Pennsylvania Inmates whose life sentences were finalized before the high court banned automatic life sentences for juveniles will not see their prison time reduced.

The U.S. Supreme Court won't hear an appeal over whether juveniles imprisoned for life before a 2012 law change can seek new sentences, a decision that will not affect the fate of a former Phillipsburg teen guilty of a 2006 murder in Easton.

Hundreds of inmates in Pennsylvania are serving mandatory life sentences for murders committed when they were minors.

A 2012 Supreme Court decision gave trial judges discretion over whether or not to sentence juveniles to life terms. But the high court did not say whether the law should be applied retroactively to as many as 2,000 juvenile lifers in prison across the country.

States have since split on the question.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected the idea in a 4-3 vote that affects several hundred juvenile lifers in state prisons. In his concurring opinion, Chief Justice Ronald Castille criticized the high court for not dealing with the glaring retroactivity issue.

The Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center appealed, but the U.S. Supreme Court declined today to hear the case. Similar cases are still moving through the courts, including one filed in federal court in Philadelphia.

"We still feel like this is an issue that will need to be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court at some point," staff attorney Emily C. Keller said. "There are many cases in the pipeline, and many states considering this issue."

The issue will not affect Qu'eed Batts' life sentence for the murder of 16-year-old Clarence "C.J." Edwards.

Batts was 14 when he killed Edwards and wounded Corey Hilario in 2006 in Easton. Batts' appeals were still pending when the U.S. Supreme Court made its decision in 2012, meaning the ruling applied to him.

Northampton County Judge Michael Koury re-sentenced Batts last month but maintained the life-without-parole sentence.

You can also parse through the info yourself in the database.

The Veterans Affairs released a nationwide audit today, which was the first look at its network in the uproar that began with reports of patients dying while awaiting appointments at the Phoenix VA center.

Several other states fared far worse than the Pennsylvania and New Jersey clinics. Read more about Pennsylvania here and New Jersey here.

You can also parse through the info yourself in the database, which was created by Syracuse.com, below.

The audit found that six VA centers in Pennsylvania will require additional review.

Among Pennsylvania's Veterans Affairs facilities, Philadelphia's medical center has the most new enrollees waiting at least two months for an appointment, according to an audit released today.

The Philadelphia VA had 1,141 new enrollees wait more than 60 days for an appointment, while Pittsburgh had 443. But Pittsburgh had the longest wait time for new enrollees, at almost 60 days. The figure for Philadelphia was about 43 days, while Erie was 21.

The VA released the nationwide audit today, the first look at its network in the uproar that began with reports of patients dying while awaiting appointments at the Phoenix VA center. The audit found long wait times across the country for patients seeking first appointments.

Several other states fared far worse than the Pennsylvania clinics. The VA in Honolulu, Hawaii, had the longest wait at 145 days, followed by Harlingen, Texas, at 85 days and Fayetteville, North Carolina, at 83 days.

But the Erie VA was fifth worst in the nation in scheduling mental health care for new patients, at 57 days. Durham, North Carolina, was the worst at 104 days.

The Wilkes-Barre, Coatesville and Erie VA scheduled 99 percent of all appointments in under 30 days, compared with 98 percent in Pittsburgh and 94 percent in Philadelphia.

The audit found that six VA centers in Pennsylvania will require additional review. Those VA centers, which could face further actions because of problems, are in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Altoona, Erie, Lebanon and Horsham.

Joe Eastman, a retired Naval officer has helped many veterans navigate the VA system, said the centers provide timely care — but not all the time.

"At best I could say it's inconsistent," said Eastman, a community liaison officer at The Veterans Group, a 43-bed facility in Philadelphia that specializes in addiction treatment. "If you happen to get a hold of the right office, things went well. If you didn't, you just got redirected from one office to another."

David Kamioner, a Veterans Group spokesman, said "most people are impressed" with the medical care at VA facilities.

"But on the administrative side, there are mistakes, there are duplications, there are letters that arrive after the appointment dates telling you of your appointment dates," he said.

Nationally, 13 percent of VA schedulers reported supervisors telling them to falsify appointment dates to make waiting times appear shorter.

Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said the audit showed "systemic problems" that demand immediate action.

The wait was longest for new patients seeking to see specialists.

A new audit of Veterans Affairs health care facilities found 67 veterans have been waiting up to three months for their initial appointments with the New Jersey Health Care System.

The report released today also found that 402 veterans who enrolled in the VA in the last decade and requested appointments were never seen by a doctor as of a May 15 snapshot.

The audit is the first nationwide look at the VA network in the uproar that began with reports two months ago of patients dying while awaiting appointments and of cover-ups at the Phoenix VA center. A preliminary audit last month found that long patient waits and falsified records were "systemic" throughout the VA medical network.

