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Reuters) - A stash of pornography was found in the hideout of Osama bin Laden by the U.S commandos who killed him, current and former U.S officials said on Friday The pornography recovered in bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, consists of modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive, according to the officials, who discussed the discovery with Reuters on condition of anonymity The officials said they were not yet sure precisely where in the compound the pornography was discovered or who had been viewing it Specifically, the officials said they did not know if bin Laden himself had acquired or viewed the materials Reports from Abbottabad have said that bin Laden's compound was cut off from the Internet or other hard-wired communications networks It is unclear how compound residents would have acquired the pornography But a video released by the Obama administration confiscated from the compound showed bin Laden watching pictures of himself on a TV screen, indicating that the compound was equipped with video playback equipment Materials carted away from the compound by the U.S commandos included digital thumb drives, which U.S officials believe may have been a principal means by which couriers carried electronic messages to and from the late al Qaeda leader Three other U.S officials familiar with evidence gathered during investigations of other Islamic militants said the discovery of pornography is not uncommon in such cases (Reporting by Mark Hosenball and Tabassum Zakaria; editing by Warren Strobel) (Reuters) - Suicide bombers killed 80 people at a Pakistani paramilitary academy on Friday in revenge for the death of Osama bin Laden in a U.S raid and militants in Pakistan vowed to carry out more attacks A member of the Pakistani parliament said Lieutenant-General Ahmad Shuja Pasha, Pakistan's spy chief, said he was "ready to resign" over the bin Laden affair that has embarrassed the nation Pakistan's opposition leader accused the Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, spy agency of negligence and incompetence Followers of bin Laden have vowed revenge for the al Qaeda chief's death and the Pakistani Taliban said Friday's attack by two suicide bombers in the northwestern town of Charsadda was their first taste of vengeance "There will be more," militant spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said by telephone from an undisclosed location The bombers struck as recruits were going on leave and 65 of them were among the 80 dead Pools of blood strewn with soldiers' caps and shoes lay on the road outside the academy as the wounded, looking dazed with parts of their clothes ripped away by shrapnel, were loaded into trucks Pakistan's military and government have drawn criticism at home, partly for not finding bin Laden but more for failing to detect or stop the U.S raid on May that killed him A senior Pakistani general also canceled a planned visit to the United States Pakistan depends heavily on U.S aid In addition, U.S authorities in Pakistan interviewed three of bin Laden's widows, detained by Pakistan in the compound after the U.S raid, but gathered little new information, U.S officials said in Washington Pakistan said it would repatriate the three widows and their children One is from Yemen and the others from Saudi Arabia U.S special forces killed bin Laden, the man behind the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, at a compound near Pakistan's top military academy in the northern town of Abbottabad Pakistan welcomed his death as a major step against militancy but called the secret U.S raid a violation of its sovereignty Shahid Ali, 28, was on his way to his shop when the bombs went off in Charsadda He tried to help survivors "A young boy was lying near a wrecked van asked me to take him to hospital I got help and we got him into a vehicle," Ali said 'DISRUPT, DISMANTLE AND DEFEAT' In Washington, U.S State Department spokesman Mark Toner condemned the attack, offered condolences to the families of the victims, and stressed the U.S alliance with Pakistan "Terrorists have shown time and again that they are the true enemy of the people and the government of Pakistan," Toner said "We respect the nation's sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and will continue to stand with Pakistan in our joint struggle to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda and allied terrorist organizations." White House spokesman Jay Carney said the United States would be "very vigilant" about revenge attacks Hours after the bombing, a U.S drone aircraft fired missiles at a vehicle in North Waziristan on the Afghan border, killing five militants, Pakistani security officials said It was the fourth drone attack since bin Laden was killed, inflaming another sore issue between Pakistan and the United States Pakistan officially objects to the attacks, saying they violate its sovereignty and feed public anger Military and intelligence chiefs gave parliament a closed-door briefing in which ISI chief Pasha told legislators he was ready to take responsibility for any criminal failing, Information Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan said "If any of our responsibility is determined and any gap identified, that our negligence was criminal negligence, and there was an intentional failure, then we are ready to face any consequences," Awan told Express TV, citing Pasha Another member of parliament said Pasha told the assembly he did not want to "hang around" if parliament deems him responsible "I am ready to resign," Riaz Fatyana quoted the ISI chief as saying The spy chief also told parliament bin Laden had been isolated, Awan said "We had already killed all his allies and so we had killed him even before he was dead He was living like a dead man," Awan quoted Pasha as saying The chairman of Pakistan's joint chiefs of staff committee, General Khalid Shameem Wynne, canceled a five-day visit to the United States that had been set to begin on May 22 "The visit could not be undertaken under existing circumstances," a military official told Reuters He did not elaborate, but the decision to cancel the visit came as the Cabinet defense committee said it was reviewing cooperation with the United States on counterterrorism U.S officials are sifting through what they describe as a treasure trove of intelligence material seized in the raid on bin Laden's compound Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed on Friday that a stash of video pornography was found in the hideout there but said they did not know if bin Laden himself had acquired or viewed the material The White House also said President Barack Obama would lay out his vision for Middle East policy next Thursday, using bin Laden's death as a chance to recast the U.S response to political upheaval in the Arab world Former U.S President George W Bush, who spent years searching in vain for bin Laden, described for the first time the call he received from Obama informing him that U.S forces had killed the al Qaeda leader Bush said he was eating souffles at a Dallas restaurant when he got word Obama was trying to reach him "I excused myself and went home to take the call," Bush said "Obama simply said, 'Osama bin Laden is dead.'" After Obama described the U.S raid and the decision he made to