PITTSBURGH — A prosecutor says he'll likely drop kidnapping charges against an elderly couple who forcibly took an even older woman from her dilapidated Pittsburgh home.

But Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. insists 72-year-old Laura Stewart and 76-year-old Earl Cross of Shaker Heights, Ohio, broke the law. He says they will still face some charges for hiding Stewart's 86-year-old sister, Evelyn Poynter, from police.

Zappala says "if they were trying to do the right thing, they did it the wrong way." Zappala said he'll seek court intervention to help Poynter who was living in "absolute squalor" at an apartment in Pittsburgh.

Police say the couple bound Poynter in a blanket with duct tape on Sunday and drove her to Ohio. The couple face a preliminary hearing Jan. 13.

POTTSVILLE — Duty in Iraq didn't prevent Marine Cpl. Lance Long from witnessing the arrival of his firstborn child.Long was linked with his wife, Chanda, at the Birthplace of Schuylkill Health System via Webcam when she went into labor Saturday. The two were able to see and talk with each other for nearly four hours until Chanda gave birth to their son at 6:15 p.m.Long could see Chanda holding newborn Klutch Lee Long and hear the baby's first cries. "It was the next best thing to him being right there," Chanda Long said.Long, a native of Bernville in Berks County, and Chanda, a 1999 Pottsville High School graduate, expect to be reunited on Long's scheduled return to the United States in April.

SCRANTON — An eastern Pennsylvania man may face up to 37 years in prison for tearing open a neighbor's door with a chain saw.Police say 34-year-old Robert Kane began sawing through the front door of Jamie Zaleski's apartment in Scranton while Zaleski and several friends ran out the back.Kane was angry because a friend of Zaleski's parked in front of his house across the street. Police say when Zaleski asked who was at the door, Kane said it was his worst nightmare, told him, "Open the door or I'll cut it down," and started sawing.A jury convicted Kane on Tuesday of charges including attempted burglary, attempted criminal trespass and terroristic threats. He was held in lieu of $20,000 bail. A sentencing date wasn't immediately set.

PITTSBURGH — Veterans who commit crimes related to stress or other combat-related disorders might soon have their cases heard in a different kind of court in Western Pennsylvania.Allegheny County Judge Michael McCarthy is leading the effort to establish Pennsylvania's first veterans court in Allegheny County, which serves Pittsburgh and its suburbs.The 58-year-old judge is a former Navy Seabee and Vietnam veteran. He says the court would let veterans who commit misdemeanors get counseling for problems like post-traumatic stress disorder or substance abuse instead of incarceration.A task force will be formed later this month to work out the details. Officials hope the court will prevent veterans from becoming repeat offenders.