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20061224

US - Iraq - People - Police - Military - Politics - "12,000 Iraqi policemen killed since '03; 6 U.S. soldiers killed." ... "Some 12,000 Iraqi policemen have been killed since the ouster of Saddam Hussein, the country's interior minister said Sunday, as clashes, a suicide bomber and weekend explosions killed more than a dozen Iraqi officers and six American soldiers." ... "Police and police recruits have been frequent targets of insurgent attacks. In one of the worst single attacks, a suicide car bomber detonated his explosives near a line of national guard and police recruits waiting to take physicals in February 2005. The blast in Hillah, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, killed 125." ... "Police have also been blamed for violence. Gunmen in Iraqi army and police uniforms have been responsible for recent bank robberies in Baghdad and the kidnapping of more than 40 workers and volunteers at the Iraqi Red Crescent." ... "The Iraqi Ministry of Health estimated in November that 150,000 Iraqi civilians been killed in the war that began in 2003. Other estimates put the figure as low as 51,000 or as high as 600,000." -APvia -USATODAY

20061221

Religious - Books - People - Virginia- Minnesota - Michigan - US Immigration - Virgil H Goode Jr - "Va. Lawmaker's Remarks on Muslims Criticized: Republican Had Decried the Use of the Koran for Congressman's Oath of Office." ... "[Virginia Republican] Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R-Va.) is coming under sharp criticism for lashing out against the decision by [Minnesota Democrat] Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), who will become the first Muslim member of Congress next month, to use the Koran during a swearing-in ceremony." ... "In a recent letter to constituents, Goode, a five-term congressman from Rocky Mount, wrote that he does "not subscribe to using the Koran in any way" and added: "The Muslim Representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration, there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran."" ... "When members of Congress are sworn in, they simply raise their right hand. In a ceremony afterward, they may take the oath of office on a Christian Bible, another religious book or no book at all." ... "Ellison, who was born in Detroit [Michigan], could not be reached to comment." -By Zachary A. Goldfarb -WashingtonPost

20061206

Global - Climate - Ocean - Animal- Food - Environment - Science - People - Business - Politics - "Some happy that a family film flaunts dire facts." ... "Michael Hirshfield has long struggled to get across his earnest but wonky message: that global warming and overfishing are killing off the oceans' food supply." ... "Then, along came the animated movie "Happy Feet" and, voila, tens of millions of youngsters -- and their parents -- across the country are suddenly aware that man-made problems are threatening the penguins near the South Pole, and almost everything else in the South Seas." ... "The blockbuster film, the top box-office hit for the past three weekends, is about emperor penguins struggling to survive with a depleted food supply, and one tap-dancing penguin's epic search to learn what is causing the colony's fish to disappear." ... "A study published recently in the journal Science predicted that if overfishing of depleted seafood populations continued at current rates, the world would run out of commercial stocks by 2048." -By John Donnelly -Boston/Globe

20061205

US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Government - Military - Technology - Money - Politics - People - Flying - Vehicles - Alabama- "U.S. Army Battling To Save Equipment: Gear Piles Up at Depots, Awaiting Repair." ... "Field upon field of more than 1,000 battered M1 tanks, howitzers and other armored vehicles sit amid weeds here at the 15,000-acre Anniston Army Depot [Alabama] -- the idle, hulking formations symbolic of an Army that is wearing out faster than it is being rebuilt." ... "The Army and Marine Corps have sunk more than 40 percent of their ground combat equipment into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to government data. An estimated $17 billion-plus worth of military equipment is destroyed or worn out each year, blasted by bombs, ground down by desert sand and used up to nine times the rate in times of peace. The gear is piling up at depots such as Anniston, waiting to be repaired." ... "The depletion of major equipment such as tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and especially helicopters and armored Humvees has left many military units in the United States without adequate training gear, officials say. Partly as a result of the shortages, many U.S. units are rated "unready" to deploy, officials say, raising alarm in Congress and concern among military leaders at a time when Iraq strategy is under review by the White House and the bipartisan Iraq Study Group." ... "Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, is lobbying hard for more money to repair what he calls the "holes" in his force, saying current war funding is inadequate to make the Army "well." Asked in a congressional hearing this past summer whether he was comfortable with the readiness levels of non-deployed Army units, Schoomaker replied: "No."" ... "Despite the work piling up, the Army's depots have been operating at about half their capacity because of a lack of funding for repairs." -By Ann Scott Tyson -WashingtonPost

20061109

US- Afghanistan - Military - People - Law - Investigation- Journalism - "AP: Startling findings in Tillman probe." ... "The latest inquiry into Tillman's death by friendly fire should end next month; authorities have said they intend to release to the public only a synopsis of their report. But The Associated Press has combed through the results of 2 1/4 years of investigations — reviewed thousands of pages of internal Army documents, interviewed dozens of people familiar with the case — and uncovered some startling findings." ... "Investigators are looking at who pulled the triggers and fired at Tillman; they are also looking at the officers who pressured the platoon to move through a region with a history of ambushes; the soldiers who burned Tillman's uniform and body armor afterward; and at everyone in the chain of command who deliberately kept the circumstances of Tillman's death from the family for more than a month." ... "Military investigators under Gimble's direction this year visited the rugged valley in eastern Afghanistan where Tillman was killed. It was a risky trip; the region is even more dangerous today than it was in 2004." -By Scott Lindlaw and Martha Mendoza -AP via -Yahoo