go ahead with the mission, Bush said he told Obama, "Good call." (Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider, Haji Mujtaba, Rebecca Conway, Augustine Anthony and Izaz Mohmand in Pakistan, Arshad Mohammed, Steve Holland, Mark Hosenball and Tabassum Zakaria in Washington; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Peter Cooney) At a Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport security checkpoint, the Tsa confiscates juice box and baby food due to the items allegedly testing positive for trace amounts of explosive materials FlyerTalk members are outraged not so much because the baby food and juice box were taken away from their rightful owners, but rather that if they indeed tested positive for trace amounts of explosive materials, why was further testing not performed by the Transportation Security Administration personnel — or, at least, treat the items as if they were indeed dangerous? This incident leaves some FlyerTalk members wondering just how safe airport security really is in the United States… (Reuters) - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has likely been wounded in western airstrikes and has probably left Tripoli, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said Friday A Libyan government spokesman immediately denied that Gaddafi had been harmed Frattini told reporters that he believed what he had been told by Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, the Catholic bishop in Tripoli, that Gaddafi had probably left Tripoli and had probably even been wounded by NATO airstrikes "I tend to give credence to the comment of the bishop of Tripoli, Monsignor Martinelli, who has been in close contact over recent weeks, when he told us that Gaddafi is very probably outside Tripoli and is probably also wounded We don't know where or how," Frattini said "It's nonsense," Libyan government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim said in Tripoli "The leader is in high morale He's in good spirits He is leading the country day by day He hasn't been harmed at all." Asked about the Libyan denial, Frattini said he still believed what Martinelli said In a separate interview published on the website of the Corriere della Sera, Frattini also said that he did not believe that Libyan TV footage of Gaddafi greeting tribal leaders on Wednesday was authentic "I strongly doubted that those images were taken on that day and above all in Tripoli," Frattini said "There are people on the ground who have the pulse of the situation Among many others I am referring to Bishop Martinelli, who has had, and still has, close relations with the regime," he said He added: "The international pressure has likely led Gaddafi to decide to seek shelter in a safe location I tend to think that he fled Tripoli, not Libya." An official at the NATO operations center in Naples repeated NATO's line that it was not targeting individuals in bombing raids that have hit Libyan capital and said the alliance had no way to confirm Frattini's comments "We can't verify that as we don't have any way of tracking his movements," the official said "We don't have boots on the ground." Contacted from Rome, Martinelli's office said the bishop had left Tripoli for Tunis The bishop himself was not reachable As the Vatican's top official in Tripoli, Martinelli has been in contact with Gaddafi's entourage The Italian prelate joined a Muslim cleric in blessing the bodies of Gaddafi's youngest son and three grandchildren who were killed in a NATO air raid on April 30 Since the start of the NATO operation, Martinelli has been highly outspoken and critical of the military strikes, saying that many civilians had been killed (Writing by Silvia Aloisi; Additional reporting by Joseph Logan; Editing Reuters) - A statement purporting to come from a son of Osama bin Laden denounced the al Qaeda leader's killing as "criminal" and said his burial at sea had humiliated the family, an online monitoring service said The statement, attributed to Omar bin Laden, bin Laden's fourth eldest son, said the al Qaeda chief's children reserved the right to take legal action in the United States and internationally to "determine the true fate of our vanished father," the SITE Intelligence Group said There was no independent confirmation of the authenticity of the letter, published on the website of Islamist ideologue Abu Walid al-Masri, although several specialists on militant propaganda said the text appeared genuine Omar bin Laden, who has been based in the Gulf in recent years, did not immediately respond to emailed and telephoned requests for comment The letter said, in part: "We hold the American President (Barack) Obama legally responsible to clarify the fate of our father, Osama bin Laden, for it is unacceptable, humanely and religiously, to dispose of a person with such importance and status among his people, by throwing his body into the sea in that way, which demeans and humiliates his family and his supporters and which challenges religious provisions and feelings of hundreds of millions of Muslims." The letter said the U.S administration had offered no proof to back up its account of the mission It alleged the goal of raid had been to kill and not arrest, adding that afterwards the American commandos had "rushed to dispose of the body." Some Muslims have misgivings about how U.S forces killed bin Laden in a raid in Pakistan on May and disposed of his body in the ocean Questions have multiplied since the White House said the al Qaeda leader was unarmed when U.S helicopter-borne commandos raided the villa where he was hiding in the city of Abbottabad Bin Laden's swift burial at sea, in what many Muslims say was a violation of Islamic custom, has also stirred anger Reuters) - U.S investigators are trying to put together the pieces of Osama bin Laden's secret life in the hope of unearthing details of his global network of Islamist militants bent on attacking the West Key to that will be tracing his movements from the weeks after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States to last week, when U.S special forces killed him after discovering him hiding in a compound in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad Efforts to trace his movements over the decade are likely to shed light on who helped him, and that could prove highly embarrassing to U.S ally Pakistan which has rejected as absurd accusations it was either incompetent or playing a double game Following are some possible explanations for how bin Laden ended up under the noses of the Pakistani authorities, in a compound with high walls topped with barbed wire, a short distance from the country's top military academy HE WAS ON HIS OWN Pakistan has rejected any suggestion of involvement in bin Laden's lost years That would mean he was on his own and managed to slip into Pakistan from Afghanistan in late December 2001 undetected, and remained hidden with a handful of aides and relatives from the eyes of the authorities, including the pervasive security agencies Pakistani investigators, questioning bin Laden's three wives who were found in the compound after the May raid, said the women had told them bin Laden had been hiding in the compound for the past five years, and previously he had spent two-and-a-half years in the nearby village of Chak Shah Mohammad Reporters could find no trace of bin Laden there