Nation - Latest News

PITTSBURGH, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. economy could sour further if the nation does not get its financial house in order, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said. O'Neill, former chairman of Alcoa Inc., told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the United States is headed for dire economic straits. We're headed for the wall at lightning speed. And ever...

Read story...

HOUSTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A drop in oil prices from a record high of $147 a barrel this summer to $46.10 Thursday has squeezed the U.S. oil industry, analysts said. The Christian Science Monitor reported that with cooling oil prices has come a desire to tap new domestic sources. Six months ago everything was roses, and nobody in this business had any i...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush is pleased Iraq has approved agreements governing U.S. presence in Iraq beginning next year, the White House said Thursday. The strategic framework agreement and the Status of Forces Agreement will guide our relationships with Iraq ... affirm Iraq's sovereignty and put its relations with the United St...

Read story...

WEST POINT, Ga., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Lawmakers and autoworkers in the South appear to be largely opposed to U.S. financial help for the Big Three automakers, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Non-union autoworkers in the South earn less than union autoworkers, averaging an hourly wage of $25.65 to $36.34 for union autoworkers, the newspaper said. However, so-...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. auto industry provided more information to show it deserves taxpayer support than financial companies have, U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said. After providing billions of dollars to financial institutions, Americans are still waiting for most of them to show that they deserve the dollars they've received, said...

Read story...

NEW YORK, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A former madam chided the government for not prosecuting former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Kristin Davis, known as the Manhattan Madam, was released from custody Thursday after being sentenced to time served on charges stemming from the escort services she ran in New York. Davis, 32, wasn't charged in connection with the call-...

Read story...

Dodd says he'll try to shape auto bailout WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said he believes Congress may be able to fashion a bailout plan for U.S. automakers based on what he heard Thursday. "I believe we've got the makings that we can put something together," Dodd said after he adjourned the Senate Banking ...

Read story...

ELIZABETH, N.J., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff said Thursday at New Jersey's Kean University his department should not be divided into smaller parts. Chertoff said the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama should not heed any suggestions for a divided Homeland Security department, The (Newark, N.J.)...

Read story...

MOSCOW, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he expects better relations between Russia and the United States when Barack Obama becomes president. Putin took questions from the public during a three-hour session that was broadcast on radio and television, his first such appearance since he became prime minister, the RIA Novosti news ...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A conservative watchdog group says there is no getting around a constitutional technicality that bars Hillary Clinton from becoming U.S. secretary of state. Judicial Watch says the Constitution prohibits a member of Congress from resigning to take a better-paying job in the Executive Branch in certain circumstances, which means Clint...

Read story...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Iraq's Presidency Council on Thursday approved a security agreement that oversees U.S. troop presence in Iraq through 2011. We welcome today's ratification by Iraq's Presidency Council of the Strategic Framework Agreement and Security Agreement, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan C. Crocker and U.S. Army Gen. Ray Odierno said in a stat...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court is to consider Friday whether to hear a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, court officials said. The lawsuit, a continuation of a New Jersey case embraced by some opponents of Obama's election, originally sought to stay the election. Legal experts said it has little c...

Read story...

TEHRAN, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama should adopt a new foreign policy when it comes to the Middle East, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani says. The Iranian official said this week that when Obama takes office next year, the Democratic president-elect should implement a policy toward the foreign region that differs from previous U.S. ...

Read story...

ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A Turkish prosecutor says the United States should identify the individuals responsible for certain questionable YouTube videos. Ankara public prosecutor Kursat Kayral has asked U.S. officials to identify whoever posted videos on the video-sharing Web site that offered derogatory views of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the found...

Read story...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Military officials say two apparent suicide bombs in Fallujah caused scores of casualties Thursday as the Iraqi government ratified a new security plan. The Status of Forces Agreement will allow the United States to keep troops in Iraq through 2011 and was being formally ratified by the Presidency Council on Thursday. The Los Ang...

Read story...

