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Guardsman back from Iraq, opposes withdrawal deadline Col. John L. Gronski's brigade was assigned to the city of Ramadi when it was a haven for insurgents and terrorists. By Mike Urban Reading Eagle A Spring Township man who returned from commanding a brigade in Iraq's most dangerous city believes that sudden withdrawal of American troops could erase much of the progress there. “It would be a mistake to withdraw based on an arbitrary deadline instead of according to the conditions that exist,” said Col. John L. Gronski. “We must continue our mission until things get more stable.” Gronski, 50, led...

WASHINGTON -- During a 14-minute ceremony this afternoon at the White House, President Bush lightheartedly compared his plight to that of the Steelers, when they were 7-5 last season. "Halfway through the season, a lot of people counted the Pittsburgh Steelers out, said you don't have a chance." Bush paused for effect. "I kind of know the feeling." The ceremony to honor the Super Bowl XL champions took place in the East Room of the White House this afternoon. Steelers President Art Rooney presented Bush with a No. 43 black Steelers jersey with his name and the number 43 on...

Paris suburb names street for cop-killer Abu-Jamal By Jennifer Lin Inquirer Staff Writer As Philadelphians cope with another police slaying, news comes that a suburb of Paris has named a street for Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of the 1981 murder of Police Officer Daniel Faulkner. Hundreds of supporters of Abu-Jamal attended a ceremony on April 29 to dedicate the Rue Mumia-Abu Jamal in the city of St.-Denis. "In France, they see him as a towering figure," said Suzanne Ross, cochair of the Free Mumia Coalition of New York City, who was part of the ceremony. Ross said the street is in...

Vandals hit Gettysburg National Military Park overnight, damaging three Civil War monuments and stealing a 120-year-old sword. Park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon said the intruders pulled the top stone and sculpture off the 11th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Monument, which was dedicated on Oct. 8, 1885. They also stole a sword from that monument. Ms. Lawhon said this morning that the sword was taken from a sculpted arm attached to the monument. Park rangers hope the theft will help them solve the case. A healthy market exists for Civil War-era weapons, particularly from Gettysburg. Many collectors, though, are on the lookout for...

Singer Tim McGraw Eyes Politics NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Country singer Tim McGraw says he wants to run for office someday in his adopted home state of Tennessee — perhaps for governor or U.S. senator — and he's getting encouragement from a fellow Democrat, former President Clinton. "I think he's got it," Clinton says of McGraw in an Esquire magazine story that hits newsstands Monday. "The Democrats need candidates whom people can relate to in a personal way, people who understand their lives and their concerns and share their values. And I think that's something Tim can do without even pretending."...

When legal and ethical questions began spinning around House majority leader Tom DeLay last year, President George W. Bush was publicly supportive. Privately, though, he questioned his fellow Texan's mojo. Bush had scored 10 points higher than DeLay in the Representative's district in 2004, and that was only after Bush had recorded a telephone message to help rally local Republicans. "I can't believe I had to do robocalls for him," the President said bitingly to an Oval Office visitor. To people who know Bush well, the remark said it all about the longtime chill between the two pols—a distance that...

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The former top aide to then-secretary of state Colin Powell has reportedly emerged as an increasingly high-profile and vocal critic of US administration policy at home and abroad. Lawrence Wilkerson, who was Powell's chief-of-staff, "says his decision to speak in the open about the policy wars of the first Bush term was slow in coming, but a major factor was the revelations about Abu Ghraib, which he said he realized ... had resulted from decisions on prisoner treatment and intelligence set shortly after September 11, 2001," the New York Times reported. "What I saw was a cabal...

Republican lawmakers say that ties between Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) and his brother's lobbying firm, KSA Consulting, may warrant investigation by the House ethics committee... According to a June 13 article in The Los Angeles Times, the fiscal 2005 defense appropriations bill included more than $20 million in funding for at least 10 companies for whom KSA lobbied. Carmen Scialabba, a longtime Murtha aide, works at KSA as well. KSA directly lobbied Murtha's office on behalf of seven companies, and a Murtha aide told a defense contractor that it should retain KSA to represent it, according to the LA Times....

Columnist Coulter fires up area GOP Ann Coulter rallied Republicans from Alachua County and nearby areas from the bleachers at the Canterbury Equestrian Club in Newberry on Thursday night as the featured speaker in the local party's third annual fund-raising barbecue. Coulter, a conservative author and political columnist famous for her incendiary criticism of liberals, spoke to about 800 attendees at the Alachua County Republican Executive Committee's annual Ronald Reagan Black Tie and Blue Jeans Barbecue. In an hourlong speech filled with one-liners covering topics from the war in Iraq to gay marriage, and which took frequent swipes at liberal...

WASHINGTON - Embattled former FEMA director Michael Brown says he was initially unaware of desperate conditions at the New Orleans Convention Center because it was not a planned Hurricane Katrina evacuation site, according to a congressional memo. After learning from television about the thousands of evacuees who gathered at the center, Brown ordered food and water be delivered there. But Brown, who on Tuesday faces a House inquiry into the government's slow response to the Aug. 29 disaster, told congressional aides that "there is no reason FEMA would have known about it beforehand." In Katrina's aftermath, thousands of people gathered...

