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President Obama and his family leave Friday for a weekend getaway to Maine, but along with a little rest and relaxation comes criticism that the president is taking it easy with the Gulf of Mexico oil crisis in a critical phase. The Obamas plan to spend the weekend on Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park. The trip marks the president's third vacation since the oil disaster began in April. The Republican National Convention launched a website blasting what it considers Obama's "leisure activities or missteps" during the oil disaster, like playing golf, attending concerts and vacationing in Asheville,...

WASHINGTON - New penalties against Sudan — check. More dollars to fight AIDS in Africa — check. A respected internationalist to lead the World Bank — check. Friendly words about tackling global warming — check. George Bush is ready to go to Europe. His bag packed with a pre-emptive agenda he spent all week detailing, the president leaves Monday on a trip that will take him to six countries in eight days. Bush journeys from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean, with the centerpiece of his travels a three-day summit in Germany with leaders from Europe, Canada, Japan and Russia....

Combined military operations and a variety of civil service projects serve to deter terrorist attacks in Ameriyah. BAGHDAD, Sept. 18, 2006 — Since the beginning of Operation Together Forward, Baghdad’s Ameriyah neighborhood has seen several social and economic improvements as the Iraqi army and Multi-National Division – Baghdad (MND-B) forces work to rid the area of terrorist violence. The combined military operations in the area includes a variety of civil service projects, such as a large-scale trash cleanup, medical services, and establishing a generally close working relationship with local residents – all of which serve to deter further terrorist attacks....

WASHINGTON - Lawmakers stood side by side on the steps of the Capitol and belted out an impromptu rendition of "God Bless America" after the terrorist attacks five years ago. Democrats and Republicans pulled together, as did the country at large. "We had an astonishing moment of unity," former President Clinton said Monday. But now, the two political parties couldn't be further apart. On the fifth anniversary of the terror attacks, Democrats and Republicans struggled for the upper hand on what has become the main issue of the midterm campaigns — the war in Iraq and its relationship with the...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 16, 2006 -- At the exact site of the most painful event in the Pentagon’s history -- the Sept. 11, 2001, attack that claimed 184 lives here -- a couple brought together through the tragedy recently became the first to exchange wedding vows in the Pentagon Memorial Chapel. Army Lt. Col. Nora Faust and Heinz Linderman exchange wedding vows in the Pentagon Memorial Chapel Aug. 3 as retired Army Chaplain Bruce Burslie officiates. Courtesy photo   '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. “It’s like the phoenix rising from the ashes,” said Army Lt. Col. Nora Faust after...

LONDON - British authorities said Thursday they thwarted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft heading to the U.S. using explosives smuggled in carry-on luggage. Security was raised to its highest level in Britain, and carry-on luggage was banned on all flights. Huge crowds backed up at London's Heathrow airport as officials searching for explosives barred nearly every form of liquid outside of baby formula. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said the terrorists planned to use liquid explosives disguised as beverages and other common products and set them off with detonators disguised as electronic devices. The extreme...

DAHUK, Iraq (Army News Service, July 19, 2006) – Soldiers brought toys and smiles to children in one of Iraq’s northernmost provinces recently with Operation Helping Hands. The humanitarian assistance mission was conducted by Soldiers of the 142nd Corps Support Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. “The 142nd enjoys this just as much as the kids enjoy it,” said Lt. Col. Ronald Green, battalion commander. “This will stay in the minds and hearts of my Soldiers.” Soldiers handed out Beanie Babies, sports uniforms, soccer balls, teddy bears and candy, all donated by a variety of American organizations, said Capt. John Smith, battalion...

Starshade brings fresh hope in search for alien life By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 06/07/2006) The quest to find Earth-like planets where alien life may thrive is boosted today by a professor who has unveiled plans for a gigantic, daisy-shaped space shield. Although large planets, similar to Jupiter, have already been spotted outside our solar system, the orbiting shield should allow astronomers to make out much smaller and more habitable planets. Such so-called "Goldilocks planets" would be close enough to their neighbouring star so as to be not too hot and not too cold to support life. The daisy...

Immigration row brings down Dutch government By Joan Clements in The Hague (Filed: 30/06/2006) The Dutch government is to resign after the smallest party in the ruling coalition withdrew its support in a row over immigration, Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende announced last night. The party, known as D66, withdrew its support after weeks of tension in the Netherlands over a call by Rita Verdonk, the immigration minister, for a Somali-born former MP, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, to be stripped of her Dutch citizenship over false information she gave to immigration officials. Mr Balkenende reacts during a debate about Ms Hirsi...

