State News-Monday, Sept. 11th

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - It will be a somber day today in Somerset County at the site of the crash of Flight 93. Today is the fifth anniversary of the September 11th, 2001,terrorist attacks. At the crash site, a ceremony will be held with state and federal leaders as well as family and friends of the 40 passengers and crew who died on that flight. Later today, President Bush and his wife, Laura, will meet privately with families at the crash site. The actual crash site itself is not open to the public. Organizers are in the middle of raising money to build a permanent memorial at the site. The memorial design was chosen after a worldwide competition. It is set to be opened in 2011.

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Some of the thousands of Pennsylvania National Guard members who have fought overseas or served at home were honored Sunday with a bash in State College. The event honors Guard members who served in Iraq and Afghanistan or helped back home with Hurricane Katrina. The entertainment at the event on the Penn State campus ranges from a brass band to the Beach Boys. Guard members, many wearing camouflage, and their families enjoyed hot dogs, pork barbecue and other donated treats. More than 16-thousand Pennsylvania National Guard members have been deployed in the war on terrorism since the September Eleventh attacks. State officials say 25 have been killed in action, nine have died on duty under non-hostile conditions and 287 have been wounded. But some Pennsylvania Republicans - including gubernatorial challenger Lynn Swann - are miffed, calling the day a political event designed to boost Governor Ed Rendell's re-election campaign. Rendell spokeswoman Kate Philips calls the criticism a surprise,saying more than a dozen Republicans, including U-S Senator Rick Santorum, planned to attend.

UNDATED (AP) - The lawyer for Floyd Landis wants U.S. doping authorities to drop their case against the Tour de France winner,saying there were "inconsistencies" in the way the drug tests were handled. Attorney Howard Jacobs says he plans to submit a formal request Monday to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to dismiss evidence showing the cyclist tested positive for testosterone after winning the racein July. Landis, a native of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has insisted he is innocent. Jacobs says the positive tests point to a "premature public conviction." Jacobs says he and a team of scientists found "inconsistencies in the testing protocol and methodology" during a review of documents he received from the French national anti-doping laboratory near Paris.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Legislation to ban teacher strikes might not go anywhere this fall. Bills have been introduced that would force school boards and teachers' unions into binding arbitration to resolve bargaining impasses. But the idea might not fly as lawmakers look ahead to the November 7th election and the end of their two-year session. This year, teachers at three of the state's 501 school districts went on strike. Marion Center in Indiana County, Brookville Area in Jefferson County, and Tulpehocken in Berks County were among more than 100 districts that began the school year with contract talks unsettled. A ban on teacher strikes is already in place in 38 states.