National and State News-Thursday, July 5th

UNDATED (AP) - A fire official in Bridgeport, Connecticut, says the deaths of two children and a woman in a pond were "horrible." They were in a minivan that rolled down a steep hill and into the pond. And in Memphis, Tennessee, two children were killed when their boat sank. Five others were taken to hospitals, including a rescuer who swam from shore.

UNDATED (AP) - Flooding is easing in several northeastern Oklahoma communities as swollen rivers recede. But meteorologists predict more problems because lakes and reservoirs are filled to capacity. The crisis also is easing in southeastern Kansas.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Firefighters have made significant progress against a wildfire burning about 100 miles east of Salt Lake City. As a result, residents who had been evacuated are being
allowed to return to their homes. The fire has killed three people and destroyed 12 homes since it began last Friday.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Two scholars are proposing that Iraq be divided into three main regions. They say that may be the "only hope for a more stable Iraq." Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden also supports a partition plan but so far it has not been embraced by the Bush administration.

NEW YORK (AP) - Now comes the clean up after July Fourth celebrations around the country. About three (m) million people turned out in New York for a massive fireworks display that
featured shells exploding on the surface of the East River, as well as in the sky.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Merit pay tied to student test scores is an idea that is gaining ground in state capitals and in Washington -- but many teachers think it's an idea whose time hasn't come.
Members of Congress, for example, are considering adding funding bonuses for teachers who raise student achievement as part of their review of the No Child Left Behind Act. Proponents say it would reward effective teachers and attract new recruits. But teachers in Philadelphia for the annual convention of the National Education Association --- the nation's largest teachers
union -- are dubious about the idea. They say educators in struggling schools, where students might be poor or speak another language at home, would have trouble getting their student scores up enough to earn the "effective" label.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Cable companies say subscribers can expect to pay more for set-top boxes because the Federal Communications Commission is mandating new and more expensive versions. The F-C-C has been trying for nearly a decade to open up the set-top market so subscribers actually buy their own boxes. But the retail market for the boxes has largely failed to materialize and millions of consumers still rent the boxes from their cable company.
As of July first, cable companies were required by the F-C-C to start shipping the new set-top boxes with detachable cable cards to decode their programming. The companies have lobbied against the rule, saying the new boxes are more expensive. Consumer groups say it's yet another excuse for cable companies to raise rates. It's not yet clear how much charges for the boxes will rise.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - State legislative leaders are expected to meet face-to-face again today to try to resolve an impasse on the budget -- with the prospect of furloughs of state workers just a few days away. The central sticking point is Democratic Governor Ed Rendell's
insistence that the Legislature address a range of issues not directly related to the budget.
Senate Republicans say they'd prefer to pass a pared-down budget and push back consideration of Rendell's energy, health care and transportation initiatives. If they don't solve the standoff, more than 26-thousand state workers will find themselves without pay as of Monday. And
political analysts say it's hard to predict who the public will blame if that happens.

YORK, Pa. (AP) - Church leaders say they are praying for the vandals who splashed and sprayed paint on two Protestant churches in York County, one of which dates to Colonial times.
At Guinston Presbyterian Church, which dates to 1774, vandals splashed white paint over the wooden floors, seats and a cabinet. They also used black and blue spray paint on the pulpit, windows and walls, and a painting of Jesus. Outside the Chanceford Township church, they spray-painted an obscene message and the words "Soul Kingz." The Reverend Daniel Moore says insurance will likely take care of most of the damage, which was discovered Tuesday. He says he expects that members of the Presbyterian church will try to clean up the mess today.
The same day, members of Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church in Windsor Township discovered that their building had been vandalized. The two churches are about seven miles apart. The graffiti included a swastika, the numbers "six-six-six" and the letters "S-K." Reverend Ersel Staples says church members cleaned it off Tuesday.

WARREN, Pa. (AP) - The first federal management plan in 20 years for Allegheny National Forest is being challenged by organizations ranging from environmental groups to those representing the oil, gas and timber industries. Environmental and recreation groups contend the U-S Forest Service plan emphasizes drilling and timber interests while giving short shrift to recreational users and the area's natural beauty. Schools, towns and industry say they were not given enough opportunity for input. The Forest Service approved the plan in March and will use it to manage Pennsylvania's only national forest for the next ten to 15 years. The 800-square-mile forest lies in Elk, Forest, McKean and Warren counties, in the northwestern part of the state. Among other things, the plan calls for increased regulation of oil- and gas drilling, adds two wilderness areas totaling about 12-thousand acres, and creates three remote recreation areas. A review of the appeals could take six months.

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) - Authorities charged a relative with child endangerment after a half-naked two-year-old girl was found wandering in downtown Carlisle. Twenty-four-year-old Travis Boone of Carlisle was arrested after the baby, naked from the waist up, was spotted at about noon on Monday. Police Corporal Stephen Latshaw says the toddler was "very
scared" but was uninjured. Authorities say that after police found the girl's home, Boone
gave them two false names and denied having been left in charge of the toddler - but the child's mother arrived and said otherwise. Boone has also been charged with giving false information to police.