State News-Thursday, Nov. 9th

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Fresh off midterm elections, the race for the White House has already begun. Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, who was born in Pittsburgh, is expected to officially launch his presidential campaign today
by filing documents with the Federal Election Commission. Vilsack said he will also announce his candidacy in New
Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Nevada and South Carolina. Vilsack is the first Democrat to make a formal declaration for
the presidency although a number of better known candidates are presumed to be running. Likewise, Representative Duncan Hunter of California is the only announced candidate on the Republican side.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A former University of Pennsylvania professor convicted previously in a teen sex sting is now indicted on federal child pornography charges. An arraignment is set today for 64-year-old Lawrence Scott Ward in the Eastern District of Virginia. Ward has been in custody since he was arrested August 27th as he returned from Brazil through Washington Dulles International Airport. Federal authorities said his laptop computer contained a
video of young children engaged in sexual activity. They also said they found videos showing the defendant involved in sex acts with teenage boys. The three-count indictment charges that Ward produced, imported, and possessed child pornography. His attorney has called the government's case "horribly weak."

PITTSBURGH (AP) - The University of Pittsburgh is hosting a seminar today called "Forensics and Terrorism" as part
of its series on research in homeland security. Organized by the university's Center for National Preparedness, it will focus how investigators control a crime scene and collect and analyze evidence after a terrorist attack. The seminar will be presented by Keith Morris, forensic project manager at West Virginia University's Forensics Science Initiative.
Before working at W-V-U, Morris was director of the South African Police Service Forensic Science Laboratory.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Control of the state House of Representatives has come down to a single race. It's still hanging on the contest for a Chester County seat left open by the retirement of a 15-term Republican. Republican Shannon Royer has an unofficial 19-vote lead over Democrat Barbara McIlvaine Smith. But county elections officials
say poll workers mistakenly failed to count about 250 absentee ballots on election night. Also, about 40 provisional ballots remain uncounted. It could be more than a week before all the votes - along with overseas and military ballots - are included in the results.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Governor Ed Rendell says mass-transit funding, health care for the uninsured and government reform are at the top of his second-term agenda. A day after receiving 60 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Lynn Swann, the Democratic governor vowed yesterday to work with legislative leadership teams now being rebuilt after a string of election defeats. Rendell hopes to work out compromises on a permanent funding source for deficit-plagued mass-transit agencies. He also wants to expand programs to help hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians who lack insurance. Rendell also said he will follow up on some government reforms he advocated during the campaign such as term limits for legislators, and a reduction in the size of the Legislature.