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, June 15, 2006) – The Army’s 231st birthday brought hundreds of spectators to the Pentagon Courtyard June 14 for entertainment and remarks from senior leaders. A cake-cutting kicked off the celebration, which was hosted by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, Secretary of the Army Dr. Francis J. Harvey and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld. “As we celebrate this occasion, I want to thank every Soldier in the U.S. and across the world,” said Rumsfeld. “My thanks to you, and my thanks to your families for all you’ve sacrificed to defend our country...

FORT BELVOIR, Va., June 13, 2006 – A system initially adopted to help the Army Corps of Engineers detect invasive vegetation growing in coastal waterways is giving warfighters an edge in the global war on terror. "Buckeye," a digital imaging system that's installed on an aircraft, gives ground commanders a bird's-eye view of the area in which they're operating, Army Capt. Jed Richards, research and development coordinator for the Army's Topographic Engineering Center here, told American Forces Press Service. Featuring a high-quality digital camera with an extra-large focal frame, Buckeye "looks" nearly straight down from an aircraft and captures images...

VILSECK, Germany — Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts hiked through Grafenwöhr Training Area and fell asleep to the rattle of helicopters and machine guns during Intercamp 2006 — one of the largest Scout jamborees in Europe. Some 2,000 Scouts, aged 11 to 17, camped out at Vilseck Army Airfield from Friday to Monday during the jamboree, which involved troops from the U.S., Canada, Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, France and Belgium.

CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq (June 6, 2006) -- When he joined the Marine Corps in 2002, Cpl. Joshua W. Dale never thought he would be using his welding experience to defeat insurgents in western Iraq. The 23-year-old section leader with A Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, brought his ideas to life by inventing a breaching bumper for a humvee in his mobile assault platoon. The breaching bumper is mounted on the front of the humvee and resembles a large arrowhead made of thick steel. The bumper is used to do one thing – tear through anything that gets in...

WASHINGTON, June 1, 2006 – Noticeable changes have taken place in Iraq since the country's national unity government was inaugurated, a Multinational Force Iraq spokesman told reporters today in Baghdad. "We've seen a lot of activities and events that give us a lot of hope and encouragement as we watch the leadership of the Iraqi government and the Iraqi (security forces) take greater control," Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said. He noted that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has told Iraqis they all need to be part of the solution to the problems facing the country. Caldwell also addressed...

FORT HUACHUCA — James L. Burke sat in his wheelchair. The retired Signal Corps colonel wept, wiping his eyes with a handkerchief held in his right hand. With his left hand he patted the top of the tombstone on which the name of Mary E. Burke had been inscribed. Mary, his wife, died in 2002. Monday, the 87-year-old Burke, who served in combat in World War II and in Vietnam, was at the Fort Huachuca Cemetery visiting the grave of his wife. He met Mary in Hawaii during World War II, when she was an Army nurse, daughter Bridget Burke...

U.S. Army Maj. Deborah Yarbrough talks with farmers at the Mada-In Co-op near Sadr City, Iraq, May 1, 2006. Yarbrough is a team leader assigned to the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika More photos Co-op Brings New Hope to Iraqi Farmers The benefits of the co-op effort will be seen this season by farmers all over the district. By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 24, 2006 — U.S. soldiers assigned to the 445th Civil Affairs Battalion are currently working to continue...

LOS ANGELES - It's been called "the skiddiest of all Skid Rows" — 50 square blocks of abandoned factories, burned-out storefronts, rundown hotels, dingy bars and seedy liquor stores, interspersed among hundreds of makeshift homes, most of them built with abandoned cardboard boxes and stolen shopping carts. Located an easy walk from City Hall, police headquarters and other downtown seats of power, this last stop for the destitute has been a fixture of Los Angeles for nearly a century. But with a burgeoning real estate market bringing luxury apartments and condos to the edge of Skid Row, city leaders are...

