WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate education leaders on Thursday unveiled a hurricane relief package intended to prevent a bitter fight over vouchers. Instead, it seemed to start one.The largest teachers' union and civil rights groups condemned the plan as a national experiment in private-school vouchers, which bill sponsors called a mischaracterization.Notably, the interest groups found themselves at odds with a lawmaker they often count on for support -- Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, the education committee's top Democrat."We are not supporting that -- and that's a big not. It's a voucher bill," said Reg Weaver, president of the National Education Association.Kennedy and fellow Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut developed the bill with education committee Chairman Mike Enzi, R-Wyoming, and Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee. The sponsors hoped to move it through the Senate quickly, possibly by Friday.It would allow both public and private schools to seek reimbursement of up to $6,000 for each displaced student they serve, or $7,500 for each student with disabilities. Total cost: $2.4 billion. Hurricane Katrina forced more than 370,000 students to flee the Gulf Coast.Under the plan, the federal money would flow through public school districts, which would then be charged with making payments to the eligible private schools. The bill would ban public money from being spent for "religious instruction, proselytization or worship."Kennedy has criticized a White House plan to create vouchers for Hurricane Katrina victims. By contrast, he said his bill provides immediate relief to public and private schools that have helped in a time of crisis, and "without opening political or ideological battles."That didn't sway the Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State."I don't see the difference between this program and a voucher program," he said. "This gives millions of dollars in virtually unrestricted cash grants to religious schools."Critics said they favored a different model, already established under law, in which school districts purchase services from private schools but retain oversight over the money.Kennedy spokeswoman Laura Capps said the senator used that idea as a starting point but opted for a plan that allows money to get to the affected schools more quickly. Participating schools would be banned from discriminating based on religion, race or gender, she said."We are pleased that senators from both parties understand the hurricane did not discriminate between public and private schools, and neither should our public leaders," said Scott Jensen, director of national projects for the Alliance for School Choice.But the bill's civil rights protections may not be enforceable in the private schools if they get their federal money indirectly, said Tanya Clay, senior deputy director of public policy for the liberal People for The American Way. "It's murky," she said.The program would last for one year only. Terri Schroeder, senior lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union, said it would set a precedent: "What about the next crisis? What you're saying is that it is now acceptable to divert massive amounts of public funding."In the House, Republican education leaders this week introduced legislation that would create accounts for parents of children affected by the hurricane, worth up to $6,700 per student. Students could use the money to attend a public or private school for one year.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (AP) -- The sun is barely up, but the movie theater parking lot holds dozens of cars.There's no early matinee. The cars belong to Hurricane Katrina refugees from New Orleans -- nursing students waiting for class to start.So in Theater 4, nursing management will be followed by "Serenity." After the Research in Nursing class, "Elizabethtown" is showing in Theater 6. An anatomy exam in 7 precedes "The Gospel." And in Theater 11, Mothers and Childbearing Families (aka obstetrics) is followed by the Wallace and Gromit movie "The Curse of the Were Rabbit.""It's just like an auditorium-style classroom," says Jenelle Johnson, 24. "They use PowerPoint. But we can smell popcorn on our way out."And there aren't any flip-up desktops -- something that helps explain the big box of free clipboards plopped in front of the theater, along with boxes of freebie pens, pencils, notepads, scrubs and warm socks (the air-conditioning is fierce) donated by businesses and other schools.Louisiana State University's nursing school gets to use the theater free as long as everyone clears out by 11 a.m. Other classes are held at more predictable spots around Baton Rouge, though many dental school courses are taught at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine.While New Orleans' universities will not reopen until spring semester, LSU's medical school cranked up again just a month after Katrina, setting up shop in the state capital. Tulane's med school opened a week later, in Texas."We were amazed at their resilience," says Joe Keyes, senior vice president of the Association of American Medical Colleges.The vast majority of medical students -- LSU's 2,800 and Tulane's 2,600 -- stayed with their schools. The dental school reports only one of its 316 students transferred.Student living conditions vary. Johnson, who will graduate within months, lives half of the time on a Finnish ferry in the Port of Baton Rouge with students and faculty members. She also lives part-time with an aunt.The ferry, FinnJet, which had sailed the Baltic Sea for nearly 30 years, was obtained for housing by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Students get to live there free; about 500 have taken the offer."The food is great," Johnson says.There is the occasional collision between Nordic and Southern tastes -- the grits served are too watery and too finely ground, for instance."They try to get the grits out of grits," says Alecia Oden, an occupational therapy student.Oden owns a house on New Orleans' Louisiana Avenue. "It's 50-50," she says. "Fifty percent wet, 50 percent not. Not including the mold all over the walls."Dr. John Rock, chancellor of the LSU Health Sciences Center, says it was crucial to get the medical school back in business quickly. Other schools had begun recruiting top teachers and researchers almost immediately, he says."This class -- the class of 2005-2006, these men and women -- will be an important part of our recovery effort. They will be staffing our hospitals, caring for our patients," Rock says. "We felt it was just so important we not fall behind a year."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- Southwest Airlines Co. will resume service in Denver next year after a 20-year absence, likely triggering lower fares yet posing fresh problems for airlines already struggling with higher fuel prices.Although Southwest has shunned Denver International Airport for more than a decade because of its high costs, the Dallas-based carrier -- in the midst of an expansion -- reconsidered because those costs have declined.It will compete head-to-head against United Airlines as it emerges from bankruptcy and Denver-based Frontier Airlines Inc., which together have about 75 percent of DIA's market.Frontier shares slumped 29 percent on the news, closing at $7.68 a share on the Nasdaq Stock Market, less than $1 above their 52-week low.Representatives of both United, which operates a lower-cost subsidiary dubbed Ted, and the low-fare Frontier noted they already face Southwest in other cities and that they will be competitive on ticket prices when Southwest is in Denver.Details on when and where it will fly, and for how much, are scheduled to be released next week."We've been concerned about the costs at DIA in the past but they have done a remarkable job in getting their costs downs to levels that make sense to Southwest Airlines," Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly said.Another factor was current ticket prices at DIA, which he called high. "We'll have a modest start in Denver early next