Putin Says Russia Warned U.S. on Saddam

ASTANA, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - Russia warned the United States on several occasions that Iraq's Saddam Hussein planned "terrorist attacks" on its soil, President Vladimir Putin said Friday.
"After the events of September 11, 2001, and before the start of the military operation in Iraq, Russian special services several times received such information and passed it on to their American colleagues," he told reporters.

The Kremlin leader, who was speaking in the Kazakh capital, said Russian intelligence services had many times received information that Saddam's special forces were preparing terrorist attacks in the United States "and beyond its borders on American military and civilian targets."

"This information was conveyed to our American colleagues," he said. He added that Russian intelligence had no proof that Saddam agents had been involved in any particular attack.

Russia had diplomatic relations with Saddam's Iraq and opposed the U.S.-led military offensive that toppled him.

Putin's comments come after President Bush was forced to defend his charge that there had been links between Saddam and al Qaeda that partly justified the U.S.-led invasion.


posted by Frodgie at 2:02 PM

 

U.S. hostage Johnson apparently beheaded

(CNN) -- Three chilling photographs on an Islamist Web site appear to show the beheaded body of American hostage Paul Johnson, who was kidnapped a week ago by Islamic militants connected with al Qaeda.

Abdel Aziz Al-Muqrin, the self-proclaimed military leader of al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia, claimed responsibility for Johnson's kidnapping and the death of another American on the same day on behalf of a group called the Al Falluja Squadron.

On Tuesday, he threatened to kill Johnson in 72 hours unless the Saudi government released al Qaeda prisoners and all Westerners left the Arabian Peninsula.

"We gave you the deadline but you did not respect it," a statement on the Web site said. "This is what we promised to do."

A Saudi security source said, "From our end, we cannot confirm this. We have not found a body yet."

Earlier Friday, Al Arabiya as well as CNN had aired an emotional appeal from Johnson's wife.

U.S. and Saudi investigators concluded an intensive meeting Friday, Saudi officials said, as security forces spread all over the kingdom searching for Johnson.

Johnson, 49, a Lockheed Martin Corp. employee, had been kidnapped Saturday in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. He helped maintain U.S.-built Apache helicopter gunships for the Saudi military.

Al Falluja Squadron says it has ties to al Qaeda.

The State Department has urged all Americans to leave Saudi Arabia, but Johnson's sister, Donna Mayeux, said in a CNN interview that her brother "always felt safe in Saudi Arabia."

"My brother is an honorable man," she said. "He has always treated people with dignity and respect."



posted by Frodgie at 2:00 PM

 

Bush reasserts Iraq link to al Qaeda

President Bush yesterday said Saddam Hussein had ties to al Qaeda before and after the September 11 attacks, in his first response to an investigative panel's portrayal of the relationship as not a "collaborative" one.
"This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al Qaeda," Mr. Bush said after a meeting with his Cabinet. "We did say there were numerous contacts between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda."

Mr. Bush said intelligence reports since the fall of Iraq also have shown links between Saddam's regime and al Qaeda.
The relationship, Mr. Bush said, included Saddam's regime giving a safe haven to Abu Musab Zarqawi before the Iraq war — a man now considered the most dangerous terrorist in Iraq and the leader of an al Qaeda offshoot.

posted by Frodgie at 6:48 AM

 

Saudi Police Search for American Hostage

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — With helicopters flying overhead, thousands of Saudi police searched for American hostage Paul M. Johnson Jr. (search) on Friday as a 72-hour deadline loomed for the kingdom to release Al Qaeda prisoners or see him killed.

Police went through several Riyadh (search) neighborhoods from Thursday night through Friday morning, but authorities gave no indication they were any closer to Johnson, a Lockheed Martin employee who was kidnapped Saturday by a group calling itself Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The organization is believed to be headed by Abdulaziz Issa Abdul-Mohsin al-Moqrin, the top Al Qaeda figure in Saudi Arabia.

In Johnson's hometown of Eagleswood Township, N.J., relatives held a vigil Thursday night to pray for his safe return.

