President Bush, in the Mideast to push along a peace deal by the end of his presidency, gave orders to both sides on Wednesday. He told Israelis that “illegal” outposts in disputed land must go and told Palestinians that no part of their territories can be “a safe haven for terrorists.” On that, Bush was echoing his ally and host, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who said in their joint news conference that “there will be no peace” unless attacks are halted from all parts of the Palestinian territories. He added, however, that both sides “are very seriously trying to move forward” on a peace agreement.
The U.S. military launched a countrywide offensive Tuesday against al-Qaida in Iraq’s efforts to regroup and intensify suicide strikes on civilians who have sided with the Americans against the terror group. But the latest U.S. blitz brings more than just firepower to the field: a determination to speed up work on basic services and other civic projects that commanders believe will win more converts to the American effort. The No. 2 U.S. commander, Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, announced the new operation – named Phantom Phoenix – and took pains to say it would focus on bettering Iraqi lives as well as on attacks against al-Qaida.
A man angered after a dispute with his wife confessed to tossing his four young children off a bridge, authorities said Wednesday as they searched murky waters for the bodies. Lam Luong, 37, who is charged with four counts of capital murder, told authorities Tuesday night that he drove to the Dauphin Island (Ala.) bridge and dropped the children from a span that reaches 80 feet in places, said Detective Scott Rivera. Authorities were searching a 100-square-mile area and waters as deep as 55 feet.
Three students were stabbed Wednesday morning at a junior/senior high school by an angry student who had a canister of propane when confronted by school administrators, school and police officials said. Police took the student at Antietam Middle-Senior High School in Reading, Pa., into custody after school officials disarmed the boy. Students were evacuated to a district building in a neighboring community.
