin plant will be tested for tuberculosis after a male worker at the facility contracted the lung disease, Allegheny County health officials said.The voluntary skin tests will be conducted today on any workers who have had close contact with the affected man, department spokesman Guillermo Cole said.Anyone with a positive reaction within three days will receive an X-ray to determine if they have active tuberculosis. People who have had the disease at any point in their lives will test positive, but that doesn't mean they have an active version of tuberculosis, Cole said.Neither the worker's name nor where he works in the plant has been made public.Officials said the man lives out of the county and is expected to make a full recovery. Allegheny County had 22 active cases of tuberculosis last year.