2 North Korea defies U.S. with new missile launches
By Jon Herskovitz, Reuters
2 hrs 9 mins ago
| SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea fired seven ballistic missiles on Saturday, South Korea's defense ministry said, in an act of defiance toward the United States on its Independence Day that further stoked regional tensions.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the missiles were "Scud-type," marking an escalation of recent saber-rattling by the reclusive North, which has fired several non-ballistic, short-range missile since the May 25 nuclear test.
North Korea is barred by United Nations resolutions from firing ballistic missile such as the Scud. A South Korean Defense Ministry official said more launches could come soon. |
3 Two U.S. soldiers killed in complex Afghan attack
By Paul Tait, Reuters
Sat Jul 4, 9:50 am ET
| KABUL (Reuters) - Two U.S. soldiers were killed when their base in southeast Afghanistan came under attack on Saturday, the U.S. military said, two days after a major operation against the Taliban was launched in the south.
The attack included an attempted suicide truck bombing of the base in the Zirok district of southeastern Paktika province, local officials said. As many as 30 Taliban insurgents might have been killed when troops called in air strikes, they said.
It came after thousands of U.S. Marines launched a major offensive in southern Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold and major opium poppy producing area, on Thursday, the first big operation of U.S. President Barack Obama's new regional strategy to defeat the Taliban and stabilize Afghanistan. |
4 Hard-line Iran editor calls for Mousavi to face trial
By Fredrik Dahl and Hossein Jaseb, Reuters
2 hrs 10 mins ago
| TEHRAN (Reuters) - An editor seen as close to Iran's leadership said on Saturday opposition leader Mirhossein Mousavi should go on trial and a lawyer said other reformists had already been accused of acting against national security.
Mousavi and his supporters in last month's disputed presidential election had acted on the instructions of the United States in protesting against the results, said Hossein Shariatmadari, editor-in-chief of the hard-line Kayhan daily.
"An open court, in front of the people's eyes, must deal with all the terrible crimes and clear betrayal committed by the main elements behind the recent unrest, including Mousavi and (former President Mohammad) Khatami," he wrote in a commentary. |
5 Palin resigning as Alaska governor in surprise move
By Yereth Rosen, Reuters
Sat Jul 4, 12:01 am ET
| ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Sarah Palin, the brash, deeply conservative governor of Alaska who crashed onto the U.S. national political scene last year as the Republican candidate for U.S. vice president, announced abruptly on Friday she was resigning as governor.
In a rambling statement to the media, in which she took no questions, Palin, 45, indicated she wanted to extend her influence in U.S. politics and some analysts said she appeared to be laying the ground for a run at the presidency in 2012.
"We are not retreating, we are advancing in a different direction," Palin said, employing the imprecise circumlocutions that characterize her public pronouncements. "We know we can effect positive change outside government at this moment in time." |
6 OAS set to suspend Honduras after coup
By Jim Wolf, Reuters
49 mins ago
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Organization of American States was likely to suspend Honduras on Saturday after a caretaker government refused to restore President Manuel Zelaya who was toppled in a military coup last weekend.
Honduras' interim rulers who took power after the coup have rejected an OAS demand to restore Zelaya, and defiantly renounced the OAS charter in an apparent preemptive move.
But an OAS official said such a renunciation was not valid, since the Honduras authorities were not a legitimate government. |
7 Russia to grant U.S. Afghan supply route
Reuters
1 hr 26 mins ago
| MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia will grant President Barack Obama permission next week to ship U.S. weapons supplies across its territory, or through its airspace, en route to Afghanistan, sources on both sides told Reuters on Saturday.
The transit deal will open up an important corridor for the United States as it steps up its Afghan war against Taliban insurgents by sending in more troops. Routes via Pakistan have come under attack by militants.