20061107

US - Iraq - Military - People - TV - Money - Oil - Politics - Japan - New York - "Rupert Murdoch -- who once predicted Iraq war could lead to $20/barrel oil --described war casualties as "minute"." ... "On November 6, News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch reportedly said at a conference in Tokyo [Japan] that U.S. casualties in Iraq, "by the terms of any previous war are quite minute," as the weblog Democratic Underground noted. He further stated: "I believe it was right to go in there. I believe that certainly the execution that has followed that has included many mistakes. But that's easy to say after the event." Murdoch, whose conservative media empire includes Fox News Channel, the New York Post, and The Weekly Standard, vocally supported the war in 2003, citing potential economic benefits. As of November 3, according to CNN, a total of 2,836 U.S. soldiers have been killed since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003." -MediaMatters.org

20061103

Ted Haggard - Drugs- Gay- Colorado - Politics - "Powerful pastor's drug purchases shocks evangelicals." ... "The Rev. Ted Haggard, who has resigned as one of the nation's top evangelical leaders, admitted Friday he had contacted a male prostitute for a massage and bought methamphetamine." ... "Haggard also acknowledged contacting Mike Jones but has denied Jones' accusation that the two men regularly had sex over three years." ... "The admissions -- after Haggard's earlier denials that he even knew Jones -- resonated among America's evangelicals and Christian leaders." ... "Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, an umbrella group representing more than 45,000 churches with 30 million members." ... "He also temporarily stepped aside Thursday as senior pastor of the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado Springs [Colorado], pending an internal investigation into Jones' allegations." ... "Haggard was one of a group of religious leaders who regularly participated in conference calls with White House aides, Time magazine reported." -Contributed to by Delia Gallagher -CNN

20061031

US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Military- Families - "Army: 7 Families Misled On War Deaths: Review Finds Soldiers' Families Given Incorrect Information On Their Deaths." ... "The families of seven soldiers who died in Iraq or Afghanistan were given incorrect or misleading information about the deaths, the Army has concluded after a review of war casualty reports." ... "The best-known was Cpl. Patrick Tillman, the former star player in the National Football League whose family initially was told he had died a hero's death, killed by enemy forces in Afghanistan. After Tillman's memorial service the family was told the truth: He was killed unintentionally by gunfire from his fellow soldiers." ... "More than 1,800 Army soldiers have died in Iraq since the war began in March 2003; about 240 have died in Afghanistan. Overall, more than 2,800 U.S. military members have died since the start of the Iraq war." -AP via -CBSNews

20061024

Noteworthy - US - Guantanamo Bay - Cuba - Military - Intelligence - Torture - Terrorism - Prison - Religion - People - War Crimes - Law Enforcement - Politics - "Can the '20th hijacker' of Sept. 11 stand trial? Aggressive interrogation at Guantanamo may prevent his prosecution." ... "Mohammed al-Qahtani, detainee No. 063, was forced to wear a bra. He had a thong placed on his head. He was massaged by a female interrogator who straddled him like a lap dancer. He was told that his mother and sisters were whores. He was told that other detainees knew he was gay. He was forced to dance with a male interrogator. He was strip-searched in front of women. He was led on a leash and forced to perform dog tricks. He was doused with water. He was prevented from praying. He was forced to watch as an interrogator squatted over his Koran." ... "That much is known. These details were among the findings of the U.S. Army's investigation of al-Qahtani's aggressive interrogation at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba." ... "But only now is a picture emerging of how the interrogation policy developed, and the battle that law enforcement agents waged, inside Guantanamo and in the offices of the Pentagon, against harsh treatment of al-Qahtani and other detainees by military intelligence interrogators." ... "In interviews with MSNBC.com - the first time they have spoken publicly -former senior law enforcement agents described their attempts to stop the abusive interrogations. The agents of the Pentagon's Criminal Investigation Task Force, working to build legal cases against suspected terrorists, said they objected to coercive tactics used by a separate team of intelligence interrogators soon after Guantanamo's prison camp opened in early 2002. They ultimately carried their battle up to the office of Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, who approved the more aggressive techniques to be used on al-Qahtani and others." ... "Although they believed the abusive techniques were probably illegal, the Pentagon cops said their objection was practical. They argued that abusive interrogations were not likely to produce truthful information, either for preventing more al-Qaida attacks or prosecuting terrorists." ... "And they described their disappointment when military prosecutors told them not to worry about making a criminal case against al-Qahtani, the suspected "20th hijacker" of Sept. 11, because what had been done to him would prevent him from ever being put on trial." ... "Defense Department e-mails seen by MSNBC.com show that a delegation visiting Guantanamo on Sept. 25, 2002, included Alberto R. Gonzales, then the White House counsel and now attorney general; David S. Addington, legal counsel to Vice President Dick Cheney, now his chief of staff; Timothy E. Flanigan, the deputy White House counsel; William Haynes III, the Pentagon general counsel; Larry Thompson, then deputy attorney general; Christopher A. Wray, the principal associate deputy attorney general, now head of Criminal Division at the Justice Department; and John Yoo, a lawyer in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, who reportedly had just helped write an Aug. 1, 2002, "torture memo" to Gonzales, defining torture narrowly as causing pain equivalent to organ failure or death." ... "The visiting VIPs met with Gen. Dunlavey and his staff, but not with any of the law enforcement investigators who opposed the aggressive interrogations." ... "Under the Military Commissions Act signed last week by President Bush, statements made under torture would not be admissible in a military trial." ... "But the law says a military judge could accept statements made under coercion. A court may have to decide which category, torture or coercion, encompasses such techniques as a fake trip to Egypt, sleep deprivation, and being forced to do dog tricks. The new law also extends legal protection from prosecution for war crimes to any U.S. personnel who used coercive tactics, if they believed in good faith that what they were doing was lawful." (1, 2, 3, 4) -By Bill Dedman -MSNBC

