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U.S. missile defense sensor test called successful 07/18/08 19:07:54 A missile launched from Alaska was successfully tracked Friday by land-, sea- and space-based sensors in a test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense system, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the Boeing Co. said. The test demonstrated the most complex integration to date of radars required to support a missile intercept, Boeing said in a statement. The test used a Navy destroyer-based Aegis Long Range Surveillance and Track system in the Pacific; the AN/TPY-2 radar in Juneau, Alaska; the Upgraded Early Warning Radar at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., and the...

KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Sen. Barack Obama arrived Saturday in Afghanistan on the first stop of his tour of the Middle East and Europe, aimed at boosting the U.S. Democratic presidential hopeful's foreign policy credentials, his campaign confirmed. The U.S. senator from Illinois also plans to visit Iraq, although details of the trip have have not been made public for security reasons. The fight in Afghanistan has become a more pressing issue on the political radar. Three times as many coalition soldiers and other military personnel have died in July in Afghanistan than in Iraq. On Sunday, nine U.S. soldiers...

President Bush said Friday he will soon agree with the Iraqi government on a "general time horizon" for when U.S. troops will leave Iraq, a significant shift in White House policy that it said would nonetheless remain conditional based on events on the ground. By the end of this month, the two governments hope to finalize an agreement that will allow U.S. troops to stay in Iraq into 2009 and will include what the White House described as goals for down the road, when more troops can come out.

Omaha, NE - Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel's Vice-Presidential stock has jumped again. Hagel's move up the ladder comes as he sets off for a Mid-East road trip with Barack Obama. According to CBS News Hagel is now third in the Obama Veepstakes, behind Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Indiana Senator Evan Bayh. A week ago Hagel was fourth. All this comes as several sources tell Action 3 News that Hagel's been snubbing the Nebraska's Republican Party. Last week-end at the annual GOP State Convention in La Vista, Hagel was a no-show. State Chairman Mark Quandahl says Hagel did not make...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683 Village of Morton Grove to Repeal Gun Ban Friday, July 18, 2008 Fairfax, VA. – Today the Village of Morton Grove moved to avoid imminent legal action by the National Rifle Association by amending its Village Code to remove the current handgun ban and incorporate sections of the Illinois Criminal Code. “We are pleased that the Village of Morton Grove took steps to repeal its draconian gun ban,” said Chris W. Cox, NRA’s chief lobbyist. “Finally Village residents can exercise the same constitutionally-protected rights that the rest of the country enjoys.” Final...

WASHINGTON -- Dick Heller, the plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that overturned Washington's strict 32-year-old handgun ban, announced his candidacy on Thursday for the U.S. House of Representatives. Heller, 66, is seeking the seat currently held by Eleanor Holmes Norton. He is gathering signatures to run on the ballot as a libertarian candidate. Heller, an armed security guard, sued the District after it rejected his application to keep a handgun at his home for protection in the same Capitol Hill neighborhood as the court. "Mr. Heller's challenge to Ms. Norton is welcomed in the spirit of debate, and as...

Many people across the Arab world are excited and amused that a black man with the middle name 'Hussein', who is pledging to end the war in Iraq, has become the Democrats' nominee for president of the US. But in Iraq, which is preparing to receive Senator Barak Obama this weekend, a sense of realism prevails. He said that he would have all US combat troops out of the Arab country within 16 months of becoming president. All this, however, sparks fear rather than joy among many Iraqis across the political and sectarian spectrum. Withdrawal of US troops is not...

As Sen. Barack Obama prepares for his second visit to Iraq, Iraqis are divided over his plan to withdraw U.S. combat troops in 16 months should he be elected president. "Iraq will be in hell, and we will find ourselves at the gates of civil war," said Maied Rashed al-Nuaemi, a provincial council member in Mosul, a city in northern Iraq where Iraqi forces are battling the Sunni insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq. "The American presence in Iraq is the safety valve to keep this country quiet. If they withdraw, that will lead to calamity." Mohammed Sulaiman, 56, a retired...