About 1,500 protesters stood in a steady rain on the steps of the state Capitol this afternoon to demand that the legislators huddled inside repeal the 16 to 34 percent pay raise they approved for themselves in July. "We are revolting against the opulent lifestyle these people have given themselves with our money,'' Harrisburg radio talk show host Bob Durgin thundered. "Do you want to repeal the raise? Do you want to get rid of legislators' car leases? Are you angry?" he asked the crowd, which boomed back "YES!" to each question. Other speakers took to the microphone and got...

Fire union dumps O'Connor, backs Republican for mayor Monday, September 26, 2005 By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The union representing Pittsburgh firefighters has endorsed Republican Joe Weinroth's bid for mayor. International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1 President Joe King said the decision of the union's political committee was unanimous, and was made late Friday. "It's probably the first time, that I remember, that the fire union has backed a Republican candidate for mayor," said King. The local supported Democrat Bob O'Connor in the May primary. But O'Connor refused to meet with them until after the Nov. 8 general election,...

Son of Florida Gov. Bush Arrested 12 minutes ago AUSTIN, Texas - The youngest son of Florida Gov.Jeb Bush was arrested early Friday and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest, law enforcement officials said. AP Photo: John Ellis Bush, 21, shown in this photo provided by the Austin, Texas Police Department,... John Ellis Bush, 21, was arrested by agents of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission at 2:30 a.m. on a corner of Austin's Sixth Street bar district, said commission spokesman Roger Wade.The nephew ofPresident Bush was released on $2,500 bond for the resisting arrest charge, and on a personal...

Melissa Hart jumped into her first campaign with plenty of heart.Hart, a three-term congresswoman from Bradford Woods in Allegheny County, has always enjoyed her strongest advantage by being herself, according to those who know her best. With a frank, friendly demeanor and low-key personal charm, she conveys a down-to-earth quality that's politically captivating, they say. Starting out, she wasn't going after the moon.

A soldier home on leave from Iraq died early Saturday when he was electrocuted while trying to assist a motorist involved in a traffic accident in Somerset County. U.S. Army National Guard Sgt. Dale Martin Hardiman, 39, of Stoneycreek Township, stopped with his wife, Christine, at 12:48 a.m. for an unidentified motorist whose vehicle struck a utility police on Stutzmantown Road in the township.

OFFICE OF ELECTRICITY DELIVERY AND ENERGY RELIABILITY (OE)U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYHurricane Katrina Situation Report #28September 8, 2005 (4:00 PM EDT)HIGHLIGHTS Currently, 689,185 customers remain without electric power in Louisiana and Mississippi due to Hurricane Katrina. This is down by over 2 million from a peak of 2.7 million customers that were without power after Hurricane Katrina struck the region. Natural gas transmission pipelines in the path of Katrina survived with minimal damage. Four natural gas processing plants accounting for roughly 5.5 billion cubic feet per day are currently not operating due to hurricane-induced damage. These plants can potentially be bypassed...

OFFICE OF ELECTRICITY DELIVERY AND ENERGY RELIABILITY (OE) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Hurricane Katrina Situation Report #25 September 7, 2005 (10:00 AM EDT)   HIGHLIGHTS ·        Approximately 825,900 customers remain without electric power in Louisiana and Mississippi due to Hurricane Katrina. This is down by nearly 1.9 million from a peak of 2.7 million customers that were without power after Hurricane Katrina struck the region. ·        Mississippi Power now estimates that all customers who can receive power will have service restored by the end of the day Sunday 9/11/05 ·        DOE announced the intent to sell 30 million barrels...

Craig Martelle: FEMA is not a first responder Don't be so quick to pillory the federal response in New Orleans. Immediate emergency management is primarily a local and state responsibility Tuesday, September 06, 2005 As one who has received training by FEMA in emergency management and also training by the Department of Defense in consequence management, I believe that the federal response in New Orleans needs clarification.       Craig Martelle, retired as a major in the U.S. Marine Corps, lives in North Huntingdon. He recently launched the Strategic Outlook Institute, a public-policy organization.     The key to...

Katrina Response Overview Coordinated major airlift of evacuees to begin 8:00 a.m. CDT, September 2, 2005.Evacuees will depart New Orleans Superdome by bus, and be flown at a rate of 4-5 planes per hour from New Orleans Airport to Lackland Air Force Base, TX for reception and housing at Kelly AFB.Simultaneous bus evacuation continues: 12,000 evacuees to be housed at Houston Astrodome (12,000 evacuees capacity per Fire Marshall); and 10,000 evacuees to be housed at Dallas, TX, Reunion Center.As of 9 p.m. EDT, September 1, 2005, 10,000 people have been evacuated from the Superdome (1,500 special needs, 8,500 general population)American...

Anti-war protestors fault city police Group calls for investigation of use of stun guns, pepper spray Monday, August 22, 2005 By Pohla Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette     City police used excessive force when they used stun guns and pepper spray to break up an anti-war demonstration in Oakland on Saturday, members of the protesting group charged yesterday. "Right now we're demanding an investigation," said David Meieran, a member of the Pittsburgh Organizing Group, which protested outside an Army recruiting station Saturday morning. About 30 to 50 people marched from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History to the recruiting post near...