HARRISBURG — A third Republican state senator is breaking with conservatives and Gov. Tom Corbett to support an expansion of Medicaid eligibility under the 2010 Affordable Care Act.

A newspaper reports Sen. Lloyd Smucker told a town-hall meeting Wednesday the federal dollars accompanying the expansion would ease the burden on Lancaster General and other hospitals that treat the uninsured.

Two other Republican senators publicly support it. They are Senate Banking and Insurance Committee Chairman Don White of Indiana County and Majority Policy Committee Chairman Edwin Erickson of Delaware County.

Corbett isn’t embracing the expansion and says he’s concerned about the cost to Pennsylvania taxpayers.

Man robs W. Pa. church perogie saleAMBRIDGE — Police say a man stole money from a Western Pennsylvania church that was holding a perogie sale.Authorities say the unidentified man on Friday pushed an 80-year-old woman to get the money after he ordered three dozen perogies at the St. Peter and Paul Church in Ambridge.Police say a woman in a getaway truck was waiting for him down the street.It’s the second perogie-related theft in Western Pennsylvania this year. Perogies are traditional eastern European food similar to a dumpling.In February a man robbed a church perogie sale in Lyndora.

Pa. Sen. Ferlo drops out of mayor racePITTSBURGH — State Sen. Jim Ferlo has dropped out of the Pittsburgh mayor’s race.Ferlo, a former City Council president, says he’s decided to finish his third four-year term as a senator, which runs through 2014.Ferlo had been one of seven Democrats to file petitions to run for the party’s nomination in the May primary.The field is especially crowded this year because Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has decided not to run for re-election.City Councilman Bill Peduto; former council president and state Auditor General Jack Wagner; and city Controller Michael Lamb are considered the leading Democratic candidates.State Rep. Jake Wheatley, City Council President Darlene Harris and A.J. Richardson, a political novice, are the other Democrats running.

School, spy agency seek student hackersPITTSBURGH — Bored with classes? Carnegie Mellon University and one of the government’s top spy agencies want to teach high school students about computer hacking.“Toaster Wars” is a national online contest scheduled to run from April 26 to May 6. The goal is to train the nation’s next generation of cyber warriors in offensive and defensive strategies.The game is sponsored by the National Security Agency, which is responsible for code breaking and protecting the U.S. from cyberattack. NSA representative Vanee Vines says Friday the U.S. increasingly needs professionals with highly technical cyber skills to help keep the country safe.Carnegie Mellon professor David Brumley says the game will be fun, but also hopes participants will see that computer security may be a career choice, too.