TimesLeader.com

1:44 PM

Sen. Kennedy has malignant brain tumor

BOSTON (AP) _ A cancerous brain tumor caused the seizure Sen. Edward M. Kennedy suffered over the weekend, doctors said Tuesday in a grim diagnosis for one of American politics' most enduring figures.

12:45 PM

Mom admits guilt in infant's death

Heather Lynn Breeland, of East Diamond Avenue, entered the plea on a charge of involuntary manslaughter.

11:50 AM

Parks are deplored

WILKES-BARRE – The director of the Wilkes-Barre Crime Watch Coalition wants the city to shut down several of its parks because they aren’t safe, or fit, for young children.

11:38 AM

Jamaican national sentenced for drug trafficking, armed robbery

SCRANTON - The last of the three men charged with stealing 35 firearms during a robbery at Bob's Sporting Good's Store in Hazleton in November 2005 was sentenced in federal court on Monday, U.S. Attorney Martin C. Carlson said in a news release.

11:30 AM

US court: Paper money discriminates against blind

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The U.S. discriminates against blind people by printing paper money that makes it impossible for them to distinguish the bills' value, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

11:25 AM

Attorney: Wrong man charged in White House shooting

Police rushed to judgment when they arrested a man in a deadly shooting outside a city bar, an attorney said.

10:44 AM

Low flying airplane linked to gypsy moth spraying

A fixed wing aircraft that was seen flying low over the Wyoming Valley this morning is part of a group of aircrafts spraying for gypsy moths in Northeastern and Central Pennsylvania, an official with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said.

6:36 AM

Woman dies after car runs into building

WILKES-BARRE – A woman died after the vehicle she was riding in jumped a curb and smashed into the Mayflower Crossings housing complex Monday afternoon, city police reported.

6:36 AM

Prison employee suspended with pay

WILKES-BARRE – A management employee at the Luzerne County prison has been suspended with pay while officials investigate allegations he sexually harassed female employees, Commissioner Greg Skrepenak confirmed Monday.

2:40 AM

Hazleton’s Carbe gets 16 to 32 years in sexual assault of girl

WILKES-BARRE – After hearing two physicians, a priest and other character witnesses testify on behalf of Raymond F. Carbe Jr. at his sentencing Monday, a judge heard from the 15-year-old girl whom the successful Hazleton music store owner pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting over a four-month period.

8:53 AM

Citizens prep for area gas lease rush

With lucrative natural-gas lease offers coming to Luzerne County, landowners are beginning to pool their land, resources and knowledge to score the best deals possible.

11:03 AM

Truck driver in fatal crash distracted, officer says

LEHMAN TWP. – A tractor-trailer driver was communicating with a dispatcher when he crashed into several vehicles, claiming the life of a North Carolina man and injuring five others on Route 118 in November, police Chief Howard Kocher said Monday.

2:40 AM

Potential juvie center litigation eyed

Luzerne County commissioners met behind closed doors Monday afternoon to discuss potential litigation involving the leased Pittston Township juvenile detention/treatment center.

12:40 AM

Gov.: Turnpike deal would kill 80 tolls

If the state Legislature accepts a $12.8 billion offer by a partnership of Spanish and American companies to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike for the next 75 years, the governor said the plan to convert Interstate 80 into a toll road would die.

12:40 AM

Show on gas leases to air

The fervor over drilling for natural gas in Pennsylvania is coming to television.

2:40 AM

Amazon to open center in area

HAZLE TWP. – Global online retail leader Amazon.com will open a distribution center in the Humboldt Industrial Park within three years, creating more than 1,100 full-time jobs, the company said Monday.

11:05 AM

Nature’s classroom

DALLAS TWP. – Sure, the squirming damsel fly larvae and crayfish with their claws at the ready elicited a steady flow of excited shouts from the Dallas Elementary fifth-graders as they tromped through Toby Creek.

12:40 AM

Homicide suspect wants items from scene

WILKES-BARRE – A man accused of killing his girlfriend wants to examine items taken from the homicide scene.

12:40 AM

Forty Fort comes up with plan for paving

FORTY FORT – A group of Commerce Park residents gathered at Monday’s council meeting to give their input regarding a proposed paving project in their neighborhood, which includes Cayuga Place, Oneida Place, Mohawk Place and Seneca Place.

11:04 AM

L-L OKs budget that ups spending with no tax hike

LEHMAN TWP. – The Lake-Lehman School Board gave preliminary approval to a final budget that increases spending by about $500,000 while keeping taxes at the current rate. It also increases the contingency fund from about $85,000 to $485,000.

12:40 AM

Jail board approves payment for food

WILKES-BARRE – Threatened with legal action, the Luzerne County prison board on Monday approved payment of $18,007 to Commonwealth Foods Inc., for groceries that had previously been purchased in violation of the county’s bidding policy.

12:40 AM

County eyes human services branches move

Luzerne County commissioners are thinking about moving county human service branches into county-owned Valley Crest Nursing Home when the home’s operator builds a new privately owned facility nearby.

12:40 AM

Jury chosen in White House homicide case

WILKES-BARRE – A jury was chosen Monday to hear Byron Vinson’s trial on homicide charges.

12:40 AM

Public input on nuke sought

BERWICK – The public will be able to comment at a May 28 meeting in Berwick on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s finding that renewing the Susquehanna nuclear plant’s license for 20 years will not have an environmental impact, the NRC has announced.

12:40 AM

Building Trust

A headline and captions published on Page 1C on Monday were incorrect. The Second Presbyterian Church in Pittston held its annual Children’s Day service on Sunday.