It will be one of the main agreements signed during Obama's Moscow summit next week with Kremlin chief Dmitry Medvedev, the sources said. |
8 U.N.'s Ban rebukes Myanmar generals over Suu Kyi
By Louis Charbonneau, Reuters
1 hr 39 mins ago
| YANGON (Reuters) - U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon rebuked Myanmar's generals on Saturday for denying him a visit to see detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and said she should be allowed to take part in politics before 2010 elections.
The U.N. Secretary-General expressed "deep disappointment" at the end of a two-day visit to the military-ruled state.
In a rare speech in Yangon to a crowd of about 500 diplomats, state officials, non-governmental organizations and opposition politicians, Ban sharply criticized Myanmar for its human rights record and its failure to free political prisoners. |
9 California governor signals key budget concession
By Jim Christie, Reuters
59 mins ago
| SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, optimistic California can finish its budget negotiations in a few days, is willing to reconsider his proposed cuts to education in hopes of averting a cash crisis, the San Francisco Chronicle said on Saturday.
A compromise between the Republican governor and Democratic lawmakers may help clear the way for an agreement on an overdue state budget and avert a cash crisis for the government of the most populous U.S. state. California already is issuing billions of dollars in "IOUs" and, without a deal, is on track to run out of cash this month.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Schwarzenegger, in a Friday meeting with its editorial board, said he would be willing to reconsider his proposal to help reduce California's $26.3 billion budget with cuts to school spending that would require suspension of constitutional rules on education expenditures. |
10 Putin rejects Obama criticism before meeting
By Gleb Bryanski, Reuters
Fri Jul 3, 2:49 pm ET
| MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday rejected U.S. President Barack Obama's charge that he was mired in Cold War thinking, setting the scene for a stormy first meeting at a Moscow summit next week.
In a pre-trip interview, the U.S. leader told the Associated Press that Putin needed to "understand that the Cold War approach to U.S.-Russian relationship is outdated" and that Putin had "one foot in the old ways of doing business."
Putin -- who once described the collapse of the Soviet Union as "the greatest geo-political catastrophe of the century" -- hit back, saying Russians were standing firmly on both feet. |
11 Analysis: Palin's resignation hurts her future
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press
17 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's abrupt and unscripted holiday resignation is an odd way to launch a potential presidential bid and certainly no help for a party battered by scandal and fighting for relevancy.
Yet from a folksy figure who catapulted from obscure governor to conservative darling and vice presidential nominee, it's merely the latest move in a political drama that has left Republican elders scratching their heads.
No one is sure why Palin took such an unusual path. All points suggest a strategy designed to maintain her political viability with an eye toward a 2012 presidential bid. Barring a personal surprise or scandal, little else makes sense. |
12 Europe's free, state-run health care has drawbacks
By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer
34 mins ago
| LONDON - As President Barack Obama pushes to overhaul the American health care system, the role of government is at the heart of the debate. In Europe, free, state-run health care is a given.
The concept has been enshrined in Europe for generations. Health systems are built so inclusive that even illegal immigrants are entitled to free treatment beyond just emergency care. Europeans have some of the world's best hospitals and have made great strides in fighting problems like obesity and heart disease.
But the system is far from perfect. |
13 On Independence Day, Liberty's crown reopens
By SUZANNE MA, Associated Press Writer
22 mins ago
| NEW YORK - The first visitors allowed into the Statue of Liberty's crown in nearly eight years made the arduous climb Saturday on an Independence Day journey laden with symbolism of freedom, national pride - and for one couple, romance.
Aaron Weisinger, 26, got down on one knee on the crown's small floor, pulled out a diamond ring and proposed to his girlfriend, Erica Breder. Stunned, she whispered an immediate yes.
"To propose in the crown was perfect," the 25-year-old Breder said later. |
14 Marines march in grueling Afghan sun for July 4
By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer
21 mins ago
| NAWA, Afghanistan - Taliban militants were nowhere in sight as the columns of U.S. Marines walked a third straight day across southern Afghanistan. But the desert heat proved an enemy in its own right, with several troops falling victim Saturday to temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Marines carry 50-100 pounds (23-45 kilograms) on their backs. But because they are marching through farmland on foot, they can't carry nearly as much water as their thirst demands.
