Political News Archives...

· Officials 'Embarrassed' by Inmate Escape.  Jurors and victims' relatives fear they might be targets of a death row inmate who freed himself from handcuffs and walked out of a county jail in civilian clothes. Convicted killer Charles Victor Thompson remained at large Saturday, authorities said. Thompson, 35, fooled at least four jail employees when he walked out of the Harris County Jail on Thursday. "This was 100 percent human error; that's the most frustrating thing about it," sheriff's spokesman Lt. John Martin said. 

· House Vote Counters Eminent Domain Measure.  Conservative defenders of private property and liberal protectors of the poor joined in an overwhelming House vote to prevent local and state governments from seizing homes and businesses for use in economic development projects.  The House legislation, passed 376-38, was in response to a widely criticized 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court last June that allowed eminent domain authority to be used to obtain land for tax revenue-generating commercial purposes. 

· Libby Pleads Not Guilty in CIA Leak Case.  Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff pleaded not guilty to a five-count felony indictment Thursday in the CIA leak case, signaling a protracted court battle that is sure to prolong debate about the White House's prewar use of intelligence on Iraq.  "With respect, your honor, I plead not guilty," Libby told U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, a former prosecutor who has spent two decades as a judge in the nation's capital. 

· FEMA's Michael "Brownie" Buffoonery.  As Michael "Brownie" Brown was botching the federal emergency response to Hurricane Katrina, the ousted FEMA director sent a series of embarrassing e-mails to colleagues. On August 29, as Katrina was striking the Gulf Coast, Brown responded to a compliment on a TV appearance by stating, "I got it at Nordstroms... Are you proud of me? Can I quit now? Can I go home?" An hour later, Brown wrote about his government-issued wardrobe: "If you'll look at my lovely FEMA attire you'll really vomit. I am a fashion god." 

· Mike Wallace Interviewed by Son Chris.  Before arriving at a TV studio Thursday for an interview to promote his memoir, Mike Wallace had a feeling that hundreds of people who had sat across from him with the cameras rolling would find familiar. "I was intimidated ahead of time, I have to say," he said. "Who knows what he really had in mind?" His interrogator was his son, Chris. Their talk, taped for "Fox News Sunday," represented the first time father and son had crossed paths professionally in careers that together stretches three-quarters of a century. 

· Senate Ends Unusual Closed Session On Iraq War.  The Senate is meeting again in public, after a surprising closed-door session Tuesday afternoon to discuss pre-war intelligence on Iraq.  Democratic leader Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada said he and other Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into the unusual closed session because they wanted to "get to the bottom" of the reasons behind the war. Republicans derided the move as a political stunt. 

· Aaron Brown departing CNN in shake-up that gives time slot to Anderson Cooper.  Aaron Brown, once one of CNN's most prominent anchors, is leaving the network after a shakeup that gives his prime-time slot to rising star Anderson Cooper and expands it to two hours. 

· Price of stamps going up.  The cost of mailing a letter in the United States will rise two cents to 39 cents under a rate hike approved by the U.S. Postal Rate Commission on Tuesday.  The increase, the first in three years, was not expected to take effect before early next year, the commission said in a statement. 

· Army Chaplain Sentenced For Sodomizing Troops.  A U.S. Army chaplain was sentenced Tuesday to five years in prison after pleading guilty at his court-martial to three counts of forcible sodomy against enlisted men.  Capt. Gregory Arflack, 44, a Roman Catholic priest serving as a chaplain with the 279th Base Support Battalion, also pleaded guilty to three counts of committing an indecent act, two counts of fraternization with enlisted service members and one count of conduct unbecoming an officer. 

· Judge Removed From DeLay's Criminal Case.  In a courtroom victory for Rep. Tom Delay, the judge in the campaign-finance case against the former House Republican leader was removed Tuesday because of his donations to Democratic candidates and causes. 

· Fed raises rates, signals more to come.  The Federal Reserve raised U.S. interest rates on Tuesday for the 12th straight time, taking them to the highest level in more than four years and indicating more hikes will be needed to keep inflation at bay. 

· Facing Recall, Mayor Regrets Using Gay Chat Rooms.  The mayor of Spokane, Wash., fighting cancer and facing a recall election, said he regrets going online to access gay chat rooms.  The Dec. 6 recall vote is based on the accusation that Mayor James West misused his position by offering an internship to someone he met in a gay chat room. 

· Barred Mayor Plans to Stay in Office.  A Texas mayor can't set foot in the small city he leads until a criminal case against him is over, but he still plans on running it. Bartlett Mayor Bobby Hill, 61, was arrested last week and accused of stealing money and services from his 1,500-person city. 

· Jury gives man forced from store $7.7 million.  Jurors awarded $7.7 million yesterday to the former owner of a cigar store who was forced to move by the city to make way for a new hotel. The city used its powers of eminent domain so a developer could build a Marriott Renaissance Hotel. 

· Bush nominates Alito to Supreme Court.  Moving quickly to pick a Supreme Court nominee after his last selection withdrew her name, President Bush on Monday nominated Circuit Court Judge Samuel Alito - a favorite of conservatives - to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. 

· The $25 trillion land grab.  There has been an impressive amount of construction in the United States over the last three centuries: All told, we've built more than 300 billion square feet of homes, offices, factories and other structures.  But according to new studies from the Brookings Institution and Virginia Tech urban planning professor Robert Lang, we're about to pick up the pace - it will take just 25 years to erect the next 200 billion square feet, which we'll need to accommodate 70 million more people and to replace homes and offices erased by everything from disasters like Hurricane Katrina to plain old obsolescence. 

· Willie Nelson Fundraiser Nets $170,000 for Friend's Texas Gubernatorial Campaign.  Willie Nelson opened up his central Texas ranch and private golf course Sunday, raising an estimated $170,000 for his friend Kinky Friedman, an independent candidate for Texas governor. Friedman, an author and entertainer, will need up to $5 million just to get his name on next year's ballot. 

· Fires raise fraud suspicions at flooded homes.  Some of the New Orleans homes drowned by the flooding that followed Hurricane Katrina have been damaged by a second calamity - fire.  Both Louisiana investigators and insurance companies are starting to look into the blazes amid reports that some may have been set by desperate people who had no flood insurance but want to collect on their policies. 

· Homeland Security Misses Many Deadlines.  The Bush administration has missed dozens of deadlines set by Congress after the Sept. 11 attacks for developing ways to protect airplanes, ships and railways from terrorists.  A plan to defend ships and ports from attack is six months overdue. Rules to protect air cargo from infiltration by terrorists are two months late. A study on the cost of giving anti-terrorism training to federal law enforcement officers who fly commercially was supposed to be done more than three years ago. 

· Islamic Militants Claims Responsibility For India Blasts.  A caller claiming to represent a small militant group said the organization is responsible for three deadly bombings in India Saturday. 

· U.S. Investigates Sale of MREs on eBay.  Uncle Sam has tried to feed millions of hurricane victims this year with Meals-Ready-to-Eat, or MREs, only to fear that some of them have become Meals-Ready-for-eBay. 

· Marion Barry Pleads Guilty in Tax Case.  Former District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry pleaded guilty Friday to two misdemeanor counts stemming from his failure to file tax returns in 2000.   Barry, 69, told the court that he was not sure how much money he earned between 1999 and 2004, conceding that tax forms provided by his employers may support the government's contention that he earned $534,000. 

· 3 New Delhi Explosions Kill at Least 49.  Coordinated explosions in India's capital ripped through at least two markets jammed with evening shoppers ahead of an upcoming Hindu festival and a bus, killing at least 49 people. 

· Grassley 'embarrassed' but committed.  Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, played a key role in procuring $50 million in federal money for a $180 million enclosed rain forest in Iowa, but said he was embarrassed after a spate of devastating hurricanes and the need for massive federal aid to rebuild the ravaged areas. 

· Cheney Adviser Resigns After Indictment.  The vice president's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby Jr., was indicted Friday on charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements in the CIA leak investigation, a politically charged case that casts a harsh light on President Bush's push to war. Libby, 55, resigned and left the White House. Karl Rove, Bush's closest adviser, escaped indictment Friday but remained under investigation, his legal status casting a dark cloud over a White House already in trouble. The U.S. military death toll in Iraq exceeded 2,000 this week, and the president's approval ratings are at the lowest point since he took office in 2001. 

· House Cracks Down on Frivolous Lawsuits.  The House passed a bill that would take away lawyers' licenses if they repeatedly file frivolous lawsuits, the latest in a Republican drive to crack down on what they consider costly abuses of the legal system. 

