National and State News-Thursday, June 14th

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) - NASA says returning the crew of the international space station to Earth because of a Russian computer failure would be a worst-case scenario. The computer failure occurred last week and has NASA managers considering whether to keep the shuttle Atlantis docked at the space station for an extra day or two.

CAPITOL HILL (AP) - It could be the first major gun control law in more than a decade. The House has voted to fix flaws in the national gun background check system that allowed the Virginia Tech shooter to buy guns despite his mental health problems. The N-R-A is endorsing the legislation.

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - The media today gets to see inside the building at Virginia Tech that was the scene of mass murder. Norris Hall has been closed since a gunman killed 30 people and himself there in April. It officially reopens on Monday but only for engineering research. No classes will ever be held there again.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Curfews are helping keep things relatively calm in Iraq today but haven't stopped all the violence. A handful of Sunni mosques have been attacked or burned a day after the bombing of the minarets at a major Shiite shrine.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Colgate-Palmolive says tubes of counterfeit toothpaste sold in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland are being recalled because they may contain a chemical found in antifreeze. The company says the toothpaste was imported from South
Africa and sold in discount stores.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The House State Government Committee plans to meet today (Thursday) to consider proposals to change the date of the Pennsylvania presidential primary.
Unless the law is changed, the state's Democrats and Republicans won't vote on their parties' nominees for president until April 22nd, 2008. By that date, the primary has little influence on whom the parties nominate. Governor Ed Rendell has urged the Legislature to move the
primary up to the first Tuesday in February. There are other proposals for less radical changes in Pennsylvania's primary date than the eleven-week shift Rendell has endorsed. Opponents include the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. That group says an early primary will cause trouble with voter approval for school budgets.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A new report says the in-hospital death rate for Pennsylvania coronary bypass surgery patients declined in 2005. The report says the rates of readmission increased slightly during the same period. The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council report released today says the 2005 mortality rate among bypass patients was one-point-nine percent. That's down from nearly two percent the previous year and from two-point-four percent in 2000. At the same time, five-and-a-half percent of bypass patients
were readmitted within seven days of being discharged. That's up from five-point-two percent in 2004. The council has published annual reports on bypass surgeries and how much hospitals charge for them since 1992.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The state House Republican leader is accusing Democrats of purposely slowing down budget talks. Representative Sam Smith says Democrats are stalling as a negotiating tactic with the end of the fiscal year just over two weeks away. Representative Sam Smith voiced his frustrations in remarks on the House floor -- questioning why Democrats didn't attend a legislative budget meeting earlier in the day. He did so again in an appearance in the Capitol newsroom. Democratic leaders say they skipped the budget meeting because
they hadn't obtained guidance about it from their own members. If a deal isn't reached before the fiscal year starts, the governor and General Assembly risk having to shut down large
portions of state government.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A federal judge says it's O-K for the Philadelphia Police Department to forbid an officer from wearing a Muslim head scarf on the job. The scarf that 44-year-old Kimberlie Webb wanted to wear at work covers her hair, forehead, neck, shoulders, and chest.
The judge says the city had a legitimate interest in preventing divisiveness -- both within the police force and when officers interact with the public. Webb's lawyer says he's surprised by the ruling. He noted that the U-S Department of Justice had said the police department appeared to have violated her rights.

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) - Golfing great Arnold Palmer says he loves to give autographs -- but he doesn't like the motives of some of the autograph seekers these days. Some autograph seekers at Oakmont were already posting their goods for sale online yesterday (Wednesday) and the U-S Open doesn't start until today. Palmer, a western Pennsylvania native, says he prefers to sign
autographs for charities. He says that way, he knows the money made from it is going to a good cause. Fans are advised by tournament officials not to approach golfers for autographs on the practice areas -- or between the time they start their round and finish it. But eager spectators quickly discovered that the walkway to the practice green was fair game.