PRINCETON, New Jersey (AP) -- The students who started one of Princeton University's newest clubs remember the awkward moment when they realized they were in the minority: while watching a play called "Sex on a Saturday Night."The play is put on for incoming freshmen to inform them about sexual health and safety. But to some students, there was just too much talk about sex."I remember sitting there and feeling really uncomfortable because every single character had either engaged in premarital sex or was talking about having engaged in premarital sex," said Christian Sahner, 20, a junior from Maplewood, New Jersey.So about a year ago, the students formed a group promoting chastity. While similar groups exist at other universities, it is a first for the Ivy League. The groups first sprung up in the South, but the idea is catching on nationwide, said Jimmy Hester from "True Love Waits," a Nashville, Tennessee-based group that promotes abstinence."In the early days I would have said it was a Southern, Southeast movement, that's where it caught on the quickest," Hester said. "Now we hear from folks in Washington, Oregon, all over the place."The Princeton group is named after Elizabeth Anscombe, an English philosopher and staunch Roman Catholic who defended the church's teachings on sex, and died in 2001.People who want to take part in the society's activities don't have to sign a pledge or take an oath. Some members may have had sex in the past, and leaders say the group is open to everyone, even those who may just be interested in exploring the idea of chastity intellectually.One of the main reasons the group was created was to let students who don't want to have premarital sex know they're not alone, organizers said. They knew beforehand that sex would be part of college life, but many were surprised at how prevalent it was."My freshman year ... it was really distressing to me to see my peers going out, getting drunk, and having random sex," said Clare Sully, 20, a senior originally from Princeton. "I hadn't yet come to the conclusion that sex was only for marriage ... (but) I was quite certain that sex was way too important to treat so casually."At the University of Colorado at Boulder, Jonathan Butler, 19, and five of his friends are starting the "College Coalition for Relationship Education," a secular group designed to promote abstinence. They reached a similar conclusion."You don't just have sex to have sex. You have to be emotionally ready," said Butler.The Princeton group brings in speakers who talk about issues related to sex and chastity. A recent talk titled "Real Sex: The Truth About Chastity" drew about 120 people. Another speaker from the University of Virginia focused on the effects of the sexual revolution on family and children.The group is not affiliated with a particular religion or political ideology. Most of the group's organizers are Catholic and almost all vote Republican because many in the party oppose abortion. But others affiliated with the group are longtime Democrats, and a few are Jewish and from other religious denominations.Organizers are adamant that Anscombe is open to everyone, although questions have been raised about whether the group is anti-homosexual. An article in the university newspaper last February described the group as opposing homosexual relationships. Organizers say while many members may find homosexuality to be wrong, it's neither a universal belief nor the group's main focus.Members emphasize that they're not anti-sex. They fully intend to have sex, but only with the right person and after they are married. And for the record, they date, and some even have boyfriends and girlfriends."When you do have sex, you form a bond," said Caroline Chopko, 20, a junior from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. "I'd rather save that for the person that I'm totally in love with and I'm going to marry."Organizers say students respond with a mixture of respect and curiosity. Others acknowledge their choice is a rare one. Chopko said some have a "warped perception" of what it means to practice chastity."It's not like we don't dance or have fun," she said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- Far from the French Quarter, children driven from New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina are doing their schoolwork amid reminders of home.At New Orleans West, a charter school set up for storm victims in a small, once-shuttered brick elementary school, the student uniforms are the traditional Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. The school's symbol is a Texas Lone Star with a Louisiana fleur de lis in the middle. And the principal wants to find a Louisiana flag to fly atop the Texas flag.More than 300 youngsters in kindergarten through eighth grade attend the school. The teachers and administrators are also Katrina victims from New Orleans. These efforts to keep New Orleans schoolchildren together and match them with teachers from their hometown are seen as a source of comfort."It soothes me in a real sense to know that I can connect with those students. I am from where they are from. I have lost what they have lost, likely," said teacher Towana Pierre-Floyd, 22.Many of the children are from the impoverished neighborhoods hit hard by Katrina. Many of their homes were flooded, and many still don't know where some of their relatives and friends are. Their belongings are covered with mold, mildew and mud.Like other students, 10-year-old Ceyonne Riley is using donated school supplies and backpacks."I don't want to start over, but now we have to," she said as she took a break from a culture class where students sang "Lean on Me."Ceyonne proudly displayed one of her few possessions -- a digital watch her mother recently bought her. She knows of only one other student from her school in New Orleans who is in Houston with her. Other than that, she does not know where any of her classmates ended up, nor if they are OK.The school 350 miles west of New Orleans tries to get the students to talk about Katrina and confront their anxieties, though the results are not always what teachers had in mind.One teacher encouraged students to debate such issues as the federal government's response to Katrina. "It got out of hand," Principal Gary Robichaux said. "There was too much emotion. Once you opened the bottle, it all came out."Teachers are now using other methods, including putting pictures of the flooded city on large pieces of butcher paper and allowing students to write down the feelings evoked by the images."I feel bad because my home is not the same," one student wrote about a picture of New Orleans under water.Another wrote: "I cry some times.""I feel sad for all the people," scribbled a third.Dr. Britta Ostermeyer, a psychiatrist who directs a Harris County health program, said the school is a good idea for those planning to return to Louisiana."If you put the students with other students from New Orleans and their own teachers, in the short run, they are going to feel more supported and might have a better sense of belonging," she said. "They all feel, 'We are from New Orleans and are going to make it together."'But in the long run, if parents decide to stay in Houston, it would be better for the students to begin getting used to their new surroundings, she said.The principal said many of the students plan to return to New Orleans. But in the meantime: "They feel at home here. We went through the same thing they went through."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- After the longest break in its 153-year history, Cafe Du Monde will once again fill New Orleans' Jackson Square with the luscious smell of beignets and rich, chicory-laced coffee.The French Quarter landmark known to tourists the world over for its fried dollops of dough dusted with powdered sugar is getting ready to reopen next week, a month and a half after being shut down by Hurricane Katrina.Cafe Du Monde normally stays open 24 hours a day, 364 days a year, closing only on Christmas. But it sold its last order of hot beignets at midnight on August 27, a day and a half before the storm roared in and devastated New Orleans.The cafe had only minor damage from Katrina, but a combination of storm-related problems -- no power, no drinkable water and no electricity for several weeks -- kept it closed.Its owners took advantage of the shutdown to clean and upgrade kitchen appliances and other parts of the business that are constantly in use.The reopening is set for Wednesday at 6 a.m. -- not soon enough for locals and relief workers."My mouth waters every time I walk by there," said French Quarter resident Faye Riley. "I've been having withdrawal symptoms."Beignets are French-style doughnuts made according to a recipe brought to Louisiana by the Acadians. The dark-roast coffee is served either black or au lait -- mixed half and half with hot milk. Dried chicory root adds flavor and intensifies it, too.The menu has not changed much since 1852, when the cafe opened in the French Market. Tourists love to get an authentic taste of New Orleans there. And New Orleans students have made it a tradition to close out prom night with coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde."Blowing powdered sugar on your date's tuxedo was a rite of passage in New Orleans," said Kit Wohl, who grew up in the French Quarter.Archie Casbarian, who owns Arnaud's Restaurant, another New Orleans institution, moved to the French Quarter in 1966, and used to go carousing back then. "And I always ended up at Cafe Du Monde for coffee and beignets," he said. "It's a well-known hangover cure."Cafe Du Monde sells so many beignets that it uses up 21/2 to 5 tons of flour every two weeks.On Thursday, workers painted the walls, boiled water in the deep fryers and hauled in new equipment. The tables and chairs that normally fill the patio were still stacked inside the building, and workers cleaned up tree limbs around the area."We've found about 50 of our 150 employees, and the cleanup will be finished by Tuesday," general manager Scott Escara said. "We'll turn the fryers on about 5 Wednesday morning and we should have hot beignets pretty quick after that."