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LOS ANGELES (AP) - A group of religious leaders Wednesday attacked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's statements and policies involving undocumented immigrants, demanding that he meet with them to discuss changing what one pastor called rhetoric that has "poisoned" the community. "The governor's recent attacks targeting our state's undocumented immigrants run against the grain of American values," Bishop Gabino Zavala of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles said at a press conference. The religious leaders called on the governor "to embrace the moral high ground" and meet with them to discuss immigration reform. "We ... look forward to that meeting with...

SACRAMENTO – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday backed a ballot initiative that would require fewer spending cuts than the reform measure he proposed during his State of the State speech in January - an apparent softening of his views on a key element of his reform agenda. The "California Live Within Our Means Act," drafted by members of a business-backed political committee, would let the state budget increase in line with past revenue growth. Though billed as a solution to California's chronic overspending, the measure's formulas, if enacted a decade ago, would have let lawmakers spend more than they actually...

<p>WASHINGTON — Just a few weeks into the new congressional session, many are beginning to wonder aloud: "What's up with Barbara Boxer?"</p> <p>The first week of the session, the California Democrat led the Senate challenge over certifying the Ohio presidential vote, citing irregularities.</p>

SACRAMENTO – Rejecting advice from its attorneys and the prevailing sentiment of tribes in California, the state's gambling commission recently defined a key compact term in a way that appears to benefit a select group of established casinos. The move, taken on a split vote last month, means there will be few if any licenses available anytime soon for additional slot machines under gambling agreements, or compacts, negotiated by former Gov. Gray Davis. That could turn up the pressure on expansion-minded tribes, including several in San Diego County, to negotiate deals with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who faces a multibillion-dollar budget...

As John Kerry (news - web sites) barnstorms swing states in the election's final days, he has harsh words for President Bush (news - web sites) on the Patriot Act: It doesn't go far enough. Kerry and other Democrats who once called the law, which gives the federal government sweeping powers to fight terrorism in the U.S., a threat to the Constitution are now praising it. The shift is likely because the act remains popular. A Gallup poll earlier this year found 64% said the act was "about right" or "didn't go far enough." With the war on terror a...

Today, Bush-Cheney '04 announced the release of the campaign's newest television advertisement, "Searching." The ad contrasts John Kerry's numerous different positions on the War on Terror and asks how he can protect us when he does not even know where he stands. You can view and link to the ad at: http://www.georgewbush.com/videoandaudio/ A screenshot and transcript are below: President Bush: I'm George W. Bush and I approve this message. John Kerry: "It was the right decision to disarm Saddam Hussein, and when the President made the decision I supported him." "I don't believe the President took us to war as...

<p>WASHINGTON – Rep. Dana Rohrabacher says he always knew that if ever he got involved in Middle East politics, his views would get him in trouble.</p> <p>He was right.</p> <p>Rohrabacher is facing a primary challenge next month from former Rep. Robert K. Dornan. These two Republicans were once comrades in arms in promoting conservative principles. But the Middle East is the one major issue on which Dornan stayed with mainstream conservatives and Rohrabacher has strayed.</p>

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Old rifts over the war in Iraq kept the European Union from forging a united position on when the United States should cede power, highlighting the difficulties Washington will face trying to reach agreement on a new U.N. resolution. President Bush hopes such a resolution will bring more troops and money into Iraq. The unofficial target date for adopting a U.N. resolution is Oct. 22 - the day before a major donors meeting begins in Madrid, Spain, to try to generate funds for Iraq's reconstruction. On Monday, Russia said it wants a "realistic but short" timeline...

JERUSALEM, Aug. 16 Israel has relented on one of its core demands on the Palestinian leadership, backing away for now from its insistence that the men it regards as wanted terrorists be held under lock and key in Palestinian prisons, Israeli and Palestinian officials said today. Instead, Israel has accepted in principle the assurances of Muhammad Dahlan, the Palestinian minister of security, that he will monitor the wanted men in the cities where they now live and prevent them from mounting attacks, the officials said. That would represent a less aggressive strategy than the immediate "dismantlement" of terrorist infrastructure that...

WASHINGTON - Toughening his stand on construction of an Israeli security fence, Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) said Thursday the Bush administration would abide by congressional provisions for reducing U.S. aid to Israel for settlement activity on the West Bank. "We have identified some problems" with the project and the administration will keep talking to Israel about them until there is a solution, Powell said at a news conference. "We have concerns about that fence," Powell said. "We have problems with it." He said there was no decision yet, but his remarks indicated the administration might...

<p>Tripling the annual fee Californians pay to register their cars hardly seems the best way to court voters.</p> <p>It's also guaranteed to irk Gov. Gray Davis. The governor this week said he'd veto such a plan because it threatens to derail his own strategy for closing the state's budget gap.</p>

FRENCH government ministers will attend a Jewish prayer service in Paris today as a show of anger against the perceived rise of anti-Semitism in France. The visit by Nicolas Sarkozy, the Interior Minister, and other colleagues follows vigorous condemnation by President Chirac of a knife attack last Friday on Rabbi Gabriel Farhi of the Jewish Liberal Movement (MJLF). The rabbi was wounded in the stabbing at his synagogue by a man shouting pro-Palestinian slogans. On Monday, Rabbi Farhi’s car was set on fire outside his home. In dozens of attacks last year, synagogues were burnt and damaged and Jews were...