Bush, Kerry in Early Dead Heat

President Bush (search) and Sen. John Kerry (search) would finish in a dead heat if the presidential election were held today, according to the latest FOX News poll.

While the race for the presidency is in a 44 percent to 44 percent tie, more see Bush as the candidate they trust to make decisions about taking the country to war. But presumptive Democratic nominee Kerry has the edge on managing the economy.

The poll results illustrate the strength of each candidate on what are arguably the top two issues of this election.

In addition, about one in five describe their feelings about the Bush administration as "angry"- the same number that say they felt angry about the Clinton administration.

The latest FOX New poll shows the Bush-Kerry race is dead even today, with Bush receiving some of his strongest support from conservatives, whites, higher income groups, and those living in the South, while Kerry is being backed strongest among minorities, young people, lower income groups and those living in the Northeast. Fully 75 percent of Bush voters say they support him "strongly" compared to 55 percent of Kerry voters.

Kerry essentially locked up his party's nomination earlier this week after winning nine of 10 Democratic contests on Super Tuesday.

Opinion Dynamics Corporation conducted the national poll of registered voters for FOX News on March 3-4.

For more on the campaign, click to view Foxnews.com's You Decide 2004 page.

By a nine-percentage point margin, more Americans would trust Bush over Kerry to make the right decision about taking the country to war, and by four points Bush is chosen as the candidate who would do more to improve the country's moral climate. On managing the country's economy, voters consider Kerry the candidate who would do a better job by a seven-point margin.

The president's job approval rating holds steady this week at 48 percent with 44 percent disapproving. Bush's approval rating hit 48 percent — the lowest job performance rating of his presidency — for the first time last month.

"It has become something of a tired cliche to point out the evenly divided nation that we have today," comments Opinion Dynamics President John Gorman. "However, unless something significant happens between now and November, we're likely to hear it many more times between then and now. Like it or not, on measure after measure, the country is divided just about evenly."


posted by Frodgie at 8:58 AM

 

Ashcroft Hospitalized for Severe Gallstone Pancreatitis

WASHINGTON — A severe case of gallstone pancreatitis (search) has put Attorney General John Ashcroft (search) in an intensive care unit, his chief spokesman said Friday.

The 61-year-old former Missouri senator canceled an appearance Thursday afternoon, believing at the time that he had the stomach flu, said Justice Department (search) spokesman Mark Corallo. But Thursday night, Ashcroft was admitted to George Washington University Hospital (search) for tests.

"He went home and when the condition worsened, he was visited by White House physician Daniel Parks, who advised that he go to the emergency room," Corallo said.

"After a full medical work-up in the emergency room, it was determined that he was suffering from a severe case of gallstone pancreatitis," Corallo said. "He was admitted to intensive care for careful monitoring and is being treated with antibiotics."

Corallo said he expects Ashcroft, who has not had any prior health problems, will spend a couple of days in the hospital.

President Bush called Ashcroft on Friday and spoke briefly with him and Mrs. Ashcroft. Bush told them that his thoughts and prayers were with them, government sources said.

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas usually caused by excessive alcohol use or, as in Ashcroft's case, a gallstone that blocks the passage leading from the pancreas to the beginning of the small intestine. It also may be caused by infection, injury or certain medications.

Symptoms include sudden, severe abdominal pain, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and fever.

In 85 to 90 percent of patients, acute pancreatitis resolves completely in three to seven days after treatment is instituted. Medical therapy is aimed at reducing pancreatic secretion, thereby "resting" the pancreas, and usually involves intravenous fluids and eliminating oral intake.


posted by Frodgie at 8:55 AM

 

Job slump puts Bush in bad light

The job market slumped back into stagnation last month with the unemployment rate stuck at 5.6 percent and only 21,000 jobs created, a development that spells trouble for President Bush's re-election effort.
Modest gains in temporary services, health care and government were mostly offset by drops in construction and manufacturing jobs, the Labor Department reported yesterday.
Wage gains for all workers slipped to the lowest since 1987, with the past year's 1.6 percent growth in average hourly earnings barely outpacing the rate of inflation.
Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, leveled the blame for the flagging job market on Mr. Bush. The president sought to jump-start a job recovery with $350 billion in tax cuts last year but the response has been only weak and dwindling job gains.

posted by Frodgie at 8:54 AM

 

Some 9/11 families ask Bush to yank ads

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Some relatives of those killed on 9/11 asked President Bush on Friday to pull his new campaign commercials off the air immediately, saying they are outraged over the ads' use of imagery from the 2001 terrorist attacks.

In a news conference organized by the advocacy group September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, two family members of victims and a retired firefighter assailed the president for the ads.