MODESTO, Calif., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A U.S. woman says being photographed as a girl in the iconic Migrant Mother image of the Great Depression made her determined never to live like that again. The 1936 picture -- also sometimes called Destitute Pea Pickers in California. Mother of seven children. Age 32. Nipomo, Calif. -- shows a hungry, desperate m...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The terrorist attack on Mumbai, India, shows the need for the United States to beef up its coastal protection, Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff said. Chertoff said a pending FBI-Homeland Security report on the Nov. 26 raid -- in which terrorists apparently approached the Indian financial and entertainment hub by sea -- confir...

Read story...

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- A teenager from Thousand Oaks, Calif., is lonely as he attempts to sail around the world, his mother says. Marianne Sunderland said her son, Zac, was forced to celebrate both Thanksgiving and his 17th birthday alone on his 36-foot sailboat while trying to become the youngest person to sail around the world all alone, the ...

Read story...

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Six children in Indiana associated with the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries have been taken into custody, Arkansas child welfare officials said. The children, all siblings from Arkansas, were being screened to determine if they had been physically or sexually abused, CNN reported. An Arkansas Department of Health and H...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court may decide if a $79.5 million punitive damages award for a smoker's wife is so big it violates the Constitution, the chief justice said. Chief Justice John Roberts raised the possibility after the Oregon Supreme Court twice failed to follow U.S. Supreme Court rulings that ordered the damages against Altria Grou...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. property taxes are rising despite the steepest drop in home values since the Great Depression, the U.S. Commerce Department reported. Home values dropped 17 percent this summer compared with the same third-quarter period last year, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index said. At the same time, property tax co...

Read story...

Automakers try to make case for funds WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Plans for energy-efficient cars, fewer showrooms and shared sacrifice were aired Thursday by the three U.S. automakers seeking emergency funding from Congress. Chief executives told the U.S. Senate Banking Committee that they needed bridge financing to help them whether tough...

Read story...

DALLAS, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- President Bush and his wife, Laura, have bought a house in an upscale neighborhood in Dallas, the White House confirmed Thursday. Laura Bush's office would not give the exact location of the house, The Dallas Morning News reported. The newspaper said the couple's future home appears to be on a cul-de-sac in the Preston Hollow nei...

Read story...

SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Authorities in Texas say a TV report placed a Texas Mexican Mafia member in danger by allegedly saying he was cooperating with investigators. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joey Contreras said in U.S. District Court this week that following a report last month by KENS-TV of San Antonio, authorities were forced to move Ray Carrasco for his ...

Read story...

WESTFIELD, Mass., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The father of a Connecticut boy who accidentally shot himself to death at a gun show had no comment on indictments handed down in the case. The club that sponsored the show and the police chief in the city of Pelham were charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of 8-year-old Christophe Bizilj, who was struck in the h...

Read story...

BEIJING, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- The United States must get its economic house in order, boost savings rates and protect Chinese investments, Chinese officials said Thursday. The comments by senior officials were made during a Strategic Economic Dialogue summit addressing long-term issues between the two countries, the Financial Times reported. Wang Qishan, a vi...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Planners for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration face the challenge of balancing a celebration with a numbing financial crisis, observers say. The goal, USA Today says, quoting Robert Schmuhl, a Notre Dame professor and author, is to convey the historic nature without the histrionics of ostentation. Presidentia...

Read story...

Big Three seek big bailout from Congress WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Leaders of the three U.S. automakers were in Washington Thursday to explain why their industry needs a big financial assist from the government. The chief executives will be in the nation's capital for two days of hearings in their quest to receive billions of dollars in t...

Read story...

SEATTLE, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Accused terrorist Ahmed Ressam has been resentenced to 22 years in prison for plotting the millennium bombing of the Los Angeles International Airport. U.S. District Judge John Coughenour handed out the same sentence in a Seattle court he set in 2005, which was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court though the conviction stood, and despit...

Read story...