20061018

US- Iraq - People - "10 troops slain, brings American October death toll to 69." ... "The U.S. military reported Wednesday that 10 American troops had been killed the day, raising the death toll so far this month to 69 and putting October on track to be the deadliest month for coalition forces since January 2005." ... "According to an Associated Press count, October also is on the way to being the deadliest month for Iraqis since the AP began tracking deaths in April 2005. In October, 767 Iraqis have been killed in war-related violence, an average of 45 every day." ... "The actual number is likely higher, as many killings go unreported." ... "For the U.S. military, October's death toll is on a pace that, if continued, would make the month the deadliest for coalition forces since January 2005, when 107 U.S. troops died. The war's deadliest month for U.S. forces was November 2004, when 137 troops died. At least 2,785 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an AP count." -AP via -USATODAY

20060926

George Allen - Virginia - College - Sports - Political - Terrorism - History - 2008 Election - 2006 Election - "New 'N Word' Woe For George Allen: Well-Known Professor Says Va. Senator Used Racial Slur; Allen Denies It." ... "A noted political scientist joined one of [Virginia Republican] Sen. George Allen's former college football teammates in claiming the senator used a racial slur to refer to blacks in the early 1970s, a claim Allen dismisses as "ludicrously false."" ... "Larry J. Sabato, one of Virginia's most-quoted political science professors and a classmate of Allen's in the early 1970s, said in a televised interview Monday that Allen used the epithet." ... "Sabato's assertion came on the heels of accusations by Dr. Ken Shelton, a radiologist who was a tight end and wide receiver for the University of Virginia in the early 1970s when Allen was quarterback. He said Allen not only used the n-word frequently but also once stuffed a severed deer head into a black family's mailbox." ... "Separately, the Washington Post reported that Christopher Taylor, 59, an anthropologist at the University of Alabama, said that during a visit to Allen's Virginia home in 1982, Allen referred to turtles in a pond on his property and said that only "the [racial slur] eat them."" ... "Allen, a Republican, has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2008. Questions about racial insensitivity have dogged him during his [2006] re-election bid against Democrat Jim Webb." -AP via -CBSNews

20060910

Money - People - 2006 Election - Intelligence - "In a Pivotal Year, GOP Plans to Get Personal: Millions to Go to Digging Up Dirt on Democrats." ... "Republicans are planning to spend the vast majority of their sizable financial war chest over the final 60 days of the [2006 Election] campaign attacking Democratic House and Senate candidates over personal issues and local controversies, GOP officials said." ... "The National Republican Congressional Committee, which this year dispatched a half-dozen operatives to comb through tax, court and other records looking for damaging information on Democratic candidates, plans to spend more than 90 percent of its $50 million-plus advertising budget on what officials described as negative ads." ... "The hope is that a vigorous effort to "define" opponents, in the parlance of GOP operatives, can help Republicans shift the midterm debate away from Iraq and limit losses this fall." (1, 2) -By Jim VandeHei and Chris Cillizza -WashingtonPost

20060830

US - Iraq - Government - Military - People - Money - Politics - "Soldiers die, CEOs prosper." ... "More than 2,600 US soldiers have died in Iraq. July's toll for Iraqi civilians was 3,500, the deadliest month of the US occupation. Iraq's civil war is on pace to kill 25,000 to 30,000 civilians by year's end. If you add in the tens of thousands of deaths from the 2003 invasion (we do not know the exact number because the Pentagon won't comment), researchers will inevitably say that the body count has crossed 100,000." ... "As [American] soldiers have died in displaying personal patriotism, the pay gap between soldiers and defense CEOs has exploded. Before 9/11, the gap between CEOs of publicly traded companies and army privates was already a galling 190 to 1. Today, it is 308 to 1. The average army private makes $25,000 a year. The average defense CEO makes $7.7 million." ... "The top profiteers after 9/11 were the CEOs of United Technologies ($200 million), General Dynamics ($65 million), Lockheed Martin ($50 million), and Halliburton ($49 million)." ... "While Army privates died overseas earning $25,000 a year, David Brooks, the disgraced former CEO of body-armor maker DHB, made $192 million in stock sales in 2004. He staged a reported $10 million bat mitzvah for his daughter. The 2005 pay package for Halliburton CEO David Lesar, head of the firm that most symbolizes the occupation's waste, overcharges, and ghost charges on no-bid contracts, was $26 million, according to the report's analysis of federal Securities and Exchange Commission filings." ... "``Those examples take the cake, especially because it's all related to their government contracts, which is money straight out of the taxpayer's pocket," Leondar-Wright said." -By Derrick Z. Jackson -Boston/Globe