The new audit found across the country, there were 57,000 veterans nationwide waiting for an appointment and 64,000 who had never been seen.

The VA's New Jersey Health Care System operates two hospitals and several clinics, mostly in northern Jersey. Southern Jersey's clinics are part of the Philadelphia operation.

Auditors visited clinics across the state and said the hospital in Lyons is one of 81 across the country that require further review of wait times.

The New Jersey Health Care system's average wait time for new patients to get appointments was 25 days, but existing patients were seen within one day, on average, of when they wanted their appointments to be.

The wait was longest for new patients seeking to see specialists — 47 days. For existing patients, it took 4 days to see a specialist.

Ninety-seven percent of patients were able to get appointments within 30 days, a rate similar to the national figure of 96 percent.

The report found that the 14-day goal is "not attainable."

Most of the forces operating in that area are from the United States.

Five NATO service members were killed in an apparent friendly fire incident in southern Afghanistan, the international coalition said today.

A statement from the coalition said all five soldiers died Monday but did not give further details on the attack or the nationality of the soldiers. Coalition policy is for home countries to identify their military dead.

Most of the forces operating in the area are from the United States.

"The casualties occurred during a security operation when their unit came into contact with enemy forces. Tragically, there is the possibility that fratricide may have been involved. The incident is under investigation. Our thoughts are with the families of those killed during this difficult time," the coalition said in an announcement.

If confirmed, it would be one of the most serious cases involving coalition on coalition friendly fire during the nearly 14 year Afghan war. One of the worst came in April 2002 when four Canadian soldiers were killed when an American F-16 dropped a bomb on them near a night firing exercise in the southern Kandahar.

A senior police official in southern Zabul province said the coalition soldiers may have been killed when they called in for close air support.

Provincial police chief Gen. Ghulam Sakhi Rooghlawanay said there was a joint operation early Monday by Afghan and NATO troops in the area's Arghandab district. After that operation was over, the troops came under attack from the Taliban and called in air support.

Baghdad is failing to control a widening insurgency.

Iraqi police and army forces abandoned their posts in the northern city of Mosul after militants overran the provincial government headquarters and other key buildings, dealing a serious blow to Baghdad's efforts to control a widening insurgency in the country, a provincial official and residents said Tuesday.

The insurgents seized the government complex — a key symbol of state authority — late on Monday, following days of fighting in the country's second-largest city, a former al-Qaida stronghold situated in what has long been one of the more restive parts of Iraq. The gunmen also torched several of the city's police stations, freeing detainees held in lockups.

The fighters are believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, an al-Qaida splinter group that is behind the bulk of the bloody attacks in Iraq and is among the most ruthless rebel forces fighting to topple President Bashar Assad in neighboring Syria. The group has also tried to position itself as a champion for Iraq's large and disaffected Sunni minority.

Several worried Mosul residents reported seeing the gunmen hoisting the black flags inscribed with the Islamic declaration used by ISIL, al-Qaida and other jihadist groups.

As the militants worked to consolidate control over Mosul, a powerful blast struck a funeral in the central city of Baqouba, about 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad. The city, a onetime flashpoint between insurgents and U.S. forces, is home to both Sunnis and Shiites.

Police said the explosion targeted mourners gathered for the funeral of a Sunni university professor killed a day earlier, killing at least 15 and wounding 27. A hospital official confirmed the casualties.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the media.

In Mosul, 360 kilometers (225 miles) northwest of Baghdad, in Ninevah province, the insurgents appeared to be in control in several parts of the city, residents said over the telephone, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.

Detainees set free form the police stations were seen running in the streets in their yellow-jumpsuits, they said.

PPL will continue to sell electricity to customers, the corporation says.

PPL Corp. is shedding much of its electricity generating business by merging two of its companies with similar Riverstone Holdings Inc. properties to form a new company, Talen Energy Corp., the companies announced in a news release.

The new company will continue to sell directly to consumers through the existing brand PPL EnergyPlus, a spokesman for Allentown-based PPL said today; the merger does not affect PPL Electric Utilities customers.

William H. Spence, PPL's chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the company decided on this direction following an analysis of its business mix.

"Given the challenges, uncertainties and opportunities in the wholesale power markets, maintaining the status quo was not a viable option," he says in the release issued Monday night.

PPL shareholders will own 65 percent of the new company, while Riverstone's will hold 35 percent, the release says. The deal should close in nine to 12 months once it works its way through the regulatory process, said the PPL spokesman, George Lewis.

Talen Energy will be able to generate 15,320 megawatts of power, fueled 40 percent by natural gas, 40 percent by coal and 15 percent by nuclear, the companies said. That capacity would make it the third largest independent power producer in the country, the companies said.

Billion-dollar company

PPL Energy Supply LLC and PPL EnergyPlus LLC would become part of the new company and while most jobs will transfer, some will be lost to duplication, the companies said. There will be a net loss in jobs, Lewis said.