Few even realized the date was July 4, but once word of the holiday spread through the company, several said they knew relatives would be holding lakeside celebrations - a world away from the strenuous task Bravo Company of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment was taking on. |
15 Downturn dating: Hearts flutter as markets stutter
By ASHLEY M. HEHER, AP Retail Writer
Sat Jul 4, 12:04 pm ET
| CHICAGO - Credit the recession for staycations and bringing us more game-night parties at home. But also give it a shout for spurring more first dates.
Economic woes, it seems, unleash something practically primal in many of us who find ourselves without a partner: a hard-wired desire for companionship.
Some singles are now hunting for dates with the same fervor others are showing hunting for jobs. On matchmaking Web site eHarmony.com, membership is up 20 percent despite monthly fees of up to $60, and activity has soared 50 percent since September at OkCupid.com. |
16 VP Biden celebrates July 4 with US troops in Iraq
By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 4, 10:33 am ET
| BAGHDAD - Vice President Joe Biden celebrated the Fourth of July with his son and other American troops in Iraq on Saturday, a day after warning Iraqi leaders that U.S. assistance will be jeopardized if the country reverts to ethnic and sectarian violence.
Biden began Independence Day by greeting more than 200 U.S. soldiers from 59 countries who were becoming American citizens at a naturalization ceremony in a marble domed hall at one of Saddam Hussein's palaces at Camp Victory, the U.S. military headquarters on the outskirts of Baghdad.
He then had lunch with the 261st Theater Tactical Signal Brigade from Delaware, to which his son, Beau, belongs. Beau Biden stood in the back as his father greeted the troops. In telling the brigade about the naturalization ceremony, the vice president used some of his characteristic colorful language. |
17 Mrs. Obama bringing glamor to Moscow this weekend
By CATRINA STEWART, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 4, 7:57 am ET
| MOSCOW - Michelle Obama brings her superstar glamor to Moscow this weekend as she accompanies her husband on his summit with the Russian president.
But the American first lady, who has wowed publics in the U.S. and Europe with her easy elegance and charm, will perhaps face a bigger challenge in winning over a Russian public that has scant respect for women who grab the limelight from their powerful husbands.
In a country where a presidential candidate once quipped he'd sooner pack his wife off to a convent than allow her to dabble in politics, Russia still has trouble with the concept of an empowered woman behind the throne. |
18 Group Sotomayor advised fought job tests
By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 4, 7:57 am ET
| WASHINGTON - A civil rights group on whose board Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor served filed racial bias lawsuits over employment examinations that resemble a Connecticut case in which she ruled against white firefighters, documents released by the Senate show.
The Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund represented Hispanic sanitation workers in New York City who wanted to stop white employees from getting promotions because, they argued, the qualifying exam unfairly disadvantaged minorities. The case unfolded as Sotomayor chaired the organization's board of directors' litigation committee, although there is no evidence that she had any role in the group's decision to participate in the lawsuits, or in formulating or drafting any of their legal arguments.
The New York case bears strong similarities to a much-discussed lawsuit Sotomayor ruled on last year as a federal appeals court judge, which involved the reverse discrimination claims of white firefighters in New Haven, Conn. They sued after the city threw out its promotion test because too few minorities passed. The judicial panel she joined ruled against the white firefighters in the case, Ricci v. DeStefano - a ruling the Supreme Court reversed last Monday. |
19 Movement to shut down shark tours in Hawaii grows
By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press Writer
17 mins ago
| HALEIWA, Hawaii - Three women donned scuba masks and jumped into the waters off Oahu's North Shore, floating inside a submerged cage as about a dozen sharks glided toward bloody fish scraps tossed into the water by a tour company.