"It upsets me tremendously that Bobby, my son, could be used as a political pawn to be manipulated and at times abused -- it truly makes me sick," said Bob McIlvaine, who lost his 26-year-old son in the World Trade Center attacks.

Added Rita Lasar, who lost a brother on 9/11, "President Bush promised in a speech he gave in 2002 that he would not use the site for political reasons. We believed him; we trusted him. He has broken his promise to us.

"To say that we're outraged is the truth, but it's more than outrage. It's a deep hurt and sorrow that any politician, Democrat or Republican, would seek to gain advantage by using that site."

She added, "We're here today to beg them not to use those ads ... and not make any ads like them."

Retired firefighter Tom Ryan said, "They've deemed it that we're not allowed to see our heroic dead coming back from Iraq, but there, in a commercial to re-elect the president, they're using a dead firefighter to re-elect the president."


posted by Frodgie at 8:54 AM

 

Iraq constitution talks to resume Monday

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi Governing Council members adjourned negotiations over an interim constitution late Friday and will resume talks Monday, a council spokesman said.

The announcement brought to a close a day that began with a planned party for a new legal framework and ended in quiet disarray for the frustrated lawmakers.

The 25-member body had gathered amid great hoopla Friday afternoon to sign the historic transitional constitution.

But after Shiite members raised last-minute reservations about a section of the document, the trumpeted, elaborate signing ceremony had to be put off -- to the surprise of citizens, reporters, officials, and TV viewers waiting for the event to take place.

The adjournment announcement came about eight hours after the ceremony was delayed by Shiite concerns over how the transitional document spells out veto procedures that would apply when the permanent constitution is presented for approval. Shiites felt those procedures gave too much power to the Kurds.

A short time later, the council released a statement saying, "There is widespread consensus among governing council members on the law. But in the past few days a constructive dialogue took place regarding an important sensitive issue.

"Since in the new democratic Iraq there are valuable opportunities to exchange views to reach agreement in a democratic climate, the governing council has decided to adjourn its sessions for two days to complete the members' dialogue on that issue.


posted by Frodgie at 8:52 AM

 

Martha Stewart Guilty of All Counts

NEW YORK (AP) - Martha Stewart was convicted Friday of obstructing justice and lying to the government about why she unloaded her ImClone stock just before the price plummeted - a verdict that could send her to prison and cripple the homemaking empire built around her vision of gracious living.

Her ex-stockbroker, Peter Bacanovic, also was found guilty in the stock scandal.

Stewart, 62, grimaced and her eyes widened slightly upon hearing the verdict, and she later released a statement maintaining her innocence and promising an appeal.

The woman who built a reputation as a steely perfectionist and a ruthless executive walked out of the courthouse stone-faced before being driven away in a sport utility vehicle as supporters shouted, "We love Martha!" She will remain free while she awaits sentencing June 17.


posted by Frodgie at 8:41 AM

 

U.S. to launch 24/7 hunt for bin Laden

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. forces searching for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden along the mountainous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan will soon implement high-tech surveillance tactics in the region, enabling them to monitor the area 24 hours a day, seven days a week, CNN has learned.

It's believed that the constant surveillance of the border region and the "squeeze play" by U.S. and Pakistani forces surrounding the mountainous frontier will present the best chance ever to net the world's most-wanted terrorist, who has eluded capture since U.S. troops launched a search for him in late 2001.

Top administration officials believe bin Laden may begin to feel the heat from the troops now hunting him and might start to move.

"We are putting the pieces in place to throw the net over him," one official told CNN.

Among the devices that will be in place within days are U-2 spy planes flying at 70,000 feet, taking pictures, using radar and intercepting communications.


posted by Frodgie at 6:12 AM

 

All Eyes on Jobs Report

NEW YORK — Tech stocks rose Thursday but the broader market remained flat as investors opted to wait for Friday's all-important report on the U.S. job picture.

The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index (search) closed up 21.76 points, or 1.07 percent, at 2,055.12. The Dow Jones industrial average (search) ended down 5.11 points, or 0.05 percent, at 10,588. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (search) rose 3.84 points, or 0.33 percent, to 1,154.87.

Technology stocks were led higher by Intel Corp. (INTC), but the world's No. 1 computer chip maker disappointed some after the bell by narrowing its range of expected revenues for the first quarter to the downside.

Blue-chip stocks ended near the unchanged mark, held up by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) after better-than-expected monthly sales. But concerns over Friday's crucial job data persisted.

The market's major indexes drifted in and out of positive territory as they have much of the week ahead of Friday's employment report. The report, showing the number of new jobs created or lost during the month, is considered one of the most critical indicators of the economy's health.