It shouldn't have come as a surprise that the District of Columbia can and will continue to all but completely disarm its law-abiding citizens after the Supreme Court ruled otherwise. After all, this is the same D.C. that was home to the most restrictive firearms laws in the country - until the Court struck them down. The same D.C. that banned the law-abiding citizens from possessing any handgun. The same D.C. that forced its law-abiding citizens to keep the few firearms they could possess both unloaded and disassembled or locked at all times. And the same D.C. that has disarmed...

President Bush spent the night in Tucson, Arizona where he arrived late yesterday evening after touring the areas effected by the wildfires in California. This morning, the President participated in a fundraiser for Congressional candidate Tim Bee before boarding Air Force One. Arriving in Houston, Texas this afternoon, President Bush spoke on behalf of another Congressional candidate Pete Olson at Ellington Field. (Transcript) No doubt in my mind Pete Olson will make a fine United States congressman and I'm proud to be here to support him. The President attended a private fundraiser for Olson late this afternoon. From there the...

MSNBC News Services updated 34 minutes ago HOUSTON - The largest mobile crane in the nation collapsed at a Houston oil refinery Friday, killing four workers and injuring six others, a company vice president said. The crane, capable of lifting 800,000 pounds, fell over at a LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston about 2 p.m. The large crane fell on or knocked a smaller, nearby crane. Witnesses said an alarm sounded, and employees ran to a lunch tent that was designated as an emergency evacuation area. However, the crane toppled on top of the tent, killing some inside, KRPC-TV, an NBC...

Riling Muslim leaders, one of John McCain's fellow Vietnam POWs defended the Iraq War Friday by saying, ``The Muslims have said either we kneel or they're going to kill us.'' ''I don't intend to kneel and I don't advocate to anybody that we kneel. And John doesn't advocate to anybody that we kneel,'' Col. Bud Day added in a conference call with reporters arranged by the Republican Party of Florida on behalf on McCain. Muslims and Arab-American groups quickly denounced what they described as the ''bigoted'' comments from Day, a Pensacola resident, Medal of Honor recipient and member of the...

Site pulls slogan after controversy Committeeman linked Obama to O.J. Simpson By David Maccar; Editor A Pemberton GOP committeeman came under heavy scrutiny last week after it was discovered he posted a slogan linking presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama to O.J. Simpson on what was called "The Official Website of the Pemberton Township Republicans."The slogan, "Obama Loves America like O.J. Loved Nicole," referring to retired NFL star and his late ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, was denounced by many as racist. Simpson was tried and acquitted for the murder of Brown and her boyfriend Ronald Goldman in 1994, but was...

On June 5, 1873, in a letter to The Times, Sir Francis Galton, the cousin of Charles Darwin and a distinguished African explorer in his own right, outlined a daring (if by today's standards utterly offensive) new method to 'tame' and colonise what was then known as the Dark Continent. 'My proposal is to make the encouragement of Chinese settlements of Africa a part of our national policy, in the belief that the Chinese immigrants would not only maintain their position, but that they would multiply and their descendants supplant the inferior Negro race,' wrote Galton. 'I should expect that...

TUCSON, Arizona (AFP) — US President George W. Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki have agreed on "a general time horizon," not an "arbitrary timetable" for a drawdown of US forces, the White House said Friday. In talks by video conference Thursday, Bush and Maliki said improving security conditions in Iraq should allow for including that goal in a pending long-term diplomatic and security pact, said spokeswoman Dana Perino. "Improving conditions should allow for the agreements now under negotiation to include a general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals -- such as the resumption of Iraqi security control in...

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have replaced top police and security officials in the Muslim dominated Xinjiang province, which is the hotbed of separatism and political violence. They have also closed down 41 "illegal" places of worship. These places of worship were used as training ground for conducting a "holy war", Chen Zhuangwei Chen, the police chief of Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang province, said.