Tourist Kim Duniec said the experience of coming eye-to-eye with sharks was exhilarating. "Their eyes were scary, but they were still graceful, absolutely beautiful," the Beaver Dam, Wis., woman said.
Shark tours like this have become a popular visitor attraction in Hawaii, but a movement is gaining momentum to shut them down. |
20 SoCal Asian communities aim to weed out toxic fish
By AMY TAXIN, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 28 mins ago
| WESTMINSTER, Calif. - John Fallan's trained eye scans rows of iceboxes brimming with tiger fish and shrimp in a Vietnamese supermarket, searching for one pesky fish that threatens the health of seafood lovers.
Authorities say the white croaker has become a popular catch in local Asian communities. But when reeled in off a stretch of California's coastline southwest of Los Angeles, the fish has been laced with cancer-causing toxins stored from decades of chemical dumps near the scenic shore.
Fallan leads a team of wardens from the California Department of Fish and Game to hunt down the white croaker on fishing piers, landings and in Vietnamese and Chinese markets across Southern California, where in recent years the silvery, fatty fish could be found in droves. |
21 A few US cities hope to host Gitmo transplants
By JIM SUHR, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 30 mins ago
| MARION, Ill. - Once the nation's most secure prison, the federal lockup in southern Illinois has housed everyone from spies to a Colombian druglord to dapper mob boss John Gotti.
Now the mayor of Marion hopes to roll out the welcome mat for a new set of accused criminals: Guantanamo Bay terrorism suspects.
While other cities across the U.S. have balked at taking in any of the more than 200 detainees from the infamous lockup in Cuba that President Barack Obama hopes to shutter, Marion is part of a small contingent seeking out the prisoners - and the money and jobs they might bring. |
22 Budget battles keep states from tackling reforms
By SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 4, 12:10 pm ET
| MADISON, Wis. - As lawmakers in cash-strapped states wrestled this year with revenues that kept on falling, both campaign promises and long-standing reform efforts got pushed to the side. There just wasn't enough time or money to expand health care or improve education - or, in Rhode Island, finally get around to banning indoor prostitution - while also passing a budget.
In California, where lawmakers failed last week to solve the state's whopping $24.3 billion deficit by the start of the new fiscal year, they can't legally do anything else. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had declared a fiscal state of emergency that prevents the Legislature from taking action on anything but the budget until the state's fiscal crisis is resolved.
Unlike their colleagues in Washington, where policy work isn't hindered by the need to pay as you go, state lawmakers generally can't leave for home without settling on a spending plan. This year, the trials of passing a budget kept lawmakers nationwide from work on health care, transportation, unemployment insurance trust funds and pension funds, said Sujit CanagaRetna, a senior fiscal analyst at the Council of State Governments in Atlanta. |
23 Colleges focus on veterans as GI Bill ups numbers
By KRISTIN M. HALL, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 4, 12:05 pm ET
| FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - With a fattened GI Bill covering full tuition and more, the number of veterans attending college this fall is expected to jump 30 percent from last year to nearly half a million. That's left many universities looking for ways to ease the transition from combat to the classroom.
Vets already in school have run into problems including campus bureaucracy, crowds that can trigger alarm instincts honed by war and fellow students who don't understand their battlefield experiences.
In response, colleges across the country are offering veterans-only classes, adding counselors and streamlining the application and financial aid process. |
24 Illegal ads a sticky situation for many towns
By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 4, 11:32 am ET
| BELMAR, N.J. - Roll up to an intersection in many places and the sign you see might not only tell you to stop, yield or turn in a certain direction, it might also feature unwanted ads for a taco joint, surf shop, miracle diet, a political candidate, or urge tourists to go home.
From the boardwalks of the New Jersey shore to the desert metropolises of Arizona and West Texas and the drizzle of Oregon, street signs, utility poles and even private property are often covered with advertising stickers.