The government said earlier in the day that weekly jobless claims fell in line with expectations, leaving economists' expectations intact for Friday's data to show 125,000 new jobs were created in February, up from 112,000 in January.


posted by Frodgie at 6:12 AM

 

Terrorists May Use Pen Guns, FBI Warns

WASHINGTON — The FBI is warning that terrorists could potentially use pens filled with cartridges of poison as weapons, according to an FBI bulletin obtained by Fox News.

A pen gun (search) is a small-caliber, single shot weapon that resembles a fountain pen.

In its weekly bulletin to law enforcement agencies throughout the country, the FBI said that bullet cavities of pen guns could be filled with poisonous chemicals or biological toxins, including cyanide (search), mercury (search), arsenic (search) and ricin (search).

"The FBI possesses no information indicating that chemical pen guns are currently being used or will be used in terrorist operations in the United States; however, law enforcement agencies should remain alert to the potential use of such devices," the FBI said in the notice.

The FBI noted, by way of background, that Indian authorities in December 2003 seized a pen gun during a raid on a suspected Islamic separatist's home in Kashmir, India. Police also found 25 suspected chemical cartridges (search). An officer became lightheaded after breaking open a cartridge. However, the chemical agent, if any, has not been identified.

"Pen guns are not new weapons; however, if the cartridges found in the Indian seizure were contaminated, that would indicate a new method of operation," the FBI said.


posted by Frodgie at 6:10 AM

 

Gay Couples Refused Licenses in New York City

NEW YORK — The fight over gay marriages reached the nation's largest city Thursday as about three dozen same-sex couples asked for licenses and were turned down. One applicant warned, "This isn't going away."

Couples in a New York suburb were also rejected, but across the country in Portland, Ore., a line of at least 100 hopefuls snaked around a building as Multnomah County (search) handed out licenses to gay couples for a second day.

"This isn't a matter of sacred and religious issues. It's a civil issue," said Nelson Jones, 74, who came out to support the Oregon couples and hoped to seek his own license there next week.

It is not clear how long the licenses will be available. Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski (search) has warned the marriages may not be legal and requested a legal opinion from Oregon's attorney general.

New York's attorney general, Eliot Spitzer (search), said in an opinion Wednesday that his state's laws prohibit same-sex marriages, and New York City's top lawyer said the same about city law. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has also promised to enforce the law.

Still, gay couples began lining up outside the city clerk's office two hours before it opened. First in line were Mara Gottlieb, 33, and Camille Gonzalez, 38, accompanied by Gottlieb's mother and their rabbi.

They, like those who followed, were handed a 50-page rejection letter that included the state and city's legal opinions and offered information about domestic partnership options.


posted by Frodgie at 6:08 AM

 

Aristide denies 'formal resignation,' plans return

Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide said yesterday the letter he signed before his departure on Sunday was not a "formal resignation" and he plans to return to his country soon.
U.S. officials, however, urged Haiti and the international community to focus on "moving forward." While they noted that only the Haitian people can choose their leaders, officials said Mr. Aristide has proven incapable of good governance.
They also said it was clear from his letter that he was stepping down and leaving the country voluntarily to prevent further bloodshed.
"The fact remains that Mr. Aristide resigned for the best interests of Haiti and the Haitian people, and he did so freely and of his own accord," said National Security Council spokesman Sean McCormack.
The former president, in an interview with French writer and Haiti expert Claude Ribbe, a recording of which was obtained by Agence France-Presse, said he is not "the kind of person to stay in exile."

posted by Frodgie at 6:02 AM

 

9/11 Convict Slimeball Gets A Re-Trial

KARLSRUHE, Germany — Mounir el Motassadeq — the world's only person convicted in the Sept. 11 (search) suicide hijack attacks — will face a retrail, a German appeals court on ruled on Thursday.

The Federal Criminal Court overturned the conviction of Motassadeq — a Moroccan found guilty last year of aiding the Al Qaeda (search) Hamburg cell of hijackers — on more than 3,000 counts of accessory to murder and membership in a terrorist organization. The 29-year-old's case was sent back to a lower Hamburg court other than the one that originally tried him.

"The case is to be sent back to another panel of judges at the Hamburg court for a new trial and decision," Presiding Judge Klaus Tolksdorf said in reading the verdict.

Tolksdorf did not immediately explain the verdict, but el Motassadeq's lawyers have argued he was denied a fair trial because the United States refused access to a key witness.

El Motassadeq is serving a 15-year prison sentence after a Hamburg court convicted him in February 2003 of giving logistical support to the Hamburg-based Al Qaeda cell that included Sept. 11 suicide hijackers Mohamed Atta (search), Marwan al-Shehhi and Ziad Jarrah.

An electrical engineering student in Hamburg, el Motassadeq has denied the charges.

