STATE
FOREST HILLS An 89-year-old woman lost her leg and was later pronounced dead at a hospital after a priest drove into a group of people after a Good Friday service near Pittsburgh.
Madeline Romell's leg had to be amputated promptly after the Friday afternoon accident at St. Maurice Catholic Church in Forest Hills. She was pronounced dead about five hours after the crash.
Four others were injured, but Forest Hills Mayor Ray Heller Jr. says their injuries weren't life-threatening. He says they included a broken leg and a broken arm.
Angela Thomas, a nurse and parishioner, tended to the injured. She says the priest told her the accelerator just went.
HARRISBURG The Rendell administration has borrowed $310 million from the federal government to help cover the surging cost of unemployment benefits amid rising jobless claims.Department of Labor and Industry spokesman Troy Thompson said Friday the state borrowed the money earlier this week, the third time in the last six years that Pennsylvania has had to seek such a loan.The state says more than 295,000 people have been approved for benefits through April 4 of this year. That's compared to fewer than 180,000 at this point last year.
GETTYSBURG A Gettysburg College sophomore found dead in her ex-boyfriend's apartment died of a combination of stabbing and choking, authorities said Friday.An autopsy concluded that sophomore Emily Rachel Silverstein, 19, was still alive when she was stabbed, suggesting that the choking occurred first.Kevin Robert Schaeffer, 21, a senior from Oley, is being held without bail in Adams County Prison on criminal homicide and other charges.