NEW YORK, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Six people were charged Wednesday with trying to smuggle valuable African elephant ivory illegally into the United States. Federal authorities said the ivory was brought into New York's Kennedy Airport from Africa in boxes marked African Wooden Handicraft and Wooden Statues, The New York Times reported. Eight shipments we...

Read story...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Pakistan's major political parties have condemned the Mumbai terrorist massacre, but reject Indian charges it was masterminded by militants in their country. In a show of oneness, party leaders issued a resolution saying they shared India's grief, the BBC reported. But they rejected unsubstantiated allegations made in ha...

Read story...

ERIE, Pa., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for his role in the death of a man who robbed a bank with a bomb strapped to his neck. Kenneth Barnes, 55, of Erie was charged with conspiring to strap a collar bomb to Brian Wells before Wells robbed a PNC Bank Aug. 28, 2003, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported Wednesday.

Read story...

WHEATON, Ill., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The conservative segment of the Episcopal Church is forming its own branch of Anglicanism in the United States, its leaders said Wednesday. Conservative Episcopalian representatives voted in favor of splitting from the U.S. church at a meeting in Wheaton, Ill., The Washington Post reported in its Thursday edition. The grou...

Read story...

VILSECK, Germany, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A U.S. Army sergeant told his men four Iraqi detainees were killed to avenge the deaths of three members of his unit, soldiers testified Wednesday. 1st Sgt. John Hatley, Sgt. Joseph Mayo and Sgt. Michael Leahy Jr. -- who were then members of Company A, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment -- are accused of shooting detainees ...

Read story...

Rice urges Pakistani cooperation in probe NEW DELHI, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Pakistan must take responsibility for terrorists inside its borders accused by India of the attacks on Mumbai, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said. In a joint news conference with India's External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi Wednesday, Rice sai...

Read story...

MEXICO CITY, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. government has provided Mexico nearly half of a $400 million aid package for its southern neighbor's ongoing battle against drug traffickers. The $197 million giving to Mexico was released Wednesday at a ceremony in the Mexican capital led by U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza, El Universal reported online. The release of t...

Read story...

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A federal judge has delayed indefinitely the planned execution in Indiana of a U.S. Army soldier convicted of multiple murders and rapes. U.S. District Judge Richard Rogers issued the order Nov. 26 to allow attorneys for Pvt. Ronald A. Gray time to file a habeas corpus petition for constitutional review, Army Times repor...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff warned his successor, Janet Napolitano, that she will have to fight off special interests in her new post. The Hill reported Wednesday that Chertoff told reporters, The biggest challenge to my successor (the Arizona governor) … is the willingness to take on very deeply embedded s...

Read story...

LAS VEGAS, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Republican seeking to unseat U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has been indicted by a state grand jury, officials said. Nevada Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, the first Republican to announce he was mounting a challenge of Reid and considered a viable candidate, was indicted on four counts of misappropriation and falsificatio...

Read story...

NEW DELHI, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. intelligence agencies believe former Pakistani Army officers and its intelligence agency helped the Mumbai attackers, a former Pentagon official claims. The New York Times reported Wednesday that the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that no links had been uncovered between the terrorists and the Pakistani gover...

Read story...

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Hundreds of religious and political leaders gathered in New York for the 60th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Tuesday event, coordinated by the Universal Peace Federation's Office of U.N. Relations, also focused on how best to respond to human rights violations around the world, a fed...

Read story...

DAMASCUS, Syria, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's choice of Hillary Clinton as secretary of state should help build peace in the Middle East, an official Syrian source says. In a report published Wednesday, the source stressed the importance of Clinton's presence to the resuscitation of the Israeli-Syrian peace talks, Ynet.news.com said....

Read story...

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, who drew criticism for a comment about the new U.S. homeland security secretary nominee, meant no disrespect, a spokesman said. The Democratic governor's comments about Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano have been called by some as sexist. Rendell said Tuesday that Napolitano is perfect for the home...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Ford chief executive Alan Mulally told The Washington Post Wednesday that if GM goes bankrupt, the rest of the U.S. auto industry will follow. In a meeting with Post editors and reporters, Mulally said, We really believe that if GM goes into bankruptcy, it will take the industry into bankruptcy. Mulally, who came from B...