The kidnappers released a video tape of Johnson on Tuesday night saying they would kill him unless the Saudi government released all militants in its prisons within 72 hours. The Saudis have rejected the demand.

It is not known exactly when the deadline expires as the time of the video tape's release to an Islamic Web site was not clear. But it is presumed the deadline runs out Friday evening Saudi time or Friday afternoon eastern U.S. time.


posted by Frodgie at 6:46 AM

 

Bush Says Iraq Posed Threat Because of Terror Link

June 17 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush said ``numerous contacts'' between Iraq and the al-Qaeda terrorist network justified the U.S.-led war on Saddam Hussein's regime.

``There was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al- Qaeda,'' Bush told reporters after meeting with his Cabinet at the White House. ``This administration never said that the 9/11 attacks were orchestrated between Saddam and al-Qaeda. We did say there were numerous contacts between Saddam and al-Qaeda.''

A panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks reported yesterday that meetings or contacts between the former Iraqi dictator and al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden didn't lead to a collaborative relationship. There's ``no credible evidence that Iraq and al-Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States,'' the panel said.

``Saddam Hussein was a threat,'' Bush said when asked about the report. ``He was a threat because he had used weapons of mass destruction against his own people. He was a threat because he was a sworn enemy of the United States of America, just like al- Qaeda. He was a threat because he had terrorist connections.''

``The world is better off and America is more secure without Saddam Hussein in power,'' the president said.


posted by Frodgie at 6:21 AM

 

Atta to passengers: You'll be OK

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A voice believed to be that of al Qaeda hijack leader Mohamed Atta urged passengers to "stay quiet and you'll be OK" as the hijackers steered American Airlines Flight 11 toward New York, the independent commission investigating the September 11 attacks reported Thursday.

"Nobody move. Everything will be OK," the voice said in a recording first played publicly in the commission's final hearing.

"If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane. Just stay quiet," the voice said.

The announcement, which commission staff believe was from Atta, was the first transmission from the aircraft picked up by air traffic controllers in Boston, where the flight originated.

Ten minutes later, the voice again warned, "Nobody move please. We are going back to the airport. Don't try to make any stupid moves."

The Egyptian-born Atta apparently was not aware that his announcements to passengers were being broadcast.


posted by Frodgie at 6:19 AM

 

Iraqi official says martial law possible

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's interim interior minister says martial law could be declared in the country if there are continued attacks like the car bombing that killed 35 people Thursday in Baghdad.

"If we need to do it, yes, we'll do it. We won't hesitate," said Falah al-Nakib, in response to a question about a possible declaration of martial law.

"This is the security of our country. This is the security and life of our people," al-Nakib said.

In addition to the 35 people killed, 145 others were wounded in the Thursday car bombing, which targeted an Iraqi army recruitment center but inflicted a heavy toll on civilians on the street nearby.

Interim Defense Minister Hazem Shalan al-Khuzaei said that "in the next few days, we will chase [the insurgents] ... from house to house and from street to street, by all means available."

Visiting the scene of the blast, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi vowed his people would prevail in the face of mounting violence before the June 30 political handover from the United States.


posted by Frodgie at 6:17 AM

 

CLINTON CONSIDERS HIS IMPEACHMENT BATTLE A 'BADGE OF HONOR'

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON CONSIDERS HIS IMPEACHMENT BATTLE A 'BADGE OF HONOR' AND HIS INFIDELITY A 'TERRIBLE MORAL ERROR': 60 MINUTES
Wed Jun 16 2004 21:00:11 ET

In an Exclusive and Wide-Ranging Interview With Dan Rather That Touches on His Presidency, Family and Childhood, Bill Clinton Discusses His Personal Failings and How He and Hillary Clinton Helped Their Marriage Through Counseling

Former President Bill Clinton calls his fight against his impeachment a "badge of honor" in an exclusive and wide-ranging 60 MINUTES interview with Dan Rather to be broadcast Sunday June 20 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

In the candid, sometimes emotional interview, the 42nd president of the United States talks about his public and private life - soon to be revealed in his upcoming memoir, My Life - discussing his Arkansas childhood and family, his times as Arkansas governor and the triumphs and failures of his presidency.