year and we'll just have to take it from there," Kelly said during a conference call with reporters.Airport officials, who have courted Southwest since DIA opened in 1995, said the airline will generate new competition, which will be good for passengers."It's a solid airline with a great reputation," airport spokesman Steve Snyder said. "It's one that people have been asking about since the airport opened."Competition heats upSouthwest operated in Denver from 1983 to 1986 but refused to return when DIA opened in 1995 because of costs. At the time, airlines paid an average of $16.85 per passenger in fees associated with landings, gate rent and other lease costs.That average has dropped to an estimated $14.30 per passenger in 2005 as airport officials have reduced operating expenses, debt has leveled off and passenger traffic has grown, airport finance manager Amy Weston said.Each airline pays a different per-passenger rate because of the variables involved in its operation. United Airlines' fee today is about $20 while Frontier pays closer to $8 to $9, Weston said. Southwest also would pay about $8 to $9 per passenger.In addition, non-airline revenue from such services as parking and concessions has increased from $6.88 per passenger in 1995 to $9.29 estimated for 2005, she said.The development comes as airlines have grappled with rising fuel prices and aggressive competition that has kept rates low.United, with 56.7 percent of the Denver market, and Frontier, with 17.3 percent, will face challenges with the addition of Southwest, airline analyst Ray Neidl of Calyon Securities said."They're going to affect the pricing structure that Frontier and United are somewhat living with," he said. "It's a fairly high-fare market. That's one of the things Southwest looks for."Aviation analyst Mike Boyd of The Boyd Group predicted fares would not drop significantly because he believes they already have been lowered by the competition between United and Frontier."There is no guarantee that Southwest won't get pummeled in Denver," he said.Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas said he expects the airline to stay competitive. "We've been building this airline for 12 years to compete against anybody, Southwest or otherwise," he said.United spokesman Jeff Green said the airline is awaiting details about Southwest's routes and frequencies. "United will be competitive," he said.United, which is based in Elk Grove, Illinois, also owns the Denver-based discount carrier Ted, and has contracts with regional airlines that operate under the United Express flag. United's parent, UAL Corp., does not release separate financial results for Ted, which started service in February 2004.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- It's been about a decade since some Las Vegas resorts tried to market themselves as family destinations. The emphasis on fun for the kiddies has since given way to marketing dance clubs and $300 bottles of liquor to 20-somethings -- not to mention selling golf resorts and celebrity chefs to 50-somethings. For a mother of two, the line "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" can only mean that you'd rather forget that your kid threw up on a thrill ride here.But while the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has found that visitors with children make up only 10 percent of tourists, the city remains on the must-see list for many families. It's also near enough to places like Disneyland (265 miles away) and the Grand Canyon (275 miles away) to be included on itineraries for regional family trips.And even though there are plenty of ways to blow your money here, Las Vegas can be surprisingly affordable for a family vacation. Good deals abound for airfare and hotels, and many attractions are free. Besides, it's illegal for anyone under 21 to "loiter" in a casino. That means families can walk past slot machines to get to a restaurant, but Mom and Dad can't gamble the college funds away with Junior in tow.After friends raved about the fun they'd had in Vegas with their kids, my husband and I decided to check it out. But we were skeptical. Our mental images of the place were a patchwork of old Vegas -- a boozy, smoky, tacky place populated by losers in plaid jackets -- and new Vegas, where we assumed we'd scoff at the faux Brooklyn Bridge and absurd Eiffel Tower. After all, we live a mile from the real bridge in New York. We'd climbed the real tower in Paris. How could Vegas be anything but a joke?Surprise! The real Las Vegas was beautiful, sparkling, and thrilling. As New Yorkers, we are not accustomed to walking around other cities with our jaws open and our eyes fixed upwards saying "Wow!" That is a reaction we have only observed in other people visiting Manhattan. But that's exactly what we did as we toured the Strip with thousands of other tourists taking in one dazzling extravaganza after another.We walked across the mini-Brooklyn Bridge at the New York-New York hotel-casino and took pictures of the mini-Eiffel Tower, a perfect golden jewel outside the Paris Las Vegas hotel. We were hypnotized by the dancing fountains at Bellagio and loved the pyrotechnics of the volcano that blows up periodically outside The Mirage. The kids would have watched the lions in the glass cage at MGM Grand hotel all night if I hadn't pulled them away.The pirate battle staged outside Treasure Island was free and as entertaining as some Broadway shows I've seen -- only we didn't have to pay $60 for lousy seats. Sexy dancing girls on one ship faced off against cute pirate boys on another ship in a mini-operetta that includes fireworks and choreographed diving maneuvers worthy of the Olympics. (Some parents, however, may judge the bump-and-grind dancing and innuendos too racy for a family audience.)Dare I admit that we liked the ersatz black pyramid and statue of Pharoah at the Luxor as much as the Egyptian wing at the Metropolitan Museum? And the indoor roller coasters at the Adventuredome inside Circus Circus proved thrilling, even though we'd visited Disneyland and Universal Studios a week earlier. P.S., at $22.95 for an all-day pass, Circus Circus was a lot cheaper. The hotel also offers free live shows by circus performers.For those with bigger budgets, there are plenty more ways to empty your wallet with children at your side, including the Eiffel Tower Experience ($7 for children, $9 adults); the Manhattan Express Roller Coaster at New York-New York ($12.50); "Star Trek: The Experience" at the Hilton ($33.99 children, $36.99 adults), and the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay ($9.95 children, $15.95 adults).Choosing where to stay is one of the hardest decisions visitors to Las Vegas make. Every hotel offers something special. We went with the Monte Carlo because of the pool complex and because of its accessibility. You can walk to many other attractions from there, and its layout makes it fast and easy to get from your room to the street, garage or pool. This is no small consideration in Las Vegas, where people can miss their flights because it takes so long to exit massive hotels with multiple wings and thousands of rooms.Our game plan was to spend daylight hours poolside, then to see the Strip lit up at night. We spent hours in the Monte Carlo's lazy river -- the water feels marvelously cool when it's hot outside (it was 109 degrees when we visited in August), and it's heated in winter. And the current in the river is so strong you don't even need a tube -- you just float along. You can rent or buy tubes at the pool, but like other budget-conscious families we saw, we brought inflatable tubes from home.Fine cuisine is wasted on small children, so dining in the fabled restaurants at Wynn Las Vegas or Bellagio was never on our agenda. For lunch, we grazed from the poolside concession. A fruit platter -- a cornucopia of fresh pineapple, luscious berries and perfect cantaloupe -- was a welcome change from the usual junky snacks we eat on vacation.For supper, we went to the Peppermill, a diner that dates all the way back to 1972 -- an eternity in Vegas years. Compared to the rest of the city, the glitz here is low-key, yet it's sparkly and fun. Good service, reasonable prices, and the kids found plenty they liked. Order sparingly -- portions are enormous.For breakfast, the two-for-one buffet at our hotel was good, and the performance by the omelet chef was amazing. Part artist, part machine, he juggled four or five orders at once and executed each to perfection within moments.Our hotel front desk said we could keep our hotel room key card, now deactivated, as a pool pass for the day after we checked out, or as a memento. It's now a treasured part of my 12-year-old's Vegas keepsakes -- along with a "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" T-shirt.