· Handsome men have edge in election wins.  Beauty may only be skin deep but it's apparently enough to carry an election, a new study says. Handsome male candidates had a 56 percent chance of winning an election while their less dashing counterparts had a 44 percent chance, according Daniel Hamermesh, the study's author and an economics professor at the University of Texas. 

· Senate authorizes Rosa Parks honor in Capitol.  The late civil rights icon Rosa Parks will be the first woman to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, a tribute usually reserved for presidents, soldiers and politicians. 

· Vice President's Colorado Daughter To Join AOL.  America Online Inc. has hired Mary Cheney, the daughter of the vice president, to a newly created position. Cheney will report to AOL Vice Chairman Ted Leonsis and assist in managing the advertising, e-commerce and search engines considered AOL's core functions. 

· Fertility clinic gets green light for sex selection trial.  A clinical trial into the effects of allowing couples to choose the sex of their babies has been given the go-ahead at a fertility clinic in Texas. The controversial study was given the green light by an ethics committee after nine years of consultation. The purpose of the study is to find out how cultural notions, family values and gender issues feed into a couple's desire to choose the gender of their child. 

· Miers withdraws Supreme Court nomination.  President Bush on Thursday accepted the withdrawal of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers after weeks of opposition from both liberals and conservatives, who questioned her qualifications and record. In her withdrawal letter to the president, Miers said she was "concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and its staff and it is not in the best interest of the country." 

· Oil-for-food panel to finger Iraqi bribes to firms.  More than 2,500 companies from at least 60 countries that did business with Iraq in the U.N. oil-for-food program were the target of bribes and kickbacks to Saddam Hussein's government, a report on the program is expected to disclose on Thursday. 

· Watchdog says FBI violated surveillance rules.  A government watchdog is calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate at least 13 occasions of alleged improper use of FBI surveillance, including searches and seizures of e-mail and bank records. 

· IRS Says Unclaimed Tax Refunds Total $73 Million.  Thousands of people have money sitting at the Internal Revenue Service that could be claimed if they would just tell the tax collectors where they live. The IRS said Tuesday that $73 million in tax refunds that were sent to taxpayers this year did not reach the destination. In most cases, the post office returned the checks as undeliverable because the taxpayers had moved. The money belongs to more than 84,000 taxpayers, some of whom have more than one check waiting to be claimed. 

· U.S. military death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000.  The war in Iraq saw two milestones Tuesday that reflect the country's path toward democracy and its human toll as officials said the referendum on a draft constitution passed and the number of U.S. military deaths reached 2,000.  CNN's count of U.S. fatalities reflects reports from military sources and includes deaths in Iraq, Kuwait and other units assigned to the Iraq campaign. 

· Report: Cheney Cited as Source in CIA Leak.  Notes in the hand of a federal prosecutor suggest the chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney first heard of the covert CIA officer central to a leak investigation from Cheney himself, The NY Times reported. 

· Civil Rights Pioneer Rosa Parks, 92, Dies.  Nearly 50 years ago, Rosa Parks made a simple decision that sparked a revolution. When a white man demanded she give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus, the then 42-year-old seamstress said no. 

· Bernanke Picked by Bush to Succeed Greenspan at Fed.  Ben Bernanke, chairman of Council of Economic Advisers and a former Federal Reserve governor, was named today by President George W. Bush to succeed Alan Greenspan as Fed chairman. Bernanke ``commands deep respect in the global financial community,'' Bush said as Bernanke and Greenspan stood by his side in the Oval Office. ``Ben Bernanke is the right man to build on the record Alan Greenspan has established.''  

· Louisiana study: Most victims over 60.  A majority of people killed by Hurricane Katrina were older residents unable or unwilling to evacuate in the rising floodwaters, according to a study of almost half the bodies recovered in Louisiana. About 60 percent of the nearly 500 victims identified so far were age 61 or older, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals reported. 

· Philly Councilman Released After Psych Evaluation.  Philadelphia City Councilman Rick Mariano is out of the hospital Saturday after undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, Philadelphia television station WCAU reported.  His release comes only days after he had to be talked out of the city hall clock tower by Mayor John Street and Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson. 

· City to offer ID cards to illegal immigrants.  Richmond, KY will begin offering identification cards to immigrants, regardless of whether they entered the country legally or not. The move could make the Madison County seat the first city in the country to issue such immigrant IDs - and draw Richmond into the large and sometimes fierce national debate over immigration reform. 

· Instructor at N.C. State University:  'Exterminate white people.'  Political Web sites throughout the country are crackling this week in response to statements by a former instructor at N.C. State University, who said blacks must "exterminate white people off the face of the planet." Kamau Kambon, an author who taught in NCSU's Africana Studies program as recently as last spring, made the comments Oct. 14 during a conference at Howard University in Washington. 

· DeLay seeks new judge in money-laundering case.  Rep. Tom DeLay appeared in court Friday for the first time since indictment, but arraignment on conspiracy and money laundering charges was delayed pending a hearing on his request for a new judge in the politically-charged case.  Judge Bob Perkins told defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin that "the best way for me to handle" the request for a new judge would be to defer further proceedings.  Judge Perkins had donated money to MoveOn.org, a liberal organization that has been "selling T-shirts with Mr. DeLay's mug shot on it." 

· Senators clash over Alaska's "Bridge to Nowhere."  Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., a staunch opponent of pork-barrel spending, tried to block $453 million for two Alaska bridges that had been tucked into the recent highway spending bill. Coburn wanted to redirect the money to the Interstate 10 bridge across Lake Pontchartrain, a major thoroughfare that was severely damaged during Hurricane Katrina.  Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was dramatic in his response: "I don't kid people," he roared. "If the Senate decides to discriminate against our state ... I will resign from this body."  The $223 million "Bridge to Nowhere" would connect Ketchikan to an island where there is an airport and about 50 people. 

· Mayoral Hopeful Reveals Affair With Current Mayor.  A man hoping to unseat Broomfield, Colorado Mayor Karen Stuart said that he had an affair with Stuart eight years ago.  Clark Griep told the Rocky Mountain News that Stuart "accosted" him in a parking lot earlier this year and threatened to tell his wife about the affair if he didn't stop rumors of the affair from spreading. 

· Clinton working with millions.  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton burned through cash almost as fast as she raised it this summer, spending $4.75 million compared with $5.3 million collected from donors, records show.  The New York Democrat's 2,300-plus pages of federal filings for the third quarter, made available to reporters yesterday, include the expected odd-lot of celebrity supporters, like Iraq War whistleblower Richard Clarke, rap mogul Russell Simmons, "Sopranos" star Lorriane Bracco, financier George Soros and Donald Trump.  The list also features an apparently unsolicited $1,000 Aug. 25 check mailed to Friends of Hillary by Hustler founder Larry Flynt - along with the Sept. 22 notation that the money had been returned. 

· Supreme Court nominee suspended from D.C. Bar Association.  After becoming White House counsel, the D.C. Bar Association suspended Harriet Miers' ability to practice in D.C. courts because she didn't pay her bar dues. 

· Oil Prices Fall More Than $1 a Barrel.  Oil prices dropped more than $1 Wednesday after the U.S. government reported crude and gasoline inventories rose sharply last week a sign that oil supplies in the Gulf of Mexico are recovering from the recent hurricanes. 

· Arrest Warrant Issued For DeLay.  A Texas court on Wednesday issued a warrant for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's arrest, and set an initial $10,000 bail as a routine step before his first court appearance on conspiracy and state money laundering charges. Travis County court officials said DeLay was ordered to appear at the Fort Bend County, Texas, jail for booking, where he'd likely be fingerprinted and photographed. 

· CIA Leak Probe Focuses on Possible Inaccuracies.  Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff apparently gave New York Times reporter Judith Miller inaccurate information about where Valerie Plame worked in the CIA, a mistake that could be important to the criminal investigation. 

· US security chief strives to expel all illegal immigrants.  Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said his department aims without exception to expel all those who enter the United States illegally.  "Our goal at DHS (Homeland Security) is to completely eliminate the 'catch and release' enforcement problem, and return every single illegal entrant, no exceptions. 

· Rolex From Monroe to JFK Fetches $120,000.  A watch that Marilyn Monroe reportedly gave President Kennedy as a birthday gift has fetched $120,000 at an auction.  The gold Rolex is inscribed: "Jack, With love as always from Marilyn May 29th 1962." Kennedy was born May 29, 1917. 

