HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Revenue Department says general-fund revenue collections for May came in nearly $125 million below projections.

The figures released Tuesday left the state $1.2 billion below assumptions for the fiscal year that wraps up at the end of June.

Year-to-date collections are running nearly 5 percent less than anticipated.

The weak numbers are an ominous sign for the always contentious state budget talks that will accelerate over the coming weeks.

PITTSBURGH — A suburban Pittsburgh man who buried the body of his housemate in his back yard has pleaded guilty to cashing the dead woman's Social Security checks.Kenneth Zang, 59, of Turtle Creek, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of theft of government property. Authorities say Zang cashed checks totaling $34,000 from November 2004 to July 2008.The checks belonged to 70-year-old Mary Whetsell, who died of natural causes in 2004. Zang told authorities he buried Whetsell in their backyard without telling anyone because he couldn't afford a funeral.Authorities discovered the woman's badly decomposed body in July 2008 when her estranged son came to the home to look for her.Zang will be sentenced Oct. 1.

WASHINGTON — A Western Pennsylvania man will spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to killing his wife and two children.Orlando Guarino, 40, of Marianna, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of first-degree murder. His 22-year-old wife Ashley, 2-year-old daughter and 11-month-old son were found dead at Guarino's home in July 2008.Authorities say the couple had recently separated and Ashley Guarino had a protection from abuse order against her husband.Orlando Guarino's murder trial was supposed to begin later this week. He planned an insanity defense.