20060829

People - Jobs - "Ranks of uninsured Americans grow." ... "The percentage of people with job-based health insurance dropped again last year, helping push up the level of uninsured Americans to 15.9% of the population, the highest since 1998." ... "Estimates released Tuesday by the Census Bureau show that 46.6 million people lacked health insurance in 2005, up from 45.3 million in 2004. Unlike in other recent years, there was no increase in the rate of enrollment in government-based programs, such as Medicaid, which had helped to offset declines in private insurance." ... "Job-based health insurance, which is the way most Americans get their coverage, began falling in 2001, even as health insurance premiums rose at double-digit annual rates. Last year, premium growth averaged 9.2%, lower than in previous years, but still three times inflation." -By Julie Appleby -USATODAY

20060815

US - Mexico - US Immigration - 2006 Election - Politics - California - New York - Texas - Florida - New-Jersey - Illinois - Georgia - North Carolina - Indiana - South Dakota - Delaware - Missouri - Colorado - New Hampshire - Ohio - "Census Shows Growth of Immigrants." ... "The number of immigrants living in American households rose 16 percent over the last five years, fueled largely by recent arrivals from Mexico, according to fresh data released by the Census Bureau." ... "Coming in the heart of an election season in which illegal immigration has emerged as an issue, the new data from the bureau’s 2005 American Community Survey is certain to generate more debate." ... "By far the largest numbers of immigrants continue to live in the six states that have traditionally attracted them: California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Illinois." ... "Immigrants also continue to flow into a handful of states in the Southeast, like Georgia and North Carolina, a trend that was discerned in the 2000 census." ... "But it is in the less-expected immigrant destinations that demographers find the most of interest in the new data." ... "Indiana saw a 34 percent increase in the number of immigrants; South Dakota saw a 44 percent rise; Delaware 32 percent; Missouri 31 percent; Colorado 28 percent; and New Hampshire 26 percent." ... "“It’s the continuation of a pattern that we first began to see 10 or 15 years ago,” said Jeff Passel, senior research associate at the Pew Hispanic Center, who has examined the new census data. “But instead of being confined to areas like the Southeast, it’s beginning to spill over into some Midwestern states, like Indiana and Ohio. It’s even moving up into New England.”" ... "Over all, immigrants now make up 12.4 percent of the nation’s population, up from 11.2 percent in 2000. That amounts to an estimated 4.9 million additional immigrants for a total of 35.7 million, a number larger than the population of California." (1, 2) -By Rick Lyman -NYTimes
20060720

People - Poverty - History - Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans - Louisiana - "Bush's Poverty Talk Is Now All but Silent: Aiding Poor Was Brief Priority After Katrina." ... "Poverty forced its way to the top of President Bush's agenda in the confusing days after Hurricane Katrina battered the Gulf Coast and flooded New Orleans [Louisiana]. Confronted with one of the most pressing political crises of his presidency, Bush, who in the past had faced withering criticism for speaking little about the poor, said the nation has a solemn duty to help them." ... ""All of us saw on television, there's . . . some deep, persistent poverty in this region," he said in a prime-time speech from New Orleans's Jackson Square, 17 days after the Aug. 29 hurricane. "That poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action."" ... "As it happened, poverty's turn in the presidential limelight was brief. Bush has talked little about the issue since the immediate crisis passed, while pursuing policies that his liberal critics say will hurt the poor. He has publicly mentioned domestic poverty six times since giving back-to-back speeches on the issue in September. Domestic poverty did not come up in his State of the Union address in January, and his most recent budget included no new initiatives directed at the poor." ... "The number of Americans living in poverty has risen each year Bush has been president, increasing to 37 million in 2004 from 31.6 million in 2000. Overall, 12.7 percent of the nation's population lives in poverty, which for a family of four means an income less than $20,000 a year." -By Michael A. Fletcher -WashingtonPost

20060716

Lebanon - Israel - Military - Terrorism - Politics - US - "Desperate choices inside Lebanon: Many are trapped amid Israeli siege." ... "After days of bombardment and blockade by Israel, many Lebanese and visitors faced a tough choice: to leave through the last remaining exit routes or hunker down with extra candles, water, and powdered milk." ... "Tens of thousands have fled this tiny country since Thursday, after Israel began bombing targets in southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut in retaliation for the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah. But most of Lebanon's 4 million residents remain, unfazed by the familiar sounds of war around them." ... "Israeli officials said they feared that Hezbollah, a popular political party here that is considered a terrorist group in the United States, would transport the soldiers out of the country, so they laid siege to Lebanon, closing its ports and bombing the only airport and major highways to the outside world." ... "The blockade trapped many of the estimated 25,000 visiting Americans, among them Melani Cammett , a Harvard-affiliated professor living in the Back Bay, her husband, and their two children, ages 3 and 5." -By Farah Stockman and Andrew Lee Butters with contribution by Rana Fil -Boston/Globe

20060705

Ken Lay - Enron - Energy - Business- Accounting - Law - Colorado - "Enron's Founder Kenneth Lay, 64, Dies in Colorado (Update9)." ... "Kenneth Lay, who built Enron Corp. into the world's largest energy trader and was convicted of the fraud that led to its collapse, died today near Aspen, Colorado. He was 64." ... "Lay's defense lawyer Mike Ramsey said through a spokeswoman that his client died ``from what appears to have been a heart attack.''" ... "Lay and his successor as Enron's chief executive officer, Jeffrey Skilling, 52, were convicted May 25 of spearheading the fraud that plunged Enron into bankruptcy in December 2001. Lay and Skilling were scheduled to be sentenced in October. Lay, who was also convicted of bank fraud, was facing the rest of his life in federal prison." ... "Enron's implosion from accounting fraud wiped out more than 5,000 jobs and $1 billion in employee pensions virtually overnight. Shareholders claimed more than $25 billion in losses as a result of the crime." -By Andrew Dunn -Bloomberg