Clinton tells Rather he is proud that he fought the impeachment battle that failed to drive him from office. "I didn't quit, I never thought of resigning and I stood up to it and beat it back," he tells Rather. "The whole battle was a badge of honor. I don't see it as a stain, because it was illegitimate," says Clinton of the impeachment process that he calls "an abuse of power."

Clinton views his economic plan as the greatest accomplishment of his presidency. "I kept score, how many people's lives were better off," he tells Rather. "I think the fact that we were able to have 22 million jobs and record home ownership and lower interest rates...people actually had the ability to do more things than ever before," says Clinton.

He had many days as president that he counts among his best, including his efforts to help the residents of Kosovo and rid the world of a dictator. "The day that Kosovar war ended and I knew Milosevic's days were numbered was a great day. I had a lot of great days," he says.

posted by Frodgie at 7:10 AM

 

Kidnapped American's situation 'grim'

(CNN) -- The status of an American being held hostage in Saudi Arabia was described as "grim" by a U.S. lawmaker who met with a Saudi official Wednesday.

Paul Johnson Jr., a 49-year-old from New Jersey who works for Lockheed Martin, was taken captive by al Qaeda gunmen Saturday.

His captors released a four-and-a-half minute Web video Tuesday and threatened to kill Johnson within 72 hours if their demands were not met.

Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Jon Corzine of New Jersey met Wednesday afternoon with Adel al-Jubeir, the foreign policy adviser to Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah to discuss the matter.

"It's grim," Lautenberg told CNN after the meeting.

"They say they are doing everything humanly possible" to save Johnson, Lautenberg said. "They have called in experts at hostage rescue from the United States to assist them."


posted by Frodgie at 7:09 AM

 

Kerry woos middle class

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The battle for middle-class voters in November's presidential election reached full pitch yesterday as Sen. John Kerry campaigned here, promising universal health coverage and an expansion of after-school day care.
"The wealthiest people in America are getting a huge, walk-away-with-the-store tax break," said Mr. Kerry, who is worth millions. "But a whole bunch of kids who need to have after-school adult input aren't getting it."

The Massachusetts Democrat went on to tell a group of parents at a day care facility, "My choice is to make certain that every child in America has an opportunity to be able to be nurtured, to be loved, to be safe, to be cared for and to be able to go through school."
Perhaps no state will be more bitterly contested in this year's presidential election than Ohio, targeted by both campaigns as among the most significant bellwethers. The state also has backed the winner in every presidential election since 1964.

posted by Frodgie at 7:05 AM

 

Marines Get Help Finding Jobs After Serving

DALLAS — From opening boxes to driving a forklift, Corey Getsinger feels his life has taken a new turn. Just last year he was hauling ammo and a rifle while serving his country at war in Iraq.

But when Sgt. Getsinger came home from Iraq and left the Marines he found the American free market not so welcoming.

"I couldn't find a job for a good while," he said. But then he discovered Marine for Life (search), a job search network for former Marines that matched him with the Morrison Supply Company where the manager, a former Marine himself, was more than happy to hire him.

"You learn to be a leader to be able to advance in the Marine Corps, so the leadership qualities is why I'm looking for the Marines," said Dano Townsend of the Morrison Supply Company.

Every year, about 30,000 Marines are honorably discharged and end up pounding the pavement looking for work.

The Marines running the job-networking program say every American employer should open their arms and their offices.


posted by Frodgie at 7:03 AM

 

Medicare to cover scan for Alzheimer's

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Using PET scans to check for evidence of Alzheimer's disease will be covered under U.S. government insurance, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said.

The move, anticipated but controversial, will set a precedent that private insurers may be likely to follow.

"This new Medicare coverage will improve care for Americans living with suspected Alzheimer's disease," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, said Tuesday.

Positron emission tomography, or PET, can image living brain cells in "real time" to give an idea of which areas are most active at any given time. Combined with the right computer software, they can be used to show areas damaged by the tangles and toxic protein buildups that mark Alzheimer's.


posted by Frodgie at 7:02 AM

 

Islamic Group Shows Tape of U.S. Hostage

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - An Islamic Web site showed videotape Tuesday of a blindfolded American hostage in Saudi Arabia and of abductors threatening to kill him unless Saudi authorities free al-Qaida prisoners within three days.