· Ex-Governor Elected to Afghan Parliament.  A former regional governor who oversaw the destruction of two massive 1,500-year-old Buddha statues during the Taliban's reign was elected to the Afghan parliament last month, officials said Tuesday as results from two provinces were finalized. 

· Cheney resignation rumors fly.  Sparked by today's Washington Post story that suggests Vice President Cheney's office is involved in the Plame-CIA spy link investigation, government officials and advisers passed around rumors that the vice president might step aside and that President Bush would elevate Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. 

· World is more peaceful now than at any time in 12 years?  Despite the daily horrors in Iraq and seemingly regular spasms of terrorist-sponsored violence, the world is a much more peaceful place than it was a little more than a decade ago, a new study says.  Since the end of the Cold War, the number of armed conflicts has declined by more than 40 per cent, while the number of the deadliest conflicts - those involving more than 1,000 battle-related deaths - has dropped by 80 per cent, said the Human Security Report, which was released here yesterday. 

· DeLay Will Likely Be Booked This Week.  Rep. Tom DeLay will likely be booked in a Texas county jail this week despite attempts by his attorneys to bypass the fingerprinting and mug shot process.  "(Judge) Perkins believes that if God was charged with a felony, he would have to go through the booking process, too," said D'Ann Underwood, court coordinator for the judge. 

· Listen to Democrats and it is easy to say what they are not.  Democrats are not the party that led America to war in Iraq. They are not the party trying to privatize Social Security, cut taxes to the rich or add to the deficit. They are not the party responsible for the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina. Democrats, some barely able to contain their glee, seem to have embraced the strategy of Napoleon Bonaparte, who famously advised: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." It is far more difficult to say what Democrats are for. 

· Sen. Hillary Clinton hits Hollywood money trail.  Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ventured to the West Coast on Thursday to hit the Hollywood money trail as she gears up for her first re-election campaign and weighs a possible White House bid in 2008. 

· GOP picks up tab for $48,000 junket.  The Republican Party of Florida will pay a gambling company $48,000 in hopes of sparing four lawmakers a possible ethics problem after they took a two-day trip to Toronto at the company's expense. 

· Former N.C. Congressman Gets Four Years.  Former Rep. Frank Ballance was sentenced Wednesday to four years in federal prison for conspiring to divert taxpayer money to his law firm and family through a charitable organization he helped start.  According to a 51-page indictment, Ballance channeled $2.3 million in state money from 1994 to 2003 to the nonprofit foundation he operated to help poor people fight drug and alcohol abuse. 

· Lawmaker Turns Herself In On Drug Charge.  Oregon Rep. Kelley Wirth was arrested Thursday for drug possession after turning herself in to Salem police.  Wirth was leaving the Capitol last month when another woman allegedly tried to run her down with a car. While investigating the incident, police reportedly found a small amount of a white powder/crystal substance, believed to be methamphetamine, in her car. 

· Reporter who investigated Nixon dies.  Jack White, a reporter whose story on President Nixon's underpayment of income taxes won a Pulitzer Prize and prompted Nixon to utter the famous line, "I am not a crook," died Wednesday at 63. 

· Kennedy: I'll Support Kerry in 2008 Race.  Sen. Edward Kennedy said Wednesday he would back fellow Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 even if Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton also pursues a White House bid. "If he runs, I would support him," Kennedy told The Associated Press in an interview at his Boston office. 

· Al Qaeda letter called 'chilling.'  Senior U.S. intelligence officials call a letter from al Qaeda's No. 2 man to its leader in Iraq "chilling" because of how "calm, clear and well argued" it is in urging preparation for a U.S. departure from Iraq. According to a translation of the 6,300-word letter provided by the U.S. government, Ayman al-Zawahiri predicts "the Americans will exit soon" from Iraq and says "things may develop faster than we imagine." 

· DeLay Lawyers Subpoena District Attorney.  Lawyers for indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on Tuesday subpoenaed the prosecuting Texas district attorney in an effort to show he acted improperly with grand jurors. The subpoena for Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, filed in Austin, asked that the prosecutor and two of his assistants appear in court to explain their conduct. 

· Calif. governor signs ban on subsidized Viagra for sex offenders.  California taxpayers will no longer help pay the cost of impotency drugs for registered sex offenders under legislation signed Tuesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.  The bill, from Assemblyman George Plescia, R-San Diego, amends current law that requires the state's health insurance program for the poor to help cover the cost of drugs used for treating erectile dysfunction. 

· Memo: NYC Attack Was Scheduled for Sunday.  Details emerged about an alleged plot to attack the city's subways with bombs hidden in bags and possibly baby strollers as local and federal officials jostled over the credibility of the threat. A Department of Homeland Security memo obtained by The Associated Press said the attack was reportedly scheduled to take place on or around Sunday, with terrorists using timed or remote-controlled explosives hidden in briefcases, suitcases or in or under strollers. 

· Ex-DC mayor investigated over taxes.  Former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, now a city council member, is under investigation for failing to pay income tax, local media reported on Tuesday.  Barry, 69, who made a comeback in Washington politics despite a conviction for smoking crack cocaine that ended his mayoral term 15 years ago. 

· Grand Jury indicts DeLay on new charge of money laundering.  A Texas grand jury indicted Rep. Tom DeLay on a new charge of money laundering Monday, less than a week after another grand jury leveled a conspiracy charge that forced DeLay to temporarily step down as House majority leader. 

· Bush Chooses Harriet Miers for Supreme Court.  President Bush has chosen Harriet Miers, White House counsel and a loyal member of the president's inner circle, to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court, a senior administration official said Monday. 

· Clooney Proudly Wears 'Liberal' Label.  George Clooney is mad that liberal has become a dirty word.  "I'm going to keep saying 'liberal' as loud as I can and as often as I can," Clooney told Newsweek magazine in an interview about the film "Good Night, and Good Luck," which he co-wrote and directed. 

· Boeing ad "unleashes hell" on mosque.  Boeing and its joint-venture partner Bell Helicopter apologized yesterday for a magazine ad published a month ago — and again this week by mistake — depicting U.S. Special Forces troops rappelling from an Osprey aircraft onto the roof of a mosque.  "It descends from the heavens. Ironically it unleashes hell," reads the ad. 

· FBI Admits to Making Mistakes in Wiretaps.  The FBI says it sometimes gets the wrong number when it intercepts conversations in terrorism investigations, an admission critics say underscores a need to revise wiretap provisions in the Patriot Act. The FBI would not say how often these mistakes happen. 

· Congress sends stop-gap funding bill to Bush.  The U.S. Senate on Friday passed legislation to keep funds flowing to federal agencies through November 18, averting any chance of a government-wide shutdown this weekend. The House of Representatives passed identical legislation on Thursday and President George W. Bush is expected to sign the measure into law. Without the stop-gap spending bill, most government agencies would not have money to continue operating after midnight, the end of the 2005 fiscal year. 

· Fannie's errors may require "small" change.  Fannie Mae's estimated $10.8 billion earnings restatement may only require a "small" increase following a report of new accounting errors, said analysts at firms including JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. 

· Forest Service says court order stops Capitol Christmas tree.  The U-S Forest Service is threatening to hold up the Christmas tree slated to light up the grounds of the U-S Capitol building this year. The 80-foot spruce sits in a forest in New Mexico. The agency has put hundreds of small projects on hold while it reviews a decision by a California federal judge throwing out limits on public participation in forest decisions. 

· Bennett: Black Abortions Would Lower Crime.  William Bennett, on his radio show, "Morning in America," was answering a caller's question when he took issue with the hypothesis put forth in a recent book that one reason crime is down is that abortion is up.  "But I do know that it's true that if you wanted to reduce crime, you could, if that were your sole purpose, you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down," said Bennett. 

· FDNY chaplain resigns after 9/11 conspiracy remarks.  The fire department's new Muslim chaplain abruptly resigned Friday after saying in a published interview that he believes something other than al-Qaida hijackers brought down the World Trade Center.  "It became clear to him that he would have difficulty functioning as an FDNY chaplain," Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta told reporters an hour before Imam Intikab Habib was to be officially sworn in.  Habib told Newsday in an interview "Was it 19 hijackers who brought it down, or was it a conspiracy?" 

· Pentagon revokes clearance of 'Able Danger' officer.  An officer who has claimed that a classified military unit identified four Sept. 11 hijackers before the 2001 attacks is facing Pentagon accusations of breaking numerous rules, allegations his lawyer suggests are aimed at undermining his credibility.  The alleged infractions by Army Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, 42, include obtaining a service medal under false pretenses, improperly flashing military identification while drunk and stealing pens, according to military paperwork shown by his attorney to The Associated Press. 