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- A rat released on a deserted island off New Zealand outsmarted scientists and evaded traps, baits and sniffer dogs before being captured four months later on a neighboring island, researchers have said.Scientists from the University of Auckland in New Zealand released the Norway rat on the 23.5-acre island of Motuhoropapa to find out why rats are so difficult to eradicate.They got more than they bargained for."Our findings confirm that eliminating a single invading rat is disproportionately difficult," James Russell and his colleagues said in a report in the science journal Nature.Despite all their efforts, including fitting the rat with a radio collar, they couldn't catch the crafty creature.After 10 weeks on the island the rodent decided it had had enough. It swam 400 meters, the longest distance recorded for a rat across open sea, to another rat-free island where it was eventually captured in a trap baited with penguin meat several weeks later.The Norway rat, which is also called the brown or sewer rat, is a husky rodent that weighs about 11 ounces and has a long tail.Invading rats on remote islands off the coast of New Zealand have been a recurring problem. Norway rats have invaded the uninhabited Noises Islands at least six times between 1981 and 2002."Our results may help in the design of conservation strategies to keep islands free of invasive rodents," Russell and team added.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

OSLO, Norway (Reuters) -- Greenland's ice cap has thickened slightly in recent years despite wide predictions of a thaw triggered by global warming, a team of scientists said on Thursday.The 9,842-feet thick ice cap is a key concern in debates about climate change because a total melt would raise world sea levels by about 7 meters. And a runaway thaw might slow the Gulf Stream that keeps the North Atlantic region warm.But satellite measurements showed that more snowfall was falling and thickening the ice cap, especially at high altitudes, according to the report in the journal Science.Glaciers at sea level have been retreating fast because of a warming climate, making many other scientists believe the entire ice cap was thinning."The overall ice thickness changes are ... approximately plus 1.9 inches a year or 21.26 inches over 11 years," according to the experts at Norwegian, Russian and U.S. institutes led by Ola Johannessen at the Mohn Sverdrup center for Global Ocean Studies and Operational Oceanography in Norway.However, they said that the thickening seemed consistent with theories of global warming, blamed by most experts on a build-up of heat-trapping gases from burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories and cars.Warmer air, even if it is still below freezing, can carry more moisture. That extra moisture falls as snow below 32 Fahrenheit.And the scientists said that the thickening of the ice-cap might be offset by a melting of glaciers around the fringes of Greenland. Satellite data was not good enough to measure the melt nearer sea level.Most models of global warming indicate that the Greenland ice might melt within thousands of years if warming continues.Oceans would rise by about 70 meters if the far bigger ice-cap on Antarctica melted along with Greenland. Antarctica's vast size acts as a deep freeze likely to slow any melt of the southern continent.The panel that advises the United Nations has predicted that global sea levels might rise by almost a meter by 2100 because of a warming climate.Such a rise would swamp low-lying Pacific islands and warming could trigger more hurricanes, droughts, spread deserts and drive thousands of species to extinction.Still, a separate study in Science on Thursday said sea levels were probably rising slightly because of a melt of ice sheets."Ice sheets now appear to be contributing modestly to sea level rise because warming has increased mass loss from coastal areas more than warming has increased mass gain from enhanced snowfall in cold central regions," it said."Greenland presently makes the largest contribution to sea level rise," according to the report by scientists led by Richard Alley of Pennsylvania State University in the United States.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

SILVER SPRING, Maryland (AP) -- Antibacterial soaps and washes aren't any better than plain, old soap and water for fighting illness in the household, says a panel of federal health advisers.They warned manufacturers they will have to prove their products' benefits or they may be restricted from marketing them. (Watch: Ineffective soap? -- 1:20)Dr. Alastair Wood, chairman of the panel which met Thursday to advise the Food and Drug Administration, said he saw no reason to purchase antibacterial products, given they generally cost more than soap.The advisers also worried about the potential risks of the products, particularly the common hand soaps and body washes that use synthetic chemicals, create an environmental hazard and could contribute to the growth of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics."I think we're seeing a lot of sentiment against (antibacterials) being marketed to the consumer" unless they can show some added benefit over regular soap and water, said Dr. Mary E. Tinetti, a member of the panel.Industry representatives contend their products are safe and more effective than conventional soaps, because they kill germs instead of just washing them off. They said consumers should have a right to choose their products in a free market.Their products have grown significantly in popularity in the last decade, as consumers decided killing germs was better than simply washing them down the drain.But the FDA said controlled studies found no significant difference in infections in households using antibacterial products and those with regular soap and water.On Thursday, the agency's Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Panel, composed of independent experts, recommended no specific regulatory action against the manufacturers, but called on FDA to study the products' risks versus their benefits.The agency has the authority to order warning labels on the products or place restrictions on how they are marketed to the public. Susan Johnson, associate director of nonprescription products for the FDA, said the agency would pay close attention to the panel's concerns.FDA officials and panelists raised concerns about whether the antibacterials contribute to the growth of drug-resistant bacteria, and said the agency has not found any medical studies that definitively linked specific antibacterial products to reduced infection rates.Dr. Stuart B. Levy, president of the Alliance for Prudent Use of Antibiotics, said laboratory studies have suggested the soaps sometimes leave behind bacteria that have a better ability to flush threatening substances -- from antibacterial soap chemicals to antibiotics -- from their system."What we're seeing is evolution in action," he said of the process.He advocated restricting antibacterial products from consumer use, leaving them solely for hospitals and homes with very sick people."Bacteria are not going to be destroyed," he said. "They've seen dinosaurs come and go. They will be happy to see us come and go. Any attempt to sterilize our home is fraught with failure."Levy said overuse of antibiotics is the main cause of bacteria developing resistance to them. He acknowledged that a yearlong study showed that homes using antibacterial soaps did not show an increase in resistant bacteria in significant numbers, but he argued the soaps will still contribute to resistance over a longer period.Industry representatives said they would provide more information to FDA about their products safety and effectiveness."The importance of controlling bacteria in the home is no different than the professional setting," said Elizabeth Anderson, associate general counsel for the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association. "We feel strongly that consumers must continue to have the choice to use these products."Panelists also distinguished alcohol-based hand cleansers from antibacterial soaps and washes. The cleansers are particularly useful in situations in which soap and water are not available.