Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Pennsylvania voters elect their first woman and first Democrat to be the state's attorney general.
Kathleen Kane achieved two firsts in her Pennsylvania attorney general election victory: She defeated Republican David Freed 56 to 41 percent in unofficial results from Tuesday's voting. Kane won the support of Lehigh Valley voters on her way to statewide success: Lehigh County Northampton County Kane, 46, is a former Lackawanna County prosecutor who will now oversee an office with a staff of about 700 and subject to legislative battles over a budget that now stands at $81 million, according to a Philly.com report. Kane had a slight fundraising edge in the race. Both candidates pledged a review of the Jerry Sandusky child rape case and its handling by former Attorney General Tom Corbett, now the state's governor.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
The former Penn State assistant football coach maintains his innocence and vows to continue to appeal his conviction.
This story was updated at 11:17 a.m. McKean County Judge John M. Cleland today sentenced Jerry Sandusky to no less than 30 years and no more than 60 years in prison for sexually abusing 10 children, multiple media outlets report. “The crime is not only what you did to their bodies, but their psyches and souls,” Judge Cleland told Sandusky in court, the Pittsburgh Tribune reported. “It is this remarkable ability to deceive that makes this crime so heinous.” A defiant Sandusky gave a rambling statement in which he denied the allegations and talked about his life in prison and the pain of being away from his family. “It is for those still standing for us that we will continue to fight,” Sandusky said. “We’re definitely in the fourth quarter…
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Two local lawmakers blasted GOP leadership for putting the House in recess instead of dealing with the vote.
A group of state House representatives on Thursday attempted to force a vote on a resolution that would urge the U.S. Attorney to investigate then-Attorney General Tom Corbett’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky investigation. State Rep. Jesse White, D-Cecil, posted on his Facebook page that the Republican majority “immediately stopped proceedings” and that many representatives on that side of the aisle had “fled the floor” despite the House still being in session. “This is shocking and outrageous—what depths won't they go to in order to learn the truth?” the lawmaker wrote on his Facebook page. To read HR 520, click here. A procedural move was attempted by state Rep. Timothy Briggs, a Democrat, to force a vote on the resolution. State Rep. …
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The Steelers legend, PSU alumni and Hall of Fame running back wants the NCAA to consider reinstating at least six years of the late Joe Paterno’s wins.
Franco Harris has consistently defended the late Joe Paterno in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Now, Harris of Sewickley is on a mission to get the NCAA board members to lift some sanctions against Penn State University. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, the former Pittsburgh Steelers running back began individually visiting the 18 NCAA board members on Tuesday hoping to find leniency for Penn State. Harris told the Trib he believes the NCAA’s sanctions—which included a $60 million fine and the elimination of 111 victories from 1998 to 2011—were a rush to judgment against Penn State and former head coach Paterno. University trustees accepted the sanctions, which were based on former FBI Director Louis …
Monday, July 23, 2012
The NCAA imposes $60 million fine, reduces scholarships, bans bowl appearances.
This story was last updated at 10:56 a.m. Monday. Stopping short of cancelling the season, the NCAA Monday imposed severe, wide-ranging sanctions against Penn State football in light of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. “This is just an unprecedented, painful chapter in the history of intercollegiate athletics,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert. The sanctions include: The NCAA also will require Penn State to employ a chief compliance officer. The NCAA will select an ethics integrity monitor who will report to the NCAA as well as to Penn State and the university’s trustees as to the school’s progress. Penn State President Rodney Erickson said the university "accepts the penalties and corrective actions announced today by the NCAA. …
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Take our poll and let us know whether you agree with the decision to remove the statue honoring the legendary late coach—in the wake of the Sandusky scandal and Freeh report.
Once one of the most revered coaches in the NCAA, the legendary Joe Paterno was honored on Penn State's campus about a decade ago with a bronze statue that's become a landmark. But in the wake of the Sandusky scandal and the subsequent Freeh report, Penn State removed the statue at dawn on Sunday. Fox News reported earlier this week that some Penn State students had begun a vigil to protect the statue from vandalism. CNN reported that a small plane flew around the Penn State campus on Tuesday carrying a banner that read, "Take the Statue Down or We Will." Other tributes to the much-honored former coach have begun to fall. This week, Paterno's alma mater, Brown University, removed his name from its annual award to the outstanding male …
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The Pennsylvania governor told the Associated Press he "hopes the case helps people recognize that everyone has an obligation to report child sex abuse."
More than four hours after the Freeh report was made public Thursday, Gov. Tom Corbett refused to comment on the matter, but spoke to the Associated Press regarding a former probe conducted partially under his watch during his own tenure as attorney general—defending it. Corbett, who refused to comment on the most recent investigation because he hadn't read it yet, said he hopes the case helps people recognize that everyone has an obligation to report child sex abuse, according to AP as reported by PennLive. In defense of the probe that began under his watch as AG, he told the AP it took "a monster" off the street. Later, he said he will work to ensure that Penn State administrators and trustees implement recommendations contained in the …
The notice comes in the wake of a report issued on Penn State's handling of the Sandusky sex scandal.
On the same day that a detailed report about Penn State University’s handling of the Jerry Sandusky case was released, the attorney for the school’s former assistant football coach's gave notice that he would appeal Sandusky's conviction on charges related to the sex scandal. “An attorney for former Penn State University assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky this afternoon filed a notice of appeal, complaining that the judge on his child sex abuse trial issued a protective order that required counsel to divulge confidential work product,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on its website. Sandusky is a native of Washington County. For more coverage from the Post-Gazette, click here. For coverage from Fox News, click here. For coverage …
Here's the anticipated investigative report into how Penn State University handled the Sandusky sex scandal—and the recommendations made to the school.
When Penn State officials learned of disturbing allegations of sexual abuse by Jerry Sandusky in the football training building in February 2001, they initially discussed going to state authorities with the information. But after further discussion—and despite a similar allegation levied against Sandusky three years earlier—the school officials and football coach Joe Paterno instead decided to close ranks and offer him “professional help” while also restricting him from entering school facilities with children. The cover-up continued for another decade with former Penn State President Graham Spanier even refusing to discuss the situation with school Board of Trustees after Sandusky was charged in November 2011. The details that emerged …
See where you can read the entire report, and watch Freeh's news conference.
Four high-ranking Penn State University officials, including legendary football coach Joe Paterno, “repeatedly concealed critical facts” about Jerry Sandusky’s contact with young boys, according to an independent investigation released this morning. The report was released eight months and millions of dollars later, former FBI Director Louis Freeh and his investigators today released their findings into what Penn State University officials knew about the child sexual abuse scandal involving retired football coach Jerry Sandusky. Freeh and his law firm, Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan, LLP, were retained in November 2011 on behalf of the Special Investigations Task Force of the Board of Trustees of The Pennsylvania State University to conduct the …
JS
9:25 am on Saturday, November 10, 2012
Roger - your point has been pretty consistent. You want the investigation to end for two reasons: One - We all do wrong and people just want to continue this to make themselves feel better about our own crimes and misdemeanors. I still find this argument attempts to trivialize the serious damage that was done to children in this case by comparing it to minor trangressions that we all have in our … more ›