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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. lawmaker apologized on Tuesday to U.S. Marines under investigation in the deaths of two dozen Iraqi civilians in Haditha in a statement his office said spared him from a libel lawsuit. Minnesota Republican Rep. John Kline, a retired Marine Corps colonel, issued a three-paragraph statement under a deal with lawyers for Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, one of the Marines under investigation. Wuterich's lawyers filed a libel lawsuit against another congressman, Democratic Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, on August 2 following his comments on the case.

Feds Move Against Tijuana-Based Arellano-Felix Gang (CBS News) WASHINGTON -- The Coast Guard caught Mexican drug lord Francisco Javier Arellano-Felix deep-sea fishing off Mexico, decapitating a murderous gang that dug smuggling tunnels under the U.S. border, officials said Wednesday. Arellano-Felix, 36, was the enforcer for the gang named after – and run by – his family, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker. Authorities believe he ordered the decapitation of three men – two of them police officers – south of Tijuana this summer. He was captured when the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Monsoon boarded a U.S.-registered sport...

Comedienne SANDRA BERNHARDT, close friend of Madonna, has threatened to fight new security measures at airports imposed after a terrorist attack on planes flying from the UK to the US was averted. From yesterday (10AUG06), passengers flying from and to America have been banned from taking non-essential hand luggage onboard jets. But Bernhardt, who is scheduled to fly out of New York's JFK Airport today (11AUG06) is determined to break the rule. She tells the New York Daily News, "When I go to the airport and they try to take my MAC Plushglass away from me, it's going to be...

LONDON -- British authorities disrupted a terrorist plot to simultaneously blow up several aircraft midair between the United Kingdom and the U.S. using explosives smuggled in hand luggage, officials said Thursday.

PRAGUE, August 10, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The British authorities are in no doubt -- after an operation lasting several months, the security services have foiled an imminent terrorist attack. British Home Secretary John Reid said the security services had raised the threat level from "severe" to "critical," the highest possible level, which, according to the website of MI5, the British Security Service, means an attack is expected soon. "The police, with the full knowledge of ministers, have carried out a major counterterrorism operation to disrupt what we believe to be a major threat to the United Kingdom and international partners,"...

Connecticut // U.S. Senate - - Dem Primary 608 of 748 Precincts Reporting - 81.28% Lamont, Ned 116,387 51.71% **Winner Lieberman, Joe (i) 108,683 48.29% Georgia, U.S. House Democratic District 4 Precincts Reporting: 58 of 167 (35%) Hank Johnson 12098 60% Cynthia McKinney (I) 8002 40% By ROBERT TANNER With more than half the precincts counted Tuesday, Sen. Joe Lieberman struggled in his bid for a fourth term, battling to overcome a primary challenger and escape payback from his own party for supporting the Iraq war. Six years after Democrats backed him for vice president, Lieberman lagged with 48 percent,...

by Mark Finkelstein August 2, 2006 - 14:07 On the one hand, liberals enjoy portraying themselves as models of tolerance and racial sensitivity. But woe betide someone who runs afoul of their orthodoxy. Liberals don't hesitate to bring out the crudest racial imagery to mock them. We've all seen the vulgar caricatures of Clarence Thomas, Condi Rice and Ward Connerly. Add Joe Lieberman to the liberal media hit list. Have a look at the image of Lieberman that popped up at Huffington Post today. It's in a column by one Jane Hamsher, who, her bio informs us, is a 'progressive...

Desperately trying to re-capture her media darling status of August 2005 Cindy Sheehan has purchased a 5-acre parcel in Crawford, Texas using supporter, Gerry Fonseca to seal the deal. Fonseca says he purchased the 5-acre parcel, which cost more than $52,000. The owner would not have sold the land if it was known it was to be used by Sheehan for political purposes reports KXXV-TV on its web site. *** According to the AP, Fonseca also admits he doubts that any Crawford landowner would have sold to Sheehan or other protesters, so he didn't reveal his connection. Fonseca, who lost...

A federal judge in Baltimore has overturned Maryland's so-called "Wal-Mart healthcare bill," which forced the nation's biggest retailer to provide more employee health care benefits. Judge J. Frederick Motz said the law, which required Wal-Mart to spend 8 percent of its payroll in the state on medical benefits, or pay the difference in taxes, would have hurt the company. Shares of Wal-Mart rose 2.5 percent in afternoon trade. Judge Motz ruled that a 1974 federal law overruled the Maryland state law, which had been backed by labor groups. He said it was unfair because it forced the company to handle...