20060704

US - Afghanistan - Military - People - Nevada - "Fallen Soldier Gets a Bronze Star but No Pagan Star." ... "At the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in the small town of Fernley, Nev., there is a wall of brass plaques for local heroes. But one space is blank. There is no memorial for Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart." ... "That's because Stewart was a Wiccan, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has refused to allow a symbol of the Wicca religion -- a five-pointed star within a circle, called a pentacle -- to be inscribed on U.S. military memorials or grave markers." ... "The department has approved the symbols of 38 other faiths; about half of are versions of the Christian cross. It also allows the Jewish Star of David, the Muslim crescent, the Buddhist wheel, the Mormon angel, the nine-pointed star of Bahai and something that looks like an atomic symbol for atheists." ... "Stewart, 34, is believed to be the first Wiccan killed in combat. He was serving in the Nevada National Guard when the helicopter in which he was riding was shot down in Afghanistan last September. He previously had served in the Army in Korea and Operation Desert Storm. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star." (1, 2) -By Alan Cooperman -WashingtonPost

20060628

Political - Map - People - Texas - DeLay - "Justices Back Most G.O.P. Changes to Texas Districts." ... "The Supreme Court today upheld the basic outlines of a Republican Congressional redistricting plan in Texas, refusing to toss out a sharply contested political map engineered by the former House majority leader, Tom DeLay." ... "The court handed a smaller victory to the Democratic plaintiffs in the case, ruling that one Congressional district in southwestern Texas had been drawn in a way that violated the rights of Hispanic voters there." ... "But the court rejected the larger premise — that Texas Republicans had unconstitutionally reorganized the political map to solidify their majority in Congress. The decision means that Texas will be required to adjust some boundaries." ... "The court upheld the state's ability to break with the tradition of redrawing Congressional districts only right after the official federal census every 10 years, potentially opening the door for legislatures in other states to rewrite their own Congressional maps at will throughout the decade, or when a new party takes over a state capital." -By Anne E. Kornblut and John O'Neil -NYTimes

20060625

US - World - Money - "Buffett to Give Gates, Family Charities $37 Billion (Update1)." ... "Warren Buffett, the world's second- richest person, will give away 85 percent of his $44 billion fortune starting in July, a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. spokesman said today, in the biggest individual pledge to charity ever." ... "Most of the money will go to the foundation started by his close friend Bill Gates, the only person in the world with a bigger personal fortune than Buffett, the 75-year-old Berkshire Hathaway chairman and chief executive officer." ... "Buffett's commitment, based on the $3,071.09 closing price of Berkshire Hathaway Class B shares June 23, is valued at more than $37 billion, exceeding the more than $29 billion that Microsoft Corp. Chairman Gates earmarked for his foundation." -By Nancy Kercheval -Bloomberg

20060621

US - Iraq - People - "Army takes older recruits." ... "The U.S. Army, aiming to make its recruiting goals amid the Iraq war, raised its maximum enlistment age by another two years on Wednesday, while the Army Reserve predicted it will miss its recruiting target for a second straight year." ... "People can now volunteer to serve in the active-duty Army or the part-time Army Reserve and National Guard up to their 42nd birthday after the move aimed at increasing the number of people eligible to sign up, officials said." ... "It marked the second time this year the Army has boosted the maximum age for new volunteers, raising the ceiling from age 35 to 40 in January before now adding two more years." (1, 2) -By Will Dunham -Reuters

20060608

Iraq - US - Military - Money - "Condolence payments to Iraqis soar: Military gave nearly $20m to families of civilians." ... "The amount of cash the US military has paid to families of Iraqi civilians killed or maimed in operations involving American troops skyrocketed from just under $5 million in 2004 to almost $20 million last year, according to Pentagon financial data." ... "The dramatic spike in what's known as condolence payments -- distributed to Iraqi families whose loved ones were caught in US crossfire or victimized during US ground and air assaults -- suggests that American commanders made on-the-spot restitution far more frequently, according to congressional aides and officials familiar with a special fund at the disposal of military officers in Iraq." ... "Defense Department officials maintain that the payments -- which officials said range from a few hundred dollars for injuries such as a severed limb to $2,500 for the death of a relative -- mirror a local custom commonly known as ``solatia," in which families receive financial compensation for damages or human losses. They stressed that the payments shouldn't be seen as an admission of guilt or responsibility." ... "But amid reports that US Marines paid $2,500 per victim after dozens of civilians were killed on Nov. 19 in the town of Haditha -- killings now engulfed by allegations of a massacre -- the fourfold increase in condolence payments raises new questions about the extent to which Iraqi civilians have been the victims of US firepower." -By Bryan Bender -BostonGlobe

20060607

Government - Military - Computer - Database - Identity Theft - People - Homes - Education - Consumer - "Data on 2.2M Active Troops Stolen From VA: Pentagon Says Data on About 2.2 Million Active-Duty Troops Among Material Stolen From VA Employee." ... "Nearly all active-duty military, Guard and Reserve members about 2.2 million total may be at risk for identity theft because their personal information was among those stolen from a Veterans Affairs employee last month." ... "In a new disclosure Tuesday, VA Secretary Jim Nicholson said the agency was mistaken when it said over the weekend that up to 50,000 Navy and National Guard personnel were among the 26.5 million veterans whose names, birthdates and Social Security numbers were stolen on May 3." ... "The number is actually much higher because the VA realized it had records on file for most active-duty personnel because they are eligible to receive VA benefits such as GI Bill educational assistance and the home loan guarantee program." (1, 2) -Hope Yen -AP via -ABCNEWS.com