TEHRAN (FNA) - Iran's Air Force chief announced that the Islamic Republic has successfully launched the production line of radar-evading "stealth" fighter jets. Brigadier General Ahmad Mighani was quoted by press tv as saying Tuesday that the new jets would significantly enhance the Air Force's combat and defensive capabilities. Iran has recently started manufacturing superior "Quick Reaction" tanks to increase its defense self-sufficiency. Iran has also developed an electro-optical surveillance system that acts as a viable alternative when radars fail to cover a particular range. "We have upgraded our air force fleet, radar-systems, and missile systems over the past few...

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel accused six Arabs on Friday of trying to set up an al Qaeda cell in Israel and said one of them had proposed attacking helicopters used during a visit by President George W. Bush. Israel's Shin Bet counter-intelligence agency said one of the suspects had used his mobile phone to film helicopters at a sports stadium in Jerusalem that was used as a landing site for Bush's delegation. The suspect then posted queries on Web sites frequented by al Qaeda operatives, asking for guidance on how to shoot down the helicopters, the agency said in a...

Dozens of protest groups are planning a full schedule of classes, concerts, marches and other actions during the Democratic National Convention, hoping to capture the world's attention and recruit new activists. Ron Lewis shoots video and transmits it to his Web site, ronlewis.com/live, at an event Thursday by We Are Change Colorado. The organization said it plans to video DNC protests and police, posting clips on YouTube.com for the public to see. They are both energized and organized, and most insist they are not looking for trouble. "We are completely peaceful," said Rob Weiland, a 37-year-old courier from Denver and...

Riot in Guangdong after a man beaten death By boxun Jul 17, 2008 - 4:07:10 PM Huizhou, Guangdong: On the night of 17th, angered crowds destroyed police cars after an innocent man beaten death. The source said three policemen were killed in te riot. The maa was a passenger of motorcycle taxi, he was stopped by police and asked to pay 200 Yuan. He refused to pay, then the police took him to a police station where he was beaten to death.

Two days after telling an online town hall meeting that NASA had "failed us miserably" and "wastes a vast amount of money," Houston Rep. John Culberson said Thursday he was weighing legislation to overhaul the structure of the space agency responsible for about 20,000 Houston-area jobs. (snip) "We need revolutionary change, a complete restructuring," Culberson told the Houston Chronicle. "NASA needs complete freedom to hire and fire based on performance, it needs to be driven by the scientists and the engineers, and it needs to be free of politics as much as possible." The fourth-term lawmaker said he was "kicking...

WASHINGTON — House Republicans on Thursday blocked a Democratic effort to pressure energy companies into drilling for oil on lands they already leased from the federal government, calling the legislation a sham.As the fight over gasoline prices reached the floors of both the House and Senate, the Democratic initiative to spur exploration in areas where drilling has been sanctioned fell short of the margin needed under rules used to bring the measure to the floor even though it drew majority support.The vote was 244 to 173, more than 30 votes less than required. Rejecting the measure were 162 Republicans and...

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac -- emboldened by emergency regulatory actions that have triggered a two-day rebound in its battered stock -- is considering raising capital by selling as much as $10 billion in new shares to investors, according to people familiar with the matter. The high-stakes maneuver would have the potential to avoid a full-blown government rescue for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, twin keystones of the U.S. housing market. The publicly traded, government-sponsored companies own or guarantee about $5.2 trillion of home mortgages, or nearly half the total outstanding, and are at the center of government efforts to prop...

ABC News' Jennifer Parker reports: Presumptive Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., said conservative criticism of his wife, Michelle, infuriates him. "I don't have a thick skin when it comes to criticism of my wife," Obama told the women's magazine Glamour in an interview to run in the magazine's October issue. "And you know, the problem is that rarely do these folks have the guts to say it to your face." Obama, who is vying for the support of women voters who flocked to Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign during the primaries, argued his wife and Clinton have been the target...