MANITOWOC, Wis. (NNS) -- Families of crew members who served aboard the World War II submarine USS Lagarto (SS 371) gathered here May 6 to honor the men whose submarine went missing six decades ago and was only recently located by divers. Lagarto was last seen May 3, 1945, in the southern Gulf of Thailand while preparing to strike an enemy convoy. Japanese records later indicated that the minelayer Hatsutaka reported sinking a U.S. submarine on that date. Last May, nearly 60 years to the day after Lagarto was lost, British diver Jamie MacLeod reported finding Lagarto sitting upright in...

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Rachael A. Loomis, assigned to the 710th Brigade Support Battalion, Task Force Spartan, assists adults and children from the village of Arawara Bandeh, Afghanistan, while they wait to receive medical care, April 23, 2006. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Capt. Timothy Kelly ‘Lion’s Pride’ Brings Medical Care to Afghans Afghan and coalition doctors provided medical care for more than 3,100 Afghans as part of Operation Lion’s Pride. By U.S. Army Maj. Eric Zenk Task Force Spartan Public Affairs JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, May 5, 2006 — Afghan doctors and medics, along with coalition members, moved into...

New School Brings Hope to Afghan Villagers Besides providing an educational center for the area, the construction of the school helped the economy by providing jobs for local villagers. By U.S. Army Pfc. James Tamez19th Public Affairs Detachment BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, March 29, 2006 — Nearly 4,000 boys and girls in Dacodadad village outside of Kabul will have a brighter educational future since the Ghafor Ahmadi High School opened March 25. "We celebrate this day as education day for this area. The teachers, the students, the villagers … everybody is pleased with the opening of the school."Abdul Wasi Roshangar,...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (March 10, 2006) -- Growing up in a small Pennsylvania town nestled in the Pocono Mountains and dreaming of becoming a doctor, Joe Strauss would have never predicted he would be the lead resident physician at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., during one of the Marine Corps’ bloodiest battles in Iraq. Now a Navy lieutenant commander and an orthopedic surgeon, dealing with musculoskeletal injuries at the Robert E. Bush Naval Hospital, Strauss said his past experience helping wounded Marines allows him to better serve Marines and Sailors aboard...

SIERRA VISTA — Victims of Hurricane Katrina who fled to Southern Arizona to escape the devastation had to miss out on this year’s annual Mardi Gras celebrations. So, Mardi Gras was brought to them. Workers at Sierra Vista’s Department of Economic Security offices raised more than $500 to stage a New Orleans-style party for families displaced by the disaster last year. The Veterans of Foreign Wars headquarters was transformed into a carnival of color and celebration, in honor of four of the 12 families who received help from the DES and are still living in Sierra Vista. “We just thought...

2/27/2006 - ANGELES CITY, Philippines (AFPN) -- Christmas came in February for the Children’s Home of the Immaculate Heart of Mary as about 20 members of the U.S. and Philippine military brought smiles and gifts with them Feb. 26. Located outside Clark Air Base, the home is for abandoned girls 6 to 16. The servicemembers, participating in exercise Balikatan 2006, were greeted with songs of hope and welcoming. “To hear those songs sung by those kids, who don’t have much, is amazing to say the least,” said Chaplain (Capt.) Martin Adamson, 36th Air Base Wing, Anderson Air Force Base, Guam....

Khost Team Brings Medical Care to Afghan Village The Khost Provincial Reconstruction Team sent doctors, a dentist and a veterinarian, as well as medical personnel and interpreters, to assist Kaskai Kalay residents and livestock. By Combined Forces Command-Afghanistan KHOST, Afghanistan, Feb. 23, 2006 — Afghan and coalition medical personnel treated hundreds of people and animals during a Medical Civil Action Program visit to the village of Kaskai Kalay Feb. 15. "[Medical Civil Action Programs] and humanitarian assistance are extremely important to the people of Afghanistan. Providing medical care to the people and their livestock ensures they’re on the right...

Purified water is now a reality to local Iraqis with the opening of a new water treatment plant Feb 5. Capt. Brian McCarthy, commander, Troop B, 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and Hussein Jabor, mayor of Al Muhawil, listen to Numan Dahr describe the plant's capabilities. Pfc. Michael Molinaro • Printer-friendly version • E-mail this article • New water treatment plant brings hope to Iraqi villageBy Pfc. Michael Molinaro February 7, 2006 AL MUHAWIL, Iraq (Army News Service, Feb. 7, 2006) – In the Al Muhawil muhallah, located about 54 miles south...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Feb. 2, 2006) -- During July 2005, a small group of Marines from Marine Attack Squadron 223 detached to join Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 261 (Reinforced), the air combat element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit. They didn’t expect to see their parent squadron again until the end of their deployment, but they were wrong. When the 22nd MEU deployed to northwestern Iraq to support Operation Iraqi Freedom, the AV-8B Harriers in the unit relocated to Al Asad, Iraq, the same base their parent squadron deployed to months before. “Before we left, there was talk we might...