The new company will not be affiliated with either PPL or Riverside, but it will be located in Pennsylvania, Lewis said.

"We are creating a billion-dollar company in Pennsylvania," he said.

Paul A. Farr, PPL's executive vice president and chief financial officer, will be Talen Energy's president and chief executive officer and a director of the new corporation, the companies said. Farr, as part of the transition, today will become president of PPL Energy Supply, the companies said. Vincent Sorgi, will become a senior vice president and PPL's chief financial officer, the companies said.

The spinoff, when complete, will leave PPL shareholders with the common stock in the Allentown company, plus new, prorated stock in Talen, Lewis said. The PPL stock, during the regulatory process, is expected to rise in value, Lewis said. Once the deal is complete, PPL stock will likely fall to current levels of about $34 a share, while the market will set the price of Talen stock, he said.

'Benefit to shareholder'

PPL closed Monday on the New York Stock Exchange at 34.69, up 0.47 or 1.37 percent, and continued rising in after-hours trading to 35.25. Talen will eventually trade on the New York Stock Exchange, Lewis said.

"It's a benefit to the shareholder," Lewis said of the formation of Talen. "They're getting shares in a new company" as well keeping their PPL stock.

And when PPL is divided between distribution and generation, shareholders going forward will have a "clear choice" in what sort of power companies in which to invest, Lewis said, calling PPL and Talen "two different kinds of investments."

Talen, at the start, will be a major player in power generation and, with plants in different parts of the country, less susceptible to price fluctuation due to weather, Lewis said.

Riverstone, founded in 2000, is an energy and power-focused private investment firm with offices in New York, London, Houston and Mexico City. It conducts buyout and growth capital investments in the exploration and production, midstream, oilfield services, power and renewable sectors of the energy industry.

PPL's local plants

The new company's planned 15,320-megawatt portfolio will break down to about 40 percent natural gas, 40 percent coal and 15 percent nuclear, according to the news release.

PPL's 2,600-megawatt Susquehanna Steam Electric Station outside Berwick, Pennsylvania, is the merging companies' only nuclear plant, Lewis said. Like most of PPL's plants, Susquehanna and its Lower Mount Bethel Township operation will come under Talen, Lewis said.

This transaction does not include the 8,100 megawatts of regulated generating capacity owned by PPL's Kentucky utilities. Those assets will continue to be owned and operated by Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company to serve customers in Kentucky and southwestern Virginia.

Nor does the merger include PPL's 11 hydroelectric units in Montana, which are expected to be sold to NorthWestern Energy pursuant to a September 2013 agreement.

PPL will focus on power delivery, with 2013 revenue of $7.2 billion -- or 85 percent of PPL Corp.'s 2013 earnings from ongoing operations -- in that section of the business, the companies said.

Archives editor KJ Frantz contributed to this report.

***

REGULATORY PROCESS

The nine-to-12-month regulatory review includes consideration by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission because of PPL Corp.'s Susquehanna Steam Electric Station outside Berwick, Pennsylvania.

The commission, in a news release, said it will determine the "prospective new owner's technical and financial qualifications to operate the plant," including the ability to properly shut it down when its operating permit expires.

Wal-Mart truck driver Kevin Roper had no sleep for more than 24 hours before he allegedly plowed into the back of Morgan's limo bus early Saturday.

View full sizeThis April 28, 2012, file photo shows Tracy Morgan at The 2012 Comedy Awards in New York. Morgan was seriously injured in a six-vehicle crash early Saturday on the New Jersey Turnpike. AP File Photo 

A New Jersey highway crash that severely injured Tracy Morgan and killed another comedian is drawing attention to the dangers of tired truckers just as the industry and its allies in Congress are poised to roll back safety rules on drivers' work schedules.

A proposed change to federal regulations backed by the trucking industry and opposed by safety advocates and the Obama administration would effectively let drivers put in as many as 82 hours a week behind the wheel. The current limit is either 60 hours or 70 hours a week, depending on the kind of company employing the driver.

The change was added to a transportation spending bill last week by a Senate committee.

Nearly 4,000 people die in large truck crashes each year, and driver fatigue is a leading factor, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety administration. The rate of fatal crashes involving large trucks rose from 1.03 per 100 million vehicle miles traveled in 2009 to 1.29 in 2012.

In a separate crash earlier this year, the driver of a tractor-trailer that slammed into a car at the Interstate 78 toll plaza, killing a Hackettstown man, admitted to nodding off earlier that morning while headed west on the highway. Robert Wayne Gawne Sr., 56, of Allentown, is charged with vehicular homicide in the Jan. 13 crash in Williams Township that killed 65-year-old Daniel C. Murphy. Gawne is free on $50,000 unsecured bail and faces trial scheduled Sept. 10 in Northampton County Court in Easton.