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island (AP) -- Visiting Pendleton House at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum is a little bit like touring New England's many historic estates in just one stop.The museum's treasures boast lineages from around the region. In one room, a desk from Connecticut is paired with two side chairs from New York City. In another room, a tea table from Newport sits near a mahogany easy chair from Boston.Tucked next to the RISD Museum's main gallery, Pendleton House is devoted to American decorative arts. Built in 1906 to replicate the interior of antique collector Charles Pendleton's own home -- which still stands around the corner -- Pendleton House was the country's first exhibit wing dedicated to the decorative arts.It now holds much of RISD's decorative arts collection, which includes antique silver, porcelain and furniture.Items from the collection are not merely displayed on shelves and in cases. Taking advantage of the space they have, curators display the antiques in ways they might have been used. Dining room furniture is displayed next to porcelain dishes. A bedroom is made cozy with a quilt, Oriental rug and large easy chairs.The collection includes multiple pieces from the Newport furniture workshops that flourished during the colonial period, including a desk constructed in the 18th century by renowned furniture-maker John Goddard. Only nine such desks are known to exist, said Jayne Stokes, acting curator of decorative arts at the museum.The museum's silver collection shines in a small exhibit room on the second floor. Much of the display is devoted to a unique silver set made in Providence by the Gorham Company during the 19th century.The 700-piece set includes pieces with two distinctly different styles: Asian-style dishes, which were in vogue at the time, and classic Renaissance-style dishes and serving pieces."They're amazingly intricate," Stokes said. "It is the only one of the great, grand late-19th century service sets that's still intact."The Gorham collection includes a silver, wood and bronze desk that sits at the end of the second-floor hallway.The desk is one-of-a-kind, Stokes said, and was worth $25,000 in 1915, when it was made for the St. Louis World's Fair with almost 10,000 hours of labor.Portraits from the museum's collection hang throughout. Featured artists include notable American painters James Earl, Thomas Sully and John Singleton Copley.Quirky pieces contribute elements of whimsy to the exhibits. In one of the front rooms, Charles Pendleton's felt-covered card table sits, ready for a game; Pendleton was a serious gambler who kept homes near casinos, including one in Newport. On the second floor, a spinning wheel is used as the back of a gleaming wood chair that was made in Hartford, Connecticut.Pendleton willed his collection of English and American antiques to RISD in 1904, but he required that the institution build a fireproof exhibit space for them.Though it was constructed with cement, tile and hard plaster to be a modern and protective home for Pendleton's treasures, the brick building looks like any other historic Benefit Street home from the outside. The exterior was modeled on the 1821 Pickman House in Salem, Massachusetts. Inside, the "house" lacks the bathrooms and kitchen that would make it a livable space, but the Oriental rugs and historic quilts scattered throughout make it seem a place in which Pendleton might have lived.A Rhode Island native, Pendleton studied to be a lawyer, but his true love was antiques, Stokes said. He traveled to workshops around the country first to expand his collection and then on behalf of friends who admired his taste. And while other members of high society were interested only in European antiques, Pendleton focused on American works, unusual at the time."He had a pretty amazing eye," Stokes said.Exhibits of decorative arts are important to understanding history, said Laura Urbanelli, interim director of the RISD Museum."Because they are everyday objects, even if they are special everyday objects, they tell us a lot about the lives of people and the cultures that came before us," Urbanelli said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BEIJING, China (AP) -- China's Shenzhou 6 briefly fired its rockets to adjust its orbit early Friday as the spacecraft began its third day of a mission meant to help prepare for the eventual launch of a Chinese space station.The maneuver was carried out after the capsule was found to have been dragged closer to the Earth by gravity, said the Web site of the Communist Party newspaper People's Daily. It said the "maintenance operation" lasted a few seconds, and there was no indication the crew was in any danger.Astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng blasted off Wednesday on China's second manned space mission, an effort by communist leaders to win respect abroad as a rising power and public support at home.Chinese space officials say they hope to land an unmanned probe on the Moon by 2010 and want to launch a space station.Traveling at about 17,528 mph (28,080 kph), the Shenzhou 6 was making its 35th orbit at midday Friday, circling the Earth at an altitude of 210 miles (343 kilometers), the People's Daily said.The capsule began its orbit-correcting maneuver at 5:56 a.m. (2156 GMT), according to the People's Daily. It said boosters fired and the vessel picked up speed for a few moments before returning to its planned trajectory.The government has not said how long Fei and Nie would stay up, but news reports said it could be three to five days.The official Xinhua News Agency said a new road to the landing site in grasslands of the northern Inner Mongolia region opened Friday as the space program prepared for the capsule's return.Recovery crews spent Thursday practicing rescue work, launching helicopters to the primary landing area in the Inner Mongolia region, Xinhua said.Early Thursday, the crew set a Chinese endurance record in space, surpassing the time of the country's first manned space flight in 2003, when astronaut Yang Liwei spent 21 1/2 hours in orbit.On its second manned trip into space, China is letting its guard down a bit.State television is giving the public a glimpse into a day in orbit for the two-man crew, showing them at work and play.The footage showed one of the astronauts clapping after his daughter sang "Happy Birthday" to him by radio, and showed him catching bits of food put into zero gravity by his crewmate.The intimate view differs dramatically from two years ago, when none of the first Chinese manned venture was shown on live TV -- apparently over fears something would go wrong.The Shenzhou -- or Divine Vessel -- capsule is a modified version of Russia's workhorse Soyuz. China also bought technology for space suits, life-support systems and other equipment from Moscow, though officials say all items launched into space are made in China.China has had a rocketry program since the 1950s and sent its first satellite into orbit in 1970. It regularly launches satellites for foreign clients aboard its giant Long March boosters.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- A passenger woke up from a nap, raised his fist and punched out the interior pane of an airplane window on a flight from Las Vegas to Florida, authorities said. Ryan J. Marchione, 24, shattered the inner plastic shield covering the glass window and disconnected its frame about 90 minutes into the America West flight, according to an FBI affidavit. The outer window was not damaged and the plane did not depressurize, the airline said. Marchione was arrested when the plane landed Wednesday at Tampa International Airport. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted of a federal charge of damaging or destroying an aircraft while it was operating. Marchione "woke abruptly from his sleep and turned to the passenger seated in 7B" about 90 minutes into the flight, an FBI affidavit said. He then "raised a clenched fist to his shoulder as if he was going to strike the passenger in 7B, then suddenly turned and struck the exterior window," the affidavit said. "It appears to have come out of nowhere," said Marchione's attorney, Thomas Ostrander. "Perhaps it was some sort of a psychotic episode as a result of drug abuse." Marchione was released on $25,000 bail to home detention with electronic monitoring. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Texas prosecutor subpoenaed telephone records for the home phone of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and his political campaign Thursday.Also subpoenaed were phone records for two numbers for his daughter, Dani DeLay Ferro.DeLay was indicted last week on charges of money laundering and conspiracy in a Texas campaign finance case. (Full Story)The subpoenas list telephone numbers, but not whom they belong to. They ask for information about the calls, voice mail service at the numbers and long distance calls made from or charged to the numbers."The thing is no big deal," said Bill White, Austin attorney for DeLay.Earle is seeking the records and information from September 1, 2001, to December 31, 2002, the time period when a political committee founded by DeLay, Texans for a Republican Majority, was raising money for the 2002 election cycle.DeLay denies any wrongdoing. However, he was obligated to temporarily step aside as majority leader when charged.The charges allege that corporate money was funneled to Texas legislative candidates in violation of state law.White said Earle appeared to be trying to find out what kind of contact DeLay had with two associates, Jim Ellis and John Colyandro, who also are indicted in the case."It seems to me he should have been doing it the last three years. Now is a little late to start checking on his evidence," White said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The federal deficit hit $319 billion for the budget year that just ended, down significantly from last year's record red ink, although a surge in Katrina-driven spending threatens to drive the shortfall up again.The improvement from the record $412 billion recorded in the 2004 budget year, which the Treasury Department reported on Friday, is largely due to a surge in federal revenues from an improving economy.The figures were released three days before Congress returns from a recess and commences a struggle to cut $35 billion from federal benefit programs over the next five years to help defray hurricane recovery costs. Friday's deficit figures underscored that even if lawmakers agree to such savings, they would have a barely visible effect on the overall red ink figure.Despite the improvement from last year's budget gap, the 2005 shortfall was still the third-highest ever recorded. The government's 2005 budget year ended on Sept. 30.Hurricane recovery costsBecause hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit in August and September, only about $4 billion of the $62 billion in emergency aid provided for the storms was actually spent in fiscal 2005, according to a senior Treasury official. Congressional analysts figure another $30 billion of those funds will be spent in the budget year that began October 1, though more spending is likely to be approved in coming weeks.Republicans emphasized that the figure was an improvement from earlier deficit projections.At the beginning of this year, the White House projected a $427 billion shortfall for 2005, which would have set another record in sheer dollar terms. The Congressional Budget Office forecast a gap of $365 billion, although both lowered their forecasts as the year progressed."Lower taxes and pro-growth economic policies have created millions of jobs and a growing economy that has swelled tax revenues over the past year," said Treasury Secretary John Snow. "While deficits are never welcome, the fact that we finished FY 2005 with a much lower-than-expected deficit is encouraging news."Deficit shrinkingThe White House and most economists say the truest measure of the deficit is relative to the size of the economy. In those terms, the deficit measured 2.6 percent of gross domestic product. The 2004 deficit, by contrast, equaled 3.6 percent of GDP. That is well below the post-World War II worst-ever record, a 6 percent figure set in 1983 under President Reagan.Democrats say that despite the improvement over 2004, the administration's record on the deficit isn't anything to be proud of.Indeed, the deficit picture remains far worse than when President Bush took office in 2001, when both White House and congressional forecasters projected cumulative surpluses of $5.6 trillion over the subsequent decade. Then, the White House forecast a surplus for 2005 of $269 billion.Those earlier estimates assumed the revenue boom fueled by the surging stock market and worker productivity gains would continue. But that bubble burst and a recession and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist assaults adversely affected the books.Several rounds of tax cuts, including Bush's signature $1.35 trillion, 10-year 2001 tax cut also contributed to the return to deficits three years ago after four years of surpluses.The White House has set a goal of cutting the deficit in half from the $521 billion prediction for 2004 that it issued at the beginning of that year.The administration claims it is still on track to reach that $260 billion goal by the time Bush leaves office. But administration budget projections leave out the long-term costs of occupying Iraq and Afghanistan and have yet to be updated with cost estimates of hurricane relief.