A move to Abbottabad in 2006 would suggest he felt compelled to leave wherever he had been It was in January 2006 that the CIA began its campaign of attacks by missile-firing drone aircraft on militants sheltering in lawless Pashtun tribal lands on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border, with a deadly strike on Damadola village, in the Bajaur region Another possibility is that bin Laden felt compelled to move after an earthquake in October 2005 killed 73,000 people The U.S military and other Western armies sent forces to help with rescue efforts in northern mountains, including the Pakistani part of the Kashmir region where various militant groups operate Had bin Laden been holed up in the disaster zone, he might have felt it safer to move somewhere like Abbottabad, which was not badly hit and not the focus of foreign attention Whatever his movements, the fact he went undetected for at least five years in Pakistan suggests an intelligence failure Abbottabad is a garrison town where military commanders come and go Residents in the neighborhood thought the behavior of the occupants of the bin Laden compound strange, particularly that about 16 children living there were schooled at home and never allowed out on their own Did such behavior never rouse the curiosity of security agents, especially those responsible for the safety of the top brass on their comings and goings to the nearby military academy? PAKISTAN KNEW EVERYTHING Analysts find it hard to believe Pakistani leaders were sheltering the chief of a group whose members were trying to kill them Former military leader and president Pervez Musharraf narrowly survived two bomb attacks carried out by al Qaeda-linked militants while his prime minister survived one Security forces, including the main Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, have been repeatedly attacked by bin Laden's followers, losing thousands of men It seems inconceivable that there was any formal government decision to shelter bin Laden, especially one made by a civilian government that took power in 2008, or that government leaders had any clue about him But in a country that has been ruled by the military for more than half its 64 years of history, such sensitive issues are anyway the exclusive domain of the military/security establishment ROGUE OR RETIRED SECURITY AGENTS HELPED HIM The truth almost undoubtedly lies somewhere in the murky void between the scenario that Pakistan authorities knew nothing and knew everything It's conceivable that in the fraught weeks after the September 11 attacks, the world's most wanted man slipped across the border from Afghanistan to escape U.S bombs and someone decided it was in Pakistan's national interest to hold the "asset" Security agents could have set up an independent team outside the chain of command to watch over the al Qaeda leader That could have given Pakistan's security establishment the best of both worlds - plausible deniability and an asset of unmatched value Or rogue or retired security agents could have decided that in defiance of the country's official policy to join the United States in the global campaign against militancy, it was in Pakistan's national interest to hold him They could have let the al Qaeda leader hide under the noses of the military, and under their watch, in the garrison town It was only a chance phone call, intercepted by a Pakistani security team probably with no idea of any link to bin Laden, or to his handlers, and passed on to the United States, that led the CIA on its secret mission to his lair WHY? The answer to why some Pakistanis might have thought it wise to hold the man some of whose followers are battling the Pakistani state could probably be found in the country's obsessive suspicion of its nuclear-armed rival, India Pakistan has no interest in bin Laden's global holy war but the defense against perceived Indian aggression drives strategic thinking, and militants have regularly been used against India and its influence in the region No matter that some al Qaeda followers were battling Pakistan, if others were willing and able to fight India, perhaps it was seen as best to hold their inspirational leader Or perhaps some Pakistanis thought bin Laden could have been an ace to offer the United States the next time war with India loomed Or perhaps some Pakistanis thought U.S engagement with Pakistan, its influence with India on Pakistan's behalf, and its billions of dollars in aid, would end once the Americans had caught their enemy number one (Editing by John Chalmers) (Reuters) - The United States was hoping on Tuesday to question the detained three wives of Osama bin Laden although Pakistani officials played down the possibility of any speedy access, saying no decision had been made U.S investigators, who have been sifting through a huge stash of material seized on May after U.S special forces killed bin Laden in his Pakistani hideout, want to question his wives as they seek to trace his movements and his network A Pakistani decision to allow U.S investigators to question the women could begin to stabilize relations between the allies that have been severely strained by the killing of the al Qaeda leader A U.S official said in Washington on Monday Pakistan appeared ready to grant access to the wives who were detained by Pakistani authorities at bin Laden's compound after the raid But Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said it had received no U.S request while other officials said no decision had been taken "It's too early to even think about it," said a senior government official, adding that Pakistani investigators had yet to finish their own questioning Pakistan says the wives, one from Yemen and two from Saudi Arabia, and their children, will be repatriated Pakistan was making contacts with their countries but they had yet to say they would take them, the Pakistani official said Bin Laden was shot dead in a top-secret raid in the northern Pakistani town of Abbottabad to the embarrassment of Pakistan which has for years denied the world's most wanted man was on its soil Pakistan said bin Laden's death was an important step in the fight against militancy but it was angered that it was not informed about it and that U.S forces violated its sovereignty when they swooped in on helicopters from Afghanistan The government is under pressure to explain how the al Qaeda leader was found in the garrison town, a short distance from the main military academy But Pakistani cooperation is crucial to combating Islamist militants and to bringing stability to Afghanistan and the U.S administration has been keen to contain the fallout Brown will present a revised budget plan on Monday, potentially providing a signal on whether or not he will press his call for a tax referendum later in the year The Assembly's Republican leader released a rival plan on Thursday, maintaining opposition to tax extensions and proposing that improving revenue go to education and public safety spending As California's leaders reengage in budget talks, parks officials will aim to keep the state's most significant natural and cultural sites open and retain 92 percent of the state park system's attendance and 94 percent of its revenue The state park system will also seek to notch new partnerships to keep as many of its parks open as possible, said Ruth Coleman, director