His lawyers had asked the appeals court for acquittal or a retrial, alleging el Motassadeq was wrongly convicted because the United States refused to allow court testimony by Ramzi Binalshibh, thought to be the Hamburg cell's key contact with Al Qaeda.

Binalshibh was captured in Pakistan on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and is in secret U.S. custody.

Thursday's ruling is a new setback for German prosecutors after the Hamburg court last month acquitted el Motassadeq's friend Abdelghani Mzoudi of identical charges for lack of evidence.


posted by Frodgie at 6:37 AM

 

Bush vs. Kerry war begins

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- His virtual knockout success on Super Tuesday behind him, and the men who were once his rivals now among his most prominent supporters, Sen. John Kerry put all his focus Wednesday on the head-to-head matchup against President Bush for the White House.

"We're going to reach out to America on basic common sense, and we're going to have a conversation about how we really make this nation of ours stronger and safer and how we keep the promise to the American people,"Kerry told a crowd Wednesday at a town hall meeting in Orlando, Florida -- a key battleground state in the presidential race.

It was his first campaign stop after sweeping nine out of 10 states Tuesday, virtually locking up the Democratic nomination.

"When the returns came in, and I stood up there last night, I knew I was coming to Orlando, my first instinct was to say to everybody, 'Guess where I'm going tomorrow. I'm going to Disney World,' " he joked to laughter and applause. "But I resisted the temptation."

Being the presumptive nominee means it's time to find a running mate. In a written statement, the Kerry campaign announced that the search will be headed by Jim Johnson, a Washington businessman and civic leader.


posted by Frodgie at 6:34 AM

 

Gadhafi vows no more terror

SIRTE, Libya — Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said yesterday that his country has turned the page on terror and weapons of mass destruction and seeks better relations with the United States.
Col. Gadhafi laid out the views to three American reporters a day after the opening of the Libyan People's National Congress, where he had announced "a new era" of cooperation with the United States.
Asked whether that new era had been inspired by the recent demonstration of U.S. resolve and military might in Iraq, Col. Gadhafi suggested that it had been a factor.
"We made our own decision and our analysis on the current world situation, and we came to the conclusion ... that we can't ... go ahead with having these programs," Col. Gadhafi said.

posted by Frodgie at 6:32 AM

 

How Tiny Swiss Cellphone Chips Helped Track Global Terror Web

LONDON, March 2 — The terrorism investigation code-named Mont Blanc began almost by accident in April 2002, when authorities intercepted a cellphone call that lasted less than a minute and involved not a single word of conversation.

Investigators, suspicious that the call was a signal between terrorists, followed the trail first to one terror suspect, then to others, and eventually to terror cells on three continents.

What tied them together was a computer chip smaller than a fingernail. But before the investigation wound down in recent weeks, its global net caught dozens of suspected Qaeda members and disrupted at least three planned attacks in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, according to counterterrorism and intelligence officials in Europe and the United States.

The investigation helped narrow the search for one of the most wanted men in the world, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who is accused of being the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to three intelligence officials based in Europe. American authorities arrested Mr. Mohammed in Pakistan last March.

For two years, investigators now say, they were able to track the conversations and movements of several Qaeda leaders and dozens of operatives after determining that the suspects favored a particular brand of cellphone chip. The chips carry prepaid minutes and allow phone use around the world.

Investigators said they believed that the chips, made by Swisscom of Switzerland, were popular with terrorists because they could buy the chips without giving their names.


posted by Frodgie at 6:27 AM

 

Eisner out as Disney chair

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The board of Walt Disney Co. late Wednesday stripped CEO Michael Eisner of his role as chairman after about 43 percent of shareholders voted to oppose his re-election to the company's board.

The board opted to separate the positions of chairman and chief executive at a meeting that followed what was an often quarrelsome five-hour annual shareholder meeting in Philadelphia earlier in the day. It unanimously elected former U.S. Senator George Mitchell chairman.

Michael Eisner may need a little magic to keep his job at Disney. CNNfn's Jen Rogers reports.

Eisner will keep the CEO job and the board in its statement said it remained "unanimous in its support" of Disney's management team.

The board also said Comcast's takeover proposal, which the cable company repeated Wednesday, would not be in the interest of Disney shareholders. But it also said it was open to looking at a "reasonable proposal."


posted by Frodgie at 6:25 AM

 

Kerry prepares for battle with Bush

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. John Kerry all but claimed the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday night, with what was shaping up to be a triumphant Super Tuesday and the decision of his chief rival, Sen. John Edwards, to quit the race.

"Thank you to voters from coast to coast who have truly made this a Super Tuesday," Kerry, a four-term U.S. senator from Massachusetts and decorated Vietnam veteran, told cheering supporters in Washington.