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(AP) -- From "Say Anything ..." to "Almost Famous," Cameron Crowe has made his name with movies that strike just the right tone -- a bittersweet balance that's funny and melancholy, romantic and observant. It's one that his late idol, Billy Wilder, perfected decades ago, and one that's hard to achieve.Which is what makes "Elizabethtown" so curious, and such a disappointment.In telling the story of a young man who returns to his small-town Kentucky roots after his father's death, it's as if writer-director Crowe wanted to make several different movies but couldn't decide between them, so he just went ahead and made them all, then trimmed for time.Characters say and do things that real people don't say and do, and they frequently come up with poignant turns of phrase that are so perfectly timed, they clang self-consciously -- especially Kirsten Dunst as the perky flight attendant with whom Orlando Bloom's character strikes up an unexpected romance.Likable individually and refreshing as a couple, they do have some lovely moments together, though. Crowe told Bloom, the British hottie from the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy playing his first role as a Yank, to watch the Wilder classic "The Apartment" repeatedly and study Jack Lemmon's performance. While Bloom in no way comes close to achieving Lemmon's iconic comic skill and everyman vulnerability, he proves himself a reliable straightman, especially compared to Dunst, clearly functioning here as the effervescent, optimistic Shirley MacLaine figure in the equation.Bloom's Drew Baylor meets Dunst's Claire Colburn while flying as the lone passenger on a red-eye from Portland, Oregon, to Louisville, Kentucky, en route to Elizabethtown, where his father died suddenly during a visit back home. Drew's mother (Susan Sarandon) and sister (Judy Greer) are totally incapable of coping -- though they're so giggly and manic, you'd never know that they'd just lost the family patriarch -- so they send Drew to fetch his body and bring it back to be cremated.Drew was seriously thinking of killing himself when he got the news. A designer for a thinly veiled version of Nike -- complete with a boss named Phil, played with cliched Zen-like self-control by Alec Baldwin -- Drew just lost the company nearly a billion dollars with an athletic shoe he spent eight years developing. ("I am ill-equipped in the philosophies of failure," Phil informs him.)So nothing is going right for Drew, and he's not exactly in the mood for getting-to-know-you conversation with chatty Claire in the middle of the night. ("Phils are dangerous," she chirps when Drew tells her his boss' name. "Phils are less predictable than Bens.")She eventually wears him down through the sheer force of her kindness, though, and even draws him a map of where he needs to go once he lands, including her phone numbers.Surrounded by well-meaning but overbearing strangers in the mythically idyllic Elizabethtown, most of them relatives he'd never met, Drew finds himself reaching out to Claire with an all-night cell-phone call. They talk easily and about everything -- this is one of those sections of the movie that feels like a movie unto itself -- and when they agree many hours later to get in their cars and meet halfway to watch the sunrise, their face-to-face reunion is adorably awkward.That they've made this intense connection isn't so unbelievable in itself; it's how the relationship develops that becomes hard to fathom. She cancels a free trip to Hawaii, for example, to spend more time with this person she just met. She ingratiates herself with the wedding party going on at the hotel where he's staying, just to be around for him.And the most extreme example of all: Claire creates for Drew an elaborate map for him to follow during his solitary road trip back home -- a trip that was her idea in the first place. It's more like a scrapbook, really -- an annotated guide with photographs and sticky notes and mix CDs full of appropriate songs for every mile of the tour. The most painfully obvious: U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)" as Drew visits the National Civil Rights Museum, built at the site where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot.It's a sweet idea -- just difficult to accept, even in a movie with romantic inclinations. How could she possibly have found the time to be so Martha Stewart-craftsy? And it's yet another segment that Crowe might have wanted to develop into a film all its own.As Drew tries to assure himself in the movie's opening voiceover, "A failure is simply the non-presence of success. ... A fiasco is a disaster of mythic proportions.""Elizabethtown" falls closer to the former than the latter.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Calling computers fun, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Friday urged minority college students to consider careers in computer science.Wrapping up a three-day tour of college campuses at predominantly black Howard University, Gates said computer software writers will be in greater demand than ever in the next decade.Even so, the number of college graduates seeking software jobs is declining -- a trend Gates said his tour is designed to help reverse."These are jobs that pay great," Gates said. "These are fun jobs, and so you'd think right now we'd be having more people applying in them than ever.""But in fact," he added, "somehow we haven't got the word out. We haven't made it clear the steps to get the right skills to get these jobs."Those statistics apply to all races, Gates said, but are particularly true among blacks and other minorities, among whom only a tiny percentage of college graduates pursue computer careers."Getting minorities into those jobs -- we're not doing everything we should be to point out the opportunities," Gates said.Gates' appearance before an enthusiastic crowd of more than 600 at Howard's Blackburn Center was the final stop in a three-day tour that also included visits to the universities of Michigan and Wisconsin, Princeton and Columbia universities and the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.Microsoft spokeswoman Ginny Terzano said the speeches at all six schools had the same goal: "Getting good young people interested in the technical sciences for great careers in the industry."Abisola Oladapo, a Howard junior from Lagos, Nigeria, said she was impressed with Gates.Oladapo, a student member of the National Society of Black Engineers, said the number of young black engineers is decreasing. Asked how that can be reversed, she said, "Get people like (Gates) who are very intellectual to come to meetings like these and make an impact."Terique Greenfield, a 19-year-old junior from Silver Spring, Maryland, called Gates' appearance a boost for Howard, a historically black university with a strong science and engineering program."I'm glad he recognized the importance of minorities in the work force at Microsoft," Greenfield said. "I thought it was great for Bill Gates to show all the opportunities at Microsoft."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Podcasting is on the verge of setting off a video revolution and users of Apple's new video iPod can expect a deluge of outspoken commentary, religious sermons and pornography.Podcasting, a term based on the name for Apple's portable media player, allows customers to download audio -- and now video -- segments for free to their computers and portable devices. Radio shows are among the most popular podcasts, but amateurs have helped turn podcasting into an eclectic global phenomenon.Apple's video-enabled iPod models, announced Wednesday, promise to stoke the fervor of home-grown broadcasters."I'm thrilled by the possibilities of combining devices," said 'Soccergirl,' whose opinionated and sexually suggestive program was listed among the 40 most popular podcasts on Apple's iTunes service.The 26-year-old librarian, who chooses not to reveal her real name, already produces short video segments that can play on viewers' computers.The new iPods "will make it easier for many of my listeners to watch my video as easily as they listen to my show," she said.Other early adopters of video podcasting are likely to include clergy of all stripes.San Francisco-area pastor Tim Hohm, whose audio podcast is one of more than 1,400 religious offerings available on iTunes, says the new iPods represent "a fantastic opportunity" and believes video has the potential "to inspire tens of thousands to embrace a message of inspiration and hope."The current crop of audio podcasters also includes entrepreneurial-minded Web journalists, some of whom are struggling to find a workable business model.Media analyst Rafat Ali, whose paidcontent.org Web site focuses on the economics of digital content, forecasts many such start-up projects will fail due to lack of expertise and funding."Producing interesting video content is really hard," he said.Success will depend largely on programmers' resources and ability to grasp the complexities of a medium that is much more complicated than audio, Ali said."It's a matter of how good is the quality and how do they get funded," he added.Historically, pornographers have a strong track record of adapting new imaging devices and formats in a commercially viable way.Mark Kernes, a senior editor at the Adult Video News trade magazine, said the highly-visible video iPod would certainly be used for adult content, but that many consumers might not want to show off their new material in public."Anybody that's got a video iPod is probably going to want to have a couple of porn clips on there, just to have," he said. "But you're not going to be looking at it at the mall." Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

PARIS, France (AP) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday strongly encouraged Iran to restart dialogue with the European Union to avoid being referred to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program."We talked about Iran where the EU three continue to seek to use a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear issue and where we strongly encourage Iran to take advantage of that possibility," Rice said after meetings with French President Jacques Chirac and his foreign minister. She was referring to talks Britain, France and Germany have held with Iran.Rice also called for complete transparency between nations to avoid a bird flu pandemic."We believe firmly that there has to be complete transparency about what is going on with avian flu. The world should not be caught unawares by a very dangerous pandemic because countries refuse to share information, and so that is our very strong concern," she told the news conference.