Former Atty. Gen. Testifies Today Former Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft answered questions about his role in the drafting of detainee interrogation rules. In his opening statement, Ashcroft admitted that he had "limited recollection" of the events pertinent to the committee's inquiry.

Today the President and First Lady attended Tony Snow's funeral, the President made a wonderful speech about how special Tony was and I have chosen these words to be the quote of the day as the content does much in putting things into perspective. We may get tied up on the minutiae of life but Tony Snow showed where our priorities should be never compromising his beliefs but always bearing in mind what was important and treating the rest with good humour and a smile. After attending the funeral the President travelled to California to view some of the damaged...

That nervous laughter you hear is the sound of party activists responding to speculation that Barack Obama or John McCain might pick a vice presidential candidate from the opposing party. More specifically, it is reaction to talk that Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel (Neb.) is being seriously considered as a running mate for Barack Obama or that Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, is a potential choice for John McCain. Though it’s nothing more than unfounded conjecture at this point, top conservative and liberal activists nevertheless say that any cross-party selection of that kind would...

US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday called President George W. Bush "a total failure" who "has no ideas," in an interview with CNN. Responding to stinging criticism from Bush on the Democratic leadership in both houses of Congress and the slow pace of the legislative agenda, as Congress prepares for its one-month summer recess in August, Pelosi let loose: "You know, God bless him, bless his heart, the president of the United States, a total failure, losing all credibility with the American people on the economy, on the war, on energy, you name the subject." Pelosi, 68,...

More on the we've won front from Michael Totten:I’m reluctant to say “the war has ended,” as he did, but everything else he wrote is undoubtedly true. The war in Iraq is all but over right now, and it will be officially over if the current trends in violence continue their downward slide. That is a mathematical fact. Over the past few days al Qaeda has detonated several car bombs in Diyala. So, how is the war "over"? Totten goes on to say that the violence may never actually peter off to nothing in Iraq, but reminds us that violence...

For Immediate Release Office of the Press Secretary July 17, 2008 President Bush Attends Funeral Service for Tony Snow Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Washington, D.C. 10:16 A.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Archbishop Wuerl, Father O'Connell, Mr. Vice President, members of the Cabinet and my administration, members of Congress, distinguished guests; most importantly, the Snow family, Jill, Robbie, Kendall, Kristi and Jim, and other family members; former colleagues of Tony. Laura and I are privileged to join you today to pay our final respects to a cherished friend. Tony Snow was a man of uncommon decency and...

Securities regulators from several U.S. states raided the St. Louis headquarters of Wachovia Securities on Thursday as part of a broad investigation into questionable practices involving auction rate securities, Missouri officials said. Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office said the "special inspection" at the Wachovia affiliate, the former A.G. Edwards, concerned the $330 billion auction rate securities meltdown. It said regulators were looking for information about Wachovia Securities' sales practices, internal evaluations of the auction rate securities market, and marketing strategies. A spokeswoman for Wachovia was not immediately able to comment. The bank owns 62 percent of Wachovia Securities...

Heller attempted to register a semi-auto. Turned down. Source not able to be posted here (Gannett)

Students attending a youth leadership conference were reprimanded by capitol security on July 10 for singing the National Anthem and God Bless America in the state capitol rotunda. The patriotic expression was apparently so egregious that state troopers were called in to the rotunda to rebuke the students. As the students ended their singing, several armed troopers entered the rotunda along with capitol sergeants-at-arms. They confronted conference staff and informed them that such singing is prohibited in the state capitol without a permit from the Rules Committee. Undeterred by their shocking treatment at the hands of government officials, the students...

