A death investigation underway in Coal Township

COAL TOWNSHIP – Following an inconclusive autopsy on Sunday, a toxicology report has been ordered for 44-year-old Robert Powell, who was found dead in a parking lot in Coal Township on Saturday night. The Coal Township man was found around 8:30 p.m. near Owl and Chestnut Streets about a half-mile from his home.

Northumberland County Coroner James Kelly tells The Daily Item; the man had no prior medical history and its unclear how he may have died. Coal Township police are also involved in the investigation and anyone who may have spent time with Powell on Saturday night is asked to contact them. (Ali Stevens)

Police looking for suspect after firearm was shot from moving vehicle

MILTON – State Police are looking for the person who shot a firearm from a moving vehicle in Northumberland County’s West Chillisquaque Township early Saturday morning. State Police in Milton say sometime between 1 and 2 a.m. someone shot a firearm from a moving vehicle driving along Housels Run Road.

The bullet struck an unoccupied parked car. The person or persons then fled the scene. The suspect’s vehicle is described as a mid-sized passenger car that is dark in color. State Police ask anyone with information on this incident to contact them. (Sara Lauver)

Police respond to bar brawl in Sunbury

SUNBURY – Investigation continues after Sunbury’s bar melee early Saturday morning. Some arrests were made and more are expected after police from 15 departments responded to a brawl at a bar in Sunbury early Saturday morning. Police say the incident happened just before 2 a.m. and more than a dozen people were involved in the fight at the North Fifth Street bar.

Police from Northumberland, Point Township and state troopers from Stonington were already assisting outside the bar and taking several people into custody—when patrons ran out of the bar and told officers of an even larger fight going on inside.

That’s when additional police were summoned and officers from Mount Carmel, Lewisburg, Coal Township, Shamokin, Shamokin Dam, East Buffalo Township, Ralpho Township, State Police from Selinsgrove and Milton and the Union County Sheriff’s Department all responded.

Several people were injured during the fight and at least one person was taken to the hospital. No officers were seriously injured during the melee. Police say charges are pending against several people and names and details on the arrests will be out later. The investigation continues.

Crews respond to shed fire; tractor and car destroyed

AUGUSTAVILLE – Area crews responded to a fire at an equipment shed in Northumberland County Saturday night. The blaze started around 9 p.m. and destroyed the shed located along Hallowing Run Road in Rockefeller Township.

An antique tractor and a car that were being stored in the shed were also destroyed. Three other structures were in the vicinity of the fire, but no damages to those buildings were reported. There’s still no word on what may have caused the blaze and the investigation continues. (Sara Lauver)

New clinic will mediate disputes and legal problems

SELINSGROVE – A new clinic is focusing on way to help people with legal problems and disputes. The Neysa C. Adams Pro Se Assistance and Mediation Clinic opened its doors in Selinsgrove Friday, and Allan Sobel, Director of the Arlin M. Adams Center at Susquehanna University, says the clinic cannot provide legal advice.

However, he says its focus is on coordinating pro bono services, operating a voluntary cost-free mediation program and assisting with court forms and paperwork as well as referrals to attorneys. The clinic is located in the CareerLink building on Bridge Street in Selinsgrove and is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9-1, Tuesday and Thursday from 1-5 and the first Saturday of each month from 10-2p.m. You can call 374-5414 for more information. (Sara Lauver)

Latest Pennsylvania news, sports, business and entertainment:

WALLINGFORD, Pa. (AP) - Republican John McCain is making a last-minute push for voters in Pennsylvania. One day before voters head to the polls, McCain is scheduled to campaign in Moon Township in western Pennsylvania on Monday. Polls show Democratic rival Barack Obama comfortably ahead in the state, but McCain isn't giving up on trying to win its 21 electoral votes. Campaigning Sunday in Wallingford, Pa., near Philadelphia, McCain said he's been in a lot of campaigns and knows the momentum is there. He says he's a few points down but he's coming back. The Arizona senator was introduced by former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, who called McCain "John the President," a nod to "Joe the Plumber," the Ohio man McCain has incorporated into his campaign.

SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) - The National Park Service has acquired 57 additional acres for the Flight 93 National Memorial in rural western Pennsylvania, and joined the Flight 93 Task Force in agreeing to the development of a nonprofit friends group. The developments were announced Saturday at a Flight 93 Advisory Commission and Task Force meeting. The newly acquired land will surround the memorial and the site where Flight 93 went down on Sept. 11, 2001. Eventually, a house will be built on the land for a ranger who will provide security. The groups also discussed forming a nonprofit group that would have a board of directors and be in charge of making sure that the memorial's integrity and memory are sustained once it is built.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The majority party in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives gets to drive the bus while the minority party can only stand on the roadside yelling for it to stop. On Tuesday, voters will decide whether to put Republicans instead of Democrats in the driver's seat, and thereby end the General Assembly's divided power of the past two years. Republican control of the Senate is not expected to change much, if at all, while the Democrats risk losing their tenuous one-seat edge in the House. Most are predicting only a slight shift in either direction. House Democrats hoping for a little breathing room are focusing on districts in Philadelphia and its suburbs, a region where longtime GOP incumbents are retiring at the same time that voter registration is turning more Democratic.

