WOMAN, 102, GETS HONORARY HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA : PITTSBURGH (AP) — A western Pennsylvania woman who dropped out of school to work during the Great Depression finally has her high school diploma in time for her 103rd birthday.
The Hazel Marie Attenborough Cichowski was presented with the honorary diploma at Wednesday night's meeting of the Pittsburgh Public Schools board. Her birthday is Saturday.
Cichowski is a resident of Pittsburgh's South Side neighborhood. She dropped out of South High School in the 11th grade because she needed to go to work.
She told the board "I really loved school. It was never a chore for me."
But she said she also loved her job and "always made the best of the situation." She worked for 45 years at West Penn Hospital.
FEDS DIRECT $100M IN GRANTS TO HELP BROKE DETROIT: DETROIT (AP) — The U.S. government directed more than $100 million in grants Thursday to help bankrupt Detroit tear down vacant buildings and spur job growth, but the help falls far short of the wider bailout some city leaders had sought.
Gene Sperling, chief economic adviser to President Barack Obama, said the administration scrounged through the federal budget and found untapped money that "either had not flowed or had not gotten out or not directed to the top priorities for Detroit."
But considering the Motor City is at least $18 billion in debt, it will take a far larger infusion of cash or historic deals with bond holders, insurance companies and other creditors to correct the problem.
OFFICER IMPOSTOR CONFRONTS REAL DETECTIVE: PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — Authorities in Colorado say a police impersonator picked the wrong man when he approached an undercover detective and demanded he hand over drugs as part of a police drug bust.
According to the Pueblo Chieftain (http://tinyurl.com/mco28wk), the undercover detective was in a cellphone store speaking to a clerk when a man came in demanding to know why the detective had so many phones and accused him of being a drug dealer on Monday. He demanded the detective "give him the drugs," according to the paper.
The detective then turned the tables on the impersonator. He showed the man his own law enforcement credentials and advised the man he was under arrest for suspicion of impersonation of a peace officer.
CLAIM REJECTED AFTER BRAWL BREAKS STUDENT'S TEETH: NEWPORT, Calif. (AP) — An Orange County school district has declined to pay $28,000 to a high school student who filed a claim after he lost his four front teeth during horseplay on a baseball field.
The unnamed Costa Mesa High School student claims his coach neglected to properly supervise the team, so the district should be held accountable for present and future dental work.
Without discussion, trustees voted unanimously to reject the claim at their meeting Tuesday night.
The claim says players were wrestling around on the field and when the student tackled a teammate, he was pushed onto a baseball, which broke four of his front teeth.
Coach Paul Grady tells the Register he did leave the team for about 10 minutes but he expected them to behave.
3RD PERSON CHARGED IN NH CRASH THAT KILLED CYCLISTS: SEABROOK, N.H. (AP) — Authorities say a New Hampshire woman accused of selling drugs to a teenage driver who plowed into a group of bicyclists and killed two of them has been arraigned.
Police arrested Hampton resident Cindy Sheppard on Wednesday. Sheppard is charged with supplying the painkiller fentanyl to 19-year-old Seabrook resident Darriean Hess and allowing her to drive without a license.
Hess' fiance also faces a charge of letting her drive his car without a license.
Police say Hess was driving too fast when she ran into the bicyclists on an annual ride called the Century Ride in Hampton on Saturday. Two cyclists from Massachusetts were killed.
8 ARRESTED IN CENTRAL CALIF. POT BUST: MADERA (AP) — Authorities in the Central Valley have arrested eight people and seized more than $1 million in processed marijuana in a drug operation they believe was tied to a Mexican drug trafficking organization.
Madera County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Erica Stuart says authorities found the pot and arrested the suspects after serving a search warrant on Wednesday morning on a home in Madera.
In addition to the 500 pounds of unpackaged processed marijuana, they found 83 live marijuana plants and 30 more pounds of processed marijuana that was packaged.
Stuart says the suspects — all Mexican nationals — told investigators they didn't live at the home, but were dropped off there to work.
PANEL BACKS EASING ELECTRONIC DEVICE USE ON PLANES: WASHINGTON (AP) — A Federal Aviation Administration advisory committee recommended Thursday that airline passengers be allowed to use smartphones, tablets, e-readers and other personal electronic devices during takeoffs and landings, according to industry officials familiar with the committee's deliberations.
Under the recommendations, passengers would be able to use most devices, although some would have to be switched to airplane mode. Downloading data, surfing the Web and talking on the phone would still be prohibited. But people could still read e-books, listen to music, watch movies, play games and
TWITTER, NFL REACH DEAL TO SHOW FOOTBALL VIDEOS : NEW YORK (AP) — The National Football league struck a deal to show game highlights and other video content on Twitter ahead of the short messaging service's initial public offering of stock.
The deal is part of Twitter's "Amplify" program, which lets TV broadcasters show ad-supported video clips in users' Twitter feeds as the users discuss what they are watching on TV in real time. Other partners include The Weather Channel, the National Basketball Association, Warner Music and CBS.
The NFL and Twitter said Thursday that the deal will let football fans interact with NFL video content created specifically for Twitter — on computers, tablets or mobile devices. Content will include highlights from in-game highlights from NFL Network's Thursday Night Football and clips from other regular season and postseason games, along with news, analysis and fantasy football advice