· Schwarzenegger Terminates California Same-Sex Marriage Bill.  As promised, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed California's same-sex marriage bill on Thursday. Explaining his action — which came on a day in which he rejected 51 other bills as well — Schwarzenegger wrote that he believed gay couples were entitled to "full protection under the law and should not be discriminated against," but that he believed the bill would have reversed a 2000 ballot measure that declared that only a marriage between a man and a woman is legal in California. 

· Rep. Mary Bono, Husband to Divorce.  Rep. Mary Bono and her husband, businessman Glenn Baxley, plan to divorce, her office said Thursday.  Bono, the widow of pop star-turned-politician Sonny Bono, married Baxley in November 2001. 

· Roberts to Be Confirmed As Chief Justice.  Chief Justice nominee John Roberts is taking his place as the next leader of the Supreme Court, with a commanding majority of the Senate backing him to lead the court through turbulent social issues that will affect generations to come. Roberts was to be confirmed Thursday by at least 77 senators, or more than three-fourths of the 100-member chamber, as President Bush's selection to replace the late William H. Rehnquist. 

· DeLay Indicted in Texas Fundraising Probe.  House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted Wednesday by a Texas grand jury on a charge of conspiring to violate political fundraising laws, making him the highest-ranking member of Congress ever to face criminal indictment and forcing him to temporarily step aside from his GOP post. 

· Bush Pardons Coal Mine Bomber, 13 Others.  President Bush granted pardons Wednesday to 14 people, including a member of the mineworkers union who was convicted for his role in bombings at a West Virginia coal mine, a counterfeiter and a bootlegger.  Bush has issued 60 pardons, while his father, former President George H.W. Bush, issued 77 pardons during his single term, and former President Clinton granted clemency to 456 people during his eight years in office. 

· Al Jazeera's newest journalist is an ex-US Marine.  Josh Rushing, former Marine captain and an accidental star of the movie Control Room made news of his own last week when he signed on to become the American face of the controversial Arab news network Al Jazeera-International. Top U.S. officials, including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, have repeatedly complained that Al Jazeera's coverage is unfair or untrue. Yesterday, Rushing sat down with TIME for his first interview on why he took the job and what the new network will cover. 

· Brown serving as consultant to FEMA.  A congressional panel on Tuesday is expected to scrutinize the decision to keep ousted Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Michael Brown on the federal payroll.  Brown said he wished he had pushed more forcefully - and earlier - for federal troops to be brought in to restore order in New Orleans. 

· President may have worn defective vest.  President Bush attends a memorial for police officers killed in the line of duty. Under his jacket, he's wearing a Second Chance bulletproof vest, according to a company insider critical of the vest.  A year later, a California police officer wearing the same model vest is killed when a bullet penetrates his vest. 

· 5 Iraq Teachers Shot Dead at School.  Roadside bombs killed three U.S. soldiers Monday in two separate attacks and 16 Iraqis were killed elsewhere, including five teachers and their driver who were shot to death in a classroom by suspected insurgents disguised as policemen. 

· Louisiana’s governor seeks $20 billion for levee repairs.  Areas of the city newly flooded by Hurricane Rita could be pumped dry again within a week after levee damage is repaired, far sooner than initially predicted, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman said Sunday as Louisiana’s governor said she would request $20.2 billion in funding for levees. 

· Hamas goes out with a bang.  A truck filled with masked Hamas militants and homemade weapons accidentally exploded at a Hamas rally Friday, killing at least 10 Palestinians and wounding 85 including children, bringing a grisly and terrifying end to one of the last gatherings by armed groups celebrating Israel's Gaza pullout. 

· Emotional Rather blasts 'climate of fear' in newsrooms.  Former CBS News anchor Dan Rather said Monday that there is a climate of fear running through newsrooms stronger than he has ever seen in his more than four-decade career.  Rather said politicians "of every persuasion" had gotten better at applying pressure on the conglomerates that own the broadcast networks, calling it a "new journalism order." 

· Arrest of former Mexican president sought.  A special federal prosecutor on Monday sought the arrest of ex-President Luis Echeverria and other former officials for their alleged involvement in the massacre of student protesters in 1968. 

· Nazi-hunter Wiesenthal dies at 96.  Holocaust survivor and Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal has died in the Austrian capital, Vienna, aged 96. His death was announced by officials at the US-based Simon Wiesenthal Center. 

· NASA Estimates Moon Rocket Will Cost $104 billion.  NASA estimated Monday it will cost $104 billion to return astronauts to the moon by 2018 in a new rocket that combines the space shuttle with the capsule of an earlier NASA era. 

· N. Korea agrees to give up nuclear program.  Nearly three years after ordering U.N. nuclear inspectors out of the country, North Korea Monday agreed to give up its entire nuclear program, including weapons, a joint statement from six-party nuclear arms talks in Beijing said. 

· Students slip past visa check.  In its first year alone, the program detected more than 36,000 potential violations of student visas nationwide, of which only 1,600 were investigated, according to the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which operates the system. 

· Bush pledges nation's help for Gulf Coast.  In a nationally televised address from Jackson Square in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans, Bush outlined his plans to assist recovery efforts and to prevent bureaucratic errors of the sort that slowed the response to Hurricane Katrina. 

· Laser pointing dad can be prosecuted under Patriot Act.  Federal prosecutors can use the Patriot Act against a Parsippany man accused of shining a hand-held laser at two aircraft.  David Banach's lawyers said the post nine-eleven law was not intended to be used against someone who is not a terrorist. 

· Government gone amuck.  As violence, death and misery gripped New Orleans and the surrounding parishes in the days after Hurricane Katrina, a leadership vacuum, bureaucratic red tape and a defensive culture paralyzed volunteers' attempts to help.  For example, firefighters who answered a nationwide call for help were first sent to Atlanta for FEMA training sessions on sexual harassment, and one doctor arriving at New Orleans airport tried to help some of the hundreds of sick people, only to be told by FEMA that they were worried about the legal liability. 

· Reuters Explains Photo Of Bush Bathroom Note.  Bush is shown writing: "I think I may need a bathroom break. Is this possible." The photo, which quickly became fodder for blogs and e-mails among friends, was taken by Rick Wilking, a contract photographer based in Denver who recently covered the flooding in New Orleans. 

· Atta Papers Destroyed on Orders.  A Pentagon employee was ordered to destroy documents that identified Mohamed Atta as a terrorist two years before the 2001 attacks, a congressman said Thursday.   

· Finger pointing circles back to local New Orleans government.  The unveiling of the Mardi Gras Fountain was celebrated this year in typical New Orleans style. The cost of $2.4 million was paid by the Orleans Levee Board, the state agency whose main job is to protect the levees surrounding New Orleans — the same levees that failed after Katrina hit.  Beyond the fountain, there's the $15 million spent on two overpasses that helped gamblers get to Bally's riverboat casino. Critics tried and failed to put some of that money into flood protection. 

· Congressman Used National Guard to Visit Home.  Amid the chaos and confusion that engulfed New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina struck, a congressman used National Guard troops to check on his property and rescue his personal belongings — even while New Orleans residents were trying to get rescued from rooftops. 

· Embattled FEMA Director Mike Brown Resigns.  Federal Emergency Management Agency director Mike Brown said Monday he has resigned "in the best interest of the agency and best interest of the president," three days after losing his onsite command of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. 

· Court rules it's ok to lie about political opponent.  A law that bars political candidates from deliberately making false statements about their opponents violates the First Amendment right of free speech, an appeals panel has ruled. 

· Israeli flag lowered over Gaza.  The Israeli flag has been lowered over Gaza, symbolizing the end of 38 years of Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territory two weeks ahead of schedule. The last Israeli soldiers were set to leave Gaza just hours after Sunday's flag ceremony at the Israel-Gaza border crossing. 

· Florida emergency planners criticize states on response.  Florida emergency planners criticized and even rebuked their counterparts - or what passes for emergency planners - in those states for their handling of Hurricane Katrina. Gov. Jeb Bush, the head of Florida AHCA and the head of Florida wildlife (which is responsible for all search and rescue) all said they made offers of aid to Mississippi and Louisiana the day before Katrina hit but were rebuffed. After the storm, they said they've had to not only help provide people to those states but also have had to develop search and rescue plans for them. "They were completely unprepared - as bad off as we were before Andrew," one Florida official said. 

· Moments Of Silence To Mark 9/11 Anniversary.  As dawn breaks on the East Coast Sunday, Americans are pausing to mark the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. 