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Federal regulators on Thursday approved what would be the first transplant of fetal stem cells into human brains, a procedure that if successful could open the door to treating a host of neural disorders.The transplant recipients will be children who suffer from a rare, fatal genetic disorder.The Food and Drug Administration said that doctors at Stanford University Medical Center can begin the testing on six children afflicted with Batten disease, a degenerative malady that renders its young victims blind, speechless and paralyzed before it kills them.An internal Stanford review board must still approve the test, a process that could take weeks.The stem cells to be transplanted in the brain aren't human embryonic stem cells, which are derived from days-old embryos. Instead, the cells are immature neural cells that are destined to turn into the mature cells that makeup a fully formed brain.Parkinson's disease patients and stroke victims have received transplants of fully formed brain cells before, but the malleable brain cells involved here have never before been implanted.Batten disease is caused by a defective gene that fails to create an enzyme needed in the brain to help dispose of brain cellular waste. The waste piles up and kills healthy cells until the patient dies. Most victims die before they reach their teens.The idea is to inject the sick kids with healthy, immature neural stem cells that will "engraft" in a brain that will direct them to turn into cells able to produce the missing enzyme.Such an experiment showed promise in Batten-afflicted mice, but such an ethically charged test has never been tried before in humans."I'm sure there is no threat to anyone's identity," said Arthur Caplan, director of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Bioethics. "But we are starting down that road."What's more, some of the brain cells to be implanted will be derived from aborted fetuses, which Caplan also said raised ethical concerns for some.Concern expectedStem Cells Inc., the Palo Alto, California biotechnology company developing the Batten disease treatment, said it receives its fetal tissue from a nonprofit California foundation that also collects tissue from miscarriages and other surgical processes. Stem Cells chief executive Martin McGlynn declined to name the foundation.Stem Cells Inc. first applied for the human test last December, but the FDA demanded more information in February and put the application on hold. An FDA spokeswoman didn't return telephone calls or an e-mail inquiry.McGlynn said the FDA wanted more information on where the transplanted brain cells were expected to go in the brain and other related health issues such as the chances the transplant might cause tumors. McGlynn also said the agency wanted more information on its manufacturing process and more details about the design of the six-patient test.He said the FDA's concern was expected."This endeavor is unique. It's pioneering and no one has ever proposed to do what we are attempting," McGlynn said. "Once you put those stem cells in, you can't get them back."Stanford University neurosurgeon chief Dr. Stephen Huhn will bore small holes through each child's skull and inject the neural cells into the patients' brains. The children will be given drugs to ensure the patients immune system doesn't attack the new cells and they will be closely monitored for a year.Huhn said the initial Batten trial will primarily test whether the millions of new cells each child receives is safe for them. Ultimately, more tests with many more patients over several years will be needed to determine whether the transplanted cells help Batten patients.Human testingIf there is success, people afflicted by other brain disorders could benefit from such treatment."This may be what the future may hold for regenerative medicine," Huhn said.Stem Cells Inc. was founded by Stanford University researcher Irving Weissman. The company's stock closed up 11 cents to $4.96 in trading Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.McGlynn said Batten disease was chosen because mice genetically engineered with the disease were readily available and because it's a brutal, fatal disease with no cure -- a fact the FDA considered when weighing whether to approve such a novel human experiment.McGlynn said the stem cells had to be tested in humans."You cannot ask a mouse how it's feeling," he said.For Marcus Kerner, a federal prosecutor in Santa Ana, California with a Batten-afflicted son, the FDA's approval Thursday gave him hope his child may actually survive.He said he will apply to have his 5-year-old son Daniel enrolled in the experiment."It is a horrific, terrible way to watch a child die and there is currently nothing available to stop it," Kerner said. "I think this is going to be a major medical breakthrough that will save Daniel's life."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A recent string of lawsuits accusing Roman Catholic priests of molesting children has reinforced suspicions among some critics of the church that remote Alaska was a dumping ground for problem clergy."I absolutely believe that church officials intentionally sent abusive priests to minor communities, transient communities, where kids may be less apt to tell and have less faith in the justice system," said David Clohessy, national director of Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.Four priests who served in Alaska have been sued over the past two weeks, with the most recent case brought Thursday against a Jesuit accused of molesting a 14-year-old girl in 1980 in the Eskimo village of St. Marys, some 500 miles southwest of Fairbanks.All together, 12 priests who served in Alaska have been publicly accused of sexual misconduct. Most of the alleged abuse occurred in remote villages, and most of the alleged victims were Alaska Natives.Patrick Wall, a former Benedictine priest and consultant for a Costa Mesa, California, law firm that has worked on more than 300 church abuse allegations nationwide, said rural Alaska was a prime place to send abusive priests. Alaska's isolation and its cultural reverence for authority figures, such as elders and priests, meant parishioners would be less likely to speak up.The number of priests accused is a small percentage of the 500 who served in Alaska between 1959 and 2002. But Wall said he has interviewed more than 100 Alaskans who have complained of abuse, and "I'm quite sure that by the time this runs its course, we can expect over 200 clients.""There are whole villages we've never been able to visit that we know perpetrators were in," he said.Fairbanks Bishop Donald Kettler disputed the notion of Alaska as a dumping ground."My reaction when I hear that is that I feel the opposite is really true," said Kettler, who has been bishop for three years. Those who work or volunteer in the diocese "come with a commitment wanting to serve the peoples of Alaska. They were not forced to come here."Plaintiffs' attorneys said they have had a hard time obtaining church personnel records that might prove their suspicions.The Fairbanks Diocese serves 41 parishes spread out over more than 400,000 square miles. It covers Alaska's Interior, the North Slope and the western coast.Rev. John Whitney, a church official in Portland, Oregon, vehemently denied Alaska is a magnet or hiding spot for problem priests."It's absolutely untrue," he said. "I have never seen any evidence of that. People were sent to Alaska who requested to go to the missions there. It was considered the hardest place to go, because of the remoteness and the conditions they had to work with at the time. They wanted to spread the gospel."