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(CNN) -- A day after more than 100 militants attacked city buildings and took hostages in the southern Russian city of Nalchik, sparking bloody clashes with police, an area official declared Friday the resistance had been suppressed and all hostages freed, according to the Interfax news agency.The regional headquarters of the Federal Service for Corrective Institutions was cleared of militants, Valery Krayev, acting deputy head of the service, told the news agency. Interfax initially reported two militants had been found there, but later said 12 had been killed.Authorities do not know how many militants may remain in Nalchik, Oleg Shandirov, head of the presidential administration of Kabardino-Balkariya, told Interfax. Some may be trying to pose as civilians.None have tried to escape from the city, he told Interfax, as it has been sealed off by law enforcement and military authorities.Earlier on Friday, Russian special forces lifted the blockade around the building and freed nine people, Valery Krayev, acting deputy head of the Federal Service for Corrective Institutions told the news agency.Earlier Friday, Russian forces killed eight militants and freed five hostages who had been held in a police station, Interfax reported. Hostages were also freed from a Nalchik souvenir shop and their captors eliminated, Vladimir Kolesnikov, Russia's deputy prosecutor, told the news agency.The hostages from the police station were freed Friday after a vehicle with the hostages and militants inside left the precinct escorted by police cars, Interfax said, quoting a spokesman for the Interior Ministry of Kabardino-Balkariya."In a street crossing the driver lost control over the vehicle and it drove into a tree," the spokesman said. "At that moment, the armed part of the operation began."An estimated 150 militants attacked the city in the Kabardino-Balkariya on Thursday, officials told Interfax. The regional interior minister told Interfax about 91 have been killed, 36 detained and 9 have been charged.Twenty-four members of law enforcement died -- 18 police officers, two Interior Troops, two Federal Security Service officers, one border guard and one officer from the Federal Service for Corrective Institutions, the interior ministry spokesman told the news agency. In addition, 58 were hospitalized with injuries, he said.Interfax reported between 14 and 24 civilians were killed and 120 were wounded.As of Friday, 97 people remained hospitalized for injuries suffered during the siege, a Russian Health Ministry spokesman told the news agency.Authorities largely repelled the attack, Interfax has reported. The militants were found to be carrying weapons including AK-47 and Kedr assault rifles and grenade launchers, along with large quantities of ammunition, officials said.On Thursday, the news agency reported President Vladimir Putin ordered a "complete blockade" of Nalchik after the fighting erupted, along with "elimination of armed people resisting detention.""A law enforcement source earlier said that the gunmen launched the attack after security forces detained a group of Wahhabis, whom their supporters are currently trying to release," Interfax reported. Wahhabi is a strict, legalistic sect of Islam, and is the dominant sect in Saudi Arabia. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Dutch authorities detained seven terrorist suspects believed to be plotting attacks on politicians and the bombing of a government building, officials said. Bart Nieuwenhuizen of the Dutch National Prosecutor's office told CNN that those held were suspected Islamic radicals believed to be planning a number of attacks. The chief suspect in the raids in three cities was Samir Azzouz, a 19-year-old Dutch national of Moroccan descent who was acquitted of terrorism charges earlier this year, Nieuwenhuizen said.Azzouz was allegedly in the process of purchasing automatic weapons and explosives, "probably to commit assaults on several politicians and a government building," he said.Around two dozen officers in riot gear closed entrances leading to both houses of parliament and the government's information service. The weekly Cabinet meeting, however, went ahead as scheduled. Frits Wester of RTL news told CNN the suspects were six men between 20 and 30 years old and one woman aged 24.He said the group under suspicion were Islamic fundamentalists who had issued a number of death threats against the authorities and members of parliament.On Thursday, media reported renewed threats against MPs Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Geert Wilders, both outspoken critics of Islamic extremism. The two went into hiding for several months after Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh's brutal murder on an Amsterdam street, a year ago next month. The suspects were detained in The Hague, Amsterdam and Almere, The Associated Press reported. They will be brought before an investigating judge Monday. Police declined to confirm media reports of gunfire in the largely immigrant Schilderswijk neighborhood in The Hague where a hand grenade exploded during the arrest of two terrorist suspects last year, following van Gogh's murder. Journalist Hans Andringa told CNN there had been rumors that on November 2, the anniversary of Van Gogh's death, fundamentalists were planning "a macabre birthday party."Following the arrests, Holland's National Coordinator for Counterterrorism announced a stepping up of security around the Binnenhof (parliamentary and governmental complex in The Hague), the headquarters of the General Intelligence and Security Service in Leidschendam, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations.Personal security was also being stepped up for leading figures, the statement said, adding that there was no need to raise the general threat level associated with the national terrorist threat assessment. "As reported earlier, the current threat level for the Netherlands is substantial, and that level remains unchanged," the statement said.CNN's Andrew Carey contributed to this report.Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

CHESTNUT RIDGE, New York (AP) -- Every inch the pampered purebred, the fluffy white dog Curry stands like a statue for his haircut at the Best Friends Pet Resort and Salon.He looks, and is, perfectly healthy. But Curry, a bichon frise, was one sick puppy a month ago. And the Best Friends kennel was forced to close for three weeks after more than 100 other dogs began showing signs of what turned out to be a new disease: canine influenza virus, or dog flu."He was extremely lethargic, having a hard time breathing," said Curry's owner, Margaret Ragi of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. "The life just wasn't there in his eyes. We were really worried."Lots of dog lovers are worried these days. Experts say the flu is spreading steadily through the nation's dogs, with no vaccine available to curb it. Perhaps 5 percent of its victims are dying.Researchers recently found to their surprise that the virus had crossed over from horses to dogs, striking greyhounds at racetracks in 11 states. Now it has been found in pets, with cases documented in California, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and Washington state."One-hundred percent of dogs will be susceptible," said Edward Dubovi, director of the animal virology lab at Cornell University. "I would expect to see this infection moving thorough groups of dogs until a large percentage gets infected and there are a lot of immune dogs."Cynda Crawford, a veterinary immunologist at the University of Florida, said researchers are getting positive readings on 30 percent to 40 percent of the blood and tissue samples sent in by veterinarians who think they might be treating a dog with influenza. The symptoms include a cough, low-grade fever and a runny nose.Exactly how many dogs have died is unclear. Crawford said many of the animals were young and otherwise healthy.ContagiousMany pet owners and veterinarians have been fooled because some of the symptoms mimic a common, less dangerous bacterial infection known as kennel cough.As with human influenza, dog flu is most easily contracted in gathering places -- kennels, dog shows, animal shelters, even dog runs in parks.That has resulted in a lot of lonely dogs, as pet owners keep them home to avoid the flu. Several days after the kennel in Chestnut Ridge reopened, there were just six dogs in "doggie day care," down from the usual 17, and just 50 boarding, down from 150, said manager Kelly Kurash.The suburban New York kennel had closed September 10 after staffers realized that the illness going around was not kennel cough. Dogs were sent home or to hospitals, and one sheepdog died a few days later."We knew we were dealing with something more serious," said Deborah Bennetts, spokeswoman for the Best Friends chain, based in Norwalk, Connecticut. "It seemed to be spreading and some dogs were getting seriously ill."Tests on the dogs confirmed the new virus.Best Friends had the entire building disinfected and changed the air conditioner filters. When the kennel reopened September 30, some dogs were turned away. At the 42 Best Friends kennels in 18 states, "we're not allowing any dog that has boarded within the last two weeks or has been at a dog show or some kind of group setting like doggie day care," Bennetts said.Dubovi said researchers are at work on a vaccine, but it could be months before it becomes available.Some vets fear another upswing in cases at Thanksgiving and Christmas, when, as in the late summer, many people go away and put their dogs in kennels.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Karl Rove testified to a grand jury for the fourth and final time Friday, smiling as he emerged from hours of questioning about his possible role in the leak of a covert CIA officer's identity.White House spokesman Scott McClellan said that statements in the summer that Rove retained the president's confidence remained true. However, McClellan declined repeatedly to utter words of confidence outright.Prosecutors had warned Rove before his latest grand jury appearance that there was no guarantee he would not be indicted. The grand jury's term is due to expire October 28."Karl continues to do his duties as deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to the president," McClellan said. "What I said previously still stands."Rove spent about four-and-a-half hours inside the federal courthouse, and left without commenting to reporters.His lawyer, Robert D. Luskin, said Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald "has not advised Mr. Rove that he is a target of the investigation and affirmed that he has made no decision concerning charges. The special counsel has indicated that he does not anticipate the need for Mr. Rove's further cooperation."Fitzgerald has a variety of options, as he weighs whether anyone broke a law that bars the intentional unmasking of a covert CIA officer. Defense lawyers increasingly are concerned Fitzgerald might pursue other charges such as false statements, obstruction of justice or mishandling of classified information.Until three months ago, the White House had denied that Rove and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, were involved in leaking the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame in 2003.The White House denials gave way to "no comments" following revelations in July that Rove and Libby had been sources for Time magazine reporter Matt Cooper in a story that identified Plame, the wife of Bush administration critic and former U.S. Ambassador Joseph Wilson.New York Times reporter Judith Miller testified twice in recent days about three conversations she had with Libby in June and July 2003 regarding Wilson and Plame. (Full story)Cheney on Friday was asked about Libby's earlier grand jury testimony and conversations with Miller."I'm simply not at liberty to discuss the issue. I understand you've got to ask those questions, but it is an ongoing investigation and we're under instructions not to discuss the matter," Cheney told Fox News Channel.McClellan told reporters, "The president made it very clear, we're not going to comment on an ongoing investigation. We're aware of all those things. But we've got a lot of work to do and that's where we're focused."The exposure of Plame's name came after Wilson publicly criticized the administration, saying it had twisted prewar intelligence on Iraq. The criticism came as the U.S. military engaged in a fruitless search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The existence of such weapons was the primary reason the administration gave to justify going to war.Eight days after Wilson made his allegations, columnist Robert Novak identified Wilson's wife as a CIA operative, saying she had suggested her husband for a mission to Africa for the agency.Wilson's trip on behalf of the CIA led ultimately to his conclusion that the administration had manipulated intelligence to exaggerate the Iraqi threat.Novak said his sources were two senior administration officials. Rove spoke to Novak about Wilson's wife and is apparently one of Novak's sources. The other is still a public mystery. Novak is believed to have cooperated with Fitzgerald's investigation, though he has declined to comment.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