of California State Parks "We already have 32 operating agreements with our partners cities, counties and nonprofits to operate state parks, and will be working statewide to expand that successful template," Coleman said Worker at Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear plant dies TOKYO (AP) The operator of Japan's tsunami-wrecked nuclear power plant says a contract worker in his 60s has died after collapsing at the facility's waste disposal building Tokyo Electric Power Co spokesman Naoyuki Matsumoto says the man was carrying equipment at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant when he collapsed Saturday Matsumoto says they not know the cause of the worker's death He says no radioactivity at harmful levels was detected in his body He says the worker was fully covered with a mask, gloves and radiation protection suit The building stores radioactive-contaminated water that has leaked from the plant's reactors The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was severely damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and is still leaking radiation Experts: Early warnings mitigated Japan disaster By ERIC TALMADGE Associated Press TOKYO (AP) Though earthquakes can't be predicted, experts say an early warning system that detects the earth's rumblings before they can be felt saved countless lives when Japan's once-in-a-millenium disaster struck two months ago Millions of Japanese live in areas, including Tokyo, that are in high risk of being hit be major quakes at virtually anytime, and over the last decade or so Japan has invested heavily in its early warning system, which is the most advanced in the world Despite the massive destruction wrought by March's magnitude-9.0 earthquake and the tsunami it spawned, experts say it could have been worse had Japan not been so prepared "I think it saved many people," Kunihiko Shimazaki, a leading seismologist and head of the government's earthquake prediction advisory board, said Thursday "Particularly with the tsunami warning, it gave people time to act." Japan has poured some $500 million into a sophisticated network capable of detecting the first vibrations of an earthquake, called "P waves." These initial pulses not create a lot of shaking and travel much faster than the killer shock waves that follow The network of sensors, launched as the world's first in 2007, record the P waves and relay the information to computers that then calculate how big the quake will be Before the ground ever started rocking on March 11, warnings a huge quake was about to strike flashed across TV screens, were broadcast over radio stations and arrived on mobile phones Alerts were also sent to halt trains and factories The heads-up it gave was brief - in Tokyo, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) from the epicenter, messages with alarms interrupted TV programming only about 10 seconds before the hard jolts began But those 10 seconds could be vital, said Roger Musson, a seismologist at the British Geological Survey "In terms of the safe shutdown of mechanical systems, factory outputs and bullet trains, then it seems to have worked really well," he said "Ten seconds is time to turn the gas off if you're cooking, and that could make all the difference between your house burning down or not." Still, Shimazaki warned that completely quake-proofing a country like Japan is impossible, and said the early warning system had its faults Many of its sensors were quickly knocked out by the quake or the waves, and, because of the intensity and number of shocks, the ones that worked provided an overwhelming amount of information that made interpretation difficult "There were some really simple problems that need to be fixed," he said, and scientists are working on improving protections for sensors and the means of interpreting data Surviving an earthquake, however, largely depends on preparedness, and Shimazaki said few experts had foreseen the possibility of a magnitude-9.0, the most powerful quake in Japan's history While Japan maintains strict building codes and has financed the construction of high sea walls in coastal areas, they were overrun by the tsunami The quake and tsunami left 25,000 dead or missing, and more than 100,000 remain in temporary shelters Shimazaki said the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant - which suffered explosions and fires, spewed radiation and continues to be unstable - was a good case of underestimated risk He said experts had long thought Fukushima was a relatively low-danger area because over the past 400 years it had only been hit twice, in the 1930s, by jolts in the magnitude range He noted that another plant in an area considered much more volatile, has been shut down until safety improvements can be made "We are gradually getting to a point where we can understand things much better," he said "We have many things to reflect on, and regrets about things that we might have done differently But our role is to see that improvements are made." Pentagon: US has questioned bin Laden's widows LOLITA C BALDOR, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S authorities are using interviews with Osama bin Laden's wives and video of the assault on his Pakistan compound to piece together details of the raid that killed the terrorist leader After days of wrangling with Pakistani leaders, U.S intelligence officials were finally given access to bin Laden's three wives and were allowed to question them in an effort to gather more information about life in the compound, Pentagon officials said Another detail also emerged Friday: U.S officials say pornography was among the computerized documents that U.S raiders seized during their assault on the hideout Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe intelligence matters, conceded they did not know who the large stash of material belonged to or whether bin Laden had seen it U.S defense officials, meanwhile, are considering measures to ensure the security of the Navy SEAL team that stormed the walled fortress in Abbottabad on May and killed the world's most wanted terrorist The three bin Laden widows who survived the raid were taken into Pakistani custody The White House has said it was important that the U.S be allowed to interview them as they could provide information about bin Laden's life in his compound But the Islamic practice of segregating women from men means the wives probably would not have been present for meetings or discussions about al-Qaida operations Still, with bin Laden's trusted couriers dead, the women could offer rare details about bin Laden, particularly his life over the past few years as the manhunt for him wore on U.S intelligence and military analysts have also been examining footage from cameras mounted in the helmets of the Navy SEALs, capturing a minute-by-minute account of the operation The video will provide a more detailed and accurate picture of the raid, compared to early information that relied on the first reports from members of the elite team, both during the operation and interviews with them afterward U.S military officials have cautioned that the initial reports can often be wrong, blurred by the fog of battle and conclusions based on split second sighting or sounds That proved true in this case as details pouring out in the first 48 hours after the raid — including