Drilling in the Offshore Unleashing the oil companies. By Mark Hemingway After trading at a record high of $147 a barrel Friday, the price of oil saw its largest one-day drop since the 2003 beginning of the Iraq war on Tuesday, falling $6.44 a barrel. Wednesday, it fell another $3.71, to $135.03, and at one point was trading as low as $132. So what happened? As is usually the case with markets, a variety of factors caused this dramatic drop. According to the Associated Press, the Energy Information Administration announced that U.S. crude-oil supplies rose by 3 million barrels; beleaguered...

Did presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign plant a fake story accusing itself of campaign finance irregularities, in order to portray itself as victims of right-wing allegations about the campaign’s successful Internet fund-raising? In a July 8 2008-article "Bogus Dowd Column spreads quickly" PolitiFact, a project of the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly, reported that blogs and chain e-mails were spreading a Maureen Dowd New York Times column that claims the Obama campaign got suspicious contributions from Iran, Saudi Arabia and China. "But the column is a fake," reports PolitiFact. The New York Times also disowned the...

The US plans to establish a diplomatic presence in Tehran for the first time in 30 years as part of a remarkable turnaround in policy by President George Bush. The Guardian has learned that an announcement will be made in the next month to establish a US interests section - a halfway house to setting up a full embassy. The move will see US diplomats stationed in the country. ~ snip ~

<p>At the stroke of midnight July 8, the Denver Water Board closed the road over Dillon Dam in Summit County, Colorado, citing security concerns. The board’s decision, which was implemented without advance notice to local governments and citizens, has not been well-received. It has sparked protests by enraged residents and has even prompted officials from Summit County, three affected towns nearby and the local fire and rescue department to file suit in state district court in a bid to force Denver Water to reopen the road.</p>

Despite worsening economic conditions and a news backdrop that supposedly favors Democrats, presumed Republican standard-bearer John McCain remains only 3 points behind rival Barack Obama in the latest IBD/TIPP Poll. But the poll also shows McCain isn't pulling as well as expected from the independents and moderates to whom his "maverick" reputation was thought to appeal. He also has yet to close the sale with his party's conservative base. Compared with the 78% support that McCain has with Republicans in general, conservatives back him by 67%, with 17% still undecided. Obama polls 13% among conservatives. In sharp contrast, liberals favor...

George Bush U-turn opens way to nuclear talks between US and Iran Tim Reid in Washington President Bush is sending a top US diplomat to meet Iran’s nuclear negotiator this weekend, a major break with his hardline stance towards Tehran and the closest contact between the countries since the 1979 Iranian Revolution. In a significant departure from Mr Bush’s long-standing refusal to talk to Tehran until it has abandoned its nuclear enrichment programme, William Burns, the Under-Secretary of State and America’s third most senior diplomat, will travel to Switzerland to attend talks between Iranian and European officials on Saturday.

Americans are sharply divided by race heading into the first election in which an African-American will be a major-party presidential nominee, with blacks and whites holding vastly different views of Senator Barack Obama, the state of race relations and how black Americans are treated by society, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll. The results of the poll, conducted against the backdrop of a campaign in which race has been a constant if not always overt issue, suggested that Mr. Obama’s candidacy, while generating high levels of enthusiasm among black voters, is not seen by them as evidence...

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Experts said the White House had appeared to undertake a major shift in its hardline stance toward Tehran when it announced that a senior US diplomat would attend international nuclear talks with Iran.In the highest-ranking meeting between the two foes in three decades, Under Secretary of State William Burns is scheduled to attend the Saturday talks with Iran on a "one-time" mission to underline US conditions for ending the atomic stalemate.In Tehran, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran was ready for negotiations over the nuclear crisis but warned it would not step over any "red...

That’s right; Barack Obama and the Saudi-funded radical Islamic front group calling itself the Council on American Islamic Relations are on exactly the same page: Obama says New Yorker insulted Muslim Americans.