He was projected to win nine of the 10 states holding contests Tuesday, including the night's biggest prizes, California and New York.

With Edwards' departure, Kerry faces no major rivals in his bid to claim his party's nomination in July when Democrats meet for their convention. While two other candidates remain in the race, they have never figured in the fight.

Underscoring Kerry's status as the presumptive Democratic nominee, President Bush called Kerry to congratulate him on his wins. "I said I hope we have a great debate about the issues before the country," Kerry told reporters.

Whatever niceties the two men exchanged in private, the public words were sharp and strong as the field narrowed and the battle lines were more clearly drawn.


posted by Frodgie at 6:28 AM

 

Gunmaker Liability Bill Goes Down in Defeat

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats gunning for a ban on assault weapons unexpectedly forced down a bill Tuesday that would have prevented gun manufacturers from liability after the bill's sponsor said the amendment made the measure too unpalatable.

The Senate voted 90-8 to defeat the bill that would deny victims the opportunity to sue gunmakers and dealers when their products are used in a crime. The vote followed a 52-47 vote to attach an amendment that would have renewed for 10 years the assault weapons ban (search) set to expire this year.

The Senate also voted 53-46 to require background checks (search) of purchasers buying guns at private shows.

Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, who sponsored the bill that was strongly supported by the National Rifle Association (search), said it was doomed because of the amendments.

"The semiautomatic ban, the gun show loophole, a variety of other kinds of issues could simply drag this bill down and deny us substantial tort reform," Craig, an NRA member, said.

"It is a most bizarre and unusual day," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who opposed the measure to relieve gunmakers from liability and sponsored the assault weapons ban amendment.


posted by Frodgie at 6:27 AM

 

Blasts kill 143 pilgrims in Iraq

BAGHDAD — Simultaneous terrorist attacks killed at least 143 Muslim pilgrims and wounded hundreds yesterday as they marked a sacred Shi'ite religious holiday for the first time in decades. Unofficial death tolls ranged at more than 200.
U.S. officials blamed the mayhem, described as Iraq's bloodiest day since the end of the war, on an operative of terror network al Qaeda who recently drafted a letter proposing to try to start a civil war between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims.
Explosions in the holy city of Karbala, about 75 miles south of the capital, Baghdad, tore through a procession of more than 1 million at the close of the 10-day festival of Ashura, the most holy day on the Shi'ite calendar. It commemorates the 7th-century martyrdom of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Muhammad.
Moments later in Baghdad, multiple suicide bombers attacked pilgrims commemorating the holiday at the city's main Shi'ite mosque.
Iraqi officials declared a three-day period of mourning and suggested that a ceremony today to sign an interim constitution would be delayed.
In both cities, panicked pilgrims fled the explosions in terror, sometimes running head-on into another blast.
A woman, her face bloodied beneath a black veil, held her husband as a child lay nearby.

posted by Frodgie at 6:23 AM

 

Mel Gibson's triumph

On coming away from a first, full viewing of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," among the questions that came to mind was: What in heaven's name was all the howling about?

For the all-powerful impression this emotionally draining film leaves one with is that this is what the Son of God went through for our sins and our salvation. Those who called "The Passion" anti-Semitic without seeing it, who tried to censor it and keep it out of theaters, and who trashed it as pornographic as soon as it appeared on Ash Wednesday have made perfect fools of themselves.

For Catholics, this first week of Lent was a decidedly mixed one. The magnitude of the scandal of pedophile and pervert-priests, now fully documented, testifies that Pope Paul VI was right when he warned, post Vatican II, that the smoke of Hell had entered the vestibule of the Church.

But Gibson's "Passion" gives us a Lenten masterpiece, a beautiful moving work of art. To cradle Catholics who can recite the lines of each episode before they are uttered, it is faithful to the Gospels, to the Stations of the Cross, to the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.


posted by Frodgie at 6:19 AM

 

McDonald's Menu to Go on Diet in 2005

CHICAGO (AP) - Say goodbye to those super-sized fries - McDonald's is slimming down its menu.

The hamburger giant has started phasing out its trademark Supersize fries and drinks in its U.S. restaurants as part of an effort to simplify its menu and give customers choices that support a balanced lifestyle, a company spokesman said Tuesday.

By the end of 2004, super size will no longer be available at the nation's 13,000-plus McDonald's outlets except in certain promotions, McDonald's spokesman Walt Riker said.

The move comes as the world's largest restaurant company, and fast-food chains in general, are under growing public pressure to give consumers healthier food options in a nation that has suddenly become aware of its bulging waistline and the health dangers that come with it.