SPRING LAKE, New Jersey (AP) -- Toilets backed up with sewage, military trucks plowed through headlight-high water to rescue people, and swans glided down the streets as rain fell for an eighth straight day around the waterlogged Northeast on Friday.Overflowing lakes and streams forced hundreds of people from their homes in New Jersey and New Hampshire, and parts of New York and Connecticut also were under flood warnings.Some spots have had more than a foot of rain since Oct. 7, and 2 to 3 more inches of rain were expected in some places by Saturday.Across the Northeast, at least 10 people have died because of the downpours since last weekend, and four others remain missing in New Hampshire.Acting New Jersey Gov. Richard J. Codey declared a statewide state of emergency -- the first step toward applying for federal aid -- late Friday afternoon.In the shore town of Spring Lake, giant military vehicles rolled in to help carry out hundreds of residents after an inlet flooded and a pumping station overflowed, sending sewage into the water.Jack O'Connor, 84, was rescued from his apartment by rowboat. "All the years I've lived in Spring Lake, I've never been in a boat until now," he said.Not far away, 65 homes were evacuated because of lake flooding, and a dam at a state park failed, swamping the streets. About 100 nearby residents who evacuated overnight as the Shark River rose were being allowed to return by afternoon.In the town of Oakland, a half-dozen swans glided down the middle of a street as neighbors watched water lap at their porches."It's just lousy," said Ralph Petricone. "Learn from your mistakes."In the northern part of the state, floodwaters knee-deep and higher cut off some neighborhoods, and sewage backed up into homes in Jersey City.In Connecticut, the ground was so soft because of the steady rain that trees toppled, blocking the railroad tracks in Naugatuck. Commuters were forced to take shuttle buses.Up to 3 inches of rain was expected in parts of southwestern New Hampshire. State workers passed out 46,000 sandbags and 550 well-testing kits.Officials in Keene, New Hampshire, one of the cities hardest hit by earlier flooding, issued a mandatory evacuation for 93 residents of a trailer home park along the Ashuelot River, and a voluntary evacuation for 1,200 other residents.In Alstead, New Hampshire, where at least 12 homes washed away last weekend, Gov. John Lynch set up a temporary office in the town fire department, passing out laminated cards with his cell phone number and direct lines to state agencies and public utilities.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Studies of workers' IQ levels show they rise and fall throughout the day depending on a variety of factors and events. Are you operating at your peak? Here are six ways to boost your mental acuity:Don't be a slave to technology: In more than 80 clinical trials, Dr. Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist at King's College London University, found that workers distracted by phone calls, e-mails and text messages suffer a greater loss of IQ than if they'd smoked marijuana. The IQ of those juggling messages and work fell by an average of 10 points -- equivalent to missing a whole night's sleep and more than double the four-point fall seen after smoking pot. The drop in IQ was even more significant in men.To keep sharp, resist the urge to check messages continually. Instead, schedule blocks of time throughout the day to retrieve and respond to them.Get eight hours of sleep: Lack of sleep also results in reduced productivity and increased errors. A National Sleep Foundation study found that half of all workers in the United States say sleepiness interferes with the amount of work they get done -- and nearly 20 percent say it causes them to make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes are tragic. Government investigations of human error in the space shuttle Challenger explosion and Exxon Valdez oil spill cited sleep deprivation as a "direct cause" of those accidents."The brain keeps an exact accounting of how much sleep it is owed," says Dr. William C. Dement, a Stanford University sleep expert who says we all need to get one hour of sleep for every two hours we're awake. "If you sleep one hour less each day then you're supposed to, you will acquire 'sleep debt.' ""Everyone should block out eight hours of sleep," Dement adds. "Consider it an appointment that can't be broken."Get high on brain food: Studies from Switzerland, Hawaii and Boston, Massachusetts, support the memory and cognitive benefits of a diet rich in antioxidants (vitamins C, E and beta carotene) and B vitamins.If you have an important morning meeting, Douglas Kalman, director of clinical research at Peak Wellness, suggests eating a high protein breakfast to help raise your serotonin levels, which produces hormones that make you feel alert.If you're feeling sluggish midday, boost your serotonin with a small dose of carbohydrates, such as fruit or an energy bar. Also, drink lots of water. A craving for sugar can be the initial stages of dehydration.Work out: Exercise boosts circulation and bolsters brain-nurturing chemicals that improve your creativity, reaction time and retention. Researchers at Middlesex University found that participants scored higher on a creativity test after engaging in 25 minutes of aerobic exercise. Likewise, a University of Illinois study found that inactive individuals increased their memory and ability to multitask by more than 15 percent after participating in a walking program.Do mental gymnastics: Mental exercise is important, too. Using your brain to learn a new language, master a new hobby or engage in friendly debate stimulates blood flow and strengthens the connections (synapses) between nerve cells in the brain. A Washington University study found that memorization techniques also encourage the brain to work more efficiently and may reduce age-related memory loss.Dr. Robert Goldman, author of "Brain Fitness," suggests reading challenging books, doing puzzles -- even combing your hair and brushing your teeth with your other hand.Or check out some of the "brain gyms," such as Mybraintrainer.com, which has proven so effective that the testing company Kaplan Inc. offers the service to high school and college students preparing for entrance exams.Think positive, loving thoughts: Finally, a decade of research at the W.M. Keck Laboratory for Functional Brain Imaging and Behavior led by neuroscientist Richard Davidson found that choosing specific thoughts and emotions can permanently change the working of the brain. When participants practiced feeling love and compassion, their brains went into action -- connecting and building new circuitry at high speed. Davidson has concluded that emotions play a strong role in mental acuity and that spending just 10 minutes a day focusing on feeling loving and kind can make you smarter -- and happier.

(CNN) -- The tragedy of Katrina has left New Orleans with a unique opportunity to remake a city many wonder: What will the new New Orleans be like?CNN.com asked readers whether New Orleans will ever be the same and what would need to be saved or rebuilt to maintain the spirit of the city. Here is a sampling of those responses, some of which have been edited:With American ingenuity New Orleans can be rebuilt and can be the same. However, it will still be precariously situated below sea level in a geographic region prone to hurricanes. The hurricane season cycle is supposedly going to get worse before it gets better. Foresight is needed to consider spending billions to rebuild only to experience a Category 5 direct hit in the foreseeable future. Would anyone consider rebuilding again? Philip M. Osanic, Kingston, OntarioNatural disasters have plagued nations around the world for decades. It has been through the tenacity of the residents and decisive assistance from governments which supported rebuilding efforts. I believe the question is not so much if "Can New Orleans ever be the same"? but rather can a restored New Orleans have a future of its own? Its obvious many aspects of the city may or may not have the same ambience as before. As a city rebuilding planner, I would concentrate on the restoration of historical structures first to keep the legacy of its forefathers alive. Then, take a look at a logical, cost effective method to revive businesses, facilities and homes. Jay Simmons, San Antonio, TexasNo. At least I sincerely hope not. I hope it can be rebuilt to respect the natural geography and human safety. The spirit of the city relies most on the people who carry it forth. The high and dry areas could be preserved or rebuilt. Study was done of the area by scientists/geologists/civil engineers, for years. Public agencies that allow building in such hazardous areas should be held accountable for any future damage. Susan Sherod, Venice, CaliforniaAreas where New Orleans was hit hard will never be the same. The federal government needs to assign a special risk management team to analyze, assess, and mitigate the losses for the damaged areas (it is critical that this assessment be focused on the needs of the people of New Orleans; not the buildings, not the business lost, or even the land). Human capital, human resource management, and human spirituality desperately needs repairing. In the meantime, the bowl should be filled with dirt; lots of dirt; dirt high enough to create a mountain a top way above sea level. Nyoka June Lee, San Mateo, California

Friday, Oct. 14; Posted 11:44 a.m. ET From Andreas Preuss, CNN Gulf Coast BureauMy assignment is up and I'm leaving New Orleans, where I lived for 25 years, with mixed feelings and a lot of unanswered questions. On one hand, I've seen people returning. There are glimmers of life in the neighborhoods. Some restaurants, grocery stores and schools are open. But is it enough to sustain the populace?I've seen debris removal, but not much trash removal. There are still refrigerators everywhere and it stinks. Many places are still without power, telephone or cable TV. And then there are neighborhoods like Lakeview and the 9th Ward where the question lingers: should residents rebuild, or bulldoze their houses?My heart sank when Mayor Ray Nagin brought up his casino-conversion and gaming zone idea. It seems to me to be another attempt at a panacea for the city's huge problems. Problems like poverty, corruption and weak levees don't need a quick fix.The New Orleans police beating in the French Quarter was another low point. Whether it was justified or an act of brutality, I felt just like when I saw those people stranded at the Superdome and Morial Convention Center -- ashamed of my city.I feel sad about the lives lost, those poor people in the hospitals and nursing homes. And what about the destruction of all your property and possessions? I can only imagine the grief many feel.A large part of the soul and character of the city has been displaced. Will those people come back? Is it right to start thinking about Mardi Gras? Should the city forgo the annual event, because it's just not right to party amongst the ruins? Or does the city need to momentarily forget the past, present and future?A part of me wants to move back immediately and help rebuild this great city. Another part of me doesn't want to deal with the fear of hurricane season, and it happening all over again. I'm torn, as many of you are.This is not a eulogy for the city. She will be back; it's just how and when.The Gulf Coast Blog will continue. I'm heading back to Atlanta. A place I live, but will never be from. I will always be a "Nawlins" boy. Good luck to you New Orleans. I'll be back to check on you.