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - Police in south central Pennsylvania say someone fired sever bullets into the campaign van for a write-in state Senate candidate. Bill Neff is campaigning for a state Senate seat as a Republican. His campaign van, the "Neffmobile," was parked at a diner in Manheim Township early Saturday when it was shot. Police say the van has eight bullet holes in its windshield. Neff says he was picking up the van for a parade when he found the damage around 6:30 a.m. Neff says he's worried for the safety of some of his younger campaign volunteers. He says he has pulled any who are under 21 off the street.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Here are the winning numbers selected Sunday in the Pennsylvania State Lottery:

SUNDAY NIGHT Daily Number 9-4-6

Big 4 2-9-9-5

Quinto 4-8-0-3-1

SUNDAY MIDDAY Daily Number 7-4-6

Big 4 7-2-2-3

Quinto 2-2-7-7-4

Treasure Hunt 03-10-13-15-16

The winning numbers drawn Sunday in the "Pennsylvania Cash 5" game were: 02-10-18-35-39.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

OBAMA THE MUSICAL

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - First there was Obama the senator, then Obama the candidate. Now, "Obama the Musical." The play opened in Nairobi, Kenya, last night. But director George Orido isn't making any predictions on how tomorrow's election will turn out. The play ends with Obama's acceptance of the Democratic nomination. Kenyan actors also play John McCain and President Bush. Obama's family has Kenyan roots and Orido says the senator's story is a message Kenyans need.

100-CALORIE TWINKIES

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Twinkies are going on a diet. Hostess is introducing 100-calorie Twinkie snack packs in stores across the country today. David Leavitt is a V.P. of Hostess owner Interstate Bakeries. He says the 100-calorie "Twinkie Bites" are the real thing. He says there are three, miniature round Twinkies in each snack pack. The new mini Twinkies join the Hostess line-up of 100-calorie packs, which include cupcakes, muffins and coffee cakes.

"SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" - JOHN MCCAIN

NEW YORK (AP) - John McCain is playing second banana to Sarah Palin -- at least on "Saturday Night Live." McCain was on the show this weekend and drew SNL's second-best overnight ratings since December 1997. But the best ratings went to Palin, when she was on two weeks ago. The Nielsen people say the overnight ratings for McCain's SNL guest shot show a little less than 12 million people watched. That compares to 15 million who tuned in for Palin's appearance. Tina Fey again did her Sarah Palin during McCain's bit. The opening sketch had McCain and Palin selling campaign products on QVC, because they couldn't afford a half-hour campaign commercial on most of the major networks like Barack Obama.

TV-Peanuts Online

NEW YORK (AP) - Charlie Brown and the gang are going online, for "Peanuts." In a batch of 20 new Webisodes, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Snoopy and friends are being brought back to animated life, much in the style of their classic holiday TV specials. The three-to-four-minute videos are taken directly from classic 1964 comic strips. The videos are all new, made with Flash animation and new voices for the characters. But attention has been paid to maintaining the integrity of both the strip and its beloved animation specials. Beginning today, for only a limited time, fans will be able to download two episodes of the series for free on Apple's iTunes. Otherwise, two bundled episodes are available for 99 cents each, and the full season for $7.99. Warner Brothers’ Motion Comics made the videos. The Peanuts project was done with the involvement of the Charles Schulz family and estate.

TV Sex-Teen Pregnancy

CHICAGO (AP) - Groundbreaking research suggests pregnancy rates are much higher among teenagers who watch a lot of TV with sexual dialogue and behavior compared with those who have tamer viewing tastes. The new study is the first to link those viewing habits with teen pregnancy. It involved about 2,000 12-to-17-year-old girls and boys nationwide. They were questioned by telephone about their TV viewing habits. The teens were first interviewed in 2001, then were reinterviewed twice, the last time in 2004. Participants were asked how often they watched any of more than 20 TV shows popular among teens at the time or which were found to have lots of sexual content. The shows included "Sex and the City," "That 70s Show" and "Friends." Pregnancies were twice as common among teens who said they watched such shows regularly, compared with teens who said they hardly ever saw them. The study is in the November issue of Pediatrics.

Paper Airplane Contest

NEW YORK (AP) - A Boeing systems engineer is among the top winners of a paper airplane contest held at the New York Hall of Science. His plane placed first in the "distance" category of the New Millennium Paper Airplane Contest. The Virginia resident studied mechanical and aerospace engineering in college. Perhaps most impressed by the aviation feat was the engineer's 6-year-old son Warren, who cried out: "Dad won." New York City performance artist Klara Hobza conceived the project. The five-hour competition drew a crowd of about 400.