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Calling upon lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina, Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas said Saturday the federal government can do a better job of caring for its citizens.Consumers need protection from price gouging in times of gasoline shortages and supply delays and low-income families need help paying home-heating fuel bills, projected to rise by as much as 50 percent this winter, Pryor said in the weekly Democratic radio address.High energy costs also are hurting small and large businesses alike, he said.Pryor said Congress and the Bush administration must return to an era of "responsible budgeting" and be less inclined to advocate tax cuts for special interests as a remedy for economic ills."We simply must do a better job of putting the needs of all Americans over the wants of a privileged few," the senator said.He also stressed the importance of energy independence and said the country should waste no time in developing alternative fuelsPryor reminded listeners that much work in health care, housing and economic opportunities remained to rebuild communities damaged by Gulf Coast hurricanes, and pledged Democratic resolve to fix problems that caused the failed government response to Hurricane Katrina.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- Rep. Tom DeLay appeared in court Friday for the first time since indictment, but arraignment on conspiracy and money laundering charges was delayed pending a hearing on his request for a new judge in the politically-charged case.DeLay, who has stepped aside at least for the time being as House majority leader, did not speak during the brief court session, and was not called on to make a plea. But at a news conference shortly afterward, he attacked the prosecutor in the case as politically motivated, and said, "I will absolutely be exonerated."Inside the courtroom, Judge Bob Perkins told defense lawyer Dick DeGuerin that "the best way for me to handle" the request for a new judge would be to defer further proceedings.That set the stage for a pointed exchange between the two men that seemed as much a campaign debate as a courtroom exchange.In respectful tones, DeGuerin noted that Perkins had donated money to MoveOn.org, a liberal organization that he said has been "selling T-shirts with Mr. DeLay's mug shot on it."Judge responds"Let me just say I haven't ever seen that T-shirt, number one. Number two, I haven't bought it. Number three, the last time I contributed to MoveOn that I know of was prior to the November election last year, when they were primarily helping Sen. Kerry," responded the judge.MoveOn.org denied it was selling any such shirts, and issued a statement that said, "DeGuerin has either bad information or lied in court.""All we want is a fair trial and a fair tribunal," DeGuerin told reporters outside the courthouse.Prosecutor Ronnie Earle signaled he intends to contest the request for a new judge."What this means is if a judge had contributed to Crime Stoppers that judge could not hear a burglary case," Earle said. "Carried to its extreme, that is what I think this motion means and I think that's absurd.""We don't live in a country where political party determines the measure of justice," Earle said, adding that he though DeLay could get a fair trial in the state's capital.It was not clear when the hearing would be held on DeLay's motion to replace Perkins, nor was it clear how much it would lengthen proceedings in the case. The Texas congressman has said he wants a speedy trial.DeLay appeared relaxed as he sat next to his wife, Christine, in the courtroom for what turned out to be a session of roughly four minutes. Earlier, he had entered the courthouse through a side door to avoid the cameras.DeLay and two political associates are charged in an alleged scheme to funnel corporate donations to GOP candidates for the Texas Legislature. State law prohibits use of corporate donations to elect or defeat state candidates. All three deny wrongdoing.Political from the beginningThe case has had a political cast from the outset. The charges arise from a campaign in which Republicans gained control of the legislature, then used their new majority to force through a redistricting plan that netted the GOP additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.DeLay's indictment has roiled Republican politics in Washington, where he was forced to step aside as the No. 2 House Republican. With an eye on the 2006 elections, Democrats have sought to turn him into a symbol of what they depict as an ethically-challenged Republican majority.But apart from giving up his leadership post -- as required under GOP rules -- DeLay has been nothing but defiant.He retains a powerful influence in the House GOP high command, has repeatedly attacked Earle and now seeks to force the removal of the judge, who has donated to the organization that DeLay's lawyer described as antithetical to GOP fortunes."I will not let a prosecutor who pursues his political enemies by abusing the law and manufacturing baseless charges wreck our justice system," DeLay said at his news conference.Change of venueApart from seeking a new judge, the congressman's lawyers are asking to have the case moved out of Austin, one of the state's most liberal areas.DeLay turned himself in to the Harris County sheriff's office in Houston on Thursday, avoiding hordes of reporters waiting for him in nearby Fort Bend County, where he lives.He smiled broadly in a mug shot that was publicly released. DeLay also was fingerprinted, went before a judge and was released on $10,000 bail.DeLay's co-defendants are John Colyandro of Dallas, who was executive director of a Texas political action committee founded by DeLay, and Jim Ellis, a paid adviser who also runs DeLay's national fundraising committee. They also face conspiracy and money laundering charges, but their attorneys asked that their cases be separated from DeLay's proceedings.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shirley Horn, the jazz pianist and vocalist who got her start opening for Miles Davis and became revered as a master interpreter of American standards, has died at the age of 71, her record label said. Horn died Thursday night in her native Washington, D.C., after a long illness, according to a statement released by Verve Records.Horn was often compared to Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae, and considered one of the last great jazz vocalists of her era. "I like to be referred to as a good singer of good songs in good taste," she told The Associated Press in a 1991 interview. Horn started playing the piano when she was a child, and by the time she was a college student at Howard University, she had put together her first jazz trio. Her talent drew the attention of music legend Quincy Jones, who would produce her first albums, as well as Miles Davis, who asked her to open for him at the renowned Village Vanguard in 1960.However, after producing two albums for Mercury Records, she had creative differences with the label and left. At the same time, she had a young daughter and decided to scale back on her performances and recordings."I just remembered when I was a young girl and 11 and 12 and I would come from music school, my mother was there with a hot meal," she said in an interview with National Public Radio in 2002. "I was there, and I was happy that I was."Horn's career entered a renaissance when she signed with Verve Records in 1986. She went on to release several acclaimed albums, and was featured at major jazz festivals and venues around the globe. In her later years, she performed with artists ranging from Davis, who reunited with her for a rare appearance as a sideman on her 1991 album "You Won't Forget Me," to Wynton Marsalis.Horn was nominated for multiple Grammys and won the award in 1991 for best jazz vocal performance. Last year, Horn was honored as a jazz master last year by the National Endowment for the Arts. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(CNN) -- Around this time of year -- like a visit from the flu bug -- Hollywood is bitten by a severe case of B.O.B, "Blatant Oscar Bid." "North Country" is one of this year's first full-blown cases.Three Oscar winners are in the cast just to help make the point. Charlize Theron stars as Josey Aimes, a poverty-ridden single mother escaping an abusive relationship who becomes an unlikely activist against a male dominated mining company.Sissy Spacek plays her emotionally conflicted mother, and Frances McDormand gives a great turn as her friend, Glory, another female miner, who is responsible for helping Josey get her job in the first place.Attempting to follow in the steps of "Silkwood," Norma Rae," and "Erin Brockovich," "North Country" carries its importance like a tattered flag. It never lets you forget that this is a meaningful film about an important subject.This movie -- very, very, very loosely based on a true story -- tells the tale of a group women of who broke the status quo by working as iron miners in the remote, male-dominated world of northern Minnesota's Iron Range.The movie is framed by scenes in a courtroom as Josey brings a class action suit against the mine for sexual harassment. The story then returns to the courtroom throughout the film in order to underscore what is happening at the mine.HarassmentIt's the 1980s and Josey, her young daughter and adolescent son have fled from her abusive husband. They end up at her parents' house in the town where she grew up.Her father, played by Richard Jenkins ("Six Feet Under"), works at the local mine and is less than pleased to see his daughter. Her mother, played by Spacek, is more supportive.Josey is working a dead-end job in a beauty parlor when she's convinced by Glory -- over her parents' strong objections -- to take a job at the local iron mine. The sexual harassment begins immediately, ranging from adolescent locker room pranks to attempted rape.Soon Josey seeks out the help of a local man, Bill White (Woody Harrelson), a lawyer who has given up practicing law after a successful, but unfulfilling, career in New York City.He takes her case not because of its merits, but for the challenge (and notoriety): It would be the first sexual harassment class action suit in history against a major corporation, and would therefore change the course of how women are treated in the workplace.But in order to have a class action suit there must be three complaints, and none of the other women -- including Glory -- are willing to rock the boat. They desperately want Josey to go along to get along, and therefore leave her hanging out to dry.Now the film degenerates into one overwrought and poorly written scene after another. The harassment increases. The courtroom scenes become longer and longer. The mining company's lawyer -- a single token woman without another attorney in sight for the defense -- constantly reminds the company's CEO that if any one else joins the case, all is lost.Finally, the movie gets to its dramatic courtroom showdown -- and loses whatever credibility it had. Without revealing too much, a sudden, left-field revelation changes the entire case and the once-alone Josey now has a cheering section. The turn of events is so patently false and trite I wanted to throw my notebook at the screen. Even Frank Capra would have been embarrassed.Yes, the acting is excellent (despite Michael Seitzman's clich�d dialogue), and Niki Caro's direction straightforwardly captures the bleakness of the living and working conditions suffered by the miners. The talent offered by the film is obvious.But all the talent in the world is no excuse for a movie essentially designed as Oscar bait. If you want to see a fine film about working-class laborers taking on the big boys, try "Norma Rae." If you want to see good performances and cinematography wasted in a mediocre movie, that would be "North Country."

HERMISTON, Oregon (AP) -- Parked alongside his onion fields, Bob Hale can prop open a laptop and read his e-mail or, with just a keystroke, check the moisture of his crops.As the jack rabbits run by, he can watch CNN online, play a video game or turn his irrigation sprinklers on and off, all from the air conditioned comfort of his truck.While cities around the country are battling over plans to offer free or cheap Internet access, this lonely terrain is served by what is billed as the world's largest hotspot, a wireless cloud that stretches over 700 square miles of landscape so dry and desolate it could have been lifted from a cowboy tune.Similar wireless projects have been stymied in major metropolitan areas by telephone and cable TV companies, which have poured money into legislative bills aimed at discouraging such competition. In Philadelphia, for instance, plans to blanket the entire city with Wi-Fi fueled a battle in the Pennsylvania legislature with Verizon Communications Inc., leading to a law that limits the ability of every other municipality in the state to do the same.But here among the thistle, large providers such as local phone company Qwest Communications International Inc. see little profit potential. So wireless entrepreneur Fred Ziari drew no resistance for his proposed wireless network, enabling him to quickly build the $5 million cloud at his own expense.While his service is free to the general public, Ziari is recovering the investment through contracts with more than 30 city and county agencies, as well as big farms such as Hale's, whose onion empire supplies over two-thirds of the red onions used by the Subway sandwich chain. Morrow County, for instance, pays $180,000 a year for Ziari's service.Each client, he said, pays not only for yearly access to the cloud but also for specialized applications such as a program that allows local officials to check parking meters remotely."Internet service is only a small part of it. The same wireless system is used for surveillance, for intelligent traffic system, for intelligent transportation, for telemedicine and for distance education," said Ziari, who immigrated to the United States from the tiny Iranian town of Shahi on the Caspian Sea.It's revolutionizing the way business is conducted in this former frontier town."Outside the cloud, I can't even get DSL," said Hale. "When I'm inside it, I can take a picture of one of my onions, plug it into my laptop and send it to the Subway guys in San Diego and say, 'Here's a picture of my crop."''Getting the go-ahead'Even as the number of Wi-Fi hotspots continues to mushroom, with 72,140 now registered globally, only a handful of cities have managed to blanket their entire urban core with wireless Internet access.Hundreds of cities from San Francisco to Philadelphia have announced plans to throw a wireless tarp over their communities, and a few smaller ones such as Chaska, Minnesota, have succeeded. But only Ziari appears to have pinned down such a large area.The wireless network uses both short-range Wi-Fi signals and a version of a related, longer-range technology known as WiMax. While Wi-Fi and WiMax antennas typically connect with the Internet over a physical cable, the transmitters in this network act as wireless relay points, passing the signal along through a technique known as "meshing."Ziara's company built the towers to match the topography. They are as close as a quarter-of-a-mile apart inside towns like Hermiston, and as far apart as several miles in the high-desert wilderness.Asked why other municipalities have had a harder time succeeding, he replies: "Politics.""If we get a go-ahead, we can do a fairly good-sized city in a month or two," said Ziari. "The problem is getting the go-ahead.""The 'Who's-going-to-get-a-piece-of-the action?' has been a big part of the obstacles," said Karen Hanley, senior marketing director of the