(CNN) -- The federal government has not yet delivered promised financial aid to some cities that welcomed, fed and resettled Hurricane Katrina evacuees, leaving those cities struggling to pay the bills on their own.CNN anchor Miles O'Brien on Friday spoke about the challenges facing one city with Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. Atlanta took in 42,000 families fleeing the disaster.O'BRIEN: All right, let's talk about this, 42,000 families. You're a big city. It's a prosperous city, but that still puts a burden on the city, doesn't it?FRANKLIN: Well, it certainly does, but I don't think it's a burden that FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] can't help us to address. The Congress and the president have allocated $62 billion. Our estimates are that a family needs assistance for about six months in order to stabilize themselves and that would cost about $11,000 per family. The city of Atlanta can't absorb that cost, but we can certainly work with FEMA, if they were willing, to help families get resettled in the city and the metropolitan area.O'BRIEN: So 11,000 times 42,000. I can't do that kind of math on the fly here. But how much of that money have you seen?FRANKLIN: Well, we haven't seen any of that money.O'BRIEN: Oh -- zero. It's just like the mayor of Baton Rouge yesterday, a big doughnut.FRANKLIN: Big doughnut.O'BRIEN: Why?FRANKLIN: We don't have any idea. I mean, I'm pretty much on record saying that we've been talking to FEMA since the storm, offering to assist, and I mean, it's like talking to a brick wall. We identified over a thousand affordable units in our city, but we finally decided -- I threw up my hands a few weeks ago, and the city decided to go ahead and allocate about $500,000 to start working to resettle families ourselves with really no hope of being reimbursed by the federal government.O'BRIEN: So what happens is the individual taxpayers in the city of Atlanta, basically, go on the hook, and it's a generous group of people, we know that, but nonetheless, this is something the federal government has said it would help out in. And when you say brick wall. What happens? They put you on hold and voice-mail? Can you get through? Do you get a busy signal? What are they telling you?FRANKLIN: Well, they're just telling us that their regulations require the city of Atlanta to lease property and then to release that property to evacuees. Well, the city of Atlanta is 400,000, and as you know, and there are lots of other jurisdictions. We're not in a position to do that. What we are in a position to do is to connect FEMA, the evacuees, with our real estate agencies, with our own properties.O'BRIEN: Why not -- mayor, why don't they do just a simple voucher system, and people will be able to make their own choices in these matters, and it would kind of settle itself out that way, instead of hanging everybody up, the cities, and the municipalities and all these complicated rules that can't be applied to the real world.FRANKLIN: I have no idea. Congress and the president have appropriated the funds. For some reason, they can find a way to give vouchers for private education at $7,500 per student, even for students who are in public schools along the Gulf Coast, but they cannot find a way to come up with even $7,500 for families to relocate and resettle. It doesn't make any sense. It's baffling to all of us. We're really discouraged. Most of us are trying to find other ways to help these families.O'BRIEN: You know, you're not a person who gets easily discouraged. You're the kind of person who doesn't like to take no for an answer. What are you going to do?FRANKLIN: Well, we continue to talk to our delegation, our Georgia delegation. We continue to talk to FEMA. We believe that the governor of Georgia, Governor Perdue, has similar concerns. We are just doing the best we can, one family at a time. The city has allocated funds for the first 50 families, and as they get situated and settled, we'll continue to try to find the resources to help these families out. If we don't do that, we will create a new class of poor people, who prior to the hurricane had homes, had apartments, had jobs, had cars. FEMA is just completely off base.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Americans' fast-paced, high-tech existence has taken a toll on civility.From road rage in the morning commute to high decibel cell-phone conversations that ruin dinner out, men and women behaving badly have become the hallmark of a hurry-up world. An increasing informality -- flip-flops at the White House, even -- combined with self-absorbed communication gadgets and a demand for instant gratification have strained common courtesies to the breaking point."All of these things lead to a world with more stress, more chances for people to be rude to each other," said Peter Post, a descendent of etiquette expert Emily Post and an instructor on business manners through the Emily Post Institute in Burlington, Vermont.In some cases, the harried single parent has replaced the traditional nuclear family, and there's little time to teach the basics of polite living, let alone how to hold a knife and fork, according to Post.A slippage in manners is obvious to many Americans. Nearly 70 percent questioned in an Associated Press-Ipsos poll said people are ruder than they were 20 or 30 years ago. The trend is noticed in large and small places alike, although more urban people -- 74 percent -- report bad manners, then do people in rural areas, 67 percent.Peggy Newfield, founder and president of Personal Best, said the generation that came of age in the times-a-changin' 1960s and 1970s are now parents who don't stress the importance of manners, such as opening a door for a female.So it was no surprise to Newfield that those children wouldn't understand how impolite it was to wear flip-flops to a White House meeting with the president -- as some members of the Northwestern women's lacrosse team did in the summer.A whopping 93 percent in the AP-Ipsos poll faulted parents for failing to teach their children well."Parents are very much to blame," said Newfield, whose Atlanta-based company started teaching etiquette to young people and now focuses on corporate employees. "And the media."From parents to absent 'role models'Sulking athletes and boorish celebrities grab the headlines while television and Hollywood often glorify crude behavior."It's not like the old shows 'Father Knows Best,"' said Norm Demers, 47, of Sutton, Massachusetts. "People just copy it. How do you change it?" Demers would like to see more family-friendly television but isn't holding his breath.Nearly everyone has a story of the rude or the crude, but fewer are willing to fess up to boorish behavior themselves.Only 13 percent in the poll would admit to making an obscene gesture while driving; only 8 percent said they had used their cell phones in a loud or annoying manner around others. But 37 percent in the survey of 1,001 adults questioned August 22-23 said they had used a swear word in public.Yvette Sienkiewicz, 41, a claims adjustor from Wilmington, Delaware, recalled in frustration how a bigger boy cut in front of her 8-year-old son, as he waited in line to play a game at the local Chuck E. Cheese."It wasn't my thing to say something to the little boy," said Sienkiewicz, who remembered that the adult accompanying the child never acknowledged what he had done. In the AP-Ipsos poll, 38 percent said they have asked someone to stop behaving rudely.More and more, manners are taught less and less.Carole Krohn, 71, a retired school bus driver in Deer Park, Washington, said she has seen children's behavior deteriorate over the years, including one time when a boy tossed a snowball at the back of another driver's head. In this litigious society, she argued, a grown-up risks trouble correcting someone else's kid.One solution for bad behavior "is to put a kid off in the middle of the road. Nowadays all people want to do is sue, to say you're to blame, get you fired," Krohn said.Discontent growsKrohn, who often greeted students by name and with a hearty "good morning," once was asked by a child if she got tired of offering pleasantries.Sienkiewicz, whose job requires hours in a car, said she tries to avoid rush-hour traffic because of drivers with a me-first attitude. The most common complaint about rudeness in the poll was aggressive or reckless driving, with 91 percent citing it as the most frequent discourtesy.Margaret Hahn-Dupont, a 39-year-old law professor from Oradell, New Jersey, noticed that some of her students showed little respect for authority and felt free to express their discontent and demand better grades.Close on the heels of the baby boomers are the affluent teens and young adults who have known nothing but the conveniences of computers and cell phones, devices that take them away from face-to-face encounters and can be downright annoying in a crowd."They got a lot of things and feel entitled to get a lot of things," said Hahn-Dupont.Bernard F. Scanlon, 79, of Sayville, New York, would like to see one railroad car set aside for cell phone users to ensure peace and quiet for the rest. Amtrak has taken a stab at that by banning cell phones and other loud devices in one car of some trains, especially on chatty Northeast and West Coast routes.But if those trains are sold out, the Quiet Car service is suspended and anything goes.How rude.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Evidently "Star Trek" actor James "Scotty" Doohan took the catchphrase "beam me up" very seriously -- his cremated remains will be launched into space in accord with his last wishes.Commercial space flight operator Space Services Inc. will launch the late actor's remains into space aboard its Explorers Flight on December 6, a company spokeswoman said on Friday.She said the remains of more than 120 others will be aboard the flight, including those of an unidentified astronaut and Mareta West, the astrogeologist who determined the site for the first spacecraft landing on the moon.Space Services spokeswoman Susan Schonfeld declined to identify the astronaut whose cremated remains will be launched into space. She said the name would be announced the day of the launch.Doohan, who portrayed feisty chief engineer Montgomery"Scotty" Scott on the "Star Trek" television series, died in July at age 85. On the program, when Capt. James Kirk ventured off the spaceship Enterprise and faced peril, he would demand Scotty "beam" his body up to the safety of the ship.The actual phrase "Beam me up, Scotty," was not used on the show, but it entered pop culture.To mark the flight into his final frontier, Doohan's family will hold a service for fans on a 60-acre site near Vandenberg Air Force Base north of Los Angeles the day of the launch to pay tribute to him. Some fans are expected to attend in the formal white suit of a Star Fleet commander."I can't think of a more fitting send-off than having some of his fans attend this, his final journey," his widow, Wende Doohan, said in an open invitation to the service."Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry also had his remains shot into space after his death in 1991. They returned to Earth in 2002, Schonfeld said.Doohan's cremated remains will be packed into a special tube that is ejected from the rocket and expected to orbit Earth for about 50 to 200 years before plunging into the planet's atmosphere and burning up.Fans can post tributes to Doohan at the Space Services Web site. Those messages will be digitized, packed with "Scotty" and blasted into space.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The bird flu virus that infected a Vietnamese girl was resistant to the main drug that's being stockpiled in case of a pandemic, a sign that it's important to keep a second drug on hand as well, a researcher said Friday.He said the finding was no reason to panic.The drug in question, Tamiflu, still attacks "the vast majority of the viruses out there," said Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Tokyo and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The drug, produced by Swiss-based Roche Holding AG, is in short supply as nations around the world try to stock up on it in case of a global flu pandemic.Kawaoka said the case of resistance in the 14-year-old girl is "only one case, and whether that condition was something unique we don't know."He also said it's not surprising to see some resistance to Tamiflu in treated individuals, because resistance has also been seen with human flu.In lab tests, the girl's Tamiflu-resistant virus was susceptible to another drug, Relenza, which is made by GlaxoSmithKline.Kawaoka and colleagues report the case in the October 20 issue of the journal Nature, which released the study Friday. The researchers conclude that it might be useful to stockpile Relenza as well as Tamiflu.Both drugs are being stockpiled by the U.S. government. Doctors have good reason to believe Tamiflu would be effective at combatting a pandemic strain of bird flu, although it's not clear how long people would have to be treated or what doses they'd need, said Dr. John Treanor of the University of Rochester.In adults with mild cases of ordinary flu, Tamiflu speeds up recovery by a day or two, he said. Its effect on severe flu like bird flu isn't clear, he said.The new report, while not surprising, shows scientists must find out more about how people with bird flu respond to Tamiflu and how often they shed drug-resistant virus, he said.The shed virus could become a problem if it is transmitted to other people, he said. He noted that in the new report, as in prior studies, the resistant virus was less able to reproduce itself than normal virus was, which might cut down on the chance of transmission.The girl, who had been caring for an older brother with the disease, had been taking low doses of Tamiflu as a preventive measure when the virus was isolated in late February. She later got sick and was given higher doses. She recovered and left the hospital in March.Kawaoka said it's not clear whether the low preventive dose had encouraged the emergence of drug resistance.Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University called the report important and said it shows the importance of watching for drug resistance."It is not unusual to find the occasional resistant virus," he said. "It could be just a biological oddity, or we could see this more frequently."This is a blip on the radar screen, and it surely does mean that we have to keep the radar operative," Schaffner said. "We have to keep testing more viruses."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LONDON, England -- One of the worst kept secrets in the entertainment industry is no longer a secret.Daniel Craig, a blue-eyed and blond British actor, is the new James Bond.Sony Pictures on Friday confirmed media reports that Craig will replace Pierce Brosnan as the suave British spy of the silver screen. (Watch video of new 007)Craig's selection -- revealed by having the actor travel down the River Thames aboard a military boat, wearing Bond's trademark suit and dark glasses -- ends months of speculation over the role of agent 007.Later, at a news conference in London, Craig appeared to be at a loss for words about his new job."It's something else, I can tell you, really," he said.Craig added that his first reaction when told by producers was to say, "I need a drink." Producers said last year that they were seeking a replacement for Pierce Brosnan, 52, who has played the suave British spy in the last four Bond films.Rumored to have also been in the running were British actors Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Gerard Butler and Ewan McGregor. Irishman Colin Farrell and Australians Hugh Jackman, Heath Ledger and Eric Bana were also mentioned.But after all the guessing, it was Craig's mother that let the cat out of the bag."Obviously we are thrilled to bits," his mother Carol told the Liverpool Daily Post newspaper on Thursday. "It has come at a very good time in his career. He has worked extremely hard all his life and this would be his biggest populist role," she was quoted as saying. "It will be life-changing". Craig, 37, appeared in the 1990s TV drama "Our Friends in the North" and in such films as "The Mother," "Enduring Love" and "Layer Cake."He also played Paul Newman's son in "Road to Perdition," was poet Ted Hughes opposite Gwyneth Paltrow's Sylvia Plath in "Sylvia" and appeared in this year's thriller "The Jacket" with Adrien Brody.Craig's personal life has also been a source of media attention.He has dated model Kate Moss and has been linked to Sienna Miller, his "Layer Cake" co-star and on-off fiancee of Jude Law.Craig will appear in the 21st Bond film, a remake of "Casino Royale," which is due to be released next year."Casino Royale," published in 1953, was Ian Fleming's first Bond novel. The 1967 film version was a spoof starring Peter Sellers, and it was one of the few Bond adventures not to feature any MI6 gadgets. (MI6 goes online in plea for spies)Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Rival nations put aside their differences -- at least for the moment -- to help the tens of thousands of people left homeless after last weekend's 7.6 magnitude earthquake devastated south Asia.India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan since 1947, sent a plane loaded with humanitarian supplies on Friday to Lahore. It was the second shipment to its nuclear rival. And when an Iranian plane arrived at Chakalala air base in Pakistan, it sought help with unloading the cargo from U.S. military personnel already on site."I said, 'Certainly, no question about it,' " said Col. Richard Walberg of the U.S. Air Force. "I sent my team over behind the airplane with our loaders, and they brought some equipment off." (Watch efforts to get aid to hard-hit areas -- 2:40)Walberg said he was proud to do it, and wouldn't hesitate to do it again."When I put this uniform on, the American taxpayer pays my salary," he said. "And I have two choices: I can go to war in this uniform, and I'm very good at that, or I can help people, and I'm very good at that."So, let's take option two every time."The quake, centered in Pakistan's mountainous Himalayan region, killed at least 23,000, according to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Another 1,300 deaths have been reported in India.Musharraf said almost 2.5 million people are homeless as a result of the quake. (Watch Musharraf faces tough test after quake -- 2:19)The Pakistan government on Friday announced it had officially called off rescue operations, The Associated Press reported."From now the search and recovery operation is being launched as there is a very slim chance of finding any survivors in the rubble" six days after the quake, Maj. Farooq Nasir told AP.Relief groups were working at a fever pitch across the region, with helicopters and other equipment trying to rush supplies to the hardest-hit areas. Roads to many areas were clogged with traffic, slowing ground efforts to reach the most vulnerable.At one point late Friday, a magnitude 5.0 aftershock sent quake-weary people fleeing into the streets. No major damage was reported.Pakistani Army Maj. Gen. Javed Aslam said the worst damage was spread over a 125 mile by 190 mile area and required a well-coordinated relief effort. He said about 70 helicopters were being used to get supplies to the region."The size of the operations is massive," he said.Rear Adm. Michael Lefever, the head of operations for the U.S. Navy, said, "It's great to show our allies that they have given us wonderful support, and we are supporting them in their operations to save lives."In Washington, President Bush visited the Pakistani Embassy as a show of support, signing a condolence book while there."We want to help in any way we can," he said. "There's been a lot of loss of life, and Americans pray for those families who have lost a loved one."He added, "Not only will we offer our prayers, but we'll offer our help -- to help the people, to help the government, to help this great nation get back on its feet."The Cabinet has said it will set up a tent village for thousands of Pakistanis left homeless by the quake. Musharraf said reaching the displaced people is the nation's priority.It was not clear where the tent village will be constructed.The disaster already has cost Pakistan billions of dollars, the Cabinet said, and international donors have given $360 million to help offset that cost.Some 40,000 Pakistani troops have been moved into the area "to make sure the distribution mechanism (for relief items) improves, and it is improving by the day," according to Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.Meanwhile, aid workers told CNN on Friday that looting and heavy fighting, including gunfire and small explosions, erupted overnight in Muzaffarabad, a devastated Himalayan city. People from outlying areas, who had come to the city seeking relief items, were blamed for the violence.The United Nations' emergency relief coordinator, Jan Egeland, toured the devastated area Thursday and told CNN's Matthew Chance that immediate resources -- mainly helicopters and tents -- are needed to keep people alive."People are dying as we speak because we're not there in all of these villages where there are wounded people," Egeland said.In his aerial tour, he said, he saw "town after town destroyed.""I fear we're losing this cruel race against time to reach those outlying villages," he said.In Indian-controlled Kashmir, a delivery of clothing set off a scramble among people left with nothing. The Indian army, already deployed on the front lines in Kashmir, has taken the lead in ensuring aid gets into the right hands.Officials say weather-resistant tents are needed most in the region, which gets 15 feet of snow every winter."The clothes, the rations, the stores -- which you are seeing -- is most welcome," said Indian Army Lt. Col. Anupam Bhagi. "But that's not exactly what is required now. This can be used for the needs of the destitute but not for those who've lost the roof on top of their heads."CNN Correspondents Becky Anderson, Satinder Bindra and Ram Ramgopal contributed to this report. Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

(CNN) -- NASA managers said Friday that the space agency is working to resume shuttle flights as soon as next May, even as teams of engineers continue to analyze what caused a potentially critical problem during the Discovery's launch."May looks very doable," said NASA Associate Administrator for Space Operations William Gerstenmaier.Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale added, "I think we're beginning to have our hands well around the technical problems that we have and to find the fixes that are going to be necessary to fly again."NASA officials briefed reporters on the status of the space shuttle program Friday at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.NASA grounded the shuttle fleet after a chunk of foam fell off of Discovery's external fuel tank during its July 26 launch -- the same problem blamed for the Columbia disaster. Analysis determined that a briefcase-size piece of foam weighing just under a pound broke away from a section of the tank called the PAL ramp shortly after solid rocket booster separation.The foam did not hit the orbiter. But NASA officials said that it could have caused damage if it had.Bill Parsons, who was shuttle program manager at the time, announced the day after launch that the shuttle fleet would not fly again until the latest foam problem was solved.Elimination of large debris is key to the safe resumption of shuttle flights.The underside of a space shuttle is covered with insulating tiles and the edges of the wings are clad with reinforced carbon-carbon panels. Together, they make up the thermal protection system that ensures the shuttle can withstand the intense heat of re-entry.The engineers studying the issue have concluded that no single factor caused the foam to come loose. Rather, they think there were several contributing factors: The technique used to spray the foam onto the tank, engineering issues in the area where the foam broke off, and damage from workers touching and possibly crushing the foam while working on other parts of the tank."I want to make it clear that we found no negligence on the part of the workers," said Richard Gilbrech, leader of the engineers looking at the problem. "They were doing their work per procedure. It's just we really didn't have an appreciation for the significance that this handling damage could have in terms of foam loss."Gilbrech and his team suggested changing the way the foam is applied and how the tank is processed, with the goal of eliminating the shedding of large pieces of foam.Shuttle program managers said they are optimistic that testing will be completed and the modifications implemented in time to launch the shuttle between May 3 and 23.The date could be affected by engineering setbacks and by the impact of Hurricane Katrina on workforce at and infrastructure around Michoud Assembly Facility, which is in New Orleans."We have estimates that basically we will have lost the equivalent of three months worth of work at Michoud based on the effects of the hurricanes," Hale said. "In spite of that, our amazing work force down there is coming back to work. We are making outstanding progress in addressing these issues."With the exception of the one Discovery flight last summer, the shuttle fleet had been grounded since February 1, 2003, when the shuttle Columbia broke apart over Texas while on landing approach to Florida's Kennedy Space Center. All seven astronauts aboard died.Seven months later, the Columbia Accident Investigation Board concluded that a 1.6 pound piece of foam insulation broke off the shuttle's external fuel tank, striking and cracking a panel on the orbiter's wing. When the shuttle re-entered Earth's atmosphere, hot gases seeped into the wing and destroyed the spacecraft.Since the Columbia disaster, NASA engineers have said that it is not possible to eliminate the shedding of foam and ice from the external tank during launch. They did redesign the tank to minimize the size of debris that would come off. Prior to the Discovery launch, NASA managers said the heaviest piece of foam they expected to come loose would be three one-hundredths of a pound, and about the size of a breakfast muffin.Prior to the Columbia disaster, astronauts had no way to inspect the thermal protection system for damage that might have occurred during liftoff or to make repairs. During the Discovery mission, astronauts tested new tools and techniques to do those jobs.The new inspection system worked well, but limited testing of repair procedures confirmed astronauts cannot yet reliably fix a hole. Most NASA engineers say astronauts will never be able to repair a hole the size of the one that doomed Columbia.NASA now plans only 19 more shuttle flights, down from 28, Gerstenmaier confirmed. Eighteen of those missions will include docking with the international space station, with the goal of completing its assembly. The other would service the Hubble Space Telescope.NASA intends to retire the shuttle fleet in 2010. The space agency hopes to launch the next generation manned spacecraft, the Crew Exploration Vehicle, in 2012, with a manned mission to the moon coming in 2018.