Read story...

PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Twenty-four years after she was convicted of killing her young daughter, Diane Downes at last gets her first shot at parole, Oregon officials say. In a 12-page, handwritten plea to the Oregon Board of Parole, Downes, 53, contends she should be let out of prison because, among other things, her attempts to break out display a...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has given up plans to allow gas drilling in a Utah canyon that was home to Anasazi Indians. Parcels in Nine Mile Canyon in eastern Utah were on a list of leases on public land to be sold this month, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. The sale is the last before Barack Obama becomes president. Th...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The United States is committed to reducing harm from cluster bombs, even though it didn't sign a treaty banning the munitions, a Pentagon spokesman said. We are obviously concerned about unintended harm to civilians as a result of the whole range of munitions out there that are used in war, Bryan Whitman said in a news release...

Read story...

OSLO, Norway, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai, in a change of heart, agreed Wednesday to sign an international treaty banning the use of cluster munitions. Until this morning, Afghanistan was not going to be a signatory, said Jawed Ludin, Afghanistan's ambassador to the Scandinavian countries and the leader of its delegation in Oslo, Norwa...

Read story...

SANTA CRUZ, Calif., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Protesters who have been sitting in trees at the University of California Santa Cruz for more than a year have agreed to a mediation of their grievances. Jennifer Charles of the Science Hill Tree Sitters announced Tuesday that members of the group and representatives of the university have been in discussions for the past we...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has moved the black-tailed prairie dog one step along in the process of being listed as an endangered species. The announcement was made Tuesday, The Rocky Mountain News reported. An environmental group, WildEarth Guardians, filed a complaint several months ago claiming that the federal agenc...

Read story...

TEXARKANA, Ark., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Evangelist Tony Alamo sexually molested an underage girl while he was completing a prison term in a halfway house, federal prosecutors in Arkansas allege. A new indictment against Alamo was released Tuesday as his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Alamo's lawyer, John Wesley Hall, reje...

Read story...

UAW reps meet to discuss opening contract DETROIT, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- United Auto Workers leadership gathered in Detroit Wednesday to discuss opening their contract up to negotiations as automakers face possible bankruptcy. Union representatives convened a meeting at 10 a.m., but said it was unclear whether or not they would vote on the issue,...

Read story...

BRUSSELS, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Foreign ministers of NATO member countries called on Russia Wednesday to return to the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty. In a joint statement, the ministers called the treaty a landmark regime, the Novosti news agency reported. Russia suspended its implementation of the treaty in December 2007 to protest U.S. plans to...

Read story...

UNITED NATIONS, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- People with disabilities play a key role in a country's development, U.S. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday. In a speech marking the International Day of Persons with Disabilities -- the majority of whom live in poor countries -- Ban noted the U.N. General Assembly emphasized the need to include people with disabilitie...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush agrees with a panel that a threat of weapons of mass destruction being used against U.S. interests is real, the White House said. Bush was briefed Wednesday on the report by Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism concerning U.S. progress against the threat of...

Read story...

SANTA ANA, Calif., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Southern California man has been convicted of killing a blind friend to steal his car and sell it for parts. Ruben Alejandro Oliveros, 27, faces a sentence of life in prison with no parole, The Orange County Register reported. A jury in Santa Ana, Calif., deliberated for more than two days before reaching its verdict of fir...

Read story...

CHICAGO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald says the undercover probe into police corruption in the Chicago area is ongoing and could result in others being charged. So far the FBI sting has resulted in charges against 15 law enforcement officers for providing what they thought was protection for a dozen large-scale shipments of cocaine and...

Read story...