Austin, Texas-based Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry group.No major players were vying for the action here, making the area's remoteness -- which in the past slowed technological progress -- the key to its advance.Morrow County, which borders Hermiston and spans 2,000 square miles, still doesn't have a single traffic light. It only has 11,000 people, a number that does not justify a large telecom player making a big investment, said Casey Beard, the director of emergency management for the county.Beard was looking for a wireless provider two years ago when Ziari came knocking. The county first considered his proposal at the end of 2002 and by mid-2003, part of the cloud was up.The high desert around Hermiston also happens to be the home of one of the nation's largest stockpiles of Cold War-era chemical weapons. Under federal guidelines, local government officials were required to devise an emergency evacuation plan for the accidental release of nerve and mustard agents.Now, emergency responders in the three counties surrounding the Umatilla Chemical Depot are equipped with laptop computers that are Wi-Fi ready. These laptops are set up to detail the size and direction of a potential chemical leak, enabling responders to direct evacuees from the field. Traffic lights and billboards posting evacuation messages can also be controlled remotely over the wireless network."We had to find a way to transmit huge amounts of data -- pictures, plume charts.... All that data is very complex and it's hard over radio to relay to someone wearing chemical protective gear," said Beard.And for the Hermiston Police Department, having squad cars equipped with a wireless laptop means officers can work less overtime by being able to file their crime reports from the field.While the network was initially set up for the benefit of city and county officials, it's the area's businesses that stand to gain the most, say industry experts.For the Columbia River Port of Umatilla, one of the largest grain ports in the nation, the wireless network is being used to set up a high-tech security perimeter that will scan bar codes on incoming cargo."It has opened our eyes and minds to possibilities. Now that we're not tied to offices and wires and poles, now what can we do?" said Kim Puzey, port director.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. lawmakers are urging the Bush administration to resist a push from other countries to shift control of the Internet to the United Nations, arguing that such a move would stifle innovation and free expression."Is it going to become a vehicle for global taxation of domain names? Are you going to allow folks who have demonstrated a pattern of suppression of content, are they going to be put in charge of running this thing?" said Minnesota Republican Sen. Norm Coleman, sponsor of a Senate resolution that calls for the Internet's core addressing system to remain under U.S. control.Coleman's resolution, along with similar remarks by senior lawmakers in the House of Representatives, should give a boost to U.S. negotiators as they prepare for a United Nations summit in Tunisia next month where the issue will loom large.Though no one country controls the Internet as a whole, the U.S. Commerce Department maintains final authority over the domain-name system that matches easy-to-remember names like "example.com" with the Internet Protocol numbers that are assigned to each computer on the Internet.That system is overseen by a California-based nonprofit group called the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN.If other countries refuse to recognize ICANN's legitimacy, Internet users in different parts of the globe could wind up at different Web sites when they type "www.example.com" into their browsers.Countries like Brazil and Iran have argued in a series of meetings over the past two years that the Internet is now a global resource that should be overseen by the United Nations or some other international body.The European Union withdrew its support of the current system last month.The United States has made clear that it intends to maintain control.In an interview, Coleman said a bureaucratic body like the United Nations' International Telecommunications Union would slow innovation and extend its reach beyond the domain-name system. Countries that censor online content could use the forum to ban free expression elsewhere, he said."I don't think this is mundane. I really think you're talking about the future of the Internet here," said Coleman, a prominent UN critic who has overseen a Senate investigation into the UN's oil-for-food scandal.Since it was founded in 1998, ICANN has introduced competition into the market for domain names and expanded the number of names available by introducing new suffixes like .info and .biz. as alternatives to standbys like .com and .org.But the nonprofit body has also been plagued by infighting, charges that it does not operate in a transparent manner, and the perception that it is cowed by the U.S. government.ICANN agreed to suspend work on a proposed .xxx domain name for sex sites after the Bush administration objected in August.Despite the nonprofit group's flaws, "I don't think anyone would argue that there is any demonstrated effort to limit access, to control content, to limit growth. If anything ICANN has overseen a tremendous positive expansion," Coleman said.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ALEXANDRIA, Egypt (AP) -- Thousands of police manned barricades around Christian places of worship in this Mediterranean coastal city Saturday after seething sectarian tension spilled into the streets. Egypt's top Muslim and Christian leaders called for calm Saturday, a day after 5,000 Muslim rioters rampaged through two predominantly Christian neighborhoods in Alexandria. The attack on churches and shops constituted Egypt's worst Muslim-Christian violence in five years.The violence sparked clashes with rubber bullet-firing police in which two rioters and two policemen were killed, police and hospital officials said Saturday on condition of anonymity. At least 90 people were injured.The violence followed a week of protests over a stage play deemed offensive to Muslims and performed two years earlier in the St. George's Coptic Church, which was one of seven churches attacked. Although unnoticed at the time, the play was recorded by someone and distributed on DVD recently, angering a large section of Alexandria's predominantly Muslim community.Local political leaders and security officials claim local hard-line Islamists were behind the release of the DVD to coincide with next month's parliamentary elections. The Islamists are being accused of trying to tarnish a Coptic Christian candidate on the ruling National Democratic Party's ticket in Alexandria's impoverished constituency of Ghorbal.But Maher Khalah, one of two Copts running as NDP candidates throughout this mainly Sunni Muslim country, announced later Saturday that he was withdrawing from the election race because of the violence and to prevent any reccurrence."This violence is not about the DVD, it is all about the elections," Khalah told The Associated Press.A senior security official also blamed Islamic extremists for spreading rumors of Copts handing out DVDs showing the play, which is entitled "I Was Blind But Now I Can See." The play tells the story of a young Christian who converts to Islam and becomes disillusioned.Worries of violence spreadingCoptic Christians account for about 10 percent of Egypt's 72 million population and generally live in harmony with the Muslim majority. But violence flares occasionally, particularly in small southern communities. Many Copts also complain of discrimination.Friday's violence was the bloodiest since January 2000, when 23 mainly Christians were killed after an argument between a Coptic shopkeeper and a Muslim customer degenerated into street battles in el-Kusheh, south of Cairo. In a joint-statement, Coptic Orthodox Church head Pope Shenouda III and Egypt's highest Islamic authority, Grand Sheik of al-Azhar Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, urged Christians and Muslims to resort to dialogue instead of violence."We call on everyone to be calm so we can spread the grace of peace, security and affection among us," the statement said. "If something happened and was misunderstood, then it is our duty to deal with it in the spirit of dialogue and understanding."Shenouda was scheduled to visit Alexandria on Saturday for his annual Ramadan fast-breaking meal with Muslim officials, but canceled because of the violence, church leaders said.The protests over the DVD started October 14, and Islamic leaders accused Copts of distributing DVD copies of the play. The church denied having any role in the production or distribution of the DVDs and refused Islamist demands to apologize.Coptic community leader Kamil Sediq warned that the repercussions of Friday's violence could spread to Cairo and other provinces and stressed that Copts would not be apologizing over the DVD."We're not going to apologize because we don't want it to become a precedent," said Sediq of the Coptic Community Council, a secular body of prominent Copts established in 1874 to oversee affairs of the community. "We did nothing to apologize for."