Paul Johnson, 49, of Stafford Township, N.J., was abducted Saturday by a group calling itself al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The organization is believed to be headed by al-Qaida's chief in the Saudi kingdom, Abdullah-aziz al-Moqrin, who is identified as speaking on the tape.

"My name is Paul Marshall Johnson, Jr.," the hostage says in the tape, seated and with an elaborate tattoo showing on his left shoulder. "I am an American. ... I work on Apache helicopters."

A U.S. official said the threat should be taken "very seriously" because the posting appeared to be credible and militants have used the site before. "It has been a good indicator in the past," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The Web site was posted on the same day Saudi Arabia's ruling crown prince warned Islamic militants that the kingdom planned to deploy more security forces than they had ever faced before.

"Be assured that the kingdom has enough men whom you haven't seen so far, but within the coming few days you will see them," Crown Prince Abdullah told the militants, whose attacks have increased during the past three months. His remarks were televised.


posted by Frodgie at 6:56 AM

 

You can get 282 Miles per Gallon

The most economical car in the world

A few years ago, Volkswagen took on a task that many people thought was impossible: they decided to develop a fuel-efficient, road-going compact car that could achieve an average fuel consumption of just 3 litres per 100 km (94 mpg). Not only did Volkswagen achieve this milestone in 1999, but they had an even larger goal in mind: an ultra fuel-efficient car with a super stingy fuel consumption rating of just 1 litre per 100 kilometres (282 mpg).

After three years of development in secret, the 1-Litre-Car was unveiled in April in Hamburg, Germany at Volkswagen's annual stockholders meeting. To prove that it is a viable, road-going automobile and not just a pie-in-the-sky concept, VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech himself drove the 1-Litre-Car from Wolfsburg to Hamburg to join the shareholders meeting - averaging just 0.89 litres per 100 km (317 mpg) along the way.

To design a car with such incredibly low fuel consumption, Volkswagen engineers had to literally go back to the drawing board ? they threw out most off-the-shelf body and powertrain solutions, and started with a blank slate.


posted by Frodgie at 6:54 AM

 

Karzai lauds U.S. war on terror

Afghan President Hamid Karzai sought to stiffen American resolve to fight the war on terror yesterday, comparing the U.S. liberation of Afghanistan to that of Europe during World War II and telling a joint session of Congress that American military power is a force for good.
"Today, the United States is once again leading the global effort to defeat terrorism and extremism. Afghanistan is a central front in this war against terrorism. The Afghan peoples are and will remain with you in this struggle," Mr. Karzai, who leads the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan, told Congress yesterday morning.
He then met with President Bush at the White House, where Mr. Bush called Afghanistan the "first victory in the war on terror." He said that nation's progress since the ouster of the Taliban in December 2001 makes it a model for Iraq.
posted by Frodgie at 6:51 AM

 

Iraqi government demands custody of Saddam

BAGHDAD — New rifts were exposed yesterday between U.S. authorities and the new Iraqi government, which demanded that Saddam Hussein and thousands of lesser detainees be transferred to its custody immediately after the June 30 turnover.
But President Bush refused to commit to a timetable for handing over Saddam.
"He's a killer. He is a thug. He needs to be brought to trial," Mr. Bush said in Washington, adding that he wanted to make sure that "when sovereignty is transferred, Saddam Hussein ... stays in jail."
"When we get the right answer — which I'm confident we will, we will work with them to do so — then we'll all be satisfied," Mr. Bush said.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said this week that under the Geneva Conventions, Saddam and other prisoners should be charged with crimes or released when the formal occupation ends on June 30.
But a coalition spokesman said in Baghdad that the United States thinks the prisoners can be held legally as long as the armed insurgency continues.

posted by Frodgie at 6:49 AM

 

Oil security chief slain in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's oil industry appears to be the latest target of insurgents, with an oil company security chief shot to death Wednesday and a second straight day of attacks on a key oil pipeline.