McDonald's added entree salads last year and has been moving to provide more fruit, vegetable and yogurt options with its Happy Meals. But the Oak Brook, Ill.-based company remains a magnet for public concerns - and legal actions - when it comes to obesity.

Riker said the changes started going into effect in January.

"This core menu, which has been under development since 2002, simplifies our menu and restaurant operations and provides a balance of choices for our customers," he said. "A component of this overall simplification, menu and balanced lifestyle strategy is the ongoing phase-out of the Supersize fry and the Supersize drink options."

posted by Frodgie at 6:17 AM

 

Dems Scramble for Support Before Super Tuesday

The Democratic candidates have only one day left before voters in 10 states go to the polls for "Super Tuesday."

On the campaign trail, front-runner John Kerry (search) continued to take shots at President Bush while ignoring his No. 1 rival, John Edwards (search), while Edwards himself tried to convince people he was the best person to run against the incumbent despite the polls saying otherwise.

Considered the mother lode of the Democratic primary season, Super Tuesday (search) offers up 1,151 delegates for the candidates to try to win. That's more than half the 2,162 needed to win the Democratic presidential nomination. A Tuesday sweep could give Kerry more than 1,500 delegates.

Edwards, the North Carolina senator, already has virtually ceded the four New England states to Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, and stands little chance of victory in the biggest battlegrounds — Maryland, New York and California. That leaves Georgia, Ohio and Minnesota as Edwards' targets. But polls show him trailing in those states.

Edwards is hoping to win enough victories Tuesday to keep his candidacy alive until March 9, when four more Southern states vote. However, the South Carolina-born senator is considered a long shot in that region.

"At some point I've got to start getting more delegates or I'm not going to be the nominee," Edwards told reporters on Monday. He wouldn't predict victory in Ohio, virtually a must-win state for him, but he did acknowledged Kerry's dominance.

"There's no question that national momentum has an impact on these races," Edwards said.

Although Edwards' optimism may be appealing, many are being realistic about his chances.


posted by Frodgie at 6:38 AM

 

Bodies of Mississippi Family Found

YAZOO CITY, Miss. — The bodies of a family missing since Valentine's Day were found on Monday in a wooded area in Mississippi. Earlier in the day, a relative was charged in the deaths of the couple and their young child.

District Attorney James Powell told The Associated Press late Monday that the bodies had been identified as Michael and Rebecca Hargon (search) and their 4-year-old son. An autopsy was scheduled for late Monday night or Tuesday.

"It's awful. You deal with bad stuff all the time but rarely where the whole family was killed," Powell said.

Bill Hirtz, Rebecca Hargon's father, said the discovery of the bodies gave him a measure of solace. "At least I know where they were at," he said in a telephone interview Monday night.

Earnest Lee Hargon (search), a relative of the family, was arraigned on three counts of capital murder on Monday. Hargon, a 43-year-old truck driver, was ordered held in Yazoo County (search) without bond.

The discovery of the remains and the charges against Hargon capped an intense three-week search for clues in the case. Teams of law officers using portable lights searched through scattered rain and into the evening hours for the bodies.


posted by Frodgie at 6:27 AM

 

Study: Breast-fed babies have lower blood pressure

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Breast-fed babies grow up to have lower blood pressure than bottle-fed children, British researchers reported on Monday.

This could mean they will have lower blood pressure as adults, and thus a lower risk of heart disease, the No. 1 killer in the industrialized world, the researchers said.

For every three months a child was breast fed, his or her systolic blood pressure reading -- the top number -- went down 0.2 points, on average. Breast-feeding time did not significantly affect diastolic blood pressure -- the lower number.

"Even this small reduction may have important population-health implications," said Richard Martin, a senior lecturer in epidemiology and public health at the University of Bristol in Britain, who led the study.

"A one percent reduction in population systolic blood pressure levels is associated with about a 1.5 percent reduction in all-cause mortality," Martin added, equivalent to a reduction in premature death of about 8,000 deaths per year in the United States and 2,000 deaths per year in the United Kingdom.

Lower blood pressure is directly linked to lower risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and other related illnesses.

Breast-fed babies are also less likely to be overweight, have fewer behavioral problems and may show differences in intelligence, other studies have shown. Therefore, groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that all mothers breast-feed their babies for the first year, and two years if possible.

Writing in the journal Circulation, the researchers said the nutritional content of breast milk may be responsible.

Breast-fed children tend to consume less sodium, which is one factor that can influence blood pressure. Breast milk also contains long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are compounds that can affect the development of blood vessels.

posted by Frodgie at 6:22 AM

 

Blasts Hit Two Iraqi Cities on Religious Holiday

WASHINGTON — Several explosions hit Shiite shrines in the Iraqi cities of Karbala (search) and Baghdad as tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered for a religious festival on Tuesday. More than 100 people were killed and scores were injured in the attacks.

