Former President George H.W. Bush endorsed Sen. John McCain on Monday, a nod of approval from the Republican political dynasty’s patriarch that sends a strong signal to a GOP establishment wary of the Arizona senator. “No one is better prepared to lead our nation at these trying times than Sen. John McCain,” Bush said, standing alongside the Republican nominee-in-waiting in an airport hanger.
Pakistan’s embattled president appealed for national unity Monday after parliamentary elections aimed at bolstering democracy and calming political strife. But fear and apathy kept millions at home, raising the prospect of no clear winner and a government too fragmented to rally the nation against Islamic extremists. Vote counting began soon after the polls closed at 5 p.m., and results started trickling in. Private television stations reported strong showings by the two main opposition parties in early unofficial tallies, although final official results were not expected before Wednesday.
Rescue crews searched door-to-door for people trapped in wreckage after a tornado crashed through Prattville, Ala., part of a wild weekend of weather that also included rain, snow and flooding in the Midwest. No fatalities were immediately reported in Prattville, located outside Montgomery, but two people were critically injured, said fire department official Dallis Johnson. Twenty-seven people had minor injuries, officials said. About 200 homes were damaged or destroyed. A curfew began as darkness fell Sunday.
An undercover video showing crippled and sick animals being shoved with forklifts has led to the largest beef recall in the U.S. and a scramble to find out if any of the meat is still destined for school children’s lunches. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday ordered the recall of 143 million pounds of beef from a Southern California slaughterhouse that is the subject of an animal-abuse investigation. The recall will affect beef products dating to Feb. 1, 2006, that came from Chino-based Westland/Hallmark Meat Co., the federal agency said. The company provided meat to various federal programs.
Two senators are urging the Pentagon to investigate a Marine Corps report that bureaucrats refused an urgent request from battlefield commanders in 2005 for blast-resistant vehicles. “We need an official investigation to figure out why this happened and to make sure it never happens again,” said Sen. Joseph Biden Jr., D-Del. Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been a longtime advocate of building and deploying more of the vehicles, called MRAPs.