20060530

Nepal - Religion - People - History - "Nepal faces Hindu backlash over declaration as secular state: Nepal's Hindu majority is denouncing the recent move to end Nepal's longtime status as the world's only Hindu state." ... "The May 18 declaration by Nepal's parliament ending the country's distinction as the world's only Hindu state was one of the several hard decisions taken by the new government to coax Maoist rebels to join in a peaceful political process. But the move has bred new conflict with the country's Hindu majority." ... "Hindu groups in Nepal - which have strong backing from powerful Hindu fundamentalist organizations in neighboring India - have termed the declaration of a secular Nepal as "defamatory" and "dangerous," and have said that it could provoke a "religious crusade" in this tiny Himalayan nation." ... "Following the announcement, Hindu groups organized rallies in at least four districts here, and forced the southern industrial town of Birgunj to close for two days last week. Hindu holy men in saffron gowns have been taking to the streets in the capital, Kathmandu, and other cities demanding the reversal of the declaration. Hindu leaders warn that this is just the beginning of what would be a nationwide campaign in the country, which is 80 percent Hindu." ... "The country's kings are believed to be the incarnations of Vishnu -one of the top three gods in the extremely populous Hindu pantheon that theoretically has 330 million gods." ... "While Hindus have strong reservations, Buddhist groups representing 12 percent of the population in Nepal, as well as Muslim, Kirat, Jain, Christian, and other minority groups, have welcomed the declaration. But those who have been most vocal in welcoming the move are the ethnic minorities." ... ""Hinduism lies at the root of racial discrimination in Nepal for the last 238 years of dynastic rule," argues Krishna Bhattachan, an anthropologist who leads a movement of ethnic minorities in Nepal. "One state religion has meant the dominance of one culture, one caste, and one language."" -By Bikash Sangraula -CSMonitor

20060521

US - Mexico - Workers - Economy - US Immigration - History - "Give and take across the border: 1 in 7 Mexican workers migrates -- most send money home." ... "The current migration of Mexicans and Central Americans to the United States is one of the largest diasporas in modern history, experts say." ... "Roughly 10 percent of Mexico's population of about 107 million is now living in the United States, estimates show. About 15 percent of Mexico's labor force is working in the United States. One in every 7 Mexican workers migrates to the United States." ... "Mass migration from Mexico began more than a century ago. It is deeply embedded in the history, culture and economies of both nations. The current wave began with Mexico's economic crisis in 1982, accelerated sharply in the 1990s with the U.S. economic boom, and today has reached record dimensions." ... "Three-quarters of the estimated 12 million illegal migrants in the United States come from Mexico and Central America. Mexicans make up 56 percent of the unauthorized U.S. migrant population, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. Another 22 percent come from elsewhere in Latin America, mainly Central America and the Andean countries." -By Carolyn Lochhead -SFGate.com

20060518

US - Memorial Day - Military - Homeless - Poverty - Health - Government - Money - Politics - Iraq - Calif. - "Number of Homeless Vets Called a 'Disgrace': A Third of Homeless Men in the U.S. Have Served in the Military." ... "One of every three homeless males in the United States is a veteran, and each night as many as 200,000 men and women veterans go to sleep with no place to call home, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs." ... "With Memorial Day approaching, Democratic members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee held a forum on homeless veterans." ... "Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., who chaired the forum, was blunt. "It's a disgrace that we let any of our vets get in this position. If we spend a billion dollars every 2½ days in Iraq, we can spend a lot more for those who have served us but will be out on the streets tonight."" ... "According to recent statistics, the VA provided health care services to more than 100,000 homeless veterans in 2004, and the agency spent more than $1 billion to assist tens of thousands of homeless and at-risk veterans." (1, 2) -By Dean Norland -ABCNEWS.com

20060514

US - Vietnam - US Immigration - Mother's-Day - People - Des-Moines - Iowa- "Mom gives up possessions so son can live, succeed: 'Because of her, I will have a bright future,' says Hung Bui of Des Moines [Iowa], a top speech and acting student." ... "Hung Bui weeps when he recalls the long road of self-sacrifice his mother paved for him to be successful." ... "In Vietnam, Bui's mother, Thuy Phung, sold her car and valuables to pay for hospital care he needed when he was 2 months old." ... "After the family immigrated to the United States in 1998, Phung tirelessly worked and cared for Bui, his three older brothers and their father." ... "On Mother's Day, Bui, now 17, honors the person who has endured extraordinary sacrifices to help him become the person he is today." ... ""All her life, she has been working and building a comfortable life for the people around her," Bui said of his mother. "But she doesn't think much of her life. All she wants is my love." ... ""I will dedicate everything to her. Because of her, I am; because of her, I am going to college. Because of her, I will have a bright future."" -DesMoinesRegister/News
Mother's-Day - Woman - People - Illinois - "An Amazing Mother's Day Gift: She gave her twins to her best friend." ... "From the moment she saw the ultrasound--the black-and-white images of the twin girls in her womb--Anese Adams knew she wanted the babies to be adopted by her best friend." ... "Cynthia Rice had been godmother to Adams' two older children, playing an integral part in their upbringing. But the window to bear a child of her own was narrowing. Nearly 38, she already had one miscarriage. Her reproductive system was scarred by fibroid tumors, leaving her to struggle with the idea that "this might not be my destiny."" ... "So Adams made a decision--these would be Rice's children." ... ""Cynthia is my rock," said Adams, 36, who lives on the Northwest Side [Chicago, Illinois], 10 minutes away from Rice. "We are sisters without the blood. ... And this is something I could do."" ... "If precise words elude them in describing their arrangement, perhaps that's because it is easier to explain what it is not." ... "The women are not lesbian partners. (Adams is separated from her husband; Rice is unmarried.) Nor is this a surrogacy, where a woman is hired to bear an infant. ("Someone asked me if I was getting paid, and I was really offended," Adams fumed.) Neither woman has a relationship with the father, who has legally consented to the adoption, according to Rice's lawyer, Sara R. Howard." (1, 2, 3) -By Bonnie Miller Rubin -ChicagoTribune