NEW YORK, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- John Gotti Jr.'s lawyer said his client is elated that his pending racketeering trial will be in his old New York City stomping grounds. The Daily News in New York said Wednesday that a U.S. federal judge in Tampa, Fla., agreed to the motion to move the trial from Florida in order to ease the burden on Gotti's attorneys and family....

Read story...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Navy Adm. Mike Mullen pressed Pakistani officials Wednesday to explore all links between the Mumbai attacks and groups based in Pakistan. Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with senior Pakistani officials as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with Indian leaders to discuss the bloody assault o...

Read story...

BOSTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The highest court in Massachusetts has ruled that exempting an employee from company grooming rules doesn't constitute an undue hardship to the business. The ruling came in a legal fight between a Jiffy Lube shop and one of its employees, who adheres to the Rastafarian religion and refused to shave his beard or cut off his distinctive dr...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Women believe that Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin opened doors for women in public life, a Lifetime Television poll indicates. The network's Every Woman Counts poll reported Wednesday indicated that most women think Clinton, who sought Democratic presidential nomination, and Palin, the Alaska governor and Republican vice presidentia...

Read story...

SAN LUIS OBISPO , Calif., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A fraternity chapter at a California university has been suspended following the allegedly alcohol-related death of a freshman pledge. Carson Starkey, 18, of Austin, Texas, a student at California Polytechnic State University, was found unconscious at an off-campus house early Tuesday, The San Luis Obispo Tribune repor...

Read story...

URBANA, Ohio, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- An Ohio man who claimed that he accidentally shot his wife while they were having sex has been jailed for violating a protection order. Timothy Havens, 38, of Springfield could face additional criminal charges, The Columbus Dispatch reported. The shooting is being investigated by a grand jury. Carolyn Havens, 42, of Urbana ...

Read story...

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A Richmond, Va., man has been charged with sending U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., a bloodstained letter threatening a Virginia Tech-style massacre. Phuong Nguyen Le appeared in court Wednesday morning after being arrested by FBI agents, the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports. Court papers said Le has been upset that his wife h...

Read story...

OKLAHOMA CITY, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The Oklahoma Supreme Court is considering a legal battle between a Catholic preschool and the operators of a pit bull kennel next door. The crux of the conflict is a state law that bars dog kennels from operating within 2,500 feet of a school in larger cities but also contains a grandfather clause for kennels that already had oper...

Read story...

HONG KONG, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Former President Bill Clinton says he thinks his wife made the right decision in agreeing to leave the U.S. Senate and become Barack Obama's secretary of state. Clinton said it was a difficult choice for Hillary Clinton to make because she adored being in the Senate, CNN reported Wednesday. He said his wife's first inkli...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The Bushes' final holiday season in the White House will have the theme A Red, White and Blue Christmas, U.S. first lady Laura Bush said Wednesday. But one ornament -- calling for her husband's impeachment -- won't be hanging from any tree in the White House, The Washington Post reported. The official White House Christ...

Read story...

Obama adds former rival Richardson to team CHICAGO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday tapped New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for Commerce secretary, saying his background is suited for the job. "I know that Bill will be an unyielding advocate for American business and American jobs, at home and around the world," O...

Read story...

CHICAGO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A non-profit group that questions whether President-elect Barack Obama is a natural born citizen is running ads in the Chicago Tribune this week. We The People Foundation headed by anti-tax activist Robert L. Schulz of New York has placed ads in the Monday and Wednesday editions of the paper that raise questions about the authenticity o...

Read story...

EASTON, Mass., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Two Massachusetts girls who survived a shooting that killed their mother and dog have been given a reprieve on losing their home. The house where Danielle and Brittany Cann live with their father and stepmother was scheduled to be sold at auction Tuesday, The Boston Globe reported. At the last minute, the sale was put off until J...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Wednesday the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama should focus on growth opportunities. During an appearance at George Washington University, the businessman said by focusing on enhancing young talent and fighting poverty, the new U.S. administration could make significant...

Read story...

