world

Senators: Bush, Cheney should explain CIA leak

By Alyson Brodsy and Nedra Pickler · Monday, April 10,2006 12:47 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney should speak publicly about their involvement in the CIA leak case so people can understand what happened, a leading Republican senator said Sunday.

Storm victims survey weekend damage

By Alyson Brodsy and John Gerome · Monday, April 10,2006 12:45 a.m.

GALLATIN, Tenn. -- Diesel smoke filled the air as work crews used heavy equipment to clear paths through tornado-strewn debris and victims rummaged for mementos in the remains of their neighborhoods. Clumps of yellow insulation hung from trees like Spanish moss, and the sound of helicopters, chain saws and trucks created a loud, steady rumble.

Bush nominates Paulison to head FEMA chief

By Alyson Brodsy and Hope Yen · Saturday, April 8,2006 12:32 p.m.

WASHINGTON -- With hurricane season two months away, President Bush on Thursday nominated the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be permanent head of the disaster response agency. R. David Paulison, a 30-year firefighter, took over at FEMA in September when Bush named him to replace the beleaguered Michael Brown. Brown quit in the face of unrelenting criticism over the agency's sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina.

Giuliani testifies in 9-11 terrorist case

By Alyson Brodsy and Matthew Barakat · Friday, April 7,2006 1:24 a.m.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani described the opening horrors of Sept. 11, 2001, to Zacarias Moussaoui's death penalty trial Thursday, saying he was unwilling to believe people were jumping to their deaths from the World Trade Center until he saw it with his own eyes. He said the image of two people jumping together, appearing to hold hands, sticks with him every day. Moussaoui affected a look of boredom when the prosecution played video of victims falling to their deaths.

Court papers: Bush authorized intel leak

By Alyson Brodsy and Pete Yost · Friday, April 7,2006 1:23 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney's former top aide told prosecutors President Bush authorized the leak of sensitive intelligence information about Iraq, according to court papers filed by prosecutors in the CIA leak case. Before his indictment, I. Lewis Libby testified to the grand jury investigating the CIA leak that Cheney told him to pass on information and that it was Bush who authorized the disclosure, the court papers say. According to the documents, the authorization led to the July 8, 2003, conversation between Libby and New York Times reporter Judith Miller. There was no indication in the filing that either Bush or Cheney authorized Libby to disclose Valerie Plame's CIA identity.

Senate makes 'breakthrough' on immigration bill

By Alyson Brodsy and David Espo · Friday, April 7,2006 1:22 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans and Democrats closed in on a last-minute compromise Thursday on legislation opening the way to legal status and eventual citizenship for many of the 11 million immigrants living in the United States illegally. President Bush praised the lawmakers' efforts, noting the details were unfinished, and encouraged them "to work hard and get the bill done." Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said he had been assured the president supports the emerging measure.

Protests stop IU classes in France

By Trevor brown · Thursday, April 6,2006 1:05 a.m.

Coming out of a Paris metro exit last Tuesday, IU junior Brandi Angrick began to hear loud yelling and chanting. When Angrick, who is studying abroad in France, turned around, she saw a large crowd of people coming down the street. Partially out of fear or just the mob mentality, Angrick ran from the commotion until she reached the safety of her apartment.

NORTH POLE EXPEDITION

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, April 6,2006 12:37 a.m.

NORTH POLE EXPEDITION -- South African adventurer Mike Horn, left, who lives in Switzerland and Norwegian explorer Borge Ousland, right, celebrate with South African, Norwegian and Swiss flags the end of their expedition "North Pole Winter Expedition" at the Barneo ice camp 50 kilometers away from the North Pole, on the frozen Arctic Ocean, Wednesday, a week after the two adventurers became the first men to cross the frozen Arctic Ocean in the darkness of Arctic winter on skis, completing a grueling 1000 km expedition from northern Siberia to the North Pole in 60 days and 5 hours.

Video claims to show downed U.S. pilot deo claims to show downed U.S. pilot

By Alyson Brodsy and Robert H. Reid · Thursday, April 6,2006 12:35 a.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A video posted Wednesday on the Internet in the name of an extremist group claimed to show Iraqi insurgents dragging the burning body of a U.S. pilot on the ground after the crash of an Apache helicopter. Parts of the video were blurry, and the face of the man was not shown. His clothes were so tattered it was impossible to tell if he was wearing an American military uniform, but he appeared to be wearing military fatigues.

Homeland Security official arrested for seducing 'teen'

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, April 5,2006 1:22 p.m.

MIAMI -- The deputy press secretary for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was arrested Tuesday for using the Internet to seduce what he thought was a teenage girl, authorities said. Brian J. Doyle, 55, of Silver Spring, Md., was arrested on charges of use of a computer to seduce a child and transmission of harmful material to a minor. The charges were issued out of Polk County, Fla.

DeLay to resign House seat

By Alyson Brodsy and David Espo · Wednesday, April 5,2006 12:56 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Succumbing to scandal, former Majority Leader Tom DeLay said Tuesday he will resign from Congress in the face of a tough re-election race, closing out a career that blended unflinching conservatism with a bare-knuckled political style.

