world

FBI begins Halliburton contract investigation

By Alyson Brodsy and John Solomon · Friday, Oct. 29,2004 12:07 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The FBI has begun investigating whether the Pentagon improperly awarded no-bid contracts to Halliburton Co., seeking an interview with a top Army contracting officer and collecting documents from several government offices.

Bush, Kerry talk about key student issues

By Alyson Brodsy · Friday, Oct. 29,2004 12:06 a.m.

The following are President George W. Bush's and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry's responses to issue questions posed by The Associated Press. Military Draft Q: Do you rule out a draft over the next four years?

War kills as many as 100,000 Iraqis in 18 months

By Emma Ross · Friday, Oct. 29,2004 12:03 a.m.

LONDON -- A survey of deaths in Iraqi households estimates that as many as 100,000 more people may have died throughout the country in the 18 months since the U.S.-led invasion than would be expected based on the death rate before the war.

Candidates trade blows as end nears

By Alyson Brodsy and Mary Dalrymple · Thursday, Oct. 28,2004 12:47 a.m.

SIOUX CITY, IOWA -- Sen. John Kerry appealed to middle class voters in the election homestretch Wednesday, saying President George W. Bush had sold them out to help the wealthy and now wants "four more years so that he can keep up the bad work." Bush put together an end game that included persistent appeals for Democratic votes and a rarely used weapon in this bruising campaign -- a positive commercial.

Sharon says he will stand firm on Gaza withdrawl against party rebels

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Oct. 28,2004 12:25 a.m.

JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, bolstered by the approval of his Gaza withdrawal plan by parliament, said he will stand firm against rebels in his Likud Party who threatened to resign unless a referendum is held.

Video says Japanese captive faces beheading

By Alyson Brodsy and Maamoun Youssef · Wednesday, Oct. 27,2004 1:23 a.m.

CAIRO, Egypt -- Video posted Tuesday on a militant Islamic Web site showed what it claimed was a Japanese captive kidnapped by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group and threatened to behead him within 48 hours unless Japan pulls its troops from Iraq.

Rehnquist illness could mean vacancy on Supreme Court

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 27,2004 12:15 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's hospitalization for cancer brings with it the prospect of the first Supreme Court vacancy in a decade and is prompting speculation about who might take his place. Rehnquist has been the court's conservative anchor for a generation. Even before his thyroid cancer diagnosis, most believed the 80-year-old would step down in the next presidential term.

Israel approves withdrawal from Gaza

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 27,2004 12:13 a.m.

JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won a historic victory Tuesday when parliament voted to approve his plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank -- the first time lawmakers have authorized the removal of Jewish settlements from lands the Palestinians claim for a state. The 67-45 vote, with seven abstentions, gave strong backing to Sharon's plan to evacuate 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip, where 8,200 Jewish settlers live amid 1.3 million Palestinians, and four in the West Bank.

THE MAIN EVENT

By Adam Aasen · Tuesday, Oct. 26,2004 1:57 a.m.

U.S. Rep. Baron Hill has gotten used to criticism in the last few years. As soon as he entered Bloomington North High School on a routine campaign stop, he immediately had constituents asking him about campaign advertisements accusing him of misrepresenting the people of the 9th Congressional District.

Particles

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, Oct. 26,2004 1:13 a.m.

About one-third of amphibians are currently threatened WASHINGTON -- Eye of newt and toe of frog may one day be gone from witches grog.

Israeli cabinet approves Gaza pull-out

By Alyson Brodsy and Ravi Nessman · Tuesday, Oct. 26,2004 12:58 a.m.

JERUSALEM -- Israel's Cabinet has given strong support to a key element of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza and four West Bank settlements, setting up what is expected to be a fiery parliamentary debate and vote on the controversial program.

Boston half way there with 6-2 win

By Alyson Brodsy and Ben Walker · Monday, Oct. 25,2004 1:41 a.m.

BOSTON -- The bloody sock is now the very symbol of these Red Sox, a rallying cry in the shape of a stitched-up right ankle.

Powell spurns North Korean bid

By Alyson Brodsy and George Gedda · Monday, Oct. 25,2004 12:17 a.m.

TOKYO -- Calling it a matter of urgency, Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday North Korea should resume participation in nuclear disarmament talks and set aside its concerns about new "hostile acts" by the United States against the communist government. Speaking at a news conference, Powell also gave assurances that President Bush seeks a peaceful solution to the long-running impasse over North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.

President Bush signs new $136 billion tax-cut bill

By Alyson Brodsy and Pete Yost · Monday, Oct. 25,2004 12:16 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- President George W. Bush showered $136 billion in new tax breaks on businesses, farmers and other groups Friday, quietly signing the most sweeping rewrite of corporate tax law in nearly two decades. Announcing the action without fanfare aboard Air Force One, the White House said the new law is good for America's workers because it will help create jobs here at home.

50 Iraqi soldiers killed

By Alyson Brodsy and Robert H. Reid · Monday, Oct. 25,2004 12:15 a.m.

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- In one of their boldest and most brutal attacks yet, insurgents waylaid three minibuses carrying U.S.-trained Iraqi soldiers heading home on leave and massacred about 50 of them -- many of them shot in the head execution-style, officials said Sunday. A claim of responsibility posted on an Islamist Web site attributed the attack to followers of Jordanian-born terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Series of earthquakes takes out power in Japan

By Alyson Brodsy and Eric Talmadge · Monday, Oct. 25,2004 12:14 a.m.

OJIYA, Japan -- Tens of thousands of Japanese huddled in emergency shelters Sunday after a series of earthquakes in northern Japan flattened homes, toppled bridges and derailed trains, killing at least 18 people and reportedly injuring some 1,500 others. A 6.8-magnitude quake rocked the largely rural Niigata prefecture Saturday evening, rattling buildings as far away as the Japanese capital. Several strong quakes followed through the night, and aftershocks continued to jolt the area Sunday.

France quietly expels pupils who defy new head scarf law

By Alyson Brodsy and Elaine Ganley · Friday, Oct. 22,2004 12:38 a.m.

PARIS -- French school administrators have quietly begun expelling Muslim girls for wearing head scarves to public schools in defiance of a new law banning conspicuous religious symbols, treading carefully for fear of endangering two French hostages in Iraq.

Balanced budget among top election issues

By Alyson Brodsy · Friday, Oct. 22,2004 12:10 a.m.

The following are President George W. Bush's and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry's responses to issue questions posed by The Associated Press. Budget Q: Can the U.S. government achieve a balanced budget this decade?

Keyes, Obama present voters with clear differences on issues

By Alyson Brodsy and Christopher Wills · Thursday, Oct. 21,2004 1:09 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- No one has ever accused Alan Keyes of being a RINO -- a Republican In Name Only. And you don't hear many people complaining that Barack Obama is a wishy-washy "Republicrat."

Lebanese cabinet dissolved; prime minister steps down

By Alyson Brodsy and Sam F. Ghattas · Thursday, Oct. 21,2004 12:44 a.m.

BEIRUT, Lebanon -- Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the self-made billionaire who rebuilt Beirut from the ruins of civil war, dissolved his Cabinet on Wednesday and said he won't lead the next government, a surprise move that could bolster Syria's role in Lebanese affairs.