JERRY SANDUSKY IS ABOUT TO HEAR WHAT SENTENCE THE JUDGE WILL IMPOSE FOR HIS CONVICTION ON DOZENS OF COUNTS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE.  JUDGE JOHN CLELAND WILL HAND DOWN A SENTENCE TODAY THAT EVEN LAWYERS FOR THE FORMER PENN STATE ASSISTANT COACH SAY IS LIKELY TO SEND SANDUSKY TO PRISON FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.  HE'S CONVICTED OF 45 COUNTS INVOLVING 10 VICTIMS OVER 15 YEARS.  HE MET MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE BOYS THROUGH A CHARITY FOR AT-RISK YOUTH HE FOUNDED IN 1977.  EIGHT OF THE VICTIMS TESTIFIED, DESCRIBING A RANGE OF ABUSE THAT INCLUDED GROOMING, FONDLING, ORAL SEX AND ANAL SEX.  EIGHT LAWYERS ARE CURRENTLY REPRESENTING 20 PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUED OR ARE POTENTIAL CIVIL CLAIMANTS.

  SPEAKING ON PENN STATE'S COMRADIO, JERRY SANDUSKY SAYS HE'S A VICTIM OF A GRAND CONSPIRACY.  "THE YOUNG MAN WHO IS A DRAMATIC AND VETERAN ACCUSER AND ALWAYS SOUGHT ATTENTION STARTED EVERYTHING.  HE WAS JOINED BY A WELL ORCHESTRATED EFFORT OF THE MEDIA, INVESTIGATORS, THE SYSTEM, PENN STATE, PSYCHOLOGISTS, CIVIL ATTORNEYS AND OTHER ACCUSERS.  THEY WON.  I'VE WONDERED WHAT THEY REALLY WON," SANDUSKY SAYS.  HE SAYS "THEY CAN TAKE AWAY MY LIFE AND MAKE ME OUT TO BE A MONSTER BUT THEY CAN'T TAKE AWAY MY HEART."  SANDUSKY SAYS HE WASN'T GIVEN A FAIR TRIAL AND IN HIS HEART HE "DIDN'T DO THESE DISGUSTING ACTS."

  JERRY SANDUSKY COULD BE IN PARTICULAR DANGER OF SEXUAL ASSAULT WHEN HE IS SENT OFF TO PRISON THIS WEEK.  STATISTICS COMPILED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOW THAT SEX OFFENDERS LIKE THE 68-YEAR-OLD FORMER PENN STATE ASSISTANT FOOTBALL COACH ARE ROUGHLY TWO TO FOUR TIMES MORE LIKELY THAN OTHER INMATES TO BE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED.  HIS LAWYER SAYS HE HOPES THE PRISON SYSTEM TAKES STEPS TO PROTECT HIS CLIENT.  THE PENNSYLVANIA CORRECTIONS DEPARTMENT WON'T DISCLOSE PRECISELY WHAT IT PLANS TO DO BUT SAYS IT STRIVES TO KEEP ALL INMATES SAFE.

  THE VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SQUARE OFF LATER THIS WEEK.  REPUBLICAN SENATOR PAT TOOMEY SAYS REPUBLICANS WOULD BE WISE TO NOT MAKE AT LEAST ONE ASSUMPTION.  "WHERE SOME PEOPLE MAKE A MISTAKE IS WITH HAVING LOW EXPECTATIONS FOR JOE BIDEN," SAYS TOOMEY.  HE SAYS WHILE BIDEN CAN PUT HIS FOOT IN HIS MOUTH ONCE IN A WHILE, HE'S ALSO VERY SMART.  "E WILL COME ACROSS AS VERY KNOWLEDGABLE, VERY PASSIONATE AND A STRONG DEFENDER OF THE VERY LIBERAL APPROACH.  AND JOE BIDEN HAS THE BENEFIT OF THE VERY MISERABLE PERFORMANCE OF PRESIDENT OBAMA," TOOMEY SAYS.  AS FOR REPUBLICAN PAUL RYAN, TOOMEY EXPECTS HIM TO "DELIVER AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL."

  VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN'S WIFE IS ON HER SECOND DAY OF CANVASSING PENNSYLVANIA LEADING UP TO TODAY'S VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE IN THE COMMONWEALTH.  ON DAY ONE OF HER CAMPAIGN STOPS, JILL BIDEN WAS AT THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE EDUCATION ASSOCIATION OFFICE IN WESCOSVILLE.  "GET OUT THERE. GET OUT WORKING.  GO OUT AND CANVASS.  CALL YOUR FRIENDS.  GET PEOPLE REGISTERED," BIDEN SAYS.  MRS. BIDEN ALSO SPOKE TO SUPPORTERS AND CAMPAIGN WORKERS IN SCRANTON, HARRISBURG AND HAZLETON.  TODAY, SHE IS SCHEDULED TO ATTEND SIMILAR EVENTS IN READING, LANCASTER AND PHILADELPHIA.