who was in the compound, who was killed, and how much resistance the commandos met — were repeatedly refined and corrected Pentagon spokesman Col Dave Lapan and White House press secretary Jay Carney would not discuss what the wives said during the questioning It was not clear whether the interviews will continue The sparse details about those interviews reflect a growing concern by military officials about the flood of information that has come out about the raid and the secretive Navy SEALs who made it all possible Defense Secretary Robert Gates said during a meeting with Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., that when he met with the team last week they expressed concerns about the security of their families "Frankly, a week ago Sunday, in the Situation Room, we all agreed that we would not release any operational details from the effort to take out bin Laden," Gates told Marines at Camp Lejeune "That all fell apart on Monday — the next day." Gates added, "We are looking at what measures can be taken to pump up the security." He said there has been a consistent effort to protect the identities of those who participated in the raid — which also included elite Army pilots who flew the daring mission They are members of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, known as the Night Stalkers _ Associated Press writers Matt Apuzzo and Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report Independent Dems hoping negativity a positive Their opponents are attacking each other, but they hope to benefit The three Democratic Lackawanna County commissioner candidates running independently - Tom Fox, Tom McHugh and Elizabeth Randol - say all the sniping between the two teams of Democratic candidates could play to their advantage in the primary election Tuesday when voters will pick the party's two nominees Mr Fox, a businessman, called the fighting "juvenile," referring to the critical television commercials and a Times-Tribune newspaper story Thursday featuring back-and-forth swipes between the ticket of former state Rep Jim Wansacz and Scranton School Director Brian Jeffers and the ticket of Commissioner Corey O'Brien and Blakely Mayor Jeanette Mariani "Those guys are questioning their veracity, they're questioning their intelligence, they're questioning their honesty, they're questioning everything," Mr Fox said "I really would like to surprise these guys I think they'd never be able to live with themselves if I ever won." Mr McHugh, a Penn State Cooperative Extension educator, called all the negativity "silly." "There's no way I'm going to talk down another opponent or another candidate," he said "I'm sincere, I would rather run a very strong, honest campaign and come in third, fourth or fifth, which is hard to say because this commissionership is something I've been looking for for a long time." He noted most of the sniping has focused on Mr O'Brien and Mr Wansacz "If they think they're the two frontrunners and they have to attack each other, then some people are going to think that there's no other choice," Mr McHugh said "There's at least three people out there that I know of that are running a real positive campaign I'm hoping that people answer the mudslinging by voting for someone that's not slinging mud." Elizabeth Randol, on leave from her job as state Treasury Department policy director, said voters "grow tired of the negative back and forth pretty quickly if not already." "I think they end up doing themselves a disservice," she said, referring to Mr O'Brien and Mr Wansacz "I think they both have track records They've done in their careers in public service thus far that they could be talking about." Mr Fox, Mr McHugh and Ms Randol wondered if Mr Wansacz and Mr O'Brien could work together if both are elected "If you get down to the brass tacks, I really believe we have to work together to get the county moving," Mr Fox said "Sometimes when things are said they can never be unsaid, undone And some of the things they are saying here, they (may) hold grudges for the rest of their life if they say too much." Mr O'Brien said he does not believe voters will punish him for criticizing Mr Wansacz "It's a campaign and in campaigns you get heated," he said "The primary process is a good process because you get to flush out differences, you get to flush out strengths and weaknesses and we're better off as Democrats with a strong process We're going to come out of this with, I believe, two very good candidates." Mr O'Brien praised the Democratic field "Every Democrat in the race is more competent, capable and experienced than any Republican in the Republican race," he said "I also think this is a strong field of candidates, a very strong field of candidates in the Democratic primary." Mr Wansacz said voters will not punish him because Mr O'Brien went negative first "The only thing that I'm doing is defending myself and my family against Corey O'Brien's negative attacks," he said "That's all I've been doing from day one." School district officials said proposed funding restoration does not go far enough While acknowledging that every little bit helps, school district officials around the region said a proposal to restore some of Gov Tom Corbett's education funding cuts is not enough to make much of a difference "It's a joke," said Valley View Superintendent Joseph Daley "They took $2.2 million away from us and they'll restore $147,000 It's a posturing move to the public." In March, Mr Corbett's proposed deep state funding cuts sparked painful discussions at school districts across the region regarding the 2011-12 budget School district officials faced with hundreds of thousands of dollars in budget deficits are contemplating cutting staff, mostly by not hiring teachers and support staff to replace those who are retiring, and eliminating electives and after-school activities On Tuesday, Republicans in the state House proposed a plan to restore $210 million in basic education aid cuts initially proposed by Mr Corbett in March About $100 million of the proposed restorations would ease cuts to the accountability block grant program, which is used to fund all-day kindergarten programs and early childhood education Scranton is one of many school districts across the region to declare continuing full-day kindergarten as a top priority But Scranton Superintendent William King said the restored funding will not be enough to save kindergarten programming on its own Scranton schools are facing $5 million in state funding cuts under Gov Corbett's proposals; the proposed restoration by House Republicans will give the district about $563,000 "I don't want to sound unappreciative," Mr King said "It makes a dent but it's a far cry from where it needs to be." Dunmore School District was facing about $620,000 in cuts under Gov Corbett's proposal, and the possible restoration would give them about $81,000, Superintendent Richard McDonald said That means an easier road to funding all-day kindergarten programs and some tutoring programs, but it will not save the district from other tough decisions about budget cuts "We have one of the lowest costs per student in the area," he said "There isn't a lot of fat to cut." The restoration proposal would solve the budget problems for at least one district in the region, though Wayne Highlands Superintendent Tom Jenkins said the district