· President's Approval Rating Dips Below 40.  President Bush's job approval has dipped below 40 percent for the first time in the AP-Ipsos poll, reflecting widespread doubts about his handling of gasoline prices and the response to Hurricane Katrina. 

· FEMA Chief Relieved of Katrina Duties.  Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown is being removed from his role in managing the Bush administration's Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and is returning to Washington. 

· Congressman says don't trust Louisiana with aid.  U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., asked House Speaker Dennis Hastert not to send federal disaster aid to officials in Louisiana, calling state and local government there incompetent and corrupt. 

· Group's TV ad uses storm's aftermath to target Roberts.  The televised images of poverty-stricken evacuees from Hurricane Katrina are part of a provocative, last-minute effort by liberal interest group MoveOn.org to divert federal Judge John Roberts' path to confirmation as chief justice. 

· Calif. Assembly passes bill to allow gay marriage.  A bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry won final passage on Tuesday in the California Assembly, marking the first time a state legislature in the United States has endorsed gay marriage. 

· Don't blame only feds.  Journalist Michael Goodwin suggests taking a break from the joy of Bush bashing to reveal the dirty little secret of New Orleans: Its local government deserves an F for its planning and response to Katrina. And one other thing: The New Orleans police force would be a joke if it weren't a disgrace.  New Orleans police chief has responded by offering all officers paid vacations to Las Vegas and Atlanta. Yes, that's right - he is pulling all cops off the street, even while bodies lie in the open. 

· Dig truckers wheel in to methadone clinic.  Big Dig workers are lining up at the crack of dawn to get heroin-weaning methadone from a local Boston clinic – including some who operate heavy equipment.  The issue raises more questions about the $14.6 billion project, which is the focus of federal and state probes into cost overruns and shoddy workmanship that has allegedly led to leaky tunnels. 

· Bush to seek $40 billion in disaster aid.  President Bush intends to seek $40 billion to cover the next phase of Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery operations, a congressional official said Tuesday.  The total cost to the federal government could top $150 billion. 

· Roberts Among Rehnquist's Pall Bearers.  Teary-eyed Supreme Court justices and a long line of other Americans paid their last respects to William H. Rehnquist on Tuesday at the court where he served for 33 years. Among the pallbearers was his former clerk, John Roberts, the man chosen to succeed the nation's 16th chief justice. 

· Bush nominates Roberts as chief justice.  President Bush on Monday nominated Judge John Roberts to succeed the late William H. Rehnquist as chief justice of the United States. 

· Halliburton hired for storm cleanup.  The Navy has hired Houston-based Halliburton Co. to restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris at three naval facilities in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina. 

· New Orleans a 'ghost town' for 9 months.  New Orleans will have to be abandoned for at least nine months, and many of its people will remain homeless for up to two years, the U.S. government believes.  The bleak assessment will deepen the biggest crisis faced by President George Bush, who last week called the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a " temporary disruption." 

· Blame game: It's Alaska's fault.  If Congress hadn't steered so much money to Alaska, they would have had enough to fully fund last year's $105 million request from the Army Corps of Engineers for hurricane and flood programs in New Orleans, according to observers. While Congress carved out $40 million of the $105 million request, Alaska was given $231 million to build a bridge to a small island that is home to about 50 people. 

· Chief Justice Rehnquist has died.  Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who quietly advanced the conservative ideology of the Supreme Court under his leadership, died Saturday evening. 

· FEMA chief was "asked to resign" from previous job.  The federal official in charge of the bungled New Orleans rescue was fired from his last private-sector job overseeing horse shows.  And before joining the Federal Emergency Management Agency as a deputy director in 2001, GOP activist Mike Brown had no significant experience that would have qualified him for the position. 

· NBC Concert:  "George Bush doesn't care about black people."  It began, fittingly enough, with jazz from New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis. But "A Concert for Hurricane Relief," a heartfelt and dignified benefit aired on NBC and other networks Friday night, took an unexpected turn thanks to the outspoken rapper Kanye West.  Appearing two-thirds through the program, West took the government to task, claiming "George Bush doesn't care about black people." 

· Chirac Hospitalized for Vision Trouble.  President Jacques Chirac has been hospitalized in Paris after suffering from a blood vessel problem affecting his eyesight and was expected to remain there for about a week, the prime minister said Saturday. 

· Congress Sending $10.5B in Relief Aid.  Congress rushed to provide a $10.5 billion in relief aid for Gulf Coast victims of Hurricane Katrina on Thursday as President Bush ordered new action to minimize disruptions in the nation's energy supplies. 

· House Speaker: Rebuilding New Orleans doesn't make sense.  House Speaker Dennis Hastert dropped a bombshell on flood-ravaged New Orleans on Thursday by saying it isn’t sensible to rebuild the city.  Hastert said that he supports an emergency bailout, but raised questions about rebuilding a city below sea level that will continue to be in the path of powerful hurricanes. 

· 'Complete Chaos.'  Thousands are floating in the water or drowned in attics, 50,000 to 60,000 people are now seeking evacuation, a National Guardsman was shot, an ambulance was flipped over during a hospital evacuation, electricity is out for more than 2.3 million people, gasoline supplies causing spikes above $5 per gallon, and looting continues by AK-47 armed men - despite more than 10,000 National Guard troops brought in to control them. 

· Bush administration to release oil from petroleum reserves to boost supply.  Energy Secretary Samuel W. Bodman said today the Bush administration will release oil from petroleum reserves to help refiners affected by Hurricane Katrina. An announcement is expected later in the day. 

· 648 dead in Baghdad stampede.  At least 648 people were killed and 322 others injured in a stampede on a Baghdad bridge after a massive Shiite religious commemoration erupted into panic Wednesday. Most of those killed were women and children, police sources said. 

· Sheehan Glad Bush Didn't Meet With Her.  A woman who led an anti-war protest for nearly a month near President Bush's ranch said Tuesday that she's glad Bush never showed up to discuss her son's death in Iraq, saying the president's absence "galvanized the peace movement." 

· Poll: Fewer see Democrats as friendly toward religion.  Democrats' efforts to improve their image with religious voters after the 2004 presidential election don't seem to be working.  A new Pew Research Center poll finds only 29 percent of those surveyed view the Democrats as friendly to religion, down from 40 percent at this time last year, while 55 percent say the Republicans are religion-friendly. 

· N.C. Senate approves lottery.  The state Senate came back to Raleigh Tuesday and approved a lottery by one vote, 25-24.  Two Republican senators who had opposed the lottery earlier were absent. One is ill and the other is on his honeymoon. The absence of the opponents gave supporters a chance to push through a state-sponsored numbers game. 

· Bush Cancels Vacation to Focus on Relief.  President Bush decided to cancel the rest of his vacation to concentrate on federal relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Katrina as his top disaster relief official lamented "catastrophic" damage in three Southern states. 

· Governor pardons all but himself in personnel investigation.  Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher on Monday granted blanket pardons to everyone who has been or might be charged in the investigation of personnel practices in his administration but said he would not pardon himself. 

· Former Senator Jesse Helms compares abortion to the Holocaust and 9/11 attacks.  Jesse Helms, writing with the same passion that made him the archconservative of the U.S. Senate for 30 years, renews his criticism of abortion in a memoir being published this week, comparing it to both the Holocaust and the Sept. 11 attacks. 

· Walter Reed Medical Center to Be Closed.  Siding with the Pentagon, the base-closing commission voted Thursday to shut down the Army's historic Walter Reed hospital and move about 20,000 defense workers miles away from their offices just outside the nation's capital. 

· Iraq Lawmakers Won't Meet on Constitution.  Parliament announced it had no plans to meet Thursday night and no date for a future session, signaling Iraqi factions were failing to reach agreement on a new constitution before a self-imposed midnight target. 

· White House dismisses Chavez assassination call.  Bush administration officials Tuesday disavowed Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson's call for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Venezuela's Vice President Vicente Rangel accused Robertson of inciting violence and challenged the White House to take action against Robertson. "What is the U.S. government going to do about this criminal statement made by one of its citizens?" he asked. 

· Sunni minority causes another delay for Iraqi constitution vote.  In another dramatic last-minute standoff, Iraqi leaders put off a vote on a draft constitution, adjourning Parliament at a midnight deadline in a bid for more time to try to win over the Sunni Arab minority whose support is key to ending the insurgency. 

· Cindy Sheehan may not be so innocent.  "The biggest terrorist in the world is George W. Bush," Sheehan said in a recent speech. "What they're saying, too, is like, it's OK for Israel to have nuclear weapons. But Iran or Syria better not get nuclear weapons ... It's OK for Israel to occupy Palestine ... for the US to occupy Iraq, but it's not OK for Syria to be in Lebanon. They're a bunch of F***ing hypocrites." 