An Iraqi policeman stands guard outside a voter registration center in Mosul as US and Iraqi troops enter. When Iraqi Army Brigadier General Noor Aldeen visited his old secondary school in northern Mosul this week, he had little time to reminisce about placing first in spelling and arithmetic. His former school in the neighborhood of Al Nomaniya is an election registration site for upcoming regional elections in October, making it a popular place for a terrorist attack in the coming weeks. Almost all of the 57 registration sites in Iraq’s third-largest city are at primary and secondary schools --...

Unlike Kerry, Obama Covets Soros' SupportRobert B. Bluey, CNSNews.comWednesday, July 28, 2004BOSTON – Without a formidable Republican opponent in his U.S. Senate race, Barack Obama has little reason not to take money from billionaire liberal financier George Soros, a man other Democrats keep at a distance. When Obama took the stage Tuesday night for a prime-time address at the Democratic National Convention, the candidate for Senate in Illinois was introduced to a wider audience ... [snip!] Democrats expect him to pass any test he faces. They view Obama as a rising star within their party, touting his good looks and...

President Bush met with President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, a small country located in western Africa. The two leaders are united against the corrupt “government” of Zimbabwe. (Transcript) President Bush: We deeply care about the plight of the citizens of Zimbabwe. And we hope there's a peaceful resolution soon. I told the President, in the meantime our government is looking at, you know, sanctions beyond that which would have been levied out of the U.N. Security Council.* * Last week Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored Security Council resolution that would have imposed an arms embargo on Zimbabwe and...

Gov: Chicago may get troopers, National Guard By DON BABWIN | Associated Press Writer 5:14 PM CDT, July 16, 2008 CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Wednesday raised the possibility of bringing in state troopers or even the Illinois National Guard to help Chicago combat a recent increase in violent crime -- an offer that Mayor Richard Daley didn't know was coming. Appearing at signing ceremony for a bill that toughens the penalty for adults who provide guns to minors, Blagojevich said "violent crime in the city of Chicago is out of control." "I'm offering resources of the state to...

KABUL -- U.S. troops have pulled out of a remote outpost in northeastern Afghanistan, the NATO-led security force has said, three days after Taliban militants tried to overrun the base and killed nine U.S. soldiers. NATO played down the significance of the withdrawal, but Taliban militants are sure to claim victory in driving foreign forces out of the wooded valley, close to the Pakistani border. Taliban militants briefly breached the incomplete defenses of the newly established base in the Wanat district of Konar Province on July 13 and hours of fierce fighting ensued that killed nine U.S. soldiers and many...

Republican presidential candidate John McCain defended his stance on comprehensive immigration reform Tuesday and said that, if elected to the White House in November, he will make the U.S. borders secure within a short period of time. Speaking on CBS’ “Early Show,” McCain said Americans want the confidence that its borders be secured first before supporting a humane and compassionate approach to temporary worker programs and comprehensive immigration reform. “We are moving forward right now with securing our borders,” McCain said. When asked if the daunting task could be accomplished within a two-year period, McCain assured, “It will be secure...

SAN FRANCISCO -- The state Supreme Court refused today to remove a proposed ban on same-sex marriage from the November ballot. The initiative, Proposition 8, is a state constitutional amendment that would overturn the court's May 15 ruling allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry in California. Gay-rights advocates sued June 19 to block a vote on Prop. 8, arguing that the measure would destroy fundamental rights that can't legally be abolished by an initiative.

"This is a Train Wreck"...Or so says Laura Ingraham, who hosted Just In at 5pmET on Fox News for just three weeks.Ingraham is the latest in the list of news anchors to get pre-show footage leaked to Harry Shearer's MyDamnChannel.com.The video shows Ingraham berating her staff ("You're talking too much" or "Don't hover at me"), declaring her show a "train wreck," and asking if what she saw as a problem was, "the Fox way of doing things?"Her rants even crack up guest Fred Thompson at one point.FNC insiders tell us Ingraham's off air behavior had nothing to do with the...