20060511

Michael Hayden - Secret - Government - Terrorism - Telecommunications - Intelligence - Database - People - Business - Law - Civil Liberties - Privacy - Politics - "NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls." ... "The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY." ... "The NSA program reaches into homes and businesses across the nation by amassing information about the calls of ordinary Americans — most of whom aren't suspected of any crime. This program does not involve the NSA listening to or recording conversations. But the spy agency is using the data to analyze calling patterns in an effort to detect terrorist activity, sources said in separate interviews." ... ""It's the largest database ever assembled in the world," said one person, who, like the others who agreed to talk about the NSA's activities, declined to be identified by name or affiliation. The agency's goal is "to create a database of every call ever made" within the nation's borders, this person added." ... "For the customers of these companies, it means that the government has detailed records of calls they made — across town or across the country — to family members, co-workers, business contacts and others." ... "The three telecommunications companies are working under contract with the NSA, which launched the program in 2001 shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the sources said. The program is aimed at identifying and tracking suspected terrorists, they said." ... "The sources would talk only under a guarantee of anonymity because the NSA program is secret." ... "Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, nominated Monday by President Bush to become the director of the CIA, headed the NSA from March 1999 to April 2005. In that post, Hayden would have overseen the agency's domestic call-tracking program. Hayden declined to comment about the program." ... "The NSA's domestic program, as described by sources, is far more expansive than what the White House has acknowledged. Last year, Bush said he had authorized the NSA to eavesdrop — without warrants — on international calls and international e-mails of people suspected of having links to terrorists when one party to the communication is in the USA. Warrants have also not been used in the NSA's efforts to create a national call database." -By Leslie Cauley with contributions by John Diamond -USATODAY

20060414

Company - People - "Exxon Chairman Gets $400 Million Retirement Package Amid Soaring Gas Prices: Exxon Made Record Profits in 2005." ... "Last year, Exxon made the biggest profit of any company ever, $36 billion, and its retiring chairman appears to be reaping the benefits." ... "Exxon is giving Lee Raymond one of the most generous retirement packages in history, nearly $400 million, including pension, stock options and other perks, such as a $1 million consulting deal, two years of home security, personal security, a car and driver, and use of a corporate jet for professional purposes." -ABCNEWS.com

20060330

Antonin Scalia - Photo - Journalism - Free Speech - Law - Politics - Language - Humor - People- Massachusetts - "Photographer: Herald got it right." ... "Amid a growing national controversy about the gesture U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made Sunday at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross [Boston, Massachusettes], the freelance photographer who captured the moment has come forward with the picture." ... "“It’s inaccurate and deceptive of him to say there was no vulgarity in the moment,” said Peter Smith, the Boston University assistant photojournalism professor who made the shot." ... "Smith was working as a freelance photographer for the Boston archdiocese’s weekly newspaper at a special Mass for lawyers Sunday when a Herald reporter asked the justice how he responds to critics who might question his impartiality as a judge given his public worship." ... "“The judge paused for a second, then looked directly into my lens and said, ‘To my critics, I say, ‘Vaffanculo,’ ” punctuating the comment by flicking his right hand out from under his chin, Smith said." ... "The Italian phrase means “(expletive) you.”" (1, 2) -By Marie Szaniszlo -BostonHerald.com

20060307

Kansas - Military - Gay - People - "Dodge City showdown at funeral." ... "This past Saturday morning I [CNN's Ed Lavandera] found myself in a five-car caravan cutting across the Kansas plains with about 30 religious protesters. In the back of a truck, there were signs that read "Thank God for IED's" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers."" ... "This is a painful drama playing out at dozens of military funerals across the country. The group is led by Fred Phelps." ... "He and his family have picketed and heckled military families at more than 100 funerals since June. They say the soldiers are fighting for an army that represents a country that accepts homosexuality." ... "Fred Phelps is the pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka." ... "This is also very much a story about another phenomenon the Phelps protest has created. That's the birth of a group called the "Patriot Guard Riders." They're a volunteer group that came together after hearing that so many military families were being blindsided by the protesters." -By Ed Lavandera -CNN