FORD CITY, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A pregnant woman whose belly was slashed with a razor knife in an attempt to steal her baby identified the attacker as her next-door neighbor, a prosecutor said Friday.Valerie Lynn Oskin, 30, told investigators it was "definitely" Peggy Jo Conner who attacked her, Armstrong County District Attorney Scott Andreassi said.Oskin was rescued after a teenager spotted the women, and the baby boy was delivered at a hospital in healthy condition, official said. Oskin has head injuries but has been improving, officials said.Conner, 38, is jailed without bail on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and aggravated assault of an unborn child.She is accused of hitting Oskin with a baseball bat Wednesday, then driving her about 15 miles to a secluded, wooded area about 50 miles northeast of Pittsburgh and cutting Oskin's abdomen along a previous Caesarean scar.Prosecutors said Oskin would have died if Adam Silvis, 17, hadn't come across the two women while riding his all-terrain vehicle. He alerted his father, who called police.Doctors at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh performed an emergency Caesarean on Wednesday to deliver the baby.Oskin's breathing tube was removed Friday as her condition improved. One of the first things she asked investigators was if her child was all right, Andreassi said at a news conference.Police found a bassinet and baby swing in Conner's home, but said they don't know if Conner had been recently pregnant or had planned to take Oskin's baby.Conner's preliminary hearing was scheduled for Tuesday, if Oskin is able to testify by then.Oskin's recollection is spotty due to her head injury, Andreassi said. She remembers being hit, waking up later and being driven around by Conner, but doesn't recall an exact time line.Thomas Wilks, who says he is Conner's husband but is separated from her, has called the allegations against her "impossible" and said she truly was pregnant.Conner and Oskin had a "close friendship," Wilks said. "It was getting closer as the days went by. They were pregnant together."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(CNN) -- As Iraqis vote Saturday on a new constitution, much more than a permanent government could be at stake, including peace between Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish factions and the future of the insurgency.The nationwide referendum is a nexus for the goals of three groups: the U.S.-led movement for a democratic Iraq, ethnic and religious factions fighting for political power and insurgents using terrorist tactics to promote Islamic fundamentalism. Despite a last-minute compromise deal on Wednesday between the Kurdish-Shiite coalition of the National Assembly and a major Sunni party, conflicts between the three groups over power-sharing in a permanent government have yet to be resolved. (Watch: Sunni group strikes deal on constitution -- 2:11)Many of Iraq's minority Sunnis think a government with autonomous regions as outlined in the draft charter would be unfair to them and could lead to armed conflict."If they want civil war, they should go with this" constitution, said Salih al-Mutlag, head of a coalition of 10 Sunni factions. "What I see is that if they go and adopt this constitution then there will be three states in Iraq: one extremist Islamic Shiite government region in the south, an extremist Sunni government in the middle of Iraq and a chauvinist government in the north," he said, referring to Iraq's northern Kurdish region.Under the compromise proposed by the Sunni party -- the Iraqi Islamic Party -- Sunnis would have an opportunity to amend the constitution if it is approved, according to a party spokesman. (Full story)Another fear is that the constitution will pass, albeit narrowly, despite a a successful mobilization of 'no' votes cast by Iraqi Sunnis. Such an outcome could lead to further violence, said Michael Rubin, a policy analyst on the Middle East, "because that's indicative that the Arab Sunni population mobilized a vote and still lost anyway, and therefore they may feel even more disenfranchised."Although Sunni Arabs represent a minority in Iraq -- 20 percent of the nation's population of 26 million people -- they held the reins of power during the Saddam regime.In the January 30 vote for the transitional National Assembly, which drafted the constitution, two powerful Sunni groups did not participate and overall Sunni turnout was low. In Anbar province, Iraq's largest and home to the Sunni strongholds of Ramadi and Falluja, only 2 percent of voters cast ballots.Vote could inflame insurgentsIraqi national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie said a defeat for the constitution could embolden the insurgency.They would "consider it a victory for them," Rubaie said, "because they managed to disrupt the political process. They would have managed to prevent people from going to ballot boxes and say 'yes' to the constitution."U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said in August that "if the Sunnis do not buy into this draft ... then it would be a problem. It could assist the insurgency."Repeating the processIf the constitution is defeated, the fledgling democracy will have to repeat much of the difficult political process that has already taken place since the January assembly vote.A new National Assembly will have to be elected, a new constitutional committee will have to be formed and another document will have to be put before the people."It will add another six months of an interim period transitional government, and a lot of people would like to get on with their lives," said Laith Kubba, an Iraqi government spokesman.CNN's Aneesh Raman contributed to this report.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- A leading British lawyer has been asked to defend Saddam Hussein at the former Iraqi dictator's trial for mass murder, his office told CNN.Anthony Scrivener, who once helped free four men wrongfully imprisoned as IRA bombers, had not yet decided whether to take the job, Martin Hart, senior clerk in Scrivener's office, said."Anthony Scrivener QC has been approached to lead a legal team to challenge the lawfulness of the tribunal trying Saddam Hussein," his office said in statement. "Nothing further has happened at this stage and in accordance with Bar Council Rules Anthony Scrivener QC will not give any press conferences or make statements to the media."Scrivener, 70, was part of the legal team that freed the "Guildford Four," jailed for two 1975 pub bombings.Saddam and seven other defendants face their first trial starting October 19 for the massacre of 143 Shiites in the village of Dujail, north of Baghdad, in 1982. (Saddam trial on track)Prosecutors have not announced the exact charges, which are expected to be read out in the first sessions. Saddam could face the death penalty if convicted.Abdul Haq Al Ani, an Iraqi-born lawyer involved in Saddam's defense, told the BBC on Thursday that the former Iraqi leader was feeling "upbeat" about the trial.Hart, senior clerk to his chambers, told the UK's Press Association: "Mr Scrivener has been approached by the people involved in the case but it is wrong to say that he has been instructed on the case. "I don't know how many other people have been approached or if Mr Scrivener will be instructed to undertake the case. "He's not in a position to make a decision at this stage. It can only come to fruition through the fullness of time, if (Saddam's) people come back to him and the circumstances are right and nothing in the case fails to meet other obligations a barrister must make." He said Scrivener would not be able to make any comment about the case. "He cannot comment about any case, whether it be Saddam Hussein or Mrs Mop, even if he has not yet taken it. There is a possibility he might take this case, so it would be inappropriate to comment." While defending Saddam would be by far the most high-profile trial of Mr Scrivener's career, he is known for taking part in high-publicity cases. As well as representing the Guildford Four, he is due to work with the Northern Ireland solicitor Desmond Doherty who has been heavily involved in the Bloody Sunday Inquiry, PA reports. He also represented Winston Silcott, was wrongly convicted of killing PC Keith Blakelock in London's Broadwater Farm riots in 1985. In 2000, at the inquiry into the Paddington rail crash, he represented the trade union Aslef and the families of the two drivers involved. He has defended Sion Jenkins, who is due to face a third trial accused of the murder of his foster daughter Billie-Jo, which is due to start this month. And he defended Norfolk farmer Tony Martin during his trial for shooting a burglar. The 70-year-old Scrivener, who lists his hobbies in Who's Who as chess, cricket, car racing and taking the dog for a walk, has already practiced law in several countries, including Jamaica, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. According to the BBC program Newsnight, the team which aims to save Saddam from execution has been put together by Iraqi-born barrister Abdul Haq Al Ani at the request of Saddam's daughter Raghad Saddam Hussein. Al Ani told the show the Iraqi Special Tribunal was illegal. "It was drafted by an occupying power. It has no right under international law to change the legal system of the occupied land," he said. He added that Saddam was "upbeat" and in "high spirits," looking forward to the trial.Al Ani told the BBC the former president will challenge the legality of the special tribunal. "He had full immunity under the prevailing Iraqi constitution and you cannot have a retroactive legislation that removes that immunity," Al Ani said.Al Ani is organizing the defense in cooperation with Khalil Dulaimi, who is based in Baghdad and is the only lawyer who has so far been allowed to meet Saddam, PA added.