WASHINTON - President Bush has vetoed legislation to ease limits on federally funded research using stem cells from human embryos. It is the first time Mr. Bush has rejected a bill passed by the Republican-controlled Congress.
The bill has the support of a majority of the members of Congress. But the president says it is morally […]

WASHINGTON - The U.S. House of Representatives will vote Thursday on a strong resolution supporting Israel in its conflict with Hezbollah and Hamas. The lawmakers held an extended debate Wednesday on the crisis in the Middle East.
House lawmakers support Israel’s right to use appropriate action to defend itself against attacks.
They say such defense includes conducting […]

WASHINGTON - Legislation was unveiled today in Congress that seeks to eliminate two fundamental cornerstones of the United States monetary system — the one-cent coin and dollar bill. “This legislation is bad for Americans and bad for our money system,” said Mark W. Weller, executive director of Americans for Common Cents. “You don’t legislatively ban […]

WASHINGTON - Korean madam Mi Na Malcolm was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for her role in the ownership and operation of three Korean brothels in Dallas, Texas, the Justice Department announced today. Malcolm was further ordered to pay $460,000 to her victims. The court previously found that Malcolm had harbored young Korean […]

ISLAMABAD - U.S. officials in Afghanistan say coalition forces have reclaimed both towns in southern Afghanistan that had been overrun by the Taleban this past week.
U.S. Military spokeswoman, Lieutenant Tamara Lawrence, says hundreds of international troops Wednesday morning reclaimed the second village in southern Helmand province.
“Afghan and coalition forces met little resistance as they moved into […]

WASHINGTON - President Bush says the survival of the Lebanese government is crucial, and says he is concerned Syria appears to be looking for an opportunity to exert its influence once again.The President says Syria seems to be trying to take advantage of the current Middle East crisis.
He says as fighting rages between Israel and […]

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate has approved and sent to President Bush a bill that would allow federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. The president opposes the measure on moral grounds, and is expected to veto it as early as Wednesday.
The Senate passed the legislation on a 63 to 37 vote, with broad bipartisan […]

CAIRO - There were more calls in Cairo Tuesday, for an Arab summit on the growing crisis in the region. But there is still disagreement among Arab leaders on how to respond to the crisis.
Officials of the Arab League met for the second time this week to address the violence between Israel and Hezbollah. Two […]

BANGKOK - The commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific has ordered his chief lawyer to develop a policy for the treatment of detainees, to be ready in case his troops find themselves in a conflict. The commander, Admiral William Fallon, spoke about the effort at a meeting of military lawyers from 30 countries in […]

JERUSALEM - Diplomatic efforts to end the latest conflict in the Middle East intensified, Tuesday, as United Nations diplomats met with senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem, after holding talks in Beirut. The talks took place as Israeli military officials warned their campaign in Lebanon could last several more weeks and could involve a large-scale ground […]

WASHINGTON - America’s little one-cent piece, or “penny,” is becoming a bit of a nuisance. And it may soon go away.The humble penny was our very first national currency. It’s been around for 219 years. The penny never did buy much, and it’s just about impossible to find ANYTHING priced at one or two or […]

WASHINGTON - As the conflict initiated by Hizballah’s seizure of two Israeli soldiers and killing of another eight in a cross-border raid on July 12 continues, many observers are voicing concern that other regional actors — notably, Iran and Syria — will be drawn into the conflict.
Iran has warned that it will respond if Israel […]

HALABJA - Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is facing several trials on separate charges of crimes against humanity. One of those trials will focus on the 1988 gassing deaths of some 5,000 Kurds in the northern Iraqi city of Halabja.
Halabja’s streets are very quiet on a hot afternoon, lending an eerie feeling to this city which […]

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says Iran and Syria are fomenting conflict in the Middle East by supporting Hezbollah and other militant groups.
Secretary Rice says Iran and Syria are backing terrorists and militants against Israel, as part of a larger campaign against the spread of democracy in the region. Rice spoke on CBS’s […]

JERUSALEM - Israel has carried out more air strikes against targets in Lebanon as Hezbollah militants retaliated by firing rockets deep into Israel. The Israeli government has brushed off a call by the United Nations and Britain for an international force to restore calm to the Middle East.
Israeli warplanes struck Beirut for a sixth day, […]

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. Security Council has adopted a resolution condemning North Korea’s missile tests, and imposing weapons-related sanctions on the Pyongyang government. North Korea immediately rejected the measure, and vowed to continue its missile program.
The strongly-worded measure was adopted unanimously Saturday, after 10 days of intense and difficult negotiations, both in New York […]

ST PETERSBURG - President Bush has called for restraint in Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Lebanon. Mr. Bush discussed that violence with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac ahead of the start of a summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations in Russia.
President Bush says current hostilities show there is […]

JERUSALEM - As the conflict goes into its fourth day, Israel launches more air strikes against targets in Lebanon. Hezbollah again launches rockets into towns in northern Israel.
Hezbollah has fired two Chinese developed, Iranian made “Silkworm” C802 missiles targeted at an Israeli warship in the sea near Beirut Friday, The first rocket missed and the […]

Blum: Army Guard Enjoying Big Recruiting Successes
American Forces Press Service

   
WASHINGTON – The Army National Guard is experiencing its biggest and longest-running recruiting success since the end of the draft, the chief of the National Guard Bureau told Pentagon reporters today.The Army Guard has met or exceeded its recruiting goals for the past nine months, Army […]

JERUSALEM - Israel on Saturday carried out air strikes against targets across Lebanon, killing at least four civilians. More than 60 Lebanese, nearly all civilians have been killed since Israel launched a military offensive four days targeting Hezbollah guerrillas who killed eight Israeli soldiers and captured two others on Wednesday.
Four Israeli civilians have been killed […]

Major Military Escalation in Lebanon Won’t Stop Christian Television
SAT-7 Responds to Unrest in Lebanon 
By Dan Wooding
Assist News Service
BEIRUT, LEBANON - Despite the almost constant bombing of Beirut by Israeli planes, as they step up their offensive to free two Israeli soldiers seized by Hezbollah, Christian satellite television organization SAT-7’s office in Beirut remains undamaged.International CEO […]

ISLAMABAD - A suicide bomb attack in southern Pakistan has killed a prominent shi’ite cleric. The blast occurred in front of the religious leader’s home in the port city of Karachi.
Local police say Allama Hassan Turabi died of his injuries Friday evening, shortly after a lone suicide attacker detonated a powerful bomb outside his home.
The […]

TEHRAN - A senior Iranian religious leader Friday defended Hezbollah and called on Muslims and non-Muslims alike to rally to its support.  Iran has had a long and close association with Hezbollah, which the U.S. lists as a terrorist group.
Friday prayers in Tehran are traditionally a cross between a religious revival meeting and a political […]

WASHINGTON -The Department of Justice today announced that Adam Gagnier, a former officer with the Memphis, Tennessee Police Department, was sentenced by a federal judge to 72 months imprisonment on civil rights and mail fraud charges.
Gagnier pleaded guilty on December 14, 2005, to involvement in a conspiracy to deprive individuals of their civil rights and […]

WASHINGTON - The former manager of the Inwood Dairy, David Inskeep, was sentenced today to 30 days in prison, one year supervised release and a $3,000 fine for a criminal misdemeanor violation of the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), the Justice Department announced today. Inskeep, who formerly served as manager and operator of the Inwood […]