Sandusky victims asked to participateSTATE COLLEGE — The parties that received settlements from Penn State in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal will be asked to cooperate in another lawsuit.In an order Monday, Potter County Senior Judge John Leete, specially presiding in Centre County, directed the university to make the request.“Counsel for Penn State University will, as appropriate, approach victims in the Sandusky matter to ascertain their willingness to take part in voluntary discovery in the above-captioned matter,” Leete wrote.The order came after a conference between the parties in the civil suit between the estate of longtime football coach Joe Paterno and former assistant coaches Jay Paterno and Bill Kenny against the NCAA, its president, Mark Emmert, and former executive committee chairman Ed Ray. According to court documents, law firm Pepper Hamilton was directed to “promptly furnish to the court a plan for narrowing and at least in part resolving outstanding discovery issues.”

Board to detail deadly rail crashNEW YORK — The National Transportation Safety Board is to meet to detail the probable cause of last year’s Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia, a day after a U.S. official briefed on the investigation revealed that the engineer was distracted by radio transmissions.The NTSB will meet today in Washington to vote on the probable cause of the May 12, 2015, crash that killed eight people.Engineer Brandon Bostian told investigators after the derailment that he remembered radio traffic that night from a commuter train operator who said a rock had shattered his windshield. An official briefed on the report’s findings did not say whether those were the transmissions that distracted Bostian, but the engineer did not speak about any other radio chatter when he was interviewed by federal investigators, according to material released previously by the NTSB.

Gas taxes, car fees to improve lightsHARRISBURG — A 2013 law that increased gas taxes and motorist fees is helping 109 Pennsylvania municipalities improve their traffic signals.The Wolf administration said Monday it was distributing $12 million in grants for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Green Light-Go program. The grants pay up to half the cost to obtain modern technology, retime signals, install light-emitting diode signals and make other upgrades.This year’s projects include pavement markings, traffic monitoring devices, audible pedestrian signals and new signal hardware.

Woman faces animal cruelty chargesPITTSBURGH — A defense attorney says a Pittsburgh woman charged with animal cruelty for allegedly starving dozens of cats and kittens tried to care for the animals but the situation “just got away from her.”A Pittsburgh newspaper reported 42-year-old Heather Risko surrendered Monday. Police said 39 starving cats and 11 dead kittens were removed from her home this month.Defense attorney Phil DiLucente said the woman meant to care for the animals and didn’t mean to hurt them.Neighbors said the cats had lived alone in the home since Easter and DiLucente says Risko moved in shortly before the cats were removed.