DENVER, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Some Denver homeowners say they and unsuspecting renters have been victimized by a Craigslist scam apparently based out of Nigeria. Homeowner John Kurowski said the Web site had featured an advertisement that placed a property he owned up for rent at a cheap price without his consent, KCNC-TV, Denver, reported Wednesday. First ...

Read story...

FRANKFORT, Ky., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- American Atheists sued the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security over a provision that makes recognizing divine protection part of its duties. The suit filed Tuesday asks a state court to throw out unconstitutional language in the law setting up the office, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported. It also seeks financial compensatio...

Read story...

MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Sen. Norm Coleman's lawyer says he isn't getting too excited about the sudden discovery of 171 uncounted ballots in the tight Minnesota Senate recount. The St. Paul Pioneer Press said Wednesday the discovery at a Maplewood fire station added 37 votes to Democratic challenger Al Franken's total, not enough to overtake the incumbent R...

Read story...

DETROIT, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been accused of trying to break a deal he made to avoid a trial by seeking his law license back, his prosecutor says. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has asked for a hearing next week before the judge who sent Kilpatrick to jail and required him to sign a letter that revoked his license. Wor...

Read story...

FORT WORTH, Texas, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Texas police say they will turn over a couple arrested on counterfeiting and explosive charges to federal authorities. Jack and Amy Taylor were lodged in the Fort Worth jail Wednesday pending their transfer to federal prosecutors who will take over the case, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. The Taylors were arres...

Read story...

TEHRAN, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Despite the disappointment of a canceled trip to the United States at election time, Iranian bloggers are still well connected to America, officials say. The Internet is our most significant ally (with Iran), Goli Ameri, assistant secretary of state for Educational and Cultural Affairs, told Congress. Iran has one of the mo...

Read story...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Hundreds of foreign workers brought to Iraq by subcontractors live in large hangars near the Baghdad airport without jobs, The Times of London reports. The men, mostly from Asian countries like India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, say they paid as much as $3,000 for transportation, a visa and the promise of a job. The money allegedly went t...

Read story...

CHICAGO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A former Chicago police officer remained free on bail Wednesday after a judge said he should not have been surprised at his conviction on corruption charges. Mahmoud Shamah was found guilty Tuesday on a conspiracy charge for stealing $30,000 that had been planted in a storage locker as part of an FBI sting operation. The federal ...

Read story...

NEW YORK, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The New York Daily News announced it was the new owner of the Empire State building after forging the necessary paperwork to file with the city. The intrepid tabloid said Wednesday it had drawn up some bogus documents and used a fake notary stamp to transfer the deed of the $2 billion building to illustrate a dangerous loophole ...

Read story...

SACRAMENTO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- California lawmakers say their resolutions support the overthrow of a ban on same-sex marriages are about civil rights rather than politics. The resolutions introduced in the State Senate and Assembly have no legal authority, but proponents say they felt moved to make a statement in the wake of the passage of Proposition 8 last month...

Read story...

RALEIGH, N.C., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A woman in Chapel Hill, N.C., says she was stunned to find a large cougar traveling along a creek on the edge of her property. Linda Janssen said she and her 22-year-old nephew, a U.S. Army private, saw the large cat leap over a tree trunk as it moved along her property line last week, the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer sa...

Read story...

NEW YORK, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Some residents of Nassau County, N.Y., and New York City say a large advertisement for an area strip club is inappropriate for public display. Concerned citizens such as Rabbi Joseph Werner, a father of three, said the Platinum Club sign should be censored due to its provocative picture of a scantily-clad woman, Newsday reported Tuesda...

Read story...

NEW YORK, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Hillary Clinton supporters have been invited to contribute more as she seeks to retire her presidential debt while joining the Obama administration, aides say. Clinton's campaign had nearly $7.5 million in debts to consultants and vendors at the end of October, the latest Federal Election Commission report says. Clinton, who for...

Read story...

CHICAGO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a one-time rival of Barack Obama, now is the president-elect's choice to run the Commerce Department. If his nomination is approved, Richardson, the first Hispanic candidate seeking the Democratic Party presidential nod, would make a return trip to Washington. He was a U.S. congressman representing New M...

