The father of a 12-year-old Lawrence County boy accused of killing the man's girlfriend appeared on national television this morning to raise support for his son.

Christopher Brown is the father of 12-year-old Jordan Anthony Brown, and the creator of www.jordanbrowntrust.org, a website dedicated to proclaiming the boy's innocence.  Jordan Brown is accused of last year's February 20th shooting death of 26-year-old Kenzie Houk by putting a shotgun against her head as she was sleeping, and pulling the trigger.

Houk, who had two daughters from a previous relationship, was eight and a half months pregnant with Jordan's half-brother, whom she intended to name after Jordan's father.  Attorneys for the prosecution allege that Jordan was jealous over all of the attention surrounding his unborn sibling.

The elder Brown claims on the website that Houk had received a death threat from a former boyfriend in the months up to her murder, and that his son's behavior afterwards was not reflective of someone who had knowingly killed another person.

Another hearing will be held tomorrow to determine whether Jordan Brown will be tried as a juvenile or adult.  Christopher Brown discussed the case and the website this morning on ABC's Good Morning America program.

The former district director for the late Congressman John Murtha followed in his boss's footsteps yesterday, winning the support of local Democrats for his bid to fill the rest of Murtha's term.

48-year-old Mark Critz of Johnstown won 46 of 83 votes cast by Democratic delegates Saturday morning in Westmoreland County.  Former state Treasurer Barbara Hafer received 22 votes, followed by Cambria County Controller Ed Cernic Jr. with 14 and Navy veteran Ryan Bucchianeri with one.

The 50-member state executive committee will decide which candidate gets the party's nomination in a vote Monday.  Republicans plan to nominate a candidate Thursday.

The May 18 special election to fill the remainder of Murtha's term takes place on the same day as the state's primary election, which will determine which candidates face each other in November for a full term.

According to today's issue of the Valley News Dispatch, directors at last night's meeting questioned the report's findings of how the district was able to come up with an additional $4 million in funds from the 2008-09 budget.

In December, the board voted 6-3 to hire the Pittsburgh-based accounting firm Case/Sabatini to determine why the district's audit for the 2008-09 school year resulted in an additional $4 million over what the district had budgeted for.  At the time, administrators said the money was a result of higher-than-expected revenues and cuts in spending, along with transportation and other operational savings methods implemented by the district.

Superintendent Dr. William Kerr said that his report from November explaining where the money had come from and the audit report presented Monday meshed, and that the money was simply not properly placed in the correct accounts. 

The Democratic and Republican parties in the 12th Congressional District are poised to choose their nominees for the special election to fill the unexpired term of the late Congressman John Murtha.

The state Democratic Party’s 50-member executive committee will make the party’s final decision, but 100 Democratic delegates from the nine counties in the district will gather this Saturday in  Westmoreland County to vote on a non-binding recommendation.

The executive committee will select the nominee Monday in a vote either by voice via phone or by e-mail.  Under party rules, Governor Ed Rendell and the state’s Democratic Congressional Committee also may provide input.

GOP leaders will meet March 11th in Latrobe to choose their party’s nominee for the special election. A total of 134 conferees will be eligible to vote.  The special election will be held on May 18th.