Meanwhile, there were unconfirmed reports that radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has told militia members loyal to him to leave Najaf if they are not from that city.

The militia, known as the Mehdi Army, had clashed with coalition forces for weeks in Najaf, Kufa and in the Sadr City area of Baghdad. A tentative truce was reached earlier this month.

Revenues from Iraq's oil industry are in jeopardy in the wake of the latest attacks.

In Kirkuk on Wednesday, gunmen opened fire on a car carrying Ghazi al-Talabani, the security chief for Iraq's Northern Oil Company, killing him and wounding his driver, according to a police source in the northern Iraqi city.

Al-Talabani was a cousin of Jalal Talabani, the leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and a member of the disbanded Iraqi Governing Council.

posted by Frodgie at 6:44 AM

 

Trouble from Tehran

Abu Musab al Zarkawi, born Ahmad al Khalayla in Jordan, is the current deus ex machina of the terror war against the Coalition in Iraq. He is credited with numerous assassinations — including that of an American official, Thomas Foley, in Amman — and suicide bombings, along with the spectacular but little-reported attempt to launch a chemical attack against American targets in Jordan. Secretary of State Colin Powell named him on February 3, 2003, in his speech to the United Nations. Powell reported that Zarkawi had been sighted in Baghdad, where one of his legs had been amputated due to injuries sustained in Afghanistan.

Two months earlier, I had written about Zarkawi on the basis of German and Italian intelligence documents, presented by the prosecution in court cases against members of his European network. At that time, I noted that these documents identified Iran as the base of Zarkawi's operations. Powell was making a case against Iraq, and understandably omitted the Iranian connection, but the evidence of the Iranian matrix has just been reinforced in a book by Stefan Dambruoso (and co-authored by Guido Olimpio, a well-known journalist at Corriere della Sera), one of the Italian judicial officers charged with investigating terrorist activities in Milan. The book is entitled Milan-Baghdad, and excerpts dealing with Zarkawi appear in the current edition of Panorama, the leading Italian weekly newsmagazine.

Dambruoso flatly confirms what I wrote in December 2002: "Our investigations permit us to establish that the country of the Ayatollahs is the preferred springboard for militants headed for Iraq." Dambruoso lays it out in some detail. Zarkawi had already organized groups of fighters before the liberation of Iraq, and they operate alongside the remnants of Saddam's killers. The European network is used to recruit new bodies for the jihad in Iraq, and they enter from Iran in groups of three to five, with phony passports and usually pretending to be businessmen (or, I can add, journalists). They rent or buy small apartments in Baghdad, Tikrit, and Ramadi, where they organize larger cells, and then move into the battle area. Zarkawi himself entered Iraq by this method, along with one of the leading ideologues of the jihad, Abu Masaab (a Syrian).

posted by Frodgie at 6:40 AM

 

'Under God' remains in Pledge

The Pledge of Allegiance can remain in public schools for now, the Supreme Court said yesterday, reversing on a technicality a 2002 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the words "under God" are unconstitutional.
Released on Flag Day and on the 50th anniversary of the 1954 vote in Congress to add the words "under God" to the Pledge, the justices said Michael Newdow, an atheist, did not have legal standing to sue on behalf of his 10-year-old daughter.

Mr. Newdow, who chose the highly unusual route of arguing the case himself before the court March 24, said in his suit against California's Elk Grove United School District that the words "under God" constitute a form of religious indoctrination for his fourth-grade daughter.
Justice John Paul Stevens, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Anthony M. Kennedy, David H. Souter and Stephen G. Breyer, ruled that Mr. Newdow's rights do not trump those of the mother, Sandra Banning, who has legal custody of the daughter.
Miss Banning, who says her daughter likes reciting the Pledge, is a born-again Christian who wants the girl brought up in the same faith.

posted by Frodgie at 6:32 AM

 

Allawi: Iraqi officials to get Saddam in 2 weeks

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and all Iraqi detainees will be handed over to Iraqi authorities in the next two weeks, Iraq's interim prime minister says.

But Pentagon officials insist they are not aware of any immediate plans calling for the United States to hand over Saddam or any detainees.