They can pose a pricey dilemma for towns: either spend thousands of dollars scraping them off, or leave them where they are and risk projecting what some officials consider a run-down, shabby appearance. |
25 Texas brewer, once near defeat, shines again
By MICHELLE ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 4, 10:35 am ET
| SHINER, Texas - By all accounts, Shiner beer shouldn't have made it this long. The Spoetzl Brewery ferments its brew in a one-stoplight town that's not on the way to anywhere, and much larger regional brewers long ago succumbed to consolidation and the muscle of national brewers.
For years, Spoetzl limped along with cast-off parts from other breweries and lingered on the brink of shutting down. But today, at 100 years of age, Shiner beers are more popular than ever, and it is the oldest and largest craft brewer in a state where people cling fiercely to their beer and to all things Texan.
"It's the classic little guy story," said Mike Renfro, author of "Shine On," a book about the brewery's history. "They managed to overcome some pretty incredible odds." |
26 Calif. bullet train hits criticism on SF Peninsula
By STEVE LAWRENCE, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 4, 6:07 am ET
| MENLO PARK, Calif. - Last November, more than 60 percent of voters on the San Francisco Peninsula supported a $9.9 billion bond measure to help pay for a high-speed rail line between San Francisco and the Los Angeles area.
As planning accelerates, some of the area's residents are raising concerns about the project. They fear it could take out trees, homes and businesses and split their communities with elevated trains flashing between San Francisco and San Jose.
The objections raise the prospect that the bullet train line may not reach San Francisco, one of its key destinations. |
27 NY growth besieges Revolutionary patriots' graves
By CHRIS CAROLA, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jul 4, 12:01 am ET
| FISHKILL, N.Y. - Ed Spaeth was researching his family tree when he discovered an 18th-century ancestor likely was buried in the woods just down the hill from his Hudson Valley home.
Although he can't pinpoint Francois Martin-Pelland's grave, historical evidence has led Spaeth to the nearby grove believed to be the final resting place of hundreds of other Revolutionary War soldiers posted here when Fishkill was the main supply source for Gen. George Washington's northern army.
Today, commercial development has whittled the wooded parcel down to about 12 acres hemmed in by roads, a shopping mall, a gas station and a Mexican restaurant. A group of preservationists, history buffs and civic leaders has mustered in this Dutchess County town to try to save what could be the nation's single largest-known burial site of Revolutionary War soldiers. |
28 Communities bug out over cuts to mosquito control
By WAYNE ORTMAN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 3, 6:09 pm ET
| Millions of mosquito eggs laid across southern Texas after Hurricane Ike hit the coast last summer are waiting for the little bit of rain and hot summer days they need to hatch. That's got the man whose job it is to fight the bugs worried - he's already running out of money.
Lee Chastant and fellow bug battlers across the Gulf of Mexico in Florida, up the East Coast in Connecticut and on the Great Plains of South Dakota are predicting a bumper crop of the always annoying and sometimes deadly pests. And even in places where dwindling tax revenues haven't forced mosquito control budget cuts, they're concerned about keeping up with the summer swarm.
"We're funded by county taxes, but by the end of last month, I'd blown through my whole chemical budget," said Chastant, a veteran mosquito fighter from Beaumont, Texas. "And we're just now hitting the mosquito season." |
29 SC residents mixed over fate of cheating gov
By JIM DAVENPORT, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 3, 3:30 pm ET
| COLUMBIA, S.C. - After a week that offered the world a glimpse into the conflicted mind of philandering South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, his constituents differed Friday on whether he should leave office.
Some said the decision should be up to his wife, Jenny. And it's a safe bet that his political future is a topic of conversation as the Sanford family spends the holiday weekend in Florida, where her parents live.