ABOARD USS AUSTIN, Jan. 24, 2006 - Crew members of the amphibious transport ship USS Austin (LPD 4) received a late Christmas surprise Jan. 20 when several pallets of care packages were delivered by helicopter. The care packages were sent by the New York City Sanitation Department, a project that was spearheaded by Gloria Coletti, the mother of Austin Sailor Ensign John Holzer. “I am a mom on a mission,” said Coletti. She said she wanted to ensure that everyone on board received something. The care packages included numerous items, such as DVD movies, snacks, toiletries and more. “I'm very...

Fish diet 'brings a brighter baby' By Roger Highfield, Science Editor (Filed: 20/01/2006) Pregnant women who eat more fish, which contains omega-3 fatty acids, tend to have brighter, more sociable children, claim researchers. The amount of omega-3 helps to determine the child's intelligence, fine motor skills - the ability to manipulate small objects and hand and eye co-ordination - and the propensity to anti-social behaviour, says a study by Dr Joseph Hibbeln, of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland.Omega-3 is found in oily fish like salmon The findings, which were presented to a meeting in London this week, show...

Student extremism brings violence and chaos to Iraqi universities By Oliver Poole in Baghdad (Filed: 09/01/2006) The spectacle of students dressed in black, many beating themselves with their fists, following an imitation coffin through the campus of was not one its secular professors had sought on their syllabuses. In an earlier demonstration, students gathered outside a university in Mosul to protest about oil prices They knew that the procession in remembrance of the death of a revered Shia cleric would only further inflame sectarian and political squabbles. But no one in authority did anything to stop it, despite the private...

For all of Joel Gordiejew's62 years, he has lived with a hidden, somber history. He was born in German-occupied Poland during World War II. His birth certificate carries the Nazi swastika. His parents were forced to work in Nazi slave camps. They were overworked and abused, he said. His maternal grandfather was separated from the family during the war and was never seen again. After the war ended in 1945, his family lived as refugees in Poland and Germany. In 1949 Gordiejew's family came to the United States, where their fortunes improved. But over the years Gordiejew's parents said little...

AL ASAD, Iraq -- “Twas the night before Christmas, all were asleep, curled up in their racks. I looked all about, a strange sight I did see, no tinsel, no presents, instead a plastic bottle Christmas tree.” These words, from Andrea Schutz’s version of “Twas the night before Christmas,” bring the traditional holiday poem to the deserts of Al Asad, Iraq. Schutz, the key volunteer advisor for Marine Tactical Air Command Squadron 28, and the families of deployed Marines have been able to participate in the Christmas celebration here by making and sending Christmas ornaments for a water bottle Christmas...

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Dec. 14, 2005) -- For many of the Marines and sailors deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, it’s the little things that make the deployment bearable. Having a nice bed to sleep in at night, hot food for dinner and getting mail every couple of days can make all the difference for the troops. However, sometimes the difference is a magazine, a bag of potato chip or an alarm clock – and that’s where the Marine Corps Exchange comes in. Filled with sweatshirts, toiletries, snacks and other goodies, the exchange is a place where the Marines...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2005 – Deployed servicemembers are once again sending holiday wishes to family and friends from afar. The greetings, a decades-old holiday mainstay, are one way families can have their servicemembers "home" for Christmas. The troops, with the help of their public affairs officers, tape thousands of holiday greetings each year for local TV stations to air as the holidays approach. The method for collecting and airing those messages, and other news from overseas military units, was basically the same for years. Digital Video and Imagery System technology has sped up the process, Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael...

FALLUJAH, Iraq (Dec. 9, 2005) -- One year after the city was secured by Coalition Forces as part of a major counter-insurgency offensive, parts of Fallujah are still in disrepair. Bullet holes in buildings, piles of rubble and the smell of burning trash permeates the air throughout the city. Despite the unpleasant living conditions, children roam the streets here playing with their new friends, the U.S. Marines. A group of laughing kids surrounds one Marine in the street. The Marine, Lance Cpl. Felipe SantosMesquita, a squad automatic weapon gunner with 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine...