Millions march in France over labor laws

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, April 5,2006 12:55 a.m.

PARIS -- Demonstrators opposed to a new jobs law swarmed parts of downtown Paris Tuesday, throwing stones, tearing down street signs and ripping up park benches. Riot police, firing tear gas canisters and making several charges, carried away protesters in handcuffs. Police said at least 1 million people poured into the streets around the country in the latest protests against the law, which makes it easier to fire young workers. Organizers said 3 million people marched.

9 U.S. troops killed in western Iraq

By Alyson Brodsy and Sinan Salaheddin · Tuesday, April 4,2006 1:39 a.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Four American troops were killed by hostile fire, while five others died and three were missing after their truck rolled over in a flash flood this weekend in separate incidents in western Iraq, the military said Monday. In violence targeting Iraqis, a suicide truck bomb exploded Monday near a Shiite mosque in northeastern Baghdad as worshippers were leaving after evening prayers, killing at least 10 people and wounding 30, police said. The U.S. military said it was "using all the resources available" to find the two Marines and a sailor who were missing after Sunday's accident, which occurred near the Asad air base in Anbar, near the Syrian border.

Jury: Sept. 11 conspirator is eligible for capital punishment

By Alyson Brodsy and Matthew Barakat · Tuesday, April 4,2006 1:38 a.m.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- A federal jury found al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui eligible Monday to be executed, deciding that his lies to FBI agents led directly to at least one death in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "You'll never get my blood, God curse you all," Moussaoui said afterward. He sat in his chair and prayed silently as the verdict was read. The only person to face charges in this country in the nation's worst terrorist assault, Moussaoui now faces a second phase of his sentencing trial to determine if he actually will be put to death. That phase is set to begin Thursday morning.

Storms, tornadoes kill at least 27 in Midwest

By Alyson Brodsy and Kristin M. Hall · Tuesday, April 4,2006 1:38 a.m.

NEWBERN, Tenn. -- Thunderstorms packing tornadoes and hail as big as softballs ripped through eight states, killing at least 27 people, injuring scores of others and destroying hundreds of homes in the South and Midwest on Sunday. Tennessee was hit hardest, with tornadoes striking five western counties Sunday and killing 23 people. Most of the deaths were along a 25-mile path stretching from Newbern, about 80 miles northeast of Memphis, to Bradford, officials said. The Highway Patrol sent teams with search dogs to the area Monday to check for survivors in what remained of damaged homes and businesses.

REMEMBERING POPE JOHN PAUL II

By Alyson Brodsy · Monday, April 3,2006 1:32 a.m.

Pope Benedict XVI greets faithful waving Polish and Vatican State flags from his window overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday. The pontiff recalled the final days of suffering of Pope John Paul II on the first anniversary of his death Sunday, praising the late pope's legacy of having lived out his mission to guide the Catholic Church until the very end.

Iran test fires new high-speed missile

By Alyson Brodsy and Ali Akbar Dareini · Monday, April 3,2006 1:30 a.m.

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran announced its second major new missile test within days, saying Sunday it has successfully fired a high-speed torpedo capable of destroying huge warships and submarines. The tests came during war games that Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have been holding in the Gulf and the Arabian Sea since Friday at a time of increased tensions with the United States over Tehran's nuclear program. The Iranian-made torpedo -- called the "Hoot," or "whale" -- has a speed of 223 miles per hour, said Gen. Ali Fadavi, deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards' Navy.

Former captive journalist Jill Carroll returns to the United States

By Alyson Brodsy and Glen Johnson · Monday, April 3,2006 1:30 a.m.

BOSTON -- Jill Carroll, the U.S. journalist held hostage for 82 days in Iraq, returned to the United States on Sunday aboard a commercial flight to Boston, saying "I finally feel like I am alive again." The 28-year-old was accompanied on the Lufthansa flight by a colleague from her employer, the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor, which posted a news story about her return on its Web site two hours after her flight landed. Carroll has been kept out of view of other reporters.

AP poll: Majority of Americans favor offering legal status to immigrants

By Alyson Brodsy and Nancy Benac · Monday, April 3,2006 1:28 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Americans are divided about whether illegal immigrants help or hurt the country, a poll finds. More than one-half of those questioned are open to allowing undocumented workers to obtain some temporary legal status so they can stay in the United States. At the same time, people doubt that erecting a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border could help to fix such a complex and enduring problem, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll found. Two-thirds do not think it would work.

Secretary of State Rice pays Iraq surprise visit

By Alyson Brodsy and Anne Gearan · Monday, April 3,2006 1:27 a.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Top U.S. and British diplomats made a surprise trip to Iraq Sunday to prod the country's struggling leaders to end nearly four months of wrangling and form a new government. "We're going to urge that the negotiations be wrapped up," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said as she and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw flew overnight to the Iraqi capital for meetings with the interim government and ethnic and religious power brokers.