20060302

United Arab Emirates - US - Iran - Iraq - Kuwait - Israel - Global - Politics - History - "Emirate Wakes Up Famous. Thank You, America." ... "In the 1980's it [Dubai] built strong relations with Iran by serving as a waypoint to the rest of the world and offering a lifeline during the Iran-Iraq war. In 1991, it became a haven for Kuwaitis who escaped Saddam Hussein's invading armies, then in 2003 it became a haven for Iraqis escaping the second gulf war. And in the years since, Dubai has gradually fashioned itself into a refuge for Iranians, Arabs and others who have eschewed the call to America or the West in exchange for a lifestyle that comes close, but is in keeping with Middle Eastern values." ... "With 85 percent of the population made up of foreigners, many of them second and third generation, the city faces a simmering demographic and identity crisis." ... "Dubai is likely to confront numerous other questions as a 45-day investigation of its [United States] port management program gets under way, possibly illuminating the emirate's struggles with money laundering and other illicit activities. A spotty human rights record regarding foreign workers could also be a sticking point, along with its participation in a continuing Arab boycott of trade with Israel." -By Hassan M. Fattah with contributions by Mohammed Fadel Fahmy -NYTimes

20060228

Iraq - Religion - Military - US - "Toll in Iraq's Deadly Surge: 1,300: Morgue Count Eclipses Other Tallies Since Shrine Attack." ... "Grisly attacks and other sectarian violence unleashed by last week's bombing of a Shiite Muslim shrine have killed more than 1,300 Iraqis, making the past few days the deadliest of the war outside of major U.S. offensives, according to Baghdad's main morgue. The toll was more than three times higher than the figure previously reported by the U.S. military and the news media." ... "Hundreds of unclaimed dead lay at the morgue at midday Monday -- blood-caked men who had been shot, knifed, garroted or apparently suffocated by the plastic bags still over their heads. Many of the bodies were sprawled with their hands still bound -- and many of them had wound up at the morgue after what their families said was their abduction by the Mahdi Army, the Shiite militia of cleric Moqtada al-Sadr." -By Ellen Knickmeyer and Bassam Sebti-WashingtonPost

20060223

US - Cuba - Guantanamo Bay - Government - Military - Prisons - Secrecy - People - Media - "Judge orders Guantanamo captive IDs released: Defense Department announces it will comply with ruling." ... "A federal judge ordered the Pentagon on Thursday to release the identities of hundreds of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to The Associated Press, a move that would force the government to break its secrecy and reveal the most comprehensive list yet of those who have been imprisoned there." ... "Some of the hundreds of detainees in the war on terrorism being held at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been held as long as four years. Only a handful have been officially identified." -AP via -MSNBC

20060202

New York - Terrorism - Government - Environmental - Air - Health - Science - Politics - Noteworthy - People - "Judge Blasts EPA Ground Zero Appraisal." ... "A judge attacked former Environmental Protection Agency chief Christine Todd Whitman for reassuring Manhattan residents soon after the 2001 terrorist attacks that the environment was safe to return to homes and offices while toxic dust was polluting the neighborhood." ... ""No reasonable person would have thought that telling thousands of people that it was safe to return to lower Manhattan, while knowing that such return could pose long-term health risks and other dire consequences, was conduct sanctioned by our laws," U.S. District Judge Deborah A. Batts wrote, calling Whitman's actions "conscience-shocking."" ... "The EPA's internal watchdog found the agency, at the urging of White House officials, gave misleading assurances there was no health risk from the dust in the air after the towers' collapse." ... "Quoting a ruling in an earlier court case, the judge said a public official cannot be held personally liable for putting the public in harm's way unless the conduct was so egregious as "to shock the contemporary conscience."" ... "Given her role in protecting the health and environment for Americans, Whitman's "reassuring and misleading statements of safety after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks are without question conscience-shocking," Batts said." ... "The judge said Whitman knew that the collapse of the buildings released tons of hazardous materials into the air that would have endangered the public and yet she encouraged residents, workers and students to return to the area." (1, 2) -AP via -CBSNews

20060108

US - Iraq - Secret - Military - Health - " Marines died short of armor." ... "A secret Pentagon study has found that as many as 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to their upper body could have survived if they had had extra body armor. Such armor has been available since 2003, but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials." -By Michael Moss -NYTimes via -NYTimes

20060106

US - Iraq- Police - Military - Religious - Terrorism - Politics - "134 killed at holy site, police post in Iraq: Five US soldiers die in separate bombing." ... "Suicide bombers carried out twin assaults yesterday on one of Shi'ite Islam's most sacred sites and a police recruitment center, killing at least 134 people and wounding hundreds, Iraqi officials said." ... "Five American soldiers were also killed by a roadside bomb in the capital, the US military said." ... "The attacks on the Shi'ite holy city of Karbala, about 60 miles southwest of Baghdad, and Ramadi, the capital of Iraq's Sunni-dominated Anbar Province in the west, contributed to what was one of the bloodiest days since the US-led invasion of the country in 2003." -By Nelson Hernandez and Saad Sarhan -WashingtonPost via -Boston/Globe

20060103

West-Virginia - Disaster - "Rescuers race against time at West Virginia mine." ... "Rescue workers raced against time on Tuesday with fading hopes of saving 13 trapped coal miners, and officials said it would take a miracle for the men to be found alive." ... "There had been no communication with the miners since they were trapped after an explosion at 6:30 a.m. (11:30 a.m. British time) on Monday at the Sago mine in central West Virginia." ... "Officials, who reported poisonous gas in the mine, feared Tuesday night offered the last hope of finding survivors." -By Jonathan Barnes with contributions by Chris Swaney, Claudia Parsons, and Adam Entous -Reuters.co.uk

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