They say U.S. forces will continue to hold Saddam and thousands of other detainees even after power is transferred to the Iraqi government at the end of June.

Pentagon officials' comments came after Iraq's interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi said Monday he had received an official confirmation that the former Iraqi leader would be turned over to the country's interim government.

"Saddam and the others will be delivered to the Iraqis, to the Iraqi government," he told the Arab satellite network al-Jazeera.

The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority will transfer sovereignty to the Iraqi people June 30.

When asked when a trial for Saddam might begin, the prime minister said, "As soon as possible, God willing."

Saddam was captured by U.S. troops December 13 near his ancestral home of Tikrit, where he was hiding in a "spider hole."

U.S. officials have described Saddam as being less than cooperative during his interrogations.


posted by Frodgie at 6:29 AM

 

Evidence Shows Sept. 11 Attacks Were Delayed - Post

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The panel investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has unearthed evidence that al Qaeda leaders had postponed the operation from an intended date in the spring of that year because their lead hijacker was not ready, The Washington Post said on Tuesday.
Citing unidentified sources privy to the panel's findings, the Post reported that the operation's suspected mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has been in U.S. custody since March 2003, convinced al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to delay the attacks from May or June.

Evidence of a date postponement, which was obtained from U.S.-held detainees, is expected to be discussed by the 10-member independent commission on Wednesday, as it holds its final public hearings this week into how al Qaeda pulled off its spectacular attacks against U.S. targets, the Post said.

Until now, the newspaper said, U.S. investigators have cited evidence that indicates the suicide hijackings that killed more than 3,000 people in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon probably were initially planned to be carried out on or about Sept. 11, and if there was an alternate date, it probably would have been later in the year.

The Post quoted an official who has seen the panel's draft report that has been circulated among government and commission officials as saying the findings are based on "intelligence coming in that they wanted an earlier date. It's something really new."

Although bin Laden wanted the hijackings to be carried out in May or June, he agreed to delay them because lead hijacker Mohammed Atta and his conspirators had not started reconnaissance flights until May, the Post quoted sources as saying.


posted by Frodgie at 6:20 AM

 

Happy 2nd Birthday to my dog Charlotte and 62nd to my Dad!!

posted by Frodgie at 3:59 PM

 

Bush pays rare tribute to Clinton

WASHINGTON (AFP) - In a rare election-year political truce, US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) warmly paid tribute to Bill Clinton (news - web sites) and even plugged his forthcoming memoirs at his formal White House portrait unveiling.

"Bill Clinton showed incredible energy and great personal appeal. As chief executive, he showed a deep and far-ranging knowledge of public policy, a great compassion for people in need, and the forward-looking spirit that Americans like in a president," Bush said in a speech at the ceremony.


Bush and First Lady Laura Bush sat with Clinton, first-lady-turned Senator Hillary Clinton (news - web sites) and their daughter Chelsea as the former first couple's individual portraits were unveiled before being hung in the White House.

Bush said that Clinton's rise from humble beginnings in the rural state of Arkansas "took more than charm and intellect. It took hard work and drive and determination and optimism."

"I can tell you more of the story, but it's coming out in fine bookstores all over America," Bush quipped, a reference to Clinton's memoirs, "My Life," which comes out June 22.

"The president, by his generous words to Hillary and me today, has proved once again that in the end, we are held together by this grand system of ours that permits us to debate and struggle and fight for what we believe is right," said Clinton.

The upbeat, friendly exchange came after a week of mourning for former president Ronald Reagan (news - web sites), and as Clinton seemed ready to retake the spotlight he reluctantly gave up three years ago with his book tour.

"My Life" enjoys a record 1.5 million copy first printing. Publishers Alfred A. Knopf paid Clinton an advance of more than 10 million dollars for the 957-page autobiography.

In the coming weeks, the former president has planned a barrage of interviews with top US celebrity journalists to tout the book.

Clinton, who left office in January 2001 after serving two terms, also is planning an extravaganza in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas in November to mark the opening of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center.







posted by Frodgie at 2:17 PM

 

Kerry Touts Stem Cell Research

WASHINGTON — John Kerry (search) endorsed Nancy Reagan's efforts to help find a cure for Alzheimer's disease and challenged the Bush administration Saturday to relax restrictions on stem cell research to pursue potential cures for that and other illnesses.

