KANE, Pa.

Head-on collision kills six in Allegheny National Forest

An SUV crossed into oncoming traffic on a rural northwestern Pennsylvania highway and smashed head-on into another vehicle, killing six people, including two children, authorities said Sunday.

A Jeep Liberty driven by 36-year-old Kathy Douglas of Kane crossed the center line at about 4:30 p.m. Saturday and hit an approaching Pontiac Bonneville in the Allegheny National Forest, killing her daughter and nephew as well as four people in the sedan, state police said.

The four occupants of the car, all residents of nearby St. Marys, died in the crash: the driver, Gary Beimel, 62, and passengers David Cuneo, 54, Elaine Beimel, 55, and Florence Donachy, 81.

Douglas’ 6-year-old nephew Jarrett Costanzo and 12-year-old daughter Olivia Douglas were killed.

Douglas and her 10-year-old son were seriously injured.

ISLAMABAD

Roadside bomb kills nine; suspected U.S. drone kills 3

A roadside bomb targeting a passing Pakistani army convoy exploded Sunday, killing nine soldiers in a tribal region near the border with Afghanistan, authorities said.

The roadside bomb exploded in a village near Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal area, the army said in a statement.

The newly elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said it will give priority to a peace dialogue with the homegrown militants instead of fighting them.

While there’s no Pakistani military offensive in the region, the U.S. carries out suspected drone strikes there against militants. One such suspected strike Saturday killed three alleged foreign militants in an abandoned seminary in the region. In a statement, Pakistan’s foreign ministry condemned the strike.

SAN FRANCISCO

New half of bridge will open after decade of construction

The new eastern half of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was on track to open before sunrise Tuesday following a five-day closure of the full span that is the Bay Area’s busiest bridge, officials said Sunday.

Hundreds of workers have been working around the clock since the entire bridge was shut down Wednesday night to put finishing touches on the $6.4 billion project, a Caltrans spokesman said.

The new section of bridge, designed to make the span safe during future earthquakes, has been under construction for more than a decade and follows years of political bickering, engineering challenges and cost overruns. It runs from just beyond the toll plaza in Oakland to Yerba Buena Island in the middle of San Francisco Bay.

— From news service reports