SC GOV. HALEY GETS A BERETTA PISTOL FOR CHRISTMAS: COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Santa was apparently right on target for Christmas for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Haley posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram on Thursday a picture of the Beretta PX4 Storm she got as a present, saying she must have been good to have received such a nice present from Santa Claus.

Haley's spokesman confirmed that the gift was from Haley's husband and that she cannot wait to get on the range and fire the pistol.

The governor is no stranger to firearms. She has a concealed weapons permit, and she got plenty of attention in July when her office posted a video of her firing a machine gun while touring a gun manufacturer in Columbia.

COURT REVERSES CHURCH OFFICIAL'S CONVICTION: PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Roman Catholic church official who has been jailed for more than a year for his handling of priest sex-abuse complaints had his landmark conviction reversed and was ordered released Thursday.

A three-judge Superior Court panel unanimously rejected prosecution arguments that Monsignor William Lynn, the first U.S. church official ever charged or convicted for the handling of clergy-abuse complaints, was legally responsible for an abused boy's welfare in the late 1990s.

"He's been in prison 18 months for a crime he didn't commit and couldn't commit under the law," said his attorney, Thomas Bergstrom. "It's incredible what happened to this man."

Lynn, 62, is serving a three- to six-year prison sentence after his child-endangerment conviction last year. His lawyers hoped for his immediate release Thursday from the state prison in Waymart, but the appeals court denied the request, instead sending the bail issue back to the trial court.

DEER MAKES APPEARANCE AT PA. SPORTING GOODS STORE: READING, Pa. (AP) — Shoppers looking for post-Christmas bargains have gotten a surprise at a northeastern Pennsylvania sporting goods store after a deer decided to join them.

The deer walked through the front door of a Dick's Sporting Goods store in Reading on Thursday afternoon.

Store manager Brad Meyer says the deer slipped on the floor and a customer tackled it to the ground, preventing any injuries to customers or damage to the store.

The store called the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which arrived and removed the deer. There's no word on where the deer was released.