But others, including influential lawmakers, said Sanford must resign after misleading the public about his loyalty to family and trips to see his mistress. |
30 Abortion doc murder suspect advocates via mail
By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 3, 2:45 pm ET
| WICHITA, Kan. - A man charged with shooting a prominent Kansas doctor who performed late-term abortions has been advocating through mailings from his jail cell that such killings are justifiable and communicating with individuals on the fringes of the anti-abortion movement, weeks after suggesting others might be planning similar attacks.
Scott Roeder, 51, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault in the May 31 death of Dr. George Tiller - an attack that reignited the national debate over late-term abortion and gave Roeder icon status among extremists in the anti-abortion movement.
From his cell in Sedgwick County jail, Roeder has been sending anti-abortion pamphlets that laud Paul Hill, who was convicted of murdering an abortion provider in 1994, as an "American hero," and include examples of Hill's writings about how the killing of abortion providers is justifiable. |
31 NYC Muslims push to add holidays to school year
By SUZANNE MA, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 3, 1:25 pm ET
| NEW YORK - Moneeb Hassan remembers having to choose between a final exam in American history or celebrating the Muslim holy day of Eid al-Adha. In the end, he chose both.
Hassan, 17, is one of thousands of Muslim students in the city who must perform a balancing act between his academic and religious obligations during his holidays. But the nation's largest school district hasn't sanctioned official Muslim holidays.
"People came to this country for freedom of religion," Hassan said. "We're just asking for fair and equal treatment." |
32 Job seekers seek solace with fellow faithful
By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 3, 1:47 pm ET
| BEVERLY, Mass. - Her fellow job seekers offer knowing groans as Diane Castro recalls the day she was laid off: The fear of being summoned to the front office. The phones in nearby cubicles going off like grenades. Finally, a ring at her desk.
Every member of the unemployment support group meeting has their own story to share and encouragement to give. In twice monthly gatherings, they exchange tips on writing resumes, developing new contacts and making ends meet.
They also pray. |
33 Much-needed tax refunds delayed from Ga. to Calif.
By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 3, 1:21 pm ET
| ATLANTA - Colin Daymude was out of work last year after his business failed and eagerly filed his taxes in mid-January, figuring he'd get his refund sooner. He was wrong.
It took the 44-year-old entrepreneur more than six months to get his $1,300 check - money that he needed to pay living expenses while he worked a few side gigs.
Tax day - April 15 - has long since come and gone, but sharp budget cuts and falling revenues have forced many states to delay income tax returns for months - and left taxpayers longing for their money. |
34 Uncle Sam to pond scum: I want you!
By MIKE STARK, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 3, 12:12 pm ET
| LOGAN, Utah - Somewhere among the beakers and the bubbling green-tinged tanks in this Utah State University lab, Jeff Muhs is searching for champion pond scum for Uncle Sam.
If he and others like him around the country are successful, algae-based biofuel could one day power one of the world's biggest gas guzzlers: the U.S. military.
Heady stuff for a simple sun-sucking organism. But algae's ability to grow fast and churn out fatty oils makes it an alluring prospect for a military looking to lessen its dependence on foreign oil. |
35 Mom in MySpace case says it was properly dismissed
By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent
Fri Jul 3, 10:06 am ET
| LOS ANGELES - A Missouri mother said she never should have been prosecuted for her role in a MySpace hoax directed at a 13-year-old girl who ended up committing suicide.
A federal judge said Thursday that he has tentatively thrown out Lori Drew's convictions, acquitting her of misdemeanor counts of accessing computers without authorization. U.S. District Judge George Wu stressed the ruling was tentative until he issues it in writing.
Drew showed no reaction to the decision in the courtroom. In a statement read on NBC's "Today" show Friday, said she agreed with it and felt she never should have been prosecuted. |
36 IOUs spell uncertainty for Calif. small businesses
By MICHELLE LOCKE, Associated Press Writer
Fri Jul 3, 3:57 am ET
| BERKELEY, Calif. - Business consultant Katrina Kennedy has taken her young son out of preschool and put a family vacation on hold. Dairyman Mike O'Kelly is wondering whether he is going to have to let employees go.