Industy battles safety advocates
The trucking industry has been sparring for two decades with safety advocates and unions over driver hours, including several trips to federal court. Safety advocates, while extending their sympathies to Morgan and the family of comedian James "Jimmy Mack" McNair, who was killed in the crash, said they hope that because a celebrity was involved in the accident it will boost their cause.

"This is a major moment really to stop the trucking industry," Joan Claybrook, a former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told reporters in a conference call. "It seems no matter what we do in terms of pushing to get safer trucks on highways, the trucking industry uses its clout to either undo those improvements that we do get or stops any that we're trying to push."

Noting that truck safety was suddenly "at the forefront of the national conversation," Bill Graves, president of the American Trucking Associations, cautioned that "no rule can address what a driver does in his or her off-duty time."

The industry "strongly believes that drivers must take advantage of their off-duty periods for rest, and that drivers should not drive if they are fatigued," he said in a statement.

No sleep for 24 hours
Wal-Mart truck driver Kevin Roper had had no sleep for more than 24 hours before he plowed into the back of Morgan's limo bus about 1 a.m. Saturday, according to local authorities. Roper, 35, of Jonesboro, Georgia, apparently failed to slow for traffic ahead on the New Jersey Turnpike in Cranbury Township and swerved at the last minute to avoid a crash. Instead, his big rig smashed into the back of Morgan's chauffeured Mercedes limo bus, authorities said.

McNair was killed and Morgan, 45, a former "Saturday Night Live" and "30 Rock" cast member, and two other companions were hospitalized in critical condition. Roper has been charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto.

Scientists say sleep deprivation affects behavior much like alcohol, eroding judgment and slowing reflexes. In several accidents investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, commercial drivers suffering from lack of sleep have driven straight into vehicles clearly visible to them without applying brakes or applying them too late because they failed to grasp what they were seeing.

Accidents involving tired truckers also tend to have larger numbers of deaths and severe injuries because of the damaged inflicted by trucks weighing tens of thousands of pounds, according to investigators.

The provision added to the transportation spending bill by Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and supported by the trucking industry, rolls back regulations governing driver hours that were put in place last summer by the motor carrier administration.

Early morning sleep
Before the regulations were put in place, long-haul truck drivers could start each work week after 34 hours off duty. After the regulations were put in place, drivers could still start a new work week after 34 hours off, but they can no longer do that every week.

The rules essentially force them to take a longer weekend every other week. The regulations also added a requirement that any 34-hour rest period include two nights during which drivers have the opportunity to sleep between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m., the hours when people most crave sleep because of their bodies' circadian rhythms cause them to naturally slow down while it is dark outside. Those same rhythms often make it difficult for people to sleep during the day, or to get restful sleep if they do doze off.

Under Collins' provision, truckers could go back to taking 34 hours off between every work week with no requirement for two nighttime periods during their time off. The senator and trucking industry officials said it is safer for truckers to drive at night when there is less traffic and that the current regulations increase truck traffic on roads during morning rush hours. Safety advocates and administration officials said there is no evidence that's the case.

Shots are reported shortly after 8 this morning at the school near Portland, Oregon.

The suspect in a shooting this morning at an Oregon high school is dead, deputies say.

CNN, citing police agencies, reports other injuries, as well.

Police rushed to the Portland, Oregon-area high school following reports of gunfire.

TV news showed students being led from Reynolds High School in Troutdale with their hands on their heads.

Shots were reported shortly after 8 o'clock Pacific Daylight Time.

Students inside the school were texting with their parents. A parent interviewed on TV said she had heard from her son inside the school that he was OK, but she was worried.

Police told parents to go to a nearby parking lot to meet with their sons and daughters as they evacuated the school.

Authorities say the situation is stabilized and they're now focusing on reuniting students with their parents.

Police say a gunman fatally shot a student at a high school this morning near Portland, Oregon.

Authorities say the suspect also was dead and the situation is stabilized.

The Multnomah County sheriff's office said there were reports of shots fired about 8 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time at Reynolds High School in Troutdale, Oregon.

Authorities say they're now focusing on reuniting students with their parents.

Students say they were told over the intercom there was a lockdown and to quietly go to their classrooms.

The school was evacuated as students left with their hands on their heads, to be reunited with their parents in a supermarket parking lot.

Freshman Daniel DeLong, 15, said while waiting after the shooting that he saw a physical education teacher at the school with a bloodied shirt.

"I'm a little shaken up," DeLong said. "I'm just worried."

He said he was texting friends to make sure they were all OK.

"It just, like, happened so fast, you know?" he said.

Freshman Morgan Rose, 15, said she was hunkered down in a locker room with another student and two teachers.

"It was scary in the moment now knowing everything's OK I'm better," she said.