is facing a $595,000 deficit in the 201112 budget but could receive $622,000 in restored state funding under the House Republicans' proposal "The restoration would get us to a balanced budget and then some," he said "So for us, it's significant." The proposal to restore some state funding is also making it difficult for many school districts to come up with a solid budget for 2011-12 Mid Valley School district will meet on May 25, and business manager Joseph Caputo said he anticipates a lengthy discussion about the $500,000 to $600,000 deficit in the 2011-12 budget In his preliminary budget, Mr Caputo has not included the $82,000 that might be restored under the House Republicans' plan "It's difficult because you don't know what numbers to use," he said Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/school-district-officials-said-proposed-fundingrestoration-does-not-go-far-enough-1.1146161#ixzz1MIcMnHBB Naming schools important tradition First of two-parts Scranton's newest elementary school will bear the name of a man who settled in the Lackawanna Valley in 1774 and helped reshape the wilderness into a thriving community When it opens, Isaac Tripp elementary school will take its place among a long list of city schools whose namesakes - from presidents to poets - helped forge our national and cultural identity Until 1914, primary schools were designated by number In November of that year, the school board announced that Scranton schools would adopt "names of men and women nationally famous." Some of them were obvious choices Every grade school student learns about presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, about Revolutionary War figure Patrick Henry and about author of the lyrics to our national anthem, Francis Scott Key Other choices were perhaps not so obvious, but were important in their own right Consider Thaddeus Kosciusko, for whom No 44 school on Wilbur Street was named Born in Poland in 1746, he trained as an engineer and, in 1776, came to America to offer his skills to the Revolutionary War effort Commissioned as colonel of engineers by the Continental Congress, he went to work fortifying key areas, including the Philadelphia waterfront at Fort Mercer and the Hudson River at Saratoga He was appointed brigadier general in 1783 and decorated by Washington No school on Prescott Avenue was named for John P.G Muhlenberg Born to Pennsylvania Dutch parents in 1746, he became a Lutheran minister The "fighting parson" left the pulpit to take up arms when Washington asked him to raise and command the 8th Virginia Regiment He became brigadier general during the war and commanded the Virginia Line at Valley Forge After independence was won, Muhlenberg served the new country as a member of its House of Representatives and, later, Senate The names of Kosciusko and Muhlenberg broadened the communities' knowledge of the Revolutionary War and must have resonated with the city's Polish and German immigrants But names can cause controversy In 1914, the school board decided "to avoid using names of men which might not prove agreeable to some people of the community, as, for instance, Civil War heroes who might be objectionable to southerners." It's not clear just how many southerners lived in the district, but with memories of that war lingering, the school board was taking no chances They did, however, name No 21 school on Short Avenue for Ulysses S Grant, commander of the Union Army, who later served as the country's 18th president No school on Prospect Avenue honored Civil War Naval hero David Farragut, the nation's first admiral who is remembered for his order, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" School names honor other men of that era, too - men who worked for change by a different means Charles Sumner, a Massachusetts statesman and a leader in the antislavery movement, served in the United States Senate, where he fought to ensure the rights of freedmen No 18 school on Swetland Street is named for him No 22 on Oak Street was named for Wendell Phillips, a Boston lawyer who delivered lectures, wrote pamphlets, contributed editorials to William Lloyd Garrison's publication, "The Liberator" and earned a reputation as one of the most brilliant orators of his day Number 34 school on Albright Avenue was named for Ralph Waldo Emerson, another writer, orator and passionate contributor to the antislavery movement These warriors, authors and statesmen each made a significant contribution to our nation Next week, the local history column looks at some of the other men and women - scientists, educators and artists - for whom city schools are named Sources: "The History of the Public Schools of Scranton, Pa." by Nicholas Petula and Thomas Morgan Information about historic figures is readily available in various history books available at your local library CHERYL A KASHUBA is a university instructor and author of "A Brief History of Scranton, Pennsylvania." Contact the writer: local history@timesshamrock.com We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelin Read more: Meters brought revenue, confusion By 1936, cars were common, and downtown parking had become an issue At the beginning of April, the city of Scranton began to look at the possibility of installing "parkometers." They would be the first in Pennsylvania Several Midwestern cities had already adopted them The idea of such devices was so new that The Scranton Times had to describe them to readers: "The machines are placed along the curb at 20-foot intervals and are so spaced that 20 feet are allowed for the parking of every automobile." Mayor Stanley Davis was not completely sold on the idea, but he was interested in them as a source of revenue for the city He turned over to Director of Public Safety James Hanlon data received from one company that manufactured the meters and asked Mr Hanlon to study the material and give his views He also discussed the matter with members of city council Pay to park The parking meters were seen as a way to address the problem of all-day parkers -those who drove their cars into the downtown Scranton business district and parked for the day, taking spaces from people who wished to park and shop, dine, visit the doctor, their banking or transact other business Both the Chamber of Commerce and the Scranton Commercial Association expressed interest in the meters It took some time to follow through with the idea of parking meters On the morning of April 23, 1938, the city of Scranton put into operation 800 of the 900 meters it had ordered They cost $58 each and were installed for $1 per meter The city did not have to pay anything up front for the new meters Rather, the companies that made them would take their cost from the revenues they brought in There were two types of meters Both took a nickel for the parking period The Standard meter allowed five minutes of free parking The Park-O-Graph gave the motorist a five-minute grace period at the end of the 45 minutes for which they had paid First day Citizens expressed amazement on the morning they were installed The immediate result was that the usual lines of cars parked end to end were missing from Central City Police Capt George Davis said that meter regulations would be strictly enforced This innovation caused some confusion to motorists who were under the impression that the 25- to 30foot spaces left at