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Good afternoon! Here’s a look at AP’s general news coverage today in Pennsylvania. For questions about the state report, contact the Philadelphia bureau at 215-561-1133. Ron Todt is on the desk. Editor Larry Rosenthal can be reached at 215-446-6631 or [email protected].

A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories may not develop, or late-breaking and more newsworthy events may take precedence. Advisories, digests and digest advisories will keep you up to date.

Some TV and radio stations will receive shorter APNewsNow versions of the stories below, along with updates.

TOP STORIES:

NUCLEAR PLANTS-BAILOUTS

HARRISBURG — The natural gas boom that has hammered coal mines and driven down utility bills is hitting nuclear power plants hard, sending their owners in search of a financial rescue in states where competitive electricity markets have compounded their struggle. By Marc Levy. SENT: About 860 words.

AGING INFRASTRUCTURE-NO QUICK FIX

When a train jumped the tracks this past week at New York’s Penn Station, the seemingly minor accident led to a cascade of exasperating delays for hundreds of thousands of commuters. When a flood forced authorities to condemn a one-lane, century-old bridge in rural Ozark, Missouri, it was no less frustrating for the residents and business owners cut off from their shortest route into town. The two episodes highlight a reality about the U.S. transportation system — it is aging, congested and so vital that when things go wrong, big and costly disruptions can result for which there is no quick fix. By David A. Lieb and Joan Lowy. SENT: About 1030 words.

EXCHANGE:

EXCHANGE-LEAD MINES

SINKING VALLEY — Cold wind blew across a Tyrone Township farm field Saturday as a handful of geologists and Juniata College students gathered atop mysteriously bare patches of ground. To the untrained eye, the patches might just look like the sites of a poor harvest. But the geology students, led by Professor Ryan Mathur, see something else: the possible sites of long-abandoned lead mines, perhaps going back to the 1770s. Now a county park and education site, Fort Roberdeau was built in 1778 to protect strategically important lead supplies in Sinking Valley. Miners pulled the lead from the earth, then shipped it east toward the Susquehanna River, where it was turned into musket balls for the Continental Army. “The question becomes, ‘Where are those lead mines?'” Mathur said. Ryan Brown, The (Altoona) Mirror. SENT: About 580 words.

IN BRIEF:

WOMAN SHOT — Authorities in western Pennsylvania are investigating a shooting in Pittsburgh that sent a woman to the hospital.

FATAL FIRE — Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a fire in a Pittsburgh-area home has left one person dead.

DUPLEX FIRE — Officials say a woman and two children were taken to hospitals after they were rescued from a duplex fire near Pittsburgh.

CAR IN RIVER — A central Pennsylvania coroner has released the name of a man whose body was recovered after a car plunged into the Susquehanna River last week.

SPORTS:

HKN–PENGUINS-RANGERS

NEW YORK — The Penguins and Rangers close the regular season with both teams locked into their playoff positions. The Penguins will face the Blue Jackets and the Rangers will match up against the Canadiens in the postseason. By Simmi Buttar. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. Game starts 7 p.m. EDT.

BBN–BRAVES-PIRATES

PITTSBURGH — The Pirates look to sweep a three-game series from Atlanta on Sunday. Gerrit Cole (0-1) starts for Pittsburgh against Julio Teheran. Game begins at 1:35 p.m. EDT. By Will Graves. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos.

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If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please email them to [email protected]. If you have photos of regional or statewide interest, please send them to the AP state photo center in New York, 888-273-6867. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at [email protected] or 877-836-9477.

MARKETPLACE: Calling your attention to the Marketplace in AP Exchange, where you can find member-contributed content from Pennsylvania and other states. The Marketplace is accessible on the left navigational pane of the AP Exchange home page, near the bottom. For both national and state, you can click “All” or search for content by topics such as education, politics and business.