Addis Ababa vows to ‘crush’ Islamic militants, support government MOGADISHU, Somalia - Residents of central Somalia said Thursday that hundreds of Ethiopian troops were patrolling the town of Baidoa in armored vehicles, less than a day after Islamic militants vowed a “holy war” against foreign soldiers looking to bolster the weak, U.N.-backed government.

NEW ORLEANS - A doctor and two nurses were arrested overnight in connection with the deaths of patients at a New Orleans hospital in the days following Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana attorney general’s office said Tuesday. “We’re not calling this euthanasia. We’re not calling this mercy killings. This is second-degree murder,” said Kris Wartelle, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Charles C. Foti. The arrest warrant for Dr. Anna Pou says lethal doses of morphine were administered.

BOMBAY, India — Seven bombs hit Bombay's commuter rail network during rush hour Tuesday evening, killing as many as 100 people and wounding more than 300 in what authorities called a well-coordinated attack. India's major cities were put on high alert after the blasts, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called an emergency Cabinet meeting. Chaos engulfed the crowded rail network in India's financial capital following the blasts that ripped apart train compartments as authorities struggled to treat the wounded amid heavy monsoon downpours. Doors and windows were blown off the train cars, and luggage and debris were strewn across...

Mumbai relived a nightmare when seven explosions shook the city within minutes on Tuesday evening. Reports said more than 100 people had died and many were injured. The target was Mumbai's life-line -- its local train services -- timed to catch the evening rush. The first blast occurred in a first-class compartment of a local train near Khar station at 6.24 p.m and six more had occurred within the next 11 minutes all on trains or at or near railway stations. The other blasts occurred at Mira Road, Matunga, Santa Cruz, Jogeshwari, Borivili and Bhayendar railway stations. All explosions were...

TRENTON. July 6 — An agreement to raise the sales tax to 7 percent, from 6 percent, was reached today, according to Democrats in the New Jersey General Assembly. Half the revenue raised would go to close the $4.5 billion gap in the state's operating budget.

Candidate's move to Virginia doesn't negate his ballot position, judge rules. The Texas Republican Party cannot replace former U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay on November's ballot, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks ruled today. The Texas Democratic Party sued to keep the indicted Sugar Land Republican on the ballot because party officials believed that their candidate Nick Lampson could more easily defeat DeLay instead of a GOP replacement. Sparks' order prevents state Republican Chairwoman Tina Benkiser from completing the process of naming a DeLay successor. Although the Republican Party is expected to appeal, Sparks' order keeps the campaigns of possible GOP candidates...

Rush Limbaugh Under New Investigation Sign In to E-Mail This Print Save By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: June 27, 2006 Filed at 11:45 a.m. ET WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Rush Limbaugh could see a deal with prosecutors in a long-running prescription fraud case collapse after authorities found a bottle of Viagra in his bag at Palm Beach International Airport. The prescription was not in his name. Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at the airport after returning from a vacation in the Dominican Republic. Customs officials found the Viagra in his luggage but his name...

CLINTON, Mo. (AP) - Rescuers saved nine people trapped in the rubble of a three-story building that partially collapsed during an Elks Club dinner, but the club's leader was found dead early Tuesday, about 12 hours after the roof fell in, officials said. Tony Komer, the 32-year-old "exalted ruler" of the Clinton Elks Lodge, had been on the top floor preparing to give a speech when the century-old brick building began to collapse Monday night. Clinton Police Lt. Sonny Lynch said early Tuesday that crews were trying recover Komer's body but part of the building would have to be taken...

Pull out of Iraq now, congressman urges Cover-up of Haditha killings wrong, he says By Elizabeth Baier South Florida Sun-Sentinel Posted June 25 2006 American presence in Iraq is more dangerous to world peace than nuclear threats from North Korea or Iran, U.S. Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., said to a crowd of more than 200 in North Miami Saturday afternoon. Murtha was the guest speaker at a town hall meeting organized by U.S. Rep. Kendrick B. Meek, D-Miami, at Florida International University's Biscayne Bay Campus. Meek's mother, former U.S. Rep. Carrie Meek, D-Miami, was also on the panel. War veterans,...

Report: U.S. Missile Defense Systems Activated North Korea Dismisses Its Own Test-Ban Treaty POSTED: 11:08 am MDT June 20, 2006 UPDATED: 12:16 pm MDT June 20, 2006 TOKYO -- Japan's Kyodo News agency reports the United States has activated its missile defense system ahead of a possible North Korean missile test. Kyodo didn't identify its sources. The agency said the United States is considering intercepting the missile if North Korea goes ahead with the test launch. The United States, Japan and allies have urged the north not to test the missile, which is believed to be capable of reaching the...

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