  A LEHIGH VALLEY MAN GETS LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT POSSIBILITY OF PAROLE AFTER PLEADING GUILTY BUT MENTALLY ILL IN THE SLAYING AND DISMEMBERMENT OF HIS GIRLFRIEND LAST YEAR.  FORTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD WILLIAM WARD ENTERED THE PLEA MONDAY IN LEHIGH COUNTY COURT TO A FIRST-DEGREE MURDER CHARGE IN THE JUNE 2011 KILLING OF 29-YEAR-OLD TRISHA SADLER.  WARD SAID IN COURT "I'M JUST SORRY FOR MY MENTAL ILLNESS."  POLICE ARRESTED WARD AFTER A FIVE-HOUR STANDOFF AT THE BETHLEHEM HOME WHERE HE LIVED WITH SADLER, HIS GIRLFRIEND OF NINE YEARS.  POLICE FOUND PLASTIC BAGS CONTAINING SADLER'S REMAINS IN THE HOME.

  IF YOU WANT A SAY IN WHO OUR NEXT PRESIDENT IS, THE SECRETARY OF THE COMMONWEALTH SAYS IT'S NOW OR NEVER.  "THE DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION IS OCTOBER 9," SAYS CAROL AICHELE.  SHE SAYS THERE ARE MANY PLACES AND WAYS TO REGISTER FOR THE NOVEMBER ELECTION.  A COMPLETE LIST OF PLACES YOU CAN REGISTER IS AVAILABLE BY ENTERING THE KEYWORD 'ELECTION'.

  THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY IS PREDICTING ITS CANDIDATES WILL STAY ON THE PENNSYLVANIA BALLOT DESPITE A DRAWN-OUT CHALLENGE BACKED BY THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.  PAUL ROSSI, A LAWYER FOR THE LIBERTARIANS, SAYS THERE'S "ZERO CHANCE" THAT THE PARTY WILL FALL SHORT OF THE 20,601 PETITION SIGNATURES IT NEEDS TO KEEP PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL GARY JOHNSON AND ITS OTHER STATEWIDE CANDIDATES ON THE NOVEMBER 6 BALLOT.  THE CHALLENGERS HOPE TO RETROACTIVELY DISQUALIFY ABOUT 100 SIGNATURES THROUGH A MOTION THAT COMMONWEALTH COURT JUDGE JAMES GARDNER COLINS IS EXPECTED TO CONSIDER TODAY AT A HEARING IN PHILADELPHIA.  BUT ROSSI SAYS THE LIBERTARIANS COULD EASILY PICK UP MORE THAN THAT IN THE MORE THAN 1,000 SIGNATURES THAT ARE STILL CONTESTED.

  SIX PEOPLE ARE OUT OF THEIR HOMES AFTER A MONDAY FIRE IN WILSON.  THE FIRE BEGAN AT 9:30 MONDAY MORNING AT 701 SOUTH 23RD STREET ON THE SECON FLOOR OF THE APARTMENT BUILDING AND TOOK FIREFIGHTERS ABOUT AN HOUR TO CONTAIN.  NOBODY WAS INJURED. 

  NEW JERSEY OFFICIALS HAVE REVISED DOWNWARD TO 650 THE NUMBER OF PATIENTS IN THE STATE WHO RECEIVED EPIDURAL INJECTIONS OF A STEROID LINKED TO A DEADLY OUTBREAK OF FUNGAL MENINGITIS.  HEALTH OFFICIALS HAD FIRST PUT THE NUMBER AT 1,000.  BUT THEY SAY THAT FIGURE WAS BASED ON THE NUMBER OF POTENTIALLY CONTAMINATED DOSES THAT WERE SHIPPED TO NEW JERSEY.  SOME PATIENTS, IT TURNED OUT, RECEIVED MULTIPLE DOSES.  THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT SAID MONDAY THAT SO FAR, NO CASES OF FUNGAL MENINGITIS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN NEW JERSEY.  THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE REPORTED SICKENED IN THE OUTBREAK IN NINE OTHER STATES HAS TOPPED 100, WITH EIGHT DEATHS RECORDED.

  A NEW POLL FINDS NEW JERSEY VOTERS THINK GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE IS DOING A GOOD JOB, BUT THEY'RE NOT POSITIVE ABOUT RE-ELECTING HIM.  IN A POLL RELEASED TODAY, 47 PERCENT OF VOTERS RATE HIS PERFORMANCE AN "A" OR "B", THE BEST MARKS THEY'VE GIVEN HIM SINCE THE POLL BEGAN ASKING THE QUESTION IN FEBRUARY 2011.  STILL, NEARLY ONE IN THREE VOTERS GAVE THE REPUBLICAN A "D" OR "F."  FORTY-FOUR PERCENT SAID THEY WOULD RE-ELECT HIM AND 47 PERCENT SAID THEY WOULDN'T.