A jury Monday found a Philadelphia abortion provider guilty of three counts of first-degree murder.
Dr. Kermit Gosnell, 72, was accused of killing babies by using scissors to cut their spinal cords. Authorities alleged that some of the infants were born alive and viable during the sixth, seventh and eighth months of pregnancy.
Monday's first-degree murder conviction means Gosnell, who is not a board-certified obstetrician or gynecologist, could be sentenced to death.
Gosnell also was accused in the death of Karnamaya Mongar, 41, who died of an anesthetic overdose during a second-trimester abortion at his West Philadelphia clinic. In that case, the jury found him guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
Gosnell was also found guilty of 21 counts of abortion of the unborn, 24 weeks or older.
In Pennsylvania, abortions past 24 weeks are illegal unless the health of the mother is at stake.
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A bus carrying 23 people, who were members of or associated with the Seton Hill University women's lacrosse team, crashed Saturday morning in southern Pennsylvania, killing at least two people, authorities said.
One person died at the scene and the other at a hospital, said Megan Silverstrim, spokeswoman for Cumberland County public safety.
The dead include the team's head coach Kristina Quigley, the county agency said. She was pregnant at the time, and her unborn child did not survive.
FULL STORYSix inches of snow in Chicago. A foot or so plastering the Upper Midwest. And up 20 inches expected just west of Washington D.C.
Surely, there's a silver lining to these snow clouds though, right? Don't they bring much-neeed moisture to parched states?
Not quite.
Snow is very fluffy, and it takes up to a foot of it to squeeze out an inch of rain, meteorologists say.
FULL STORYBailey O'Neill's parents just wanted him to see his 12th birthday.
The next day, they took him off life support.
The fatal injuries that led to Bailey's death Sunday were the tragic consequences of bullying at school, his parents say.
But Philadelphia-area detectives are still investigating whether the incident was, in fact, bullying or an altercation on the playground.
FULL STORYThe family of the late Joe Paterno released a report Sunday morning that absolved the coaching great of blame in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal and said a prior review commissioned by Penn State University was "factually wrong, speculative and fundamentally flawed. "
Former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh put together the new report, the Paterno family said in a written statement.
"The experts determined that the conclusions of the (university) report are based on raw speculation and unsupported opinion - not facts and evidence," Thornburgh said, according to the statement.
FULL STORYA court hearing in Philadelphia took an unforeseen turn when a witness, testifying about the consequences of losing his left eye in an alleged assault, began crying and his prosthetic eyeball popped out of its socket and into his hand, unsettling the jury and resulting in a mistrial, according to attorneys involved.
"I've been a prosecutor for 26 years and I've never seen anything like that happen. It was unusual; it was shocking," said Philadelphia Assistant District Attorney Mark Gilson, who is prosecuting Mathew Brunelli, 23, charged with aggravated assault, for allegedly stabbing John Huttick in the eye during a bar fight in August 2011.
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An Arizona man accused of threatening to blow up Philadelphia's Liberty Bell was charged Sunday, police said.
Carlos Balsas, 41, of Tempe, Arizona, is charged with terroristic threats, bomb threats and several other offenses, police spokeswoman Christine O'Brien said. Prosecutors approved the charges and will take up the case Monday, she said.
FULL STORY Police arrested a man Saturday for threatening to blow up Philadelphia's iconic Liberty Bell, according to police.
The unidentified man apparently left two black backpacks in front of the Liberty Wheels wheelchair and scooter rental shop in downtown Philadelphia.
Police said a bomb squad was called in and secured the scene but found that the bags did not contain explosives.
"I have no idea why" the man did this, police spokeswoman Christine O'Brien said.
The bell is considered an iconic monument to American independence.
[Updated at 11:32 a.m. ET] The state of Pennsylvania will file a federal antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA, seeking to have a judge throw out all sanctions the association levied against Penn State University in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said Wednesday.
Corbett (pictured) said the penalties – a $60 million fine, a four-year ban on bowl games, football scholarship reductions, and the stripping of 14 seasons of football victories under late head coach Joe Paterno – were unfair to the university, its students, and Pennsylvania citizens because the Sandusky criminal matter already is being handled in courts.
The NCAA "piled on ... (punishing) the citizens of Pennsylvania, who had nothing to do with these crimes," Corbett said.
"These sanctions are an attack on the past, present and future students of Penn State, the citizens of our commonwealth and our economy. As governor of this commonwealth, I cannot and will not stand by and let it happen without a fight," Corbett said.
He said the NCAA's actions were unlawful and overreaching, and that it essentially forced Penn State to accept the sanctions under the threat that if the school didn't accept them, the NCAA would impose on the football program a "death penalty" – a suspension from play of a year or more.
The NCAA levied the penalties last July.
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Former Penn State University President Graham Spanier was arraigned Wednesday morning on charges he helped to cover up allegations that Jerry Sandusky was sexually abusing boys on campus, CNN contributor Sara Ganim reports.
It happened in seconds. A 2-year-old boy slipped over a railing, bounced into a safety net, bounced again, and tumbled into an exhibit of African painted dogs, which mauled him to death.
The heartbreaking scenario came to light Monday as the Pittsburgh Zoo released details of the child's death Sunday.
A group of African painted dogs killed a boy who fell into their exhibit today at the Pittsburgh Zoo.