· A Summer of Scandal for U.S. Politicians.  Ohio Gov. Bob Taft is hardly the only politician these days to be hit by scandal. He's just the only one to admit he was wrong.  Tom DeLay, R-Texas, is fighting ethics charges. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is too. And two federal lawmakers are under investigation over financial dealings. "There does seem to be a spate of scandals these days," said Charles Lewis, founder of the Center for Public Integrity. "It seems to be heavier than it's been for a while." 

· Joan Baez Performing at War Protest Near Bush Ranch.  Iraq war protesters camping out near President Bush's ranch are getting support from a prominent figure in the anti-Vietnam war movement: folk singer Joan Baez. 

· Breakthrough Reported in Stem Cell Research.  Harvard (search) scientists say they have fused an adult skin cell with an embryonic stem cell in a potentially dramatic development that could lead to the creation of useful stem cells without first having to create and destroy human embryos.  They said they were able to show in their early research that the fused cell "was reprogrammed to its embryonic state." 

· Supreme Court nominee Roberts to King of Pop: Request denied.  Supreme Court nominee John Roberts Jr.'s legal philosophy may be shrouded in ambiguity, but when it comes to the King of Pop, Roberts shows no judicial restraint whatsoever. Tucked in the thousands of pages of documents released this week from Roberts's time in the Reagan White House are a collection of memos by the young lawyer about efforts by Michael Jackson's publicists to get presidential flattery for the Gloved One. Without exception, future judge Roberts voted to overturn. 

· Jury says Merck negligent.  Merck has been held liable by a Texas jury in the first lawsuit involving its former blockbuster drug Vioxx, in a case that could have a profound effect on thousands of other cases filed against the company. Plaintiff Carol Ernst has won her lawsuit in Texas Superior Court in Angleton, which blames Vioxx for the 2001 death of her husband, Robert Ernst, a 59-year-old marathon runner and Wal-Mart worker who was taking the arthritis painkiller at the time of his death. Ernst died of a heart attack. The verdict held Merck liable for the death. Jurors voted 10-2 in favor of Ernst. 

· Arizona ranch turned over to illegal immigrants.  A 70-acre Arizona ranch once owned by a member of an armed group accused of terrorizing illegal immigrants has been turned over to two of the very people the owner had tried keep out of the country, after the immigrants won a lawsuit against the Arizona landowner. 

· Measure would ban pay to drunk, drugged workers.  Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, said the workers’ compensation system never was set up to aid those whose intoxication was a factor in causing an on-thejob accident. He said that premise was upset last week when the state Supreme Court ruled that employees can’t be denied benefits solely because they were inebriated or high at the time.  Tom Stillwell, an attorney who represents injured workers, said Farnsworth’s idea has unintended consequences.   For example, he said, someone might be walking on a job site "and someone drops a piano on his head." 

· Ex-Mass. governor to run in New York.  Former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld said he plans to seek the Republican nomination for governor of his native New York next year, according to a published report. 

· Sheehan leaves town after mother suffers stroke.  Cindy Sheehan suddenly ended her nearly two-week-long vigil Thursday near the President’s Central Texas ranch after learning her 74-year-old mother had suffered a stroke. 

· Next shuttle launch delayed until March.  NASA is delaying the next shuttle launch until March, six months later than originally expected. The reason, NASA chief Michael Griffin said at a press conference today in Washington, is that the space agency needs more time to figure out how to prevent a repeat of the problems that plagued the recent Discovery flight. Those problems included a potentially hazardous loss of foam that fell off the shuttle's external tank during takeoff. 

· Top law enforcement officer caught shoplifting fishing flies.  The second highest-ranking law enforcement officer at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation was arrested for shoplifting last month. He says it was a "stupid mistake."  Pete Mang is the Deputy Director of the CBI.  The Aurora police report states that a store security video camera captured Mang stealing fishing flies and store security officers were "very shocked because the man was so well-dressed." 

· Ohio governor to be charged with 4 misdemeanors.  Gov. Bob Taft, under investigation for not reporting numerous golf outings as required by ethics law, will be charged with four misdemeanors, a prosecutor said Wednesday. 

· TV Show Host Scarborough Weighs Senate Bid.  Congressman turned political talk show host Joe Scarborough has a choice to make: renew his contract with NBC or challenge Katherine Harris for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. 

· Survey: Half of Mexicans want to come to U.S.  A survey reported Tuesday that nearly half of all Mexicans would like to live in the United States and that the sentiment seemed as strong among Mexico's college-educated middle class as the poor. 

· Tensions force anti-Bush peace camp to move.  A high profile peace camp set up by anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan is to move from the roadside outside President George W. Bush's Texas ranch to a private property nearby following mounting hostilities with local residents. 

· Federal budget deficit drops again.  The Congressional Budget Office predicts a budget deficit of $314 billion for the coming fiscal year, almost a $100 billion decline from last year's deficit. 

· 'Able Danger' Barred From Informing FBI.  An Army intelligence officer says his unit was blocked in 2000 and 2001 from giving the FBI information about a U.S.-based terrorist cell that included Mohamed Atta, the future leader of the Sept. 11 attacks. Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer said the small intelligence unit, called "Able Danger," had identified Atta and three of the other future Sept. 11 hijackers as al-Qaida members by mid-2000. He said military lawyers stopped the unit from sharing the information with the FBI. The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks left the Able Danger claims out of its official report. 

· Goyette Says She Wasn't Schwarzenegger's Mistress.  The woman who was reportedly paid hush money to stay quiet an affair she had with Arnold Schwarzenegger, appeared on Television Tuesday.  During her appearance on “Inside Edition,” Gigi Goyette said she was not Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mistress. But that statement seems to run counter to some steamy comments she previously made about the governor. In a biography of Schwarzenegger, released earlier this year, Goyette described a relationship as “Outercourse.” 

· Iraq constitution drafters gain extension.  Iraq’s parliament agreed to a seven-day extension for leaders to complete a draft constitution after politicians failed to reach a midnight Monday deadline to agree on the charter. 

· Farrakhan: Mexican President Was Right.  Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who hasn't been able to get in the news in recent years, said Mexican President Vicente Fox was right to say that Mexican immigrants take jobs "that not even blacks want."  Although Fox was sharply criticized for his remarks by some black leaders, Farrakhan said Sunday that blacks do not want to go to farms and pick fruit because they already "picked enough cotton." 

· TSA Stops Babies Whose Names Match No-Fly Lists.  Infants have been stopped from boarding planes at airports throughout the United States because their names are similar to those of possible terrorists on the government's "no-fly list."  It sounds like a joke, but it's not funny to parents who miss flights while scrambling to have babies' passports and other documents faxed. 

· Gas prices around the world.  Gasoline prices in the United States, which have recently hit record highs, are actually much lower than in many countries. Drivers in some European cities, like Amsterdam and Oslo, are paying nearly 3 times more than those in the U.S. 

· Cindy Sheehan: "I won't pay tax."  As she continues her anti-war protest, Cindy Sheehan is labeling President Bush a "maniac" and a "lying bastard," and she's vowing not to pay her federal income tax.  "My son was killed in 2004. I am not paying my taxes for 2004," Sheehan told an audience of Veterans for Peace. "You killed my son, George Bush, and I don't owe you a penny. ... You give my son back and I'll pay my taxes. Come after me [for back taxes] and we'll put this war on trial." 

· Ex-President Carter's grandson sentenced.  A teenage grandson of former President Jimmy Carter was sentenced Friday to 30 days of house arrest and 36 months probation as part of a plea agreement involving the theft of a videogame console.  Jeremy Carter, 18, of Peachtree City, Georgia, was arrested in December after being caught inside the home of a former friend. Police said they found less than an ounce of marijuana in his shoe and smelled alcohol on his breath. 

· Secret Service leaves behind 'suspicious package.'  A training device mistakenly left by a Secret Service agent at a Washington hotel was the "suspicious package" that prompted a building evacuation Sunday afternoon, law enforcement sources said.  The FBI and Secret Service sent teams of investigators to the Mayflower Hotel, a few blocks from the White House, after the package was found. 

· Gay illegal Mexican wins AIDS asylum case to stay in U.S.  A court in San Francisco has ruled that a gay Mexican with Aids is eligible for asylum because of the danger of persecution in his home country.  The appeals court in San Francisco overturned earlier rulings by immigration courts.  The three-judge panel said Jose Boer-Sedano, 45, would probably face further abuse in Mexico and have difficulty getting Aids treatment.  "It really does mean that he'll be safe now," said Mr Boer-Sedano's lawyer. 