Read story...

CHICAGO, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday tapped New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for Commerce secretary, saying his background is suited for the job. I know that Bill will be an unyielding advocate for American business and American jobs, at home and around the world, Obama said during a news conference in Chicago. And I loo...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Some national security experts are questioning a plan to station 15,000 troops inside the United States in case of a terrorist attack, ABC News reports. A representative of the U.S. Northern Command has told ABC the troops would be there to help state and local governments deal with an attack. But some security experts are con...

Read story...

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Surveillance cameras placed on red lights at certain traffic intersections throughout Texas have reduced traffic collisions, a study has found. A study conducted by Texas A&M University's Texas Transportation Institute found that those Texas intersections monitored by the new red-light camera systems saw a 30 percent dec...

Read story...

WASHINGBTON, D.C., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, the younger brother of President George W. Bush, says he may seek the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Mel Martinez. Martinez announced Tuesday that he won't not seek re-election in 2010. Bush told Politico by e-mail Tuesday night: I am considering it. A source close to Jeb Bush ...

Read story...

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A 7-year-old boy in Broward County, Fla., allegedly used a knife to rob a fellow elementary school student of $1, school officials allege. Broward school district spokeswoman Nadine Drew said the boy, whose identity has not been released, was suspended from Pines Lakes Elementary School in last week's alleged incident, The...

Read story...

LONDON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The grandfather of President-elect Barack Obama was imprisoned and tortured by the British during Kenya's struggle for independence, an Obama relative says. The woman Obama refers to as Granny Sarah told The Times of London Hussein Onyango Obama, the president-elect's paternal grandfather, was arrested in 1949 and jailed for two y...

Read story...

PRINCETON, N.J., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Americans approve of President-elect Barack Obama's including Sen. Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in his cabinet, a Gallup poll indicates. Results are based on a one-night poll conducted just after Obama announced his national security team, which includes Clinton as secretary of state and Gates remaining as...

Read story...

PRINCETON, N.J., Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Republicans and black Democrats in the United States are in near agreement on the moral acceptability of homosexual relations, a Gallup Poll indicates. Only 31 percent of black Democrats said gay relations were morally acceptable while 31 percent of Republicans agreed with that position, Gallup results released Wednesday indica...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Historians Peter Robert Lamont Brown and Romila Thapar have been chosen to share the 2008 Kluge Prize, the U.S. Library of Congress announced Wednesday. Brown, 73, a native of Ireland, and Thapar, 77, of India, were selected by library staff after an extensive process that began with the receipt of nominations from all over the world...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The rising cost of higher education in the United States poses a threat to the country's economic future, according to a study released Wednesday. The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education says since the early 1980s, college tuition and fees have jumped nearly 440 percent while median family income rose less than 150...

Read story...

OSLO, Norway, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Representatives from more than 100 countries -- but not the United States -- met in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday to sign a global treaty banning cluster bombs. Once the Convention on Cluster Munitions is signed, it becomes binding international law, a representative for the Cluster Munition Coalition, an international organization work...

Read story...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- The United States has begun building cases against thousands of detainees to keep them jailed after Iraq assumes legal authority over them, officials said. Under the terms of the recently approved U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, detainees can be held only if they are charged under Iraqi law, USA Today reported Wednesday. We kn...

Read story...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says he agrees with President-elect Barack Obama's responsible drawdown of U.S. troops in Iraq. While supporting the Obama's withdrawal plan in broad terms, Gates stopped short during a news conference Tuesday of endorsing Obama's campaign pledge of withdrawing all troops within 16 months, T...

Read story...

Automakers say bailout is do or die DETROIT, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. automakers are in a do-or-die situation, pleading with Washington lawmakers for as much as $38 billion in federal bailout loans, a top executive said. "There is no plan B," Fritz Henderson, General Motors president and chief operating officer said in a The Washington Post rep...

Read story...