Crowds of panicked people could be seen running for safety in the streets of the holy city of Karbala, 50 miles south of Baghdad (search), after five blasts went off shortly after 10 a.m. near two of the major shrines of Shiite Islam. Stunned witnesses believed the attacks were carried out by homicide bombers.

At least 70 people were killed in the Karbala attacks, Fox News confirmed, and the number was expected to rise. The city had been filled with tens of thousands of pilgrims marking the mourning festival of Ashoura (search).

The Polish news agency reported at least 300 people were injured in the Karbala attacks, quoting an unidentified Iraqi police official. Karbala is located in the part of Iraq controlled by the Polish military.

In Baghdad, several explosions rocked the inside and outside of the Kadhimiya shrine at about the same time. Police sealed off the area while people fled screaming and ambulances raced to the scene. Dozens of armed men in civilian clothes tried to maintain order.

Four mortars landed in the shrine's courtyard as people were cooking and commemorating the holy day. At least 75 people were killed and as many as 200 more were injured, many of them women and children.

The explosions in both cities seemed part of a coordinated attack to coincide with Ashoura, which as a Shiite Muslim holiday had been banned under former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's regime.

The religious festivals in both cities were held under tight security, coordinated by the U.S.-led coalition. American troops held back from the crowds, but Iraqi police were on the ground screening automobiles for homicide bombers.

The attacks also came one day before the expected signing of Iraq's landmark interim constitution. The Iraqi Governing Council had come to an agreement on the document on Monday, but decided to wait until after Ashoura to hold the signing ceremony.


posted by Frodgie at 6:18 AM

 

U.S. to send 'small' operation to Haiti

The Pentagon will dispatch up to 2,000 Marines to Haiti to restore order in the country before an international peacekeeping force takes over.
"Certainly, the number of people that need to be involved in a peacekeeping operation in Haiti is relatively small," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld told reporters at the Pentagon, noting that a large number of countries have volunteered to send forces.
Yesterday, U.S. Marines and French troops secured key sites in the capital, Port-au-Prince, as rebels rolled into the city to the cheers of hundreds of residents celebrating the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
When the rebels arrived at a plaza outside the National Palace and a nearby police station, thousands of Haitians converged on the square, shouting "liberty" and "Aristide is gone."
A half-dozen Marines in combat fatigues and rifles were on the grounds of the National Palace. The rebels and the Marines did not immediately approach each other.
Mr. Rumsfeld said that between 1,500 and 2,000 U.S. troops are available to take part in a force in Haiti that will help control the country after Mr. Aristide's departure Sunday and the assumption of a new president.

posted by Frodgie at 6:16 AM

 

Greenspan's grim diagnosis

The job of the chairman of the Fed, it used to be said, was to take away the punch bowl just as the party got going good.

Last week, Alan Greenspan did his duty. He told Congress Social Security benefits must be cut for the baby boomers, to avoid taxes having to be raised on the Gen-Xers. Like Thelma and Louise, Social Security and Medicare are headed for the cliff.

For decades, our leaders, terrified of touching the "third rail" of American politics, have put off addressing the long-term crisis. Now, the monster has come into view.

In 2008, the first of the baby boomers, the largest population cohort in U.S. history, reaches 62 and eligibility for early retirement. By 2012, all boomers born in that first postwar year of 1946 reach full retirement age. Then, the wave will crest and crash.

From 2012 to 2031, all 77 million boomers will reach 67 and retire. Today's big contributors to the Medicare and Social Security will become tomorrow's biggest consumers of the trust fund money.

And the young folks entering the labor force as the boomers depart, more heavily minority and immigrant, will be unable to match the tax contributions of the boomers. As the man with the sandwich board in Times Square used to say, "Repent, the end is near."


posted by Frodgie at 6:14 AM

 

American Brothers Accused of Terror Links Deported to U.S.

MANILA, Philippines — Two American brothers arrested in the Philippines last year for alleged ties to Al Qaeda (search)-linked groups were deported to the United States, immigration officials said Monday.

Michael Ray Stubbs (search), 55, of Antioch, Calif., and his brother James, 56, who also goes by the name Jamil Daud Mujahid (search), of Newark, N.J., were arrested in December and ordered deported.

Authorities alleged that James Stubbs met with members of the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf (search) as well as the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The brothers had been under surveillance at the time of their arrests, and had entered the country on tourist visas. But they also carried documents indicating that they were soliciting funds to build Muslim schools and mosques, officials said.

Authorities said there was no evidence linking the men to any past or planned terrorist plots.