intersections were free because they contained no meters "Such is not the case," said Director of Public Safety James Powell "That space is set aside to comply with a state law and to make sure of the free movement of traffic at street intersections," he said The meters operated Monday through Friday from a.m until p.m and on Saturdays from a.m until p.m They were not in operation on Sundays Some restaurant and theater owners expressed their displeasure at the late hours on Saturday That first day, traffic officers said the meters drove all-day parkers from the central business district where the meters were installed Areas such as the 400-700 blocks of North Washington and Wyoming avenues were flooded with cars Scores of motorists received yellow tickets for overparking and ignoring the meters Many of them went right to City Hall and paid the $1 fine From the day in April when they were installed until the end of the year, the meters brought in a total of $39,330.85 in revenue The companies who manufactured them took their share to cover the costs of meters and installation The National Park-O-Graph Meter Corp received $16,519.01 The Standard Meter Corp got $12,979.24 Scranton received $9,832.60 that year It was generally agreed that they improved driving and parking conditions for those who needed to business in the central city Most downtown business owners approved CHERYL A KASHUBA is a university instructor and author of "A Brief History of Scranton, Pen Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/meters-brought-revenue-confusion1.1133548#ixzz1MIctOEaG Earlier HIV therapy backed WASHINGTON - Treating HIV right away, before patients are too sick, dramatically lowers their chances of spreading the AIDS virus to a sexual partner, says a major international study that may convince more doctors to offer medication sooner The nine-nation study offers convincing evidence of what scientists have long believed - that HIV medicines don't just benefit the patient, but may act as a preventive by making those people less infectious Earlier treatment in the study meant patients were 96 percent less likely to spread the virus to their uninfected partners, according to preliminary results announced Thursday by the National Institutes of Health, which oversaw the research Those findings were striking enough that the NIH said it was stopping the study four years ahead of schedule to get the word out When HIV patients should start taking antiviral drugs is an important question The pills are lifesaving but also expensive - up to $15,000 a year in the U.S - and carry a range of side effects from diarrhea to liver damage NIH's Dr Anthony Fauci said the new study promises to change practice worldwide In developing countries, where the drugs cost a few hundred dollars a year, patients tend to be far sicker before getting medication Even in the U.S., where therapy starts sooner, doctors don't always treat as early as was done in this study "It has less to with a decision about what's good for you from a personal health standpoint than what is the extra added benefit from starting earlier, i.e., transmission, especially if you have a partner who's uninfected," said Dr Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Condoms remain crucial for protection - the medications don't change that longtime recommendation All 1,763 couples in the study, where one partner had HIV and the other didn't, were urged to use them Read more: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/health-science/earlier-hiv-therapy-backed1.1145975#ixzz1MId8CvNm NASA counting down again for next-to-last launch By MARCIA DUNN AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla (AP) NASA's countdown clocks began ticking again Friday for the nextto-last space shuttle launch, delayed two weeks ago by an electrical problem aboard Endeavour Forecasters put the odds of good weather for Monday morning's launch at 70 percent: the main concerns are stiff crosswind and low clouds NASA test director Jeff Spaulding said everything was on track this time around, and that the most likely culprit for last month's failed launch attempt was an exposed conductor on a thermostat The thermostat was replaced last week, along with a switch box containing a blown fuse Commander Mark Kelly and his five crewmates returned to Kennedy Space Center on Thursday Their families will follow this weekend, including Kelly's wife, Arizona Rep Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded in the head in January at a political event in Tucson She interrupted her rehab in Houston to travel to Cape Canaveral for the first launch attempt, and will so again For the April 29 launch attempt - on a Friday afternoon - NASA had expected 700,000 or more people to jam surrounding roads and towns A smaller crowd is anticipated for Monday's 8:56 a.m try, possibly around the 500,000-mark, Spaulding said That would still be larger than the 400,000 who turned out for Discovery's final voyage in February Only one other shuttle flight remains, by Atlantis in July Endeavour - making its 25th and final journey - will fly to the International Space Station and deliver a $2 billion science experiment Four spacewalks are planned during the 16-day mission In a space first, a Russian Soyuz capsule will depart the orbiting complex while Endeavour is there The Soyuz will return to Earth with half of the six-person station crew, leaving the six shuttle astronauts and remaining three station residents to manage the work load NASA is wrapping up the 30-year shuttle program, under presidential direction to hand over orbital ferry trips to private companies That frees up the space agency to concentrate on expeditions to asteroids and Mars Endeavour is the newest of NASA's three shuttles It was built to replace the Challenger, lost in a 1986 launch accident Why space shuttle fleet is retiring, what's next By SETH BORENSTEIN WASHINGTON (AP) As the space shuttle program winds down, questions are flying about what's happening and why The launch countdown began Friday for the second-to-last flight Some answers about the end of the space shuttle: Q: Why are the shuttles retiring? A: The shuttles are aging and expensive, their key task is nearly completed and NASA wants to use the money spent on them to something new They've been flying since 1981, hauling up pieces of the International Space Station The panel that investigated the 2003 Columbia accident concluded: "It is in the nation's interest to replace the Shuttle as soon as possible." Q: Who decided to stop flying shuttles? A: President George W Bush made the decision in 2004 He wanted astronauts to go back to the moon, and eventually to Mars For NASA to afford to build a new spaceship to reach those goals, it had to stop spending about $4 billion a year on the shuttle program But President Barack Obama dropped the moon mission His plan has NASA building a giant rocket to send astronauts to an asteroid, and eventually Mars, while turning over to private companies the job of carrying cargo and astronauts to the space station Q: When does the shuttle program end? A: There are two flights left Shuttle Endeavour, set to launch Monday, is carrying a $2 billion science experiment to the space station Atlantis makes the final shuttle trip this summer with spare parts for the station The third surviving shuttle - Discovery - made