Entries for October 2007

An alliance of religious groups is vowing a relentless push to restore a key provision to assist the international poor in America's Climate Security Act, the first greenhouse gas cap-and-trade bill with a realistic chance of passage in the Senate.

In a preview of his Halloween schedule, Sen. Barack Obama said at last night's Democratic presidential debate at Drexel University in Philadelphia that he would accompany his two young daughters trick-or-treating wearing a Mitt Romney mask, which has "two sides to it; it goes in both directions." Viewers watched as Obama and former Sen. John Edwards challenged Sen. Hillary Clinton on her consistency and her front-runner status throughout the two-hour debate. Meanwhile, usnews.com is conducting a who's-the-scariest poll featuring our candidate bobbleheads.

A boy admitted to starting one of the 15 or so wildfires that consumed thousands of acres in Southern California last week. He was playing with matches. Los Angeles County officials are considering prosecuting the child whose name and age have not been released.

The Egyptian who said he masterminded the terrorist attacks in Madrid that killed 191 people in 2004 was acquitted; three other lead defendants in the case were convicted of murder and handed sentences that stretched into the tens of thousands of years.

Sen. John McCain's recent uptick in the polls shows that he is working on a classic "comeback kid" campaign aimed at moving ahead of the pack in the New Hampshire primary, according to advisers.

After years of trying to keep under wraps the amount of money the U.S. government spends on intelligence collection and analysis, the Director of National Intelligence was forced to reveal the budget figure this year. In 2007, the U.S. intelligence community budget was $43.5 billion.

State Department officials granted immunity to the Blackwater USA guards involved in the September 16 incident in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed during an embassy convoy shooting, according to the Associated Press. This move could undermine any efforts to prosecute those involved in an incident that strained already tense relations between the United States and the Iraqi government. State Department officials will not confirm or deny that immunity was granted.

Democrats in Congress are divided over further funding of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are debating whether to approve $50 billion to $70 billion for Iraq, which is far less than the $196 billion that President Bush requested. This move upsets some Democrats because they don't want to suffocate the Pentagon and want to show support for the troops and maddens others who believe funding should be doled out only to bring the troops home. 

A study came out yesterday that suggests AIDS invaded the United States when a Haitian immigrant originally from Africa entered the population around 1969. Researchers believe a single person arrived in a large city like Miami or New York and the virus spread for years before it was first recognized as a disease in 1981. Studies suggest the virus transferred to the human population around 1930 in central Africa, most likely when people slaughtered infected chimpanzees for meat.

It's all about the Benjamins for Congress this week as Democratic leaders anticipate a veto showdown with President Bush over spending priorities.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced today that he has prostate cancer but that it is not life-threatening. He said he would have surgery soon and would then be able to continue to perform his leadership duties.

Which 2008 presidential candidate is the spookiest? According to an Associated Press-Ipsos survey, 37 percent of those polled said Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton would make the scariest Halloween costume. In second place was Rudy Giuliani at 14 percent. Giuliani is leading the Republican candidates in national polls.

In Ocean Isle Beach, N.C., a beach house fire left seven college students dead. The students, six from the University of South Carolina and another from Clemson, were at the shore to enjoy the last bout of warm weather. Six other students survived the blaze. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.