Immigration Commissioner Alipio Fernandez Jr. said the brothers were deported to Japan on Saturday, where U.S. marshals escorted them on a flight to the United States.

Relatives of the men confirmed they have returned to the San Francisco Bay area.

In December, FBI agents said they were investigating Michael Stubbs to determine if he had access to sensitive information while working in the 1990s as an air conditioning and heating technician at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.


posted by Frodgie at 6:34 AM

 

Democrats face off last time before Tuesday

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Facing off in the last debate before Tuesday's nominating contests in 10 states, the four Democratic presidential contenders united in their attacks on the Bush administration for its handling of Haiti but quarreled over economic issues Sunday.

Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, hoping to advance on front-runner Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, stepped up his attacks against Kerry on trade, an issue that has helped energize Edwards' campaign in recent weeks.

Edwards described the two men's stances on the issue as "fundamentally different," but provided few details other than saying he would, as president, change the U.S. trade agreements and that Kerry, as president, would first appoint a committee to study them.

"What you're going to say to a family that's lost their job because of bad trade agreements is, 'Don't worry, we've got a Washington committee that's studying this for you,'" Edwards said.

Edwards listed several trade agreements he opposed but Kerry supported, and said trade agreements are sending jobs overseas.


posted by Frodgie at 6:31 AM

 

John Kerry’s Time Warp

Why does Sen. John Kerry (D., Mass.) talk incessantly about Vietnam?

Obviously, it has given him a great political advantage in past campaigns and he hopes it will do the same in his race for the White House. But there might be another reason. Perhaps more than any other presidential candidate in recent memory, Kerry seems to be living in another time, playing a movie of Vietnam over and over in his mind.

In fact, he is often playing an actual movie of Vietnam over and over on his television. Consider this scene from a remarkable profile of Kerry published in the Boston Globe in October 1996, when Kerry was in a tough reelection battle:

Kerry told reporter Charles Sennott the oft-repeated story of the February 1969 firefight in which Kerry attacked the Viet Cong who ambushed his Swift boat. Kerry won the Silver Star, as well as a Purple Heart, for his efforts. But the story wasn't just the firefight itself. It was also Kerry's reaction to it.

The future senator was so "focused on his future ambitions," Sennott reported, that not long after the fight, he bought a Super-8 movie camera, returned to the scene, and reenacted the skirmish on film. During their interview, Kerry played the tape for Sennott.


posted by Frodgie at 6:28 AM

 

Marines take charge in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The U.S. Marines landed at Haiti's Port-au-Prince airport late last night, following by several hours the abrupt resignation and departure into exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
President Bush yesterday ordered the Marines to the country as part of a multinational interim force. A small contingent of Canadian troops is reported to be already in the city.
The contingent of about 100 Marines that landed yesterday is expected to secure key facilities as a beachhead for international peacekeeping force.
Late last night, the U.N. Security Council members reached agreement to authorize sending an international force to Haiti for three months to restore order, U.N. diplomats said.
France and perhaps other countries also were expected to rush troops to the island nation after the emergency meeting last night of the U.N. Security Council. The Marines, expected to number in the hundreds, were due sometime after nightfall, and 120 to 140 French troops were expected today.

posted by Frodgie at 6:26 AM

 

'Lord of the Rings' Sweeps Oscars

LOS ANGELES (AP) - "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" swept to a record-tying 11 Academy Awards on Sunday, including best picture and director, becoming the first fantasy to win the top Oscar.

In the acting categories, all the winners took home their first Oscars: Charlize Theron won best actress for her performance as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster," and Sean Penn was named best actor for playing a vengeful ex-hoodlum who falls back on his criminal ways in "Mystic River."

Tim Robbins won the supporting-actor prize for his performance as an emotionally crippled murder suspect in "Mystic River," and Renee Zellweger took supporting actress as a hardy Confederate survivor in "Cold Mountain."

After the first two installments of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy were shut out of major awards, "Return of the King" swept all 11 categories in which it was nominated. It matched the record 11 wins of "Titanic" and "Ben-Hur" and became only the third movie to sweep every nominated category, following "Gigi" and "The Last Emperor," which both went nine-for-nine.

(AP) Jim Carrey, left, helps honorary Oscar winner director Blake Edwards after an on-stage stunt ...

"I'm so honored and relieved that the academy and the members of the academy that have supported us have seen past the trolls and the wizards and the hobbits in recognizing fantasy this year," said Jackson, 42, who just a few years ago was an obscure New Zealander known mainly for one admired art-house film ("Heavenly Creatures"), a run-of-the-mill Hollywood horror tale ("The Frighteners") and a scattering of cult splatter flicks ("Bad Taste," the puppet massacre "Meet the Feebles").


posted by Frodgie at 6:24 AM