its final voyage earlier this year Two other shuttles - Challenger and Columbia - were destroyed in accidents that killed a total of 14 astronauts Q: What was the shuttle program all about? A: It was supposed to make getting into space cheap, simple and safe with a launch virtually every week It didn't accomplish that But it was the best way to get big items - such as satellites and the Hubble Space Telescope - into orbit and fix them if needed For the space station, it was a combination moving van and construction crane What made the shuttle unique was its ability to all kinds of things Q: What happens to the space shuttles? A: They'll be shipped off to museums Endeavour goes to the California Science Center in Los Angeles and Atlantis will stay at Kennedy Space Center for its visitor complex Discovery's new home will be the Smithsonian Institution's hangar near Washington Dulles International Airport Enterprise, a shuttle prototype used for test flights, goes to New York City's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum Q: What about the space station? A: The life of the space station has been extended to at least 2020 and it could continue on even longer It's now big enough for six people They conduct science research, from astronomy to zoology, and help scientists understand what is needed for longer missions in space, such as going to Mars Q: What about the astronauts? Do they still have jobs? A: Some will More than a dozen astronauts will still go to space and live on the space station Others will wait around for slots on still-to-be-built spaceships, including the ride to an asteroid Others will leave the program The same thing happened after the Apollo program ended nearly 40 years ago Q: How will astronauts get to the space station? A: NASA will continue to buy seats on Russian Soyuz capsules to ferry space station residents The $56 million price per head will go up to $63 million, which is still cheaper per person than the space shuttle Q: Is there any other way to get into space? A: Not from U.S soil once the shuttles retire NASA could eventually use the commercial rockets and capsules being developed by private companies Two companies predict they could fly astronauts to the space station within three years NASA is under orders to build a giant rocket to go beyond Earth orbit Earlier HIV therapy protects against virus spread By LAURAN NEERGAARD AP Medical Writer WASHINGTON (AP) Treating HIV right away, before patients are too sick, dramatically lowers their chances of spreading the AIDS virus to a sexual partner, says a major international study that may convince more doctors to offer medication sooner The nine-nation study offers convincing evidence of what scientists have long believed - that HIV medicines don't just benefit the patient, but may act as a preventive by making those people less infectious Earlier treatment in the study meant patients were 96 percent less likely to spread the virus to their uninfected partners, according to preliminary results announced Thursday by the National Institutes of Health, which oversaw the research Those findings were striking enough that the NIH said it was stopping the study four years ahead of schedule to get the word out When HIV patients should start taking antiviral drugs is an important question The pills are lifesaving but also expensive - up to $15,000 a year in the U.S - and carry a range of side effects from diarrhea to liver damage NIH's Dr Anthony Fauci said the new study promises to change practice worldwide In developing countries, where the drugs cost a few hundred dollars a year, patients tend to be far sicker before getting medication Even in the U.S., where therapy starts sooner, doctors don't always treat as early as was done in this study "It has less to with a decision about what's good for you from a personal health standpoint than what is the extra added benefit from starting earlier, i.e., transmission, especially if you have a partner who's uninfected," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Condoms remain crucial for protection - the medications don't change that longtime recommendation All 1,763 couples in the study, where one partner had HIV and the other didn't, were urged to use them "HIV-positive people cannot assume they are not infectious simply because they are already on treatment medications," warned Dr Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Previous research has suggested that HIV patients who use the medications are less likely to spread infection But the $73 million study announced Thursday is the first to rigorously test that The couples, most of whom were heterosexual, were randomly divided Among half, the HIV-infected partner started medication immediately after diagnosis Among the other half, the infected partner delayed using the drugs until his or her level of CD4 cells - a way to measure the strength of the immune system - dropped below 250 or symptoms appeared In 28 couples, the uninfected person became infected by their partner Only one of those infections occurred among the couples where the infected person was treated early, Fauci said The other 27 cases in which HIV spread involved couples that delayed drug treatment Importantly, more than half of those infections occurred when the patient's CD4 count remained greater than 350, Fauci noted That number indicates only moderate immune damage Most developing countries don't offer treatment until CD4 levels dip lower than that U.S guidelines recently were changed to recommend that treatment begin when that immune system number is below 500, although many doctors haven't yet begun following that advice, said Dr Michael Horberg of the HIV Medicine Association and HIV/AIDS director for Kaiser Permanente Some experts would treat even sooner The earlier treatment also helped reduce some complications - such as a form of tuberculosis - in the original patients, but there was no significant difference in deaths between the two groups The study included couples from Botswana, Brazil, India, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa, Thailand, Zimbabwe, as well as a few from the United States [...]... million into a sophisticated network capable of detecting the first vibrations of an earthquake, called "P waves." These initial pulses do not create a lot of shaking and travel much faster than the killer shock waves that follow The network of sensors, launched as the world's first in 2007, record the P waves and relay the information to computers that then calculate how big the quake will be Before the... country like Japan is impossible, and said the early warning system had its faults Many of its sensors were quickly knocked out by the quake or the waves, and, because of the intensity and number of shocks, the ones that worked provided an overwhelming amount of information that made interpretation difficult "There were some really simple problems that need to be fixed," he said, and scientists are ... waves." These initial pulses not create a lot of shaking and travel much faster than the killer shock waves that follow The network of sensors, launched as the world's first in 2007, record the... were quickly knocked out by the quake or the waves, and, because of the intensity and number of shocks, the ones that worked provided an overwhelming amount of information that made interpretation