Barbara Baker, the zoo's president, said the child was around 3 years old.
He "fell off an observation deck that's about 14 feet above the exhibit," she said, "and was killed by the dogs."
Former Penn State President Graham Spanier blasted the charge against him for allegedly covering up years of sexual abuse as a "desperate act" by the state's "vindictive and politically motivated" governor - an accusation that drew a biting retort from Gov. Tom Corbett. FULL POST
Missing 10-month-old Saanvi Venna was found dead Friday morning, and a friend of her family's has been arrested and charged in her and her grandmother's killings, a Pennsylvania prosecutor said Friday.
A little girl was fighting for her life early Monday after she was shot outside a Halloween party by a relative who mistook her costume for a skunk.
Police in western Pennsylvania's New Sewickley Township said the 9-year-old girl was dressed in black with a black hat for the Saturday evening party.
As the two to three dozen guests milled about, the girl went to hide on the edge of a hill.
Jerry Sandusky's lawyers are seeking a new trial for their client, according to court documents filed Thursday in Centre County court in Pennsylvania.
The convicted sex abuser and former Penn State assistant football coach was sentenced to no less than 30 years and no more than 60 years in prison after being convicted in June of sexually abusing 10 boys during a 15-year period.
Read the appeal documents (PDF)
The once-beloved coach, whose abuse triggered a scandal for one of the nation's most storied college football teams, was given credit for 112 days served.
In addition to requesting a new trial, his lawyers also filed a motion Thursday to reconsider the sentence.
The lawyers argue that there was insufficient evidence to convict Sandusky, and that the court didn't allow them enough time to prepare for trial. They also argue, among other things, that certain counts should have been dismissed on the grounds that they were too general and non-specific, preventing Sandusky from preparing an adequate defense.
A Philadelphia judge ruled Friday to stay the execution of Pennsylvania convicted killer Terrance Williams and grant a new penalty phase in the case.
Williams, 46, was scheduled to be executed on October 3. No one disputes that Williams beat Amos Norwood to death with a tire iron in 1984 or that he should be in prison.
But his defense team says information that Norwood had allegedly sexually abused Williams was withheld from the trial, and his life should be spent in a cell.
Philadelphia Judge M. Teresa Sarmina on Friday found "reasonable probability" that the verdict might have been different had allegations of abuse surfaced during the initial case and that the relationship between the two men had been established but not disclosed.
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[Updated at 1:59 p.m.] The man suspected of taking a hostage in Pittsburgh's Gateway Center high-rise Friday morning has surrendered peacefully, and his hostage was not harmed, Pittsburgh Police Chief Nathan Harper said.
[Updated at 1:20 p.m.]Police are negotiating with a "relatively calm" gunman believed to be holding at least one person hostage in a downtown Pittsburgh high-rise, the city's police chief said Friday.
Police have identified the man, a former military member with a criminal record, and they brought his mother to the scene, Chief Nathan Harper said.
The suspect walked into CW Breitsman Associates' office Friday morning and asked for a particular man, so police believe a male hostage was targeted, Harper said. CW Breitsman handles money for pension funds. The chief said the gunman never worked there, and it's unclear how he was related to the company.
The situation is contained to one room of a suite on the 16th floor of Gateway Center Building No. 3, Harper said. As of 10:55 a.m., no one had been hurt and no shots had been fired, he added.
Police received calls shortly after 8:15 a.m., reporting a man with a gun. Some witnesses reported he was carrying two duffel bags. Harper said the suspect also claimed to have a bomb.
Several people who work in the building told local television stations that police had evacuated them from the building. Harper said since the incident was contained to one room, evacuations were minimal, and people were still occupying other parts of the skyscraper.
Jim Garra, who works at AXA on the 16th floor, told WTAE that when he arrived at work around 8:10 a.m., security officers were milling about. When he took the elevator to his office, he found a commotion, including a woman he described as "hysterical, on the phone," describing an intruder in the building. Garra said he locked the door to his office until police came to evacuate it.
Public transportation has been shut down at Gateway Center, and police have blocked off nearby roads as well.
The Penn State football team started its first season since former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was found guilty of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years.
The Nittany Lions' home game against Ohio University also will be the first time since 1966 that the team starts a season without Hall of Fame coach Joe Paterno, who died in January, two months after the board of trustees fired him for allegedly failing to take his knowledge of the scandal to appropriate authorities.
Though Sandusky was convicted in June, many parts of the Sandusky matter have not been resolved. Here is where things stand in the scandal:
The sex abuse scandal that rocked the Penn State University community and football fans across the nation culminated Monday in an unprecedented fine of $60 million levied against the school and severe sanctions for the Division I football program.
NCAA gives Penn State 'stark wake-up call'
The Nittany Lions are banned from the postseason for four years and will lose 20 football scholarships a year for four seasons, NCAA President Mark Emmert said. The NCAA also took away 14 seasons of football victories from the late coach Joe Paterno.
Money raised from fines will be used to start a charity supporting programs that serve the victims of child sexual abuse, Emmert said.
Penn State has accepted the NCAA's decision, and university President Rodney Erickson said it will not appeal.
But CNN.com readers had much to say on the penalties incurred and whether or not justice is being served. You can join the conversation on Facebook, CNN.com or CNN iReport. Here are what some had to say:
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