SWAT teams were going through the school room by room, KGW-TV reported.

Police set up tape around the area and were not allowing people to pass through. Fire trucks were on the scene.

The shooting follows a spate of recent attacks at or near school campuses.

On June 5, a 19-year-old man was killed and two other people wounded when a gunman opened fire in a building at Seattle Pacific University.

Troutdale is a city of about 15,000 near the Columbia River, about 16 miles east of downtown Portland.

Some Lehigh Valley veterans are sent to the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center.

Amid the continuing controversy surrounding long waits for patients at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities, the center most frequented by Lehigh Valley veterans is among the best-performing in Pennsylvania. 

A spreadsheet released by The Associated Press shows the Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center scheduled 99 percent of appointments within 30 days of the desired date.

Of 27,483 appointments, only 224 were scheduled beyond 30 days, and more than 26,000 were scheduled within the first 14.

Many local veterans seeking care will go to the Allentown Outpatient Clinic on Hamilton Street, said Tom Applebach, director of Lehigh County Veterans Affairs. From there, they could be referred to Wilkes-Barre, or sometimes the Coatesville VA Medical Center.

Applebach today said he hasn't heard any complaints about wait times but that wait times could be a relative matter.

"If someone has to wait three weeks to get an appointment, how do they know if that is a long time?" he asked.

In Pennsylvania, only the Butler VA Medical Center outperformed Wilkes-Barre in percentages, scheduling all of its appointments within 30 days.

Philadelphia's medical center posted the state's worst numbers, reporting only 94 percent of its more than 60,000 appointments scheduled within 30 days, with 1,141 appointments waiting up to 90 days and another 1,225 scheduled even further out.

The lowest percentage of appointments scheduled within 30 days in this week's report came out of Fayetteville, North Carolina. The VA center there scheduled only 83 percent of its appointments within 30 days. More than 8,000 appointments were scheduled beyond the 30-day mark, with most scheduled within 90.

Jason Cave, acting public affairs officer at the Wilkes-Barre VA, said the agency is pleased with the audit results that don't indicate significant delay of waiting times.

However, they are committed to improving access and improving wait times for all the veterans they serve, he added.

"We review our access information daily, and any time we're made aware of an issue, we take immediate action," Cave said.

Reporter Lynn Ondrusek and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New Jersey's Economic Development Authority approves $82 million in tax credits for team to build center along Camden waterfront

New Jersey's Economic Development Authority today approved giving $82 million in tax credits to the Philadelphia 76ers to put the NBA's biggest practice facility in the state's poorest city, a move that was blasted by a Warren County Republican as a free gift to a billionaire team owner.

Mayor Dana Redd said she hopes the move, which will also bring the team's business operations and at least 250 employees to Camden by the end of 2016, will be a catalyst for further development on the waterfront, a place visited by 3 million people annually but which critics say doesn't help the city enough.

State officials said the deal, which delivers the tax credits over 10 years, is expected to bring in about $158 million in state and local taxes over 35 years. The team would be required to stay in the city for 15 years.

76ers CEO Scott O'Neil said the move "is about basketball," though he also said the team is "enlightened and inspired by the direction of Camden."

The 76ers are the only NBA team without its own practice facility. For 15 years, they have been renting a single court at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

The team, trying to ascend from years of mediocrity, needs to have new training facilities to help players and attract top free agents, O'Neil said. He also said there's a benefit to having the basketball and business operations under one roof. The business staff, which includes ticket sales agents and marketers, is currently at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, a former military installation that's now a business park.

The team looked at putting its practice facility at the Navy Yard, but O'Neil said that the incentives New Jersey adopted last year for development in Camden made building there more attractive. He said the New Jersey facility will be three times the size of what the team was planning in Philadelphia and easily the biggest in the NBA.

'Free gift'

State Sen. Michael Doherty, a Republican whose district includes portions of Warren and Hunterdon counties, issued a statement today criticizing the state's decision to issue tax credits in order to lure the project to Camden.

"The Philadelphia 76ers basketball team will build a new $82 million practice facility in Camden, New Jersey. Today, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority unanimously approved an $82 million tax credit for the project," Doherty said in the statement. "This means that the facility will essentially be a free gift from the hard-pressed taxpayers of New Jersey to Joshua Harris, the billionaire owner of the team."

Doherty questioned why the state is providing Harris with tax credits, when Gov. Chris Christie says New Jersey is facing an $800 million budget shortfall.

"Local governments are being forced to cut to the bone," according to Doherty's statement. "Why are we opening up the money spigot to take care of a billionaire? How can New Jersey not make this year's full pension payment, but the state government can find an extra $82 million for a basketball practice facility?"

He also questioned the timing of the agreement, the terms of which were released Monday followed by an authority vote at 10 a.m. today.

