TimesLeader.com

July 4

Sarah Palin resignation a mystery

WASILLA, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin surprised supporters Friday and announced she is resigning from office at the end of the month, leaving open the possibility she would seek a run for the White House in 2012.

3:33 AM

Choreographer: ‘Everybody’s an artist; we paint the sky’

WILKES-BARRE – The four-man crew from Zambelli Fireworks arrived just before 3 p.m. on Friday, minutes ahead of the rolling thunder and lightning that foreshadowed what they had come to unleash.

4:17 AM

Powerful sedative found in mansion

LOS ANGELES — The powerful sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson’s home, a law enforcement official said Friday as the city planned for a massive crowd at the singer’s memorial service.

3:18 AM

Gas-lease tips offered before you sign up

ROSS TWP. – Gas-lease offers might be low, thanks to a lagging economy, but that’s not stopping drillers from proposing them.

4:32 AM

Big dream takes flight

BEAUMONT – Perhaps Wende DeOliveira’s plan is no more plausible than the one that preceded it at the nondescript old farmstead nestled on the sloping marshland off Crow Hill Road.

4:13 AM

Current topic for class

The Susquehanna River is, in a way, its own classroom. So naturally, a King’s College professor has created a course focusing on the river.

July 4

State wants stimulus money to repair leaks

The state is applying for more than $6 million from the federal stimulus money to clean up 71 leaking underground storage tanks, six of them in Luzerne County, the state Department of Environmental Protection announced on Thursday.

July 4

Pro wrestlers ready to make a slamming statement for area veterans

WILKES-BARRE – Ready to see people get thrown around a squared circle or body slammed into the mat to round out your holiday weekend?

July 4

Rain storm damages West Side

The estimated 2.5 inches of rain that drenched northern Luzerne County Friday afternoon caused particular headaches for West Side area residents.

July 4

Mourners remember Mays for high energy

MCKEES ROCKS, Pa. — Television pitchman Billy Mays, whose high-energy hawking turned products like OxiClean from infomercial curiosities into mainstream successes, was remembered as a pop culture icon at his funeral Friday near Pittsburgh.

July 4

Russia allows U.S to ship arms

MOSCOW — Russia said Friday it will allow the United States to ship weapons across its territory to Afghanistan, a long-sought move that bolsters U.S. military operations but potentially gives the Kremlin leverage over critical American supplies.

3:40 AM

Iran wants Brits on trial

EDITOR’S NOTE: Iranian authorities have barred journalists for international news organizations from reporting on the streets and ordered them to stay in their offices. This report is based on the accounts of witnesses reached in Iran and official statements carried on Iranian media.

3:42 AM

Marines push deeper into southern Afghanistan villages

NAWA, Afghanistan — U.S. Marines moved into villages in Taliban strongholds in southern Afghanistan on Friday, meeting little resistance as they tried to win over local chiefs on the second day of the biggest military operation here since the fall of the Taliban government in 2001.

July 4

Shootings have S.C. residents on edge

GAFFNEY, S.C. — Terrified residents canceled Fourth of July plans and holed up in their homes Friday as investigators hunted a serial killer believed to have shot four people to death.

July 4

Pope gives approval to beatify cardinal

VATICAN CITY — Cardinal John Henry Newman, an influential 19th-century Anglican theologian who converted to Roman Catholicism, moved a step closer to possible sainthood Friday after the pope approved a miracle attributed to his intercession.

4:39 AM

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

NEW YORK (AP) — Hilary Duff is joining the cast of “Gossip Girl” — but not on a regular basis.

July 4

Pest control bugs U.S. communities

Millions of mosquito eggs laid across southern Texas after Hurricane Ike hit the coast last summer are waiting for the little bit of rain and hot summer days they need to hatch. That’s got the man whose job it is to fight the bugs worried — he’s already running out of money.

3:46 AM

International News briefs

Vice President Joe Biden pressed Iraqi leaders Friday to do more to foster national reconciliation and offered U.S. assistance in achieving that, as concerns grow that a lack of political progress is fueling violence in Iraq.

July 4

No school on Muslim holidays

NEW YORK — Moneeb Hassan remembers having to choose between a final exam in American history or celebrating the Muslim holy day of Eid al-Adha. In the end, he chose both.

July 4

Residents divided on fate of governor

COLUMBIA, S.C. — After a week that offered the world a glimpse into the conflicted mind of philandering South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, his constituents differed Friday on whether he should leave office.

July 4

At Post, old new again

INDIANAPOLIS — The Saturday Evening Post, a centuries-old publication that helped make illustrator Norman Rockwell a household name and showcased some of America’s greatest writers, is returning to its roots to show readers the value of a quiet read in an increasingly frenetic digital age.