· Ride With Armstrong Among Bush's Plans.  President Bush is getting plenty of bike time during his ranch vacation and next weekend he even gets to hit the trails with seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. 

· First woman hired as White House head chef.  After a six-month search, First Lady Laura Bush announced Sunday that the new head chef at the White House will be Cristeta Comerford - the first woman to take the top spot in the executive kitchen.  Comerford has been an assistant chef at the White House for 10 years, working under former executive chef Walter Scheib III, who resigned in February. 

· Hillary's Challenger.  The woman who would beat Hillary got off to a rocky start this week. As soon as she jumped into the New York Senate race, Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro was accused of backing off her support for abortion rights, was criticized by conservatives for not going far enough on the issue, was occasionally eclipsed by stories about her ex-convict husband and even paused for an excruciating 32 seconds when she couldn’t find page 10 of the speech announcing her candidacy. 

· TSA May Loosen Ban on Razorblades, Knives.  The federal agency in charge of aviation security is considering major changes in how it screens airline passengers, including proposals that an official said would lift the ban on carrying razorblades and small knives as well as limit patdown searches.  An initial set of staff recommendations drafted Aug. 5 also proposes that passengers no longer have to routinely remove their shoes during security checks. Instead, only passengers who set off metal detectors, are flagged by a computer screening system or look "reasonably suspicious" would be asked to do so, a TSA official said. 

· Judge dismisses charges against illegal immigrants.  A New Hampshire judge threw out trespassing charges yesterday against eight undocumented immigrants, turning back an effort by two police chiefs who wanted to prosecute people suspected of entering the country illegally.  The judge applied the ruling even to defendants who had not specifically asked him to dismiss the charges. 

      » Border emergency declared in New Mexico.  New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson declared a state of emergency Friday in four counties along the Mexican border that he said have been "devastated" by crimes such as the smuggling of drugs and illegal immigrants.  The declaration said the region "has been devastated by the ravages and terror of human smuggling, drug smuggling, kidnapping, murder, destruction of property and the death of livestock. 

· Abortion rights group pulls anti-Roberts ad.  Pro-Choice America said late Thursday it was pulling a controversial advertisement in which the abortion rights group accused Supreme Court nominee John Roberts of "supporting violent fringe groups and a convicted bomber."  National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League President Nancy Keenan wrote, "Unfortunately, the debate over that advertisement has become a distraction from the serious discussion we hoped to have with the American public." 

· Governator cashing in on Rolling Stones.  Here's the ticket: a private evening rockin' the night away with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger during the kickoff of the Rolling Stones' "A Bigger Bang'' U.S. tour on Aug. 21 at Boston's Fenway Park.  Here's the bottom line: $10,000 a pop to get in on a private preconcert reception and front-and-center seats to watch the show - or $100,000 to sit with the governor in his luxury box. 

· Ted Rall Issues 'Retraction' of Iraq Cartoon.  Ted Rall has offered a "retraction" of his Aug. 4 cartoon that cited a 9,000 figure - rather than the commonly used 1,800-plus - for the number of American soldiers who have died in the Iraq war. 

· GOP Paying Legal Bills of Bush Official.  Despite a zero-tolerance policy on tampering with voters, the Republican Party has quietly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to provide private defense lawyers for a former Bush campaign official charged with conspiring to keep Democrats from voting in New Hampshire. 

· TV Ad Attacking Court Nominee Provokes Furor.  An advertisement that a leading abortion-rights organization began running on national television on Wednesday, opposing the Supreme Court nomination of John G. Roberts Jr. as one "whose ideology leads him to excuse violence against other Americans," quickly became the first flashpoint in the three-week-old confirmation process.  Several prominent abortion rights supporters as well as a neutral media watchdog group said the ad was misleading and unfair. 

· Texas Becomes a Majority-Minority State.  Texas has become the fourth state to have a non-white majority population, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday, a trend driven by a surging number of Hispanics moving to the state.  According to the population estimates based on the 2000 Census, about 50.2 percent of Texans are now minorities.  Texas joins California, New Mexico and Hawaii as states with majority-minority populations — with Hispanics the largest group in every state but Hawaii, where it is Asian-Americans. 

· Bush says $286 billion highway bill creates U.S. jobs.  President Bush signed a $286.5 billion highway bill on Wednesday that he said would create new jobs but which critics contend is stuffed with billions of dollars worth of lawmakers' pet projects.  The legislation funds road and mass transit construction for six years, but also contains $24 billion in "pork."  Alaska, the third-least populated state, got the fourth most money for special projects - $941 million. 

· Teachers Union Sues Over $3.1 Billion for Schools.  The California Teachers Assn. on Tuesday sued Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in an attempt to force the state to increase spending on schools by $3.1 billion. 

· Woodward: Cheney to run in '08.  Renowned journalist Bob Woodward predicts Dick Cheney will be the Republican Party's presidential nominee in 2008 and that the vice president could face Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton in a dramatic showdown. 

· Air Force officer admits vandalism.  A lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force has admitted to vandalizing cars bearing pro-President Bush bumper stickers at Denver International Airport.  Denver police say he's responsible for thousands of dollars in damage to at least 12 cars. 

· Man could face charges for pretending to be Marine general.  William Lawson, 78, looked every bit the retired Marine general this summer as he stood before a crowd of 200 people, demanding that a cemetery properly dispose of the American flags placed at the graves of veterans.  He had on khakis, the Marines' summer service uniform, complete with a general's stars and row after row of medals, including the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Good Conduct Medal. He even wore an eyepatch. 

· Four-star general sacked for alleged sexual misconduct.  In an extraordinary move, the Army sacked a four-star general who was the subject of a Defense Department investigation into alleged sexual misconduct, an official said Tuesday.  Gen. Kevin P. Byrnes, commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command, was approaching retirement when the decision to relieve him of duty was made by the Army chief of staff. 

· Space Shuttle Discovery Safely Lands in California.  The space shuttle Discovery touched down Tuesday morning, completing NASA's first shuttle mission since Columbia broke apart during re-entry in February 2003.  The shuttled landed at 5:11 a.m. PT at NASA's secondary landing site at Edwards Air Force Base. 

· Bush signs energy bill into law.  President Bush today signed a sweeping energy bill that will send billions of dollars in tax subsidies to energy companies, yet do little immediately to ease gas prices or lower reliance on foreign oil. 

· Bush, GOP Labeled 'Thieves' Who 'Need to be Locked Up.'  A featured speaker at Saturday's civil rights march in Atlanta said the Bush administration and Republican Party leaders are "thieves" who "need to be locked up" for stealing the past two presidential elections and presiding over federal budget deficits and the war in Iraq.  Harry Belafonte added to the rhetoric by referring to black members of the Bush administration as "black tyrants." 

· 80 liberals each pledge $1 million for alliance.  At least 80 wealthy liberals have pledged to contribute at least $1 million each to fund a network of think tanks and advocacy groups, to compete with the potent conservative infrastructure built up during the last three decades. 

· Peter Jennings, face of ABC News dead at 67.  ABC News Anchor Peter Jennings died today at his home in New York City. On April 5, Jennings announced he had been diagnosed with lung cancer.  In announcing Jennings' death to his ABC colleagues, News President David Westin wrote: "For four decades, Peter has been our colleague, our friend, and our leader in so many ways. None of us will be the same without him." 

· Soldier's mom protests near Bush's ranch.  The angry mother of a fallen U.S. soldier staged a protest near President Bush's ranch Saturday, demanding an accounting from Bush of how he has conducted the war in Iraq.  Supported by more than 50 demonstrators who chanted, "W. killed her son!" Cindy Sheehan told reporters: "I want to ask the president, 'Why did you kill my son? What did my son die for?"' 

· Netanyahu Resigns in Protest to Withdrawal.  Israeli Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resigned from his post Sunday to protest next week's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and part of the West Bank, a ministry spokesman said. 

· Politician to feature exotic dancers at his fund-raiser.  With his campaign for city council going no place fast, Victor Bernace felt he needed something special to spark interest in his next fund-raiser.  How about exotic dancers?  The New York Democrat said Saturday he plans to have bikini-clad go-go dancers and men in nothing but briefs at a "Havana Night" campaign party next month at a Manhattan nightclub. 

· S.C. Republicans Want Beer Money Back.  South Carolina Republicans say the Democrats need to stop dragging their feet and return the beer money they are owed. Democrats say the check's in the mail.  The latest dispute between the two political parties began in April when St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Co. wrote a $5,000 check intended for the South Carolina Republican Party.  Instead, the envelope was addressed to the state Democratic Party, which promptly deposited the money. 