"Why was the public given less than one day's notice of this deal? Why was this proposal rushed through EDA with no opportunity for public input," Doherty said.

O'Neil said the team is likely to hold some youth basketball camps at the new facility but that it does not plan to have practices open to the public.

250 jobs required

He said the team now employs about 200 people and will hire more, particularly on the business side, by the time it opens in Camden.

Having 250 jobs is key to the subsidy. If the team falls short of that mark in any year, its tax credits would be reduced to $5 million instead of $8.2 million. The credits are to be used toward the team's New Jersey corporate taxes and can also be sold in the likely event that its tax bill is less than the credits.

The 4-acre plot near the Adventure Aquarium is now owned by the city but is to be transferred to the Economic Development Authority and leased to the 76ers. The land deals are not complete, though, and their terms have not been made public.

At today's EDA meeting, held in Camden, Camden NAACP President Kelly Francis asked whether the 76ers' arrival will create entry-level jobs for residents of Camden, one of the most impoverished cities in the U.S.

"We need a shooting guard," O'Neil joked.

But Redd said she is working with the team and state government on training programs to help city residents land some of the jobs.

In a telephone interview, Gordon MacInnes, president of the liberal think tank New Jersey Policy Perspective, said the 76ers' subsidy, at nearly $330,000 per job, is costing taxpayers too much.

"It's almost mysterious why we pay so much for jobs that are so modest in their return," he said.

Those photos are then shared, just like their own cell pictures would be, on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

When Anzalee and Kristain Rhodes look back at their daughter's first year of life, they won't be examining blurry, red-eyed camera phone photos. They'll have crisp, finely detailed professional shots of a baby growing up before their eyes.

Each month, a team of professional photographers shoots them as they go about their daily lives at home and around New York City.

"As a baby, she changes every month. There's something new. Her hair changes, everything changes within a month and we wanted to be able to capture all those things," said Anzalee Rhodes, a 35-year-old statistician who lives on Long Island, New York.

The Rhodes are part of a trend of folks hiring professional photographers to document not just big events like weddings and bar mitzvahs, but everyday activities. Sometimes they want a milestone recorded — a child's birthday party or family get-together. But often they're hiring pros to photograph things they might otherwise have shot with their own cellphones or point-and-shoot cameras: a weekend outing, a vacation or a portrait of a beloved pet.

Those photos are then shared, just like their own cell pictures would be, on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

"We're in a digital-media focused world now. I mean, you kind of live your life through Facebook, looking at photos of peoples' lives. There's a lot more sharing in general, so that is expanding the footprint of what people will consider to have professionally documented," said Tim Beckford, a photographer known as Tim Co. with I Heart New York, the New York City-based company that shoots the Rhodes family each month.

"Why have blurry cell phone photos with just one of you actually in the photo?" reads I Heart New York's website pitch. "Visiting (or living) in New York City is a big deal and we want your Facebook friends to be VERY jealous." People from as far away as Australia have responded by hiring I Heart New York to document their trips to the Big Apple.

The cost varies widely depending on how long the shoot lasts and how many images the client takes. I Heart New York charges $229 for a two-hour session photographing a couple around New York City or $259 for a 90-minute family session around the Big Apple.

And just like with a selfie that you post from your phone, the company's work can be seen right away online. I Heart New York will photograph a proposal and provide a near-instantaneous shot so clients can post it to social media sites — and change their relationship status at the same time, Beckford said.

The Rhodes treasure their ongoing photographic record of their daughter's childhood and believe it's an accurate representation of their family in everyday situations.

But is it possible to present a realistic view of ordinary experiences if a photographer is staging and enhancing each shot? Catalina Toma, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor whose research includes examining emotional well-being and social media, says people tend to construct very flattering images of themselves online.

"The importance of self-presentation on social media is really high," she said. And when people look on Facebook and see their friend's best self — whether it's a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Greece, a new job or a flawless family photograph — they get depressed thinking they are missing out.

"They don't realize that everybody is doing the same thing, engaging in the same strategy as themselves, which is to sort of ignore the negative or the trivial or the banal, and posting only the best stuff, the exciting stuff." And that's true whether they are taking selfies or hiring someone to do it for them.

Liz Bowling, a 33-year-old account executive, first hired a professional photographer to shoot her wedding and then her newborn daughter, Ashlyn. Since then, she's had the same photographer travel from Boulder, Colorado, to her home in Lake Tahoe to capture her family a handful of times. The photographer, Julie Afflerbaugh, has even stayed with the family in order to capture them in a candid way, Bowling said.

"It's not just a staged photograph. She captures very authentic moments," Bowling said. "I really want images that are going to show who I was when, and she does that."

The photos are framed and displayed on a wall in the family home, Bowling said, as well as used for Christmas cards and shared via social media sites.