The problem? They rely on contracts with state agencies for much of their business and, cash-strapped California may start sending them IOUs instead of money until the state has enough cash to cover all payments.
"I've dealt with the state for many, many years, and the failure of the state to come up with a budget has always caused problems for July and August," said O'Kelly, owner of Morning Glory Inc. in Susanville, which supplies milk and eggs to prisons. "This particular economic crisis, however, has me more worried than all of the others combined." |
37 Advocates are back with real health care stories
By CARLA K. JOHNSON, AP Medical Writer
Thu Jul 2, 8:12 pm ET
| CHICAGO - When carpenter Greg Douglas crashed his pickup truck, his toolbox hit him and smashed his ribs and collarbone. After a month in the hospital, the medical bills hit him even harder, totaling $165,000.
Douglas is among thousands of people now telling their stories on videos, ads and Web sites on both sides of the health care debate.
He said he was drawn into political advocacy after neighbors in Harpswell, Maine, raised $3,000 toward his hospital bills with a church dinner and collection cans in stores. |
38 Iran mulls trials as it steps up crackdown
AFP
Sat Jul 4, 9:23 am ET
| TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran is considering pressing charges against a British embassy staffer, a Newsweek journalist and several reformist leaders, lawyers said on Saturday, as the regime intensifies its crackdown on protests over last month's presidential election.
The accused include key figures from reformist 1997-2005 presidency of Mohammad Khatami who oversaw a thaw in relations with the West. They are all held suspected of "acting against national security," the lawyers said.
Any prosecutions would spark a new downturn in Tehran's relations with the West. On Friday, European Union governments already called in Iranian envoys across the 27-nation bloc in protest at the detention of British embassy staff. |
39 US Marines push deeper in Afghan assault
by Ben Sheppard, AFP
Fri Jul 3, 1:30 am ET
| CAMP DWYER, Afghanistan (AFP) - US Marines have pushed deeper into Taliban strongholds after suffering the first fatality of their massive offensive against Afghanistan's hardline Islamist militia.
Ferried in by relays of helicopters Thursday, Marines were on the ground in Helmand province's districts of Garmsir and Nawa, and also helped Afghan forces take Khanishin, towards the border with Pakistan, officers said.
"Today Marines are continuing to move towards those objectives that are still out there and they are going to work to stabilise security in these areas," spokesman First Lieutenant Kurt Stahl said Friday. |
40 Weak US jobs data dashes quick recovery hopes
by Rob Lever, AFP
Thu Jul 2, 3:17 pm ET
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - Dampening hopes of an early recovery from recession, official figures Thursday showed US job losses surged to 467,000 in June, pushing the unemployment rate to a new 26-year high of 9.5 percent.
The Labor Department report, seen as one of the best indicators of economic momentum, reversed the improvement seen last month when job losses fell to a revised 322,000.
President Barack Obama called the surge in job losses "sobering," but said there were continuing signs that the "recession is slowing." |
41 US infantry learns to adapt after Iraq pullback
by Mehdi Lebouachera, AFP
Thu Jul 2, 4:24 pm ET
| CAMP WARHORSE, Iraq (AFP) - It is business as usual for Camp Warhorse after the US military pullout from Iraqi towns and cities -- troops must follow orders and adapt to non-combat tasks in one of Iraq's most dangerous regions.
"Your job is to do what we tell you to do," Colonel Burt Thompson tells the 4,000 soldiers based near the volatile city of Baquba, once a stronghold of Al-Qaeda and scene of ferocious fighting.
