US defense sec’y Panetta says US is “reaching the limits of our patience” with Pakistan KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Thursday pressured Pakistan to do more to root out the al-Qaida-linked Haqqani terrorist network from its territory, saying that U.S. officials are ‘‘reaching the limits of our patience.’’ The Haqqani group has been blamed for several attacks on Americans in Afghanistan, including last year’s attack against the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul. It also has ties to the Taliban and has emerged as perhaps the biggest threat to stability in Afghanistan. Lawmakers from both parties have been urging the State Department to designate the Haqqani network a foreign terrorist organization. The U.S. has given Pakistan billions of dollars in aid for its support in fighting Islamist militants. Panetta made his comments at a news conference with Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, capping two days of blunt commentary on Pakistan. ——— New US leverage seen in negotiations with Pakistan over NATO supply route KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. is trying to break deadlocked talks with Pakistan over reopening a route for NATO troop supplies into Afghanistan — a deal that has proven elusive due to Islamabad’s demands for more money and Washington’s refusal to apologize for accidentally killing Pakistani forces. Now the U.S. may have a little more leverage on its side, thanks to an agreement struck with some Central Asian countries to carry NATO equipment out through their territory. Before this week’s agreement, Pakistan provided the only available land route to pull out gear. Peter Lavoy, a senior Defense Department official, is expected in Islamabad at the end of the week to try to resolve the current dispute. Pakistan first closed the supply line in retaliation for U.S. airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November. Prior to the attack, the U.S. and other NATO countries shipped about 30 percent of their nonlethal supplies through Pakistan into southern Afghanistan. Since then, the coalition compensated by using a longer, more costly route that runs through northern Afghanistan, Central Asia and Russia. This alternative route was only available to ship supplies into Afghanistan until Monday, when Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan agreed to allow the coalition to withdraw equipment as well. NATO already has an agreement with Russia for the withdrawal of material. ——— Can this marriage work? GOP conservatives and Romney try to make peace to oust Obama WASHINGTON (AP) — Conservatives at the core of the Republican Party are coalescing behind likely GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney faster than expected after a punishing primary season in which they loudly sought someone else — almost anybody else — to carry the fight to President Barack Obama. They’re opposed to Obama more than they like, trust or accept Romney as the party’s standard-bearer. And they recognize that the former Massachusetts governor is their only real choice. ‘‘I’m going (to support him) because it’s my responsibility and, frankly, almost anything is going to be better than Obama,’’ said Steve Troxel, chairman of the Lynchburg Republican Party in swing-state Virginia. According to Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., ‘‘There are some conservatives who are not ready to trust Mr. Romney to do the right thing, but they all trust President Obama to do the wrong thing.’’ ‘‘Right now,’’ Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said of the shift, ‘‘Obama is driving it.’’ ——— Lawyers in Sandusky trial have 4 days to figure out to sway jury heavy with PSU connections BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) — The attorneys arguing the child sexual abuse trial of former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky have four days to figure out how to sway a jury heavy with connections to the school. Seven women and five men will hear opening statements Monday in the sweeping case that rocked the university and led to the ouster of Hall of Fame football coach Joe Paterno. Four alternates also were chosen Wednesday after jury selection wrapped up in less than two days, a much brisker pace than some observers had expected given the school’s deep roots in this mainly rural part of central Pennsylvania. But Judge John Cleland had insisted from the start that such connections wouldn’t immediately rule out potential jurors so long as they could pledge to be impartial. Among the 16 jurors total selected, 10 had some tie — either directly or indirectly — to Penn State. One juror, a woman, is a professor who has taught for 24 years. Another woman has had football season tickets for decades. And one of the male jurors is a student who will be a senior this fall. ——— More than a summer break, poll finds Americans want a break on their energy bills WASHINGTON (AP) — As summer beckons, it seems Americans are thinking more about the stifling cost of energy than about making tracks to the beach. Cutting energy bills and use is a bigger deal to them than taking a vacation or scoring the latest smartphone or tablet, according to an AP-NORC Center poll that asked people to choose priorities. Not even 1 in 5 ranked a summer trip or the latest gadget as a priority, while majorities said reducing electricity use and making homes energy-efficient are important. But in typical American fashion, by far the highest priority was having a reliable set of wheels. The poll, paid for by a grant to the AP-NORC Center from the Joyce Foundation, shows that energy, especially in a weak economy, is prominently on people’s minds — and may explain why it’s being talked about in the presidential campaign. Nearly 8 in 10 called energy deeply important to them, trumping concerns about the federal deficit and the environment. The only issues that polled as higher concerns were the economy, education and health care. Almost three-quarters said gasoline prices were important to them personally, although those prices have abated since the poll was taken. There are limits, though, on what people are willing to sacrifice for a more energy-efficient life. Nearly 9 in 10 people said they had taken some action in the last year to save energy, with those making less money and on a tighter budget saying it was more important to make their homes more efficient or save money on energy. The idea of changing transportation habits rated as among the most difficult energy-saving actions for people to take. ——— Ray Bradbury’s legacy remembered by game developers at Electronic Entertainment Expo LOS ANGELES (AP) — If there’s one place where Ray Bradbury’s legacy is tangibly omnipresent, it’s the Electronic Entertainment Expo. While he denounced video games as ‘‘a waste of time for men with nothing else to do,’’ it’s impossible not to glimpse at the flashing flatscreens, ubiquitous cameras and people wearing extraterrestrial costumes inside the Los Angeles Convention Center this week and not be reminded of Bradbury’s high-tech foreshadowing and otherworldly visions, detailed in literary classics like ‘‘Fahrenheit 451,’’ ‘‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’’ and ‘‘The Martian Chronicles.’’ ‘‘I definitely read his books when I was a kid,’’ said Peter Molyneux, creator of the role-playing ‘‘Fable’’ series and studio head at developer 22 Cans. ‘‘I think with those worlds that he created, he inspired all of us. There are games and scenes in this very hall which have probably been influenced by him — both consciously and unconsciously.’’ Bradbury, who died Tuesday night at age 91, foretold of much of the technology powering the gaming industry’s annual trade show and inspired many of the games’ storylines being hyped at E3: cutthroat capitalism, interactive TVs, intergalactic affairs, handheld doodads and clandestine conspiracy theories, just to name a few. The Martian Chronicles was just ‘‘mind-blowing at the time,’’ said Adrian Chmielarz — creative director at ‘‘Gears of War: Judgment’’ developer People Can Fly — of Bradbury’s short story collection about telepathic aliens. ‘‘The way (game developers’) brains work, we read everything — anime, comic books, everything — and hope that someday our work will result in similar greatness.’’ ——— Diplomats say Annan will ask key nations to come up with new strategy to end Syria conflict UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Against the backdrop of a new massacre in Syria, international envoy Kofi Annan on Thursday will propose tasking a group of world powers and key regional players including Iran to come up with a strategy to end the 15-month conflict, U.N. diplomats said. Annan will present the United Nations with a plan for creating a ‘‘contact group’’ whose final proposal must be acceptable to Syria’s allies Russia and China, which have blocked all U.N. action, as well as the U.S. and its European allies, who insist that President Bashar Assad must go, they said. There has also been talk about a meeting of key world leaders on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Mexico later this month to discuss the growing crisis in Syria and possible next steps, the diplomats said, speaking on condition of anonymity because consultations have been private. ‘‘It’s time for all of us to turn our attention to an orderly transition of power in Syria that would pave the way for democratic, tolerant, pluralistic future,’’ U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told reporters Wednesday before leaving Azerbaijan for Turkey. The violence in Syria has grown increasingly chaotic in recent months, and it is difficult to assign blame for much of the bloodshed. The government restricts journalists from moving freely, making it nearly impossible to independently verify accounts from either side. The opposition blames government forces and militias that support them known as shabihas while the government blames rebels and ‘‘armed terrorist groups.’’ ——— As signs indicate slowing economy, lawmakers are likely to press Bernanke on his outlook WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will be ready for the question. And lawmakers will be eager for an answer: What’s going on with the economy? It’s a question that’s raising fears and dividing economists inside and outside the Fed. How much guidance Bernanke will provide when he visits Capitol Hill on Thursday is unclear. In its most recent economic forecasts in late April, the Fed upgraded its outlook for 2012. It predicted more growth and lower unemployment than it had three months earlier. Since then, job growth has slumped. Stock prices have dropped. Europe’s debt crisis has deepened. Now, members of the Joint Economic Committee will want to know whether Bernanke and the Fed have turned gloomier — and, if so, whether they’re likely to act further to aid the economy. ——— Source: Veteran with war claims under scrutiny not checked by ’America’s Got Talent’ producers LOS ANGELES (AP) — An ‘‘America’s Got Talent’’ singer whose Afghanistan War injury claims have been called into question wouldn’t face vetting by producers unless he made it into the final rounds, according to a person familiar with the production. Timothy Michael Poe was among about 4,000 people who vied for a spot on the NBC series, which doesn’t scrutinize contestants until they reach the ranks of the top 48, said the person, who wasn’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly and spoke Wednesday on condition of anonymity. NBC relies on the show’s producers, FremantleMedia North America and Syco Television, to conduct background checks on contestants when the field is narrowed, the person said, which is typical among TV reality series. NBC and the show’s producers have declined all comment on the Poe matter. It’s unknown whether Poe, a guitar-strumming country singer, is among the top 48 picked in a Las Vegas audition round in April or if he’s out of the competition. The person would not reveal Poe’s fate on the show, nor would NBC or the show’s producers. Poe, who was seen on a pre-taped episode Monday of ‘‘America’s Got Talent,’’ was among about 100 acts that the show’s judges sent on to the Las Vegas round. The 48 who made that cut will start competing in live telecasts beginning July 2. ——— Thunder headed to NBA finals after erasing 18-point deficit to beat Spurs 107-99 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — For all the points, rebounds and assists that filled Kevin Durant’s impressive stat line, it was a defensive play he made that fired up his coach and teammates. ‘‘That’s his first charge of the year,’’ Russell Westbrook interjected when Durant was asked about drawing an offensive foul against Manu Ginobili in the fourth quarter of Oklahoma City’s 107-99 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday night. Indeed, it was. The league’s three-time scoring champion had 34 points and 14 rebounds while playing all of regulation for the first time all season, leading the Thunder into the NBA finals. But it was taking that charge that got his team pumped up. Durant stepped in front of Ginobili’s drive during a 3 1/2-minute scoreless stretch by San Antonio that allowed Oklahoma City to take the lead for good.