"It's me. That's who I am and it's kind of fun to share what I'm doing with really beautiful photos," Bowling said.

Heavy rain could lead to localized flooding, the National Weather Service says.

A line of storms at this hour was working its way toward the Lehigh Valley, according to AccuWeather's radar.

The National Weather Service warns that heavy rain today could lead to localized flooding.

The current string of storms appeared to weaken as it moved east.

The 27-year-old man and the 23-year-old woman are charged with lewdness, newspaper reports.

Police at the Jersey Shore have accused a Philadelphia couple of having sex in the surf.

Sea Isle City police spotted 27-year-old Matthew McPeak and 23-year-old Stephanie Wallington around 4 p.m. Sunday. They ordered the pair out of the water as a crowd formed.

The Press of Atlantic City reports they were charged with lewdness and released on summonses.

Two residents of a home at 105 McKeen St. are charged with possession of heroin, possession with intent to deliver heroin and distribution of heroin, court records say.

UPDATE: 500 bags of heroin recovered in Phillipsburg drug raid, authorities say

Two men and a woman face drug charges after authorities raided a Phillipsburg home, according to court records.

Phillipsburg police, the Warren County Narcotics Task Force and the Warren County Tactical Response Team about 3:40 p.m. Tuesday entered 105 McKeen St. and eventually brought out four people in handcuffs.

Qaadir Muhammad, 54, and Karen Muhammad, 49, who are married and live at that address, are charged with possession of heroin and possession with intent to deliver heroin, court records say. Karen Muhammad also faces one count of distribution of heroin.

Both this morning were in Warren County jail in lieu of $20,000 bail with a 10 percent option, court records say. They are scheduled to make their first appearances this afternoon in New Jersey Superoir Court in Belvidere, court records say.

Kenneth Saxby, 28, of Pocono Township, Pennsylvania, was charged with conspiracy to possess heroin, court records say. He was not in Warren County jail this morning. His first appearance is scheduled July 1.

The second woman taken from the house was not charged with drug crimes.

Phillipsburg police Chief James Faulborn this morning would not provide information on the raid and Warren County Prosecutor Richard Burke's office said a news release was being prepared.

A registered sex offender, Qaadir Muhammad, who is also known as Melvin Brinson, has a lengthy criminal history in New Jersey, dating back to 1989.

He previously served at least four stints in New Jersey state prison, including a seven-year sentence in 1997 after he was convicted of aggravated sexual assault in Passaic County. Then 35, Muhammad was accused of having sexual contact with two children, ages 10 and 11, according to the New Jersey State Police sex offender database.

He was also sentenced to two separate six-year prison terms, one in 2003 and another in 2008, after burglary and theft convictions in Warren County, court records indicate.

The campus on 10 acres will be home to an imaging suite, physical therapy, medical offices and a primary care walk-in clinic.

Coordinated Health, a for-profit health network with locations in eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey, is planning a new, state-of-the-art facility in Lopatcong Township, President Jim Tsokanos said today.

The 222 Red School Lane campus on 10 acres will be home to an imaging suite, physical therapy, medical offices and a primary care walk-in clinic, Tsokanos said. The existing office building has two floors, but the network's concept is to have everything on one for the convenience of patients.

"We put the entire continuum into one location," Tsokanos said. "We have a really unique sort of method and model to how we deliver care."

The 32,000-square-foot complex will have no fewer than 32 exam rooms and an addition to house MRI equipment, according to plans submitted to the township. It's expected to open toward the end of this year, Tsokanos said.

The doctor's offices at 123 Roseberry St. will close. Those operations will be folded into the new campus, Tsokanos said.

Coordinated Health representatives are expected to appear before the township's planning board 7 p.m. June 25 for preliminary and final site plan approval.

He is accused of placing a black handgun to the head of the victim and threatening to shoot him if he moved.

A 29-year-old Washington Township, Northampton County, man has been jailed in Warren County after he robbed a man at gunpoint, stealing video games and drugs, court records say.

Ronald Kieran, of the 600 block of Richmond Road, faces charges of robbery as well as burglary and weapons offenses in connection with the June 3 holdup in Belvidere, court records say.

Kieran is accused of placing a black handgun to the head of William Roger Griswold and threatening to shoot him if he moved, according to a warrant compliant filed by a detective in the Warren County Prosecutor's Office. During the course of the robbery, Kieran allegedly stole an Xbox game console, video games and hydrocodone, a narcotic pain reliever.

Emergency scanner reports from the night of the robbery indicated authorities were searching for two men in a raised pickup truck. Shortly after 10:40 p.m., the pair was said to have been headed toward Oxford Street in the town.

Court records did not indicate a second person is charged in the crime. Authorities were not immediately available to provide further details.