"One minute you can be pulling the trigger, and the next minute I'll be asking you to wash windows or do humanitarian assistance," Thompson, commander of US troops in Diyala province, told the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division of Camp Warhorse. |
42 Militant ambush kills 10 Chechen police
by Vakha Chapanov, AFP
Sat Jul 4, 9:25 am ET
| NAZRAN, Russia (AFP) - Ten Chechen police were killed on Saturday when militants ambushed their convoy in the neighbouring Russian region of Ingushetia, one of the deadliest recent attacks in the increasingly volatile Caucasus.
The convoy of six vehicles came under grenade and gun fire from unknown individuals hidden in a forest as it travelled on a road in Ingushetia at around 0530 GMT, security officials said. One vehicle burst into flames.
"Forty-five members of the Chechnya police force were returning from a joint special operation when their convoy came under fire. Ten were killed and ten were wounded," an Ingush security source told AFP. |
43 Africa refuses to act on Sudan war crimes warrant
by Griffin Shea, AFP
Fri Jul 3, 10:24 pm ET
| SIRTE, Libya (AFP) - The African Union refused to act on an international war crimes warrant for Sudan's president, at a summit that also yielded a deal on the powers of a new regional Authority.
The refusal to arrest Sudan President Omar al-Beshir granted a continent-wide reprieve to a leader accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
While the measure was backed by Libya and other nations that sympathise with Sudan, the text also voiced Africa's frustration at the UN Security Council's failure to consider a request to suspend the warrant for one year, delegates said. |
44 Biden back in Iraq - with a new assignment
By Jane Arraf, The Christian Science Monitor
Thu Jul 2, 5:00 am ET
| Baghdad - As the US military presence in Iraq moves into the background, some Iraqi officials concerned that US preoccupation with the war in Afghanistan would prematurely leave Iraq to fend for itself are welcoming Washington's efforts to increase its political engagement here.
"My message to them is ... you lost Afghanistan in 2001, 2002, and 2003 because you turned your attention to Iraq from Afghanistan - now you are redirecting your attentions of Afghanistan and if you disengage with Iraq, it could be another failure. The situation is not that solid," says Foreign Minister Hoyshar Zebari in an interview.
Mr. Zebari, who has served as foreign minister for the last six years, says the US is still needed to help Iraq build government capacity and more effective government - as well as with national reconciliation. |
45 India decriminalizes consensual gay sex
By Mian Ridge, The Christian Science Monitor
Thu Jul 2, 5:00 am ET
| New Delhi - In a historic ruling, an Indian court decriminalized homosexual sex Thursday - a move that was hailed by gay rights activists as the first concrete step toward achieving equal rights for homosexuals in this deeply conservative country.
Homosexual sex has been illegal in India since 1861, when a law introduced by Lord Macaulay, a British politician, made it punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
But Thursday, Delhi's High Court ruled that, "consensual sex amongst adults is legal, which includes even gay sex and sex among the same sexes." |
46 British warning: Summer is forced marriage season
By Aidan Jones, The Christian Science Monitor
Thu Jul 2, 5:00 am ET
| London - The first time Shazia Qayum met her husband was on their wedding day.
Duped by her parents into visiting the poor, pious, hilly district of Mirpur in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, she arrived to a village abuzz with preparations for her wedding - a ceremony she knew nothing about.
Seventeen years old, she had already refused to marry her first cousin two years earlier - an act of defiance that resulted in her being withdrawn from school by her parents. |
47 US operation aims to smooth road for Afghan elections
By Ben Arnoldy, The Christian Science Monitor
Thu Jul 2, 5:00 am ET
| New Delhi - With national elections less than two months away, the Afghan government is hoping to bring more areas under its control with the help of a new US-led military campaign.
The Taliban, who hold sway over large swaths of the country, could disrupt turnout among voters, calling into further question the legitimacy of an election already dogged by registration irregularities and a fractured opposition.
"In order to increase the legitimacy of the election it is [crucial] to allow people to open voting booths in every district of Afghanistan, and in Helmand most are under the control of the Taliban," says Kabul-based analyst Haroun Mir. |
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