Ethical questions raised by the use of human embryos can be resolved through "good will and good sense," Kerry said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. Researchers can find the cures that are there, "if only they are allowed to look."

The Democrats' presumed candidate to face President Bush in November said that Mrs. Reagan "told the world that Alzheimer's had taken her own husband to a distant place, and then she stood up to help find a breakthrough that someday will spare other husbands, wives, children and parents from the same kind of heartache."

The Bush-Cheney campaign (search) defended the president's record on stem cell research as ensuring that it is conducted "in ways that respect human dignity and help build the culture of life."


posted by Frodgie at 6:57 AM

 

Samurai slaying
Collar Queens teen in sword attack on 19-year-old 'friend'

A teenager used a samurai sword to hack a 19-year-old man to death yesterday inside a Queens apartment, a law enforcement source said.
Michael Desiderio, 18, allegedly chopped apart his supposed friend Ricardo Richardson about 10 a.m., slicing his neck and severely cutting into his arm, the source said.

The victim was hacked in the back of his head and on the right hand, right side of his face and the back of his neck, a law enforcement source said.

"There's blood everywhere," said Steven Wisnowski, 21, who lives in the Maspeth Ave. house where Richardson was slain. "There's blood on the walls. There's blood on the floor. There's blood on the ceiling."

Shortly after Richardson's body was found, cops swarmed a house about a mile away from the scene of the killing and arrested Desiderio.


posted by Frodgie at 6:55 AM

 

Kerry's liberalism a weapon for Bush

President Bush's re-election campaign has begun a concerted effort to divide the Democratic Party by forcing its congressional candidates to either embrace or reject Sen. John Kerry's liberalism.
"This is one of the huge stories of the campaign," said Bush campaign manager Ken Mehlman. "You're going to see a lot of efforts by Republican candidates and by the campaign to ask where people stand."

Earlier this month, for example, Rep. David Vitter, a Republican who is seeking to replace retiring Democratic Sen. John B. Breaux of Louisiana, challenged his three Democratic rivals to endorse Mr. Kerry's support for higher taxes and opposition to a constitutional amendment banning homosexual "marriage."
In a conference call with Louisiana reporters that was set up by the Bush campaign, Mr. Vitter also demanded that his rivals take a stand on recent remarks by billionaire Democratic financier George Soros, who last week compared the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

posted by Frodgie at 6:54 AM

 

Missing American sought in Saudi Arabia

(CNN) -- U.S. and Saudi authorities were searching Sunday for a missing American whom al Qaeda militants claim to have kidnapped after killing another U.S. citizen in Riyadh.

U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said he had no details about the claim on a Web site from a group called the Falluja Squadron, which identified the man. The department said it learned of the missing man about 1 p.m. Saturday ET when the family contacted the embassy.

The missing man was identified as Paul M. Johnson Jr. by his son, Paul Johnson III, of Port Saint Joe, Florida.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said he was "worried about the individual kidnapped" and that the United States was "working with the Saudis to recover him safely."

"It's a troubling time in Saudi Arabia," he said, "and I know the Saudis are doing everything they can to deal with this terrorist threat."

Johnson told CNN affiliate WESH-TV that his father was the man pictured on a jihadist Web site and that the elder Johnson had worked in the Middle East since 1992.


posted by Frodgie at 6:49 AM

 

Pregnant woman wounded in McDonald's shooting

SELMA, Alabama (AP) -- Police arrested a man they say fired shots during his son's birthday party at a McDonald's, wounding his girlfriend's pregnant sister and sending customers scrambling for cover.

Witnesses told police Lorenzo Walker had argued with the victim, Latoya Powell, before the shooting Saturday. Six bullets struck two cars parked nearby, Selma police said.

"He was shooting sideways," John Green told The Selma Times-Journal in Sunday editions. "He wasn't aiming, he was just shooting."

Brian Sharpe and his family had just sat down to eat when they heard the shots.

posted by Frodgie at 6:48 AM