PITTSBURGH — The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church has formally recognized about 20 congregations that have chosen to remain with the national church as its legitimate Pittsburgh diocese.

Most of the diocese's 74 congregations have aligned with a conservative Anglican province based in South America. That group, led by since deposed Bishop Robert Duncan, voted Saturday to leave the Episcopal Church, which they believe has abandoned traditional Bible teachings.

Nineteen Pittsburgh-area congregations say they're staying in the more liberal Episcopal Church. A 20th congregation says its vestry, or parish council, has also voted to remain but that its congregation remains divided on the issue. The remaining diocese hopes to pick an interim bishop at a convention Dec. 13.

YORK — A six-pound chunk of ice fell from the sky, through a York woman's roof and slightly injured her as she slept.The source of the ice wasn't immediately known, but experts say it might have fallen from an airplane or rocket.Mary Ann Foster said she's glad to be alive after a piece broke off and hit her on the forehead. The ice left the 66-year-old grandmother with a large bump on her head and holes in the roof and bedroom ceiling. She said the ice had a slightly fishy smell and looked like quartz.

PITTSBURGH — The Bank of New York Mellon will spend $3 million on economic redevelopment in a blighted neighborhood near the Penguins' new arena.Some neighborhood groups opposed the arena unless the predominantly black Hill District nearby got economic development funds as part of the deal. The team and neighborhood groups agreed to that in August, but the money didn't exist until BONY-Mellon agreed to provide it.In return, the bank gets a tax credit of 80 percent, or $2.4 million, under a state program.Activists pushed for the money because a black neighborhood was razed to make room for the Penguins' current home, Mellon Arena. It was built in 1961, six years before the Penguins franchise existed.The new $290 million arena opens in 2010.

GSOMERSET — A retired teacher has been ordered to stand trial on charges he raped and sexually assaulted a former student.Fifty-five-year-old Stephen Shaffer, of Grove City, is accused of assaulting the woman when she was 13 and 14 years old on two different occasions in 2001. He was ordered to stand trial at a preliminary hearing Wednesday.The woman, now 21, testified that she had baby-sat for Shaffer. She says he raped her when she stayed over at his house to baby sit.She says she waited to come forward because she blamed herself and was ashamed.At the time, Shaffer was a science teacher at Somerset Area Junior High School. He retired in 2005 and surrendered his teacher's license in November.

HARRISBURG — Serious crime in Pennsylvania fell by more than 2 percent last year while overall crime numbers were also down slightly, state police said.The Uniform Crime Report's so-called "crime index" offenses — including murder, rape, robbery and other serious crimes — fell from about 345,000 in 2006 to 338,000 last year, police said Thursday. That was a decrease of 2.2 percent.The number of murders fell from 736 to 727, while robberies were down 7 percent.Juvenile arrests decreased 6 percent, but drug abuse violations were up by nearly 1 percent and driving-under-the-influence arrests rose 4.4 percent. Nearly 79 percent of those arrested for driving under the influence were male, police said.The total number of crimes reported to state police last year was 995,000, a drop-off of just under 1 percent from 2006.

KING OF PRUSSIA — A township zoning panel has approved a long-contested plan to build an American Revolution museum on private land within Valley Forge National Historical Park.The Lower Providence Township Zoning Commission granted approval Tuesday, a move that clears the way for the American Revolution Center to build a three-story museum, four-story conference center, and a trailhead structure on 78 acres it owns within the boundary of the park.The National Parks Conservation Association and several residents asked the commission to reject the plan, arguing that it would be too commercialized and would interfere with the National Park Service's mission to operate nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park.