11/2/2005 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- The British Royal Air Force and its aircraft have been heavily used by ground forces in Iraq. The RAF flies the Tornado GR4, a supersonic, twin-engined, swing-wing jet bomber. “We have supported both British and American operations by giving an eye-in-the-sky airborne commentary so the troops on the ground have more situational awareness of their surrounding area,” said Wing Commander Terry Jones, RAF commander here. The focus of the Tornado sorties is to collect imagery with the option of conducting close air support if needed. The flyers inspect the main supply routes and the...

Post-Katrina trip brings 8 jobs after 'bad seeds' act up Thursday, October 27, 2005 By SUSAN DAKER Staff Reporter The bus trip that took more than 50 people from Mobile to New Orleans to seek jobs resulted in about eight deciding to work there, according to state Sen. Vivian Davis Figures. Figures, D-Mobile, said this week that she would not be helping send anyone else to New Orleans since most jobs are being reserved for people from Louisiana. Also, some of the people on the Oct. 11 Mobile bus trip were responsible for a disturbance that caused the Mobile contingent...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Oct. 24, 2005) -- Sgt. Maj. Courtney K. Curtis had never served in an aviation combat unit. After enlisting in the Marine Corps as an amphibious assault vehicle crewman, Curtis had spent all his time in the Fleet Marine Force with Marine Corps ground units. As a first sergeant, Curtis deployed twice with a tank battalion, to Djibouti, Africa, and to support the initial stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Curtis had been everywhere except the Wing. “I was told that Wing Marines lacked disciple,” said Curtis, a native of Panama City, Fl. The veteran crewman was less...

10/3/2005 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- The magazine selection has not changed, but everything else about the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron medical clinic here has. Fifteen Airmen from several occupational specialties came together recently to double the clinic’s work space. Patients now have more privacy during screenings and treatment, a clinic waiting area and the six-person clinic staff is not tripping over each other during sick call. “It was a truly amazing effort,” said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Anthony Ghim, a 777th EAS flight surgeon deployed from Ramstein Air Base, Germany. “Civil engineering carpenters, electricians, air conditioner technicians, heavy equipment...

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. (NNS) -- Hurricane Kartrina victims at one Navy command here have a place to shop without cost thanks to an outpouring of donations across the naval service. Davy Jones Locker is a volunteer-run store serving Navy and civilian personnel and their family members at Stennis Space Center near the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Now a makeshift store inside the Matthew Fontaine Maury Oceanographic Library, it has a bevy of items, from soup to soap, and from clothing to cat food. The Stennis-based Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command and the Naval Oceanographic Office have 441 employees who lost...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30, 2005 – Soldiers from Task Force Baghdad's 2nd Brigade Combat Team and the 448th Civil Affairs Battalion conducted a humanitarian aid drop in the Nissan district of Iraq's capital Sept. 28. The supplies dropped included pens, pencils, notebooks, backpacks, shoes, toys, personal-hygiene items, antibiotics, and other medical aids. The recipients of the supplies were all special-needs children. "Some of the children suffered from injuries, and some were born with handicaps and other medical conditions," Army Capt. Todd R. Olsen, 448th CA team leader, said. "(They) seemed very happy and enjoyed receiving gifts from coalition forces." Following the...

NEW ORLEANS - Outer bands of rain from Hurricane Rita began falling in New Orleans on Thursday, and forecasts of between 3 and 5 inches of rainfall in the coming days raised fears the patched levee system could fail and flood the city all over again. A direct hit from Hurricane Rita was still unlikely, but the Category 5 storm veered on a more northerly course toward a Saturday landfall in Texas that put New Orleans on the eastern edge of tropical storm warning. The rainfall Rita could bring to New Orleans put it dangerously close to the predictions that...

LONDON (AP) - In the days after the July 7 London bombings, the Muslim Council of Britain became, for many, the moderate public face of Islam in Britain. Britain's largest Islamic group, an umbrella for more than 400 affiliated mosques and organizations, unequivocally condemned the attacks. Its leader, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, met with Prime Minister Tony Blair and vowed to "root out" extremism among British Muslims. But a recent BBC documentary accused the council of failing to confront extremism within its ranks and of links to groups with anti-Semitic and anti-Western views. The show, and the council's angry accusation of...