It was also not clear when Kieran was arrested, although online records show he is being held in the Warren County jail in lieu of $200,000 bail. He was scheduled to make his first appearance this week in New Jersey Superior Court in Belvidere to answer to the charges.

The holdup comes as Kieran is facing drug-related charges in Northampton County after he was arrested by police in April in Forks Township.

Court records show he was scheduled to be formally arraigned next week on two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count each of possession of drug paraphernalia and marijuana, court records say.

In 2008, Kieran was sentenced to three years in a New Jersey State Prison after pleading guilty to heroin and cocaine possession charges in Somerset County as well as heroin possession and credit card fraud in Hunterdon County. New Jersey Department of Corrections records show he was paroled in July 2010.

When a worker at the bar saw the images, he called Easton police, according to court papers.

View full sizeEaston police charged the 21-year-old Jonathan Zito with possession of child pornography.Express-Times File Photo | TIM WYNKOOP 

Police charged a Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, man with possession of child pornography after he allegedly left an iPad containing the images at an Easton bar in September.

A worker at Mother's Bar & Grill found the abandoned iPad on a table at the bar Sept. 13, court records say. When he opened the device in the hopes of learning the identity of the owner, he said he found images of naked juveniles and cartoons of sexual situations featuring children, court papers say. The worker called Easton police to turn in the device, authorities say.

A worker from neighboring Rival's Bar called Easton police Sept. 14 to say a customer had asked him if he'd seen a missing iPad at the bar, court papers say. Easton police received a number for Debbie Zito from the Rival's Bar employee and Zito providing authorities with her 21-year-old son Jonathan Zito's contact information.

Zito agreed to meet with police to identify his iPad on Sept. 15, police say. While he was at the station, police say they asked him about the pornographic images on the the device. Zito admitted he was the sole user of the device and downloaded more than 400 images of child porn featuring juveniles ranging in age from 1 to 14, according to court records. It was not immediately clear how many images of child porn were found in Zito's possession. Zito allegedly said he would swap some of the images on file-sharing websites.

On June 4, Pennsylvania State Police completed a download of all the images on Zito's device and were able to determine that they matched the criteria for child pornography.

Zito was arraigned today before District Judge Antonia Grifo on a single count of possession of child pornography. Debbie Zito posted 10 percent of his $20,000 bail. Conditions of the bail include orders for Zito to refrain from using the Internet or having any contact with minors.

His bill allows for the immediate firing of poor-performing employees -- a measure currently not permitted -- and also lets veterans see private doctors if they live too far from a VA facility or have to wait long for an appointment.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pennsylvania, has signed on as a co-sponsor to a bill he says will give veterans better health care and also hold accountable incompetent Veterans Affairs officials.

Toomey said he is hopeful the Veterans' Access to Care Through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014 could pass the Senate this afternoon. It allows for the immediate firing of poor-performing employees -- a measure currently not permitted -- and also lets veterans see private doctors if they live too far from a VA facility or have to wait long for an appointment.

"This ongoing scandal with the management of the VA has been outrageous," Toomey said in a conference call this afternoon. "(The bill is) an important step in the right direction."

While Toomey said he'd prefer the bill's estimated $35 billion cost over 10 years was offset through spending cuts, he said it's not a big enough reason for him to withhold his support given the government's $3.5 trillion budget.

The bill would allow veterans to see most private doctors if the VA can't see them within certain wait-time performance metrics or the veteran resides more than 40 miles from a VA facility. Qualifying private doctors would have to participate in Medicare of Tricare programs.

The change would give veterans greater access to medical care, especially if it's difficult for them to go to the VA because of driving distance or appointment backlogs, Toomey said. He said he believes the measure will force the VA to improve its service.

"They're going to have to deal in a competitive environment," he said. "I think that's going to have a powerful effect, really elevating the quality of care there."

The VA, which serves almost 9 million veterans, has been reeling from mounting evidence that workers falsified reports on wait times for medical appointments in an effort to mask frequent, long delays. An internal audit released this week showed that more than 57,000 new applicants for care have had to wait at least three months for initial appointments and an additional 64,000 newly enrolled vets who requested appointments never got them.

The scandal started when the VA's Office of Inspector General said in a report last month that 1,700 veterans seeking treatment at the Phoenix VA hospital were at risk of being "forgotten or lost." The VA has confirmed that at least 35 veterans died while awaiting treatment in Phoenix, although officials say they do not know whether the deaths were related to long waiting times for appointments.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned May 30. The proposed Senate bill would allow poor-performing employees to be fired with no pay while in appeal period, though some due process would still be allowed.

"People who are behaving badly need to be held accountable for that," Toomey said.

The Senate bill closely resembles a bill approved unanimously Tuesday in the House, prompting optimism among lawmakers from both parties that a compromise version could be on its way soon to President Barack Obama for his signature.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, pushed for VA reform bills earlier this month while in Whitehall Township.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.