· Report reveals Americans didn't flock to Canada after all.  Canadians can put away those extra welcome mats - it seems Americans unhappy about the result of last November's presidential election have decided to stay at home after all.  While U.S. citizens visiting Canada's immigration Web site shot up sixfold, official statistics now show the number of Americans actually applying to live permanently in Canada fell in the six months after the election. 

· Howard Dean: GOP will make immigrants 'scapegoats' in '06.  "Do you know who the scapegoats are going to be? Immigrants," Howard Dean said at a rally. "In Colorado, the chairman of the Republican Party endorsed Tom Tancredo for re-election. That is morally reprehensible. The governor of California, a supposed moderate Republican, invited the Minutemen to visit California. We do not need vigilante justice." 

· New York Times tries to dig up dirt on Roberts' adoption.  The New York Times has been asking lawyers who specialize in adoption cases for advice on how to get into the sealed court records on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts' two adopted children.  At least one lawyer turned the Times down flat, saying that any effort to pry into adoption case records, which are always sealed, would be reprehensible. 

· Labor Dept. report shows employers added more jobs than expected; unemployment rate stays at 5%.  Employers added more jobs to U.S. payrolls in July, the government reported Friday, as the latest reading on labor market strength came in stronger than Wall Street expectations. 

· Misprint Swamps Woman With Medicaid Calls.  A businesswoman in faraway Montana was swamped with anguished calls after a letter informing 339,000 Medicaid recipients of service cuts wrongly listed her phone number for a help line for the hearing impaired. 

· Did Air America Radio take from The Boys & Girls Club of America?  An investigation is currently underway to determine if principals of a popular children's charity funneled $875,000 to the parent company of Air America, the liberal radio station featuring Al Franken. 

· Pressure getting to Novak?  CNN contributor and syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak stormed off CNN's set after using vulgar language during a live discussion with CNN contributor James Carville on the "Strategy Session" segment of the August 4 edition of CNN's Inside Politics. [Click for Video]. 

· Britain will deport hate advocates.  British Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced new measures to deport and exclude from UK for those advocating hatred and violence. Blair said Friday the UK's Human Rights Act would be amended if necessary to counter Islamic extremists in Britain. The government also plans to draw up a list of extremist Web sites, book shops and organizations that promote these extremists. "Let no one be in any doubt that the rules of the games are changing," Blair told a news conference in London.The measure is seen as an effort to crack down on extremist Islamic clerics who glorify acts of terrorism. 

· Prisoner Gets Life in Anthrax Threat Against Bushes.  A state prison inmate has received a federal life sentence for threatening President Bush, his brother Gov. Jeb Bush, and government employees with anthrax in a letter mailed to a courthouse. The letter contained body powder. 

· Russian Deep-Sea Vessel Stuck, Trapping 7.  The U.S. Navy will send an unmanned rescue vehicle to help efforts to save a Russian mini-submarine stuck on the floor of the Pacific with seven crew members on board, a Russian navy spokesman said Friday.  The Russian navy said the seamen had enough air to survive for one more day. 

· CNN Suspends Novak After He Walks Off Set.  CNN suspended commentator Robert Novak indefinitely after he swore and walked off the set Thursday during a debate with Democratic operative James Carville.  The exchange during CNN's "Inside Politics" came during a discussion of Florida's Senate campaign. 

· Chief Justice Rehnquist hospitalized.  Chief Justice William Rehnquist is under observation in a northern Virginia hospital Wednesday after complaining of a fever Tuesday night, a Supreme Court spokeswoman said. 

· Roberts Donated Help to Gay Rights Case.  Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. worked behind the scenes for gay rights activists, and his legal expertise helped them persuade the Supreme Court to issue a landmark 1996 ruling protecting people from discrimination because of their sexual orientation.  Then a lawyer specializing in appellate work, the conservative Roberts helped represent the gay rights activists as part of his law firm's pro bono work. 

· Congress considers perjury for Palmeiro.  A House committee has Palmeiro's permission to obtain documents from Major League Baseball about the steroid test that led to his 10-day suspension this week. That information will be used to investigate whether the Baltimore Orioles slugger committed perjury in March. 

· Democrats celebrate loss in Ohio.  Democrats on Wednesday celebrated a closer-than-expected loss in a special House of Representatives race in Ohio and called it a warning sign for Republicans entering the 2006 congressional elections. 

· Harris says newspapers 'colorized' photographs to distort her makeup.  Comic Jay Leno said a cold snap made Florida so chilly Katherine Harris "put on a third layer of makeup."  On a radio talk show, Harris, now a congresswoman from Longboat Key running for the U.S. Senate, hit back, blaming newspapers for the criticism and charging that some - without saying which - altered her photographs. 

· Hillary dumps Bush's 'mess' in new cartoon commercial.  A new 30-second spot shows the pant-suited former first lady dressed up as a sanitation worker dumping what appears to be loads of dung labeled as Bush's mess, then wrapping up the commercial by saying she'll need 2 terms to clean it all up. 

· NYC Officials Call for Racial Profiling.  Middle Easterners should be targeted for searches on city subways, two elected officials said, contending that police have been wasting time with random checks in efforts to prevent terrorism in the transit system.  Assemblyman Dov Hikind said police should be focusing on those who fit the "terrorist profile."  "They all look a certain way," said Hikind. "It's all very nice to be politically correct here, but we're talking about terrorism." 

· New York Governor Promises to Veto 'morning-After Pill' Legislation.  Gov. George Pataki plans to veto legislation that would allow women to buy the "morning-after" pill without a prescription, a decision described by abortion rights advocates as "sheer political expediency" to build conservative support for a 2008 presidential run.  >

· Bush Appoints Bolton to U.N. Job.  President Bush bypassed Congress Monday and appointed John Bolton to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.  "This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform. So today I've used my constitutional authority to appoint John Bolton to serve as America's ambassador to the United Nations." 

· Saudi King Fahd dead.  Saudi Arabia's King Fahd - whose reign was marked by unprecedented prosperity, but whose close ties with the United States stirred the passions of Islamic militants - has died, Saudi Arabia's information minister announced Monday.  His exact age remains uncertain - believed to be between 82 and 84. 

· Steroid shocker: Palmeiro suspended.  Rafael Palmeiro was suspended 10 days for violating Major League Baseball’s steroids policy Monday, nearly five months after the Baltimore Orioles first baseman emphatically told Congress that “I have never used steroids. Period.”  Palmeiro became the highest-profile player among the seven who have failed a test under the toughened major league policy that took effect in March, rules criticized by Congress as not being stringent enough. 

· Al-Qaeda websites get wiped out.  Over the past two weeks, Israeli intelligence agents have noticed something distinctly odd happening on the internet. One by one, Al-Qaeda’s affiliated websites have vanished until only a handful remain.  Someone has cut the line of communication between the spiritual leaders of international terrorism and their supporters. Since 9/11 the websites have been the main links to disseminate propaganda and information.  The Israelis detect the hand of British intelligence, determined to torpedo the websites after the London attacks of July 7. 

· Frist to Back Stem Cell Research.  Breaking with President Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Friday he will support legislation to remove some of the administration's limitations on embryonic stem cell research.  Frist, who last month said he did not support expanded federal financing of such research, said his decision was consistent with both his experience as a physician and his opposition to abortion. 

· Al Gore's TV Network to Make Debut Monday.  Much of the talk around Al Gore's new Current TV network has been broadly philosophical, like the former vice president's statement that "we want to be the television home page for the Internet generation." With its debut Monday, Current TV will be judged by the same mundane standards as other networks - on whether its programming can hold a viewer's interest. 

· Violence leads U.S. to close consulate.  The United States is closing its consulate in this violence-wracked border city for a week following a shootout in which assailants used machine guns, grenades and even a rocket launcher to attack a home, the U.S. Ambassador said Friday evening.  Late Thursday, a group of armed men arriving in several vehicles used machine guns and explosives to attack a home on Mexicali street in southern Nuevo Laredo. 

· Man Admits Role in Failed London Attack.  A suspect in the failed London transit bombings admitted Saturday to a role in the attack but said it was only intended to be an attention-grabbing strike, not a deadly one, a legal expert familiar with the investigation said.  Osman Hussain told interrogators he wasn't carrying enough explosives even to "harm people nearby." 

· Children Stranded in Ark. Immigration Raid.  When immigration authorities raided a poultry plant and t