The task force treats more than 100 villagers during a medical assistance visit. A U.S. Army 116th Brigade Combat Team medic from Task Force 1-163 Infantry tries to coax an Iraqi child during a medical assistance visit to the village of Husseinia, Iraq, Aug. 1, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Task Force 1-163 Infantry FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARRIOR, Iraq, Aug. 12, 2005 — U.S. soldiers from the 116th Brigade Combat Team’s Task Force 1-163 Infantry delivered much-needed medical care to the village of Husseinia, Iraq, Aug. 1. "The visit was intended to be a mini-(medical assistance visit) but it turned...

The visit marked the unit's first purely humanitarian mission in Iraq, a mission made possible from donations by church groups and family members at Fort Stewart, Ga. TAWAITHA, Iraq, Aug. 11, 2005 — U.S. soldiers assigned to F Company, 26th Forward Support Battalion, brought smiles to Tawaitha children as they distributed hundreds of shoes and toys near a landfill July 23. The community of squatters who live in the landfill, located near the Rasheed Airfield, often suffer foot injuries caused by walking over sharp debris without shoes. The F Company troops, who operate in direct support of 1st Battalion, 9th...

RICHMOND - Three rural Republican lawmakers took Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Kaine to task for his record on gun rights Friday, seeking to capitalize on an issue that they believe favors GOP nominee Jerry Kilgore. Kaine, the lieutenant governor, has said repeatedly that he respects the rights of law-abiding gun-owners and has no plans to limit them. But Dels.Bill Carrico of Grayson County, Robert Hurt of Chatham and Chris Saxman of Staunton said Kaine's record as Richmond's mayor from 1998 to 2001 undercuts his campaign pledge. Their criticism underscores the Kilgore campaign's emphasis on gun issues, which Gov. Mark Warner,...

Broiling summer brings droughts By John Tagliabue The New York Times TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2005 PARIS - All through a long hot summer, the temperatures in Europe have soared to unusual levels. In central France, three firemen died on Sunday trying to control a fire in a barn. In Spain on Monday, the police discovered the bodies of 11 firemen who died after being trapped by a giant forest fire in the central part of the country. In Switzerland, Alpine rescuers recovered the body of a climber yielded up by a melting glacier more than 20 years after he plunged...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A pre-kindergarten student brought a handgun to school, where it was seized by a fifth-grader and turned over to the principal, school district officials said Tuesday. The 5-year-old reportedly displayed the loaded weapon outside the Blanton Elementary School cafeteria where students were gathered before class. The fifth-grader recognized it was real and took it to the principal. Investigators were trying to determine how the child got the gun, Austin Independent School District spokeswoman Carmen Luevanos said. District police said they will pursue charges against the adult who allowed the student to bring the weapon to school....

Libertarian Ben Brandon was recently elected to the position of county executive in Dade County, Ga., running on a platform whose primary plank was a promise to eliminate school taxes for people aged 65 and over. He is keeping his promise -- and that's just a start. "As I was going around last year getting signatures to get on the ballot, I would ask people what was on their minds," Brandon explains. "The older people complained that their property taxes were too high. Many of them are living on fixed incomes and can't afford the taxes -- and most of...

SAN DIEGO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was in San Diego Thursday to promote his proposed ballot measures to change the state budgeting practices, pension system, teacher pay and legislative redistricting. Schwarzenegger appeared on KOGO radio's Roger Hedgecock Show, before joining the host to gather signatures to bring his measures before voters, officials with Schwarzenegger's office said. Schwarzenegger has proposed reforming California's budget system, changing teacher pay to award merit rather than tenure, revising the way political districts are drawn and revamping the state's pension system. "What we are doing here is the private sector is paying for the public sector...

Saxon find brings clues to history December 11, 2004 00:01 A NUMBER of ancient artefacts discovered by a metal detecting enthusiast have given vital clues to Suffolk's history. Six gold and silver fragments discovered in a Witnesham field have given historians the chance to confirm details about life in Suffolk around 1,500 years ago. At a treasure trove inquest on Wednesday, Great Suffolk Coronor Dr Peter Dean confirmed the artefacts met the criteria for treasure. A treasure trove inquest is held when an object of at least 300 years old containing a substantial amount of silver or gold is found...