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The British government says a parrot imported from Suriname that died in quarantine two days ago was infected with the "highly pathogenic" H5 strain of bird flu.It is not yet known if the virus is the same as the deadly Asian H5N1 strain found in Romania, Turkey and western Russia, which in some cases has jumped from birds to humans in Southeast Asia.Because the bird was in quarantine, the UK's disease-free status is still in place, said Debby Reynolds, the country's chief veterinary officer.Suriname, which sits on South America's northeast coast, has not reported the lethal H5N1 strain, according to the World Organization for Animal Health.The bird was one of 148 parrots and "soft bills" that arrived in the country on September 16 for display and for collectors. Another parrot also died, but she did not know the cause.Dispelling concerns, Ron Cutler, a bird authority at the University of East London, said the finding shows the "British quarantine system is working effectively."Meanwhile, the European Union says it is preparing to ban poultry imports from Croatia after the country detected bird flu in some dead swans. The wild swans tested positive for the H5 virus, but it was not yet known if it was the deadly H5N1 strain. (Full story)The swans landed in Croatia earlier this week, but it is not known where they migrated from.The bird flu has killed more than 60 people in Asia over the past two years. The latest person to have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 strain was a seven-year-old boy in Thailand -- whose father died from the virus two days ago.Hospital officials say the boy, who apparently helped his father slaughter and cook a chicken, is expected to recover.Most of the human deaths have been linked to contact with sick birds. But experts fear the virus could mutate into a form that can be transmitted between humans, triggering a global pandemic.As the scare over bird flu intensifies, Europe and Asia are ordering clampdowns on the movements of birds and people.Hong Kong's border with China, one of Asia's busiest, might be sealed if the deadly H5N1 bird flu starts spreading from human to human, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.The H5N1 strain first surfaced in Hong Kong in 1997, then re-emerged in 2003 in South Korea, before spreading to Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, Russia and Europe.Hong Kong has been a hotbed of virus alerts in recent years, including the outbreak of the SARS disease in 2003, which killed almost 300 people there. (Full story)The H5N1 bird flu strain also infected 18 people in Hong Kong in 1997, six of whom died.Consequently, Hong Kong's entire poultry population, estimated at around 1.5 million birds, was destroyed within three days. This is thought to have averted a pandemic.In Europe, the EU has placed restrictions on bird markets and shows while urging nations to vaccinate zoo birds as part of increased measures to head off the spread of the disease.'Global threat'EU foreign ministers have declared the spread of bird flu from Asia into Europe a "global threat" requiring international action. (Full story)With the bird flu virus encroaching on Europe, health ministers from 25 European Union nations met on Thursday to talk about how to keep the virus from jumping to humans, and how to respond if it does.After the talks outside London, Britain's Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt said the risk posed to people in Europe was "very low.""The World Health Organization confirmed that there had been no increase in the risk of pandemic flu," she told reporters."But of course we have to ensure we are prepared in each of our countries."No humans in Europe are known to have contracted bird flu during the current outbreak.Several EU countries are already slaughtering suspect birds and Britain's chief medical officer Liam Donaldson described the possibility of a human flu pandemic "public health enemy No. 1 and we are on the march against it."A U.N. agency warned that the risk of bird flu spreading to the Middle East and Africa has markedly increased following the confirmation of the Romanian and Turkish outbreaks.Poultry from Turkey and Romania have already been banned by the European Union. Tests were also being carried out on birds in Bulgaria and Croatia.On Friday, Australia imposed an immediate ban on live bird imports from Canada after a group of racing pigeons was found to have been exposed to diseases including bird flu. (Full story)With demand for a treatment against bird flu far outstripping its capacity to produce it, Roche, the maker of Tamiflu has agreed to meet with four generic drug makers to arrange for them to produce the drug too. (Full story).

BLUFFTON, South Carolina (AP) -- A would-be carjacker got a different kind of jolt from his intended victim's morning cup of coffee, authorities said.The suspect tapped the car window Wednesday morning with a gun and motioned the driver to get out, Chief Deputy Roy Hughes said.But the driver -- who had just bought a cup of hot coffee -- slammed the car door into the carjacker's legs, threw the coffee at his neck and face and wrestled him to the ground, Hughes said.A shot was fired during the scuffle but no one was hurt, Hughes said. He said the driver managed to get the gun from the suspect and point it at him.The suspect ran into nearby woods, Hughes said. Deputies are searching for him and two people thought to be with him who drove off during the scuffle.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(CNN) -- CNN.com asked readers what suggestions they had for improved local response to emergencies. Here is a sampling of those responses, some of which have been edited:The only government that needs reorganization is Louisiana. Those elected officials were inept at handling the disaster. How many hurricanes hit the U.S. a year? More than one. Why can Florida, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi etc., handle these disasters without a peep from those elected officials and Louisiana's officials cry on TV about the lack of resources. There was a lack of resources because of their poor planning. They were too busy partying on Bourbon Street. Laurie, Racine, WisconsinDefinitely local and state governments should handle preparation. In the case of Katrina, the local and state authorities had four full days to prepare and evacuate (see Florida), they did not. The local authorities should be in a better position to know the needs of their citizens, not the feds! Nagin and Blanco are to blame for what happened in New Orleans. The federal government cannot be expected to handle everything. That's why states were considered sovereign. Jane Mastan, Grand Island, New YorkDisaster response should be as it is, the states' responsibility. However, counties and states should have to meet a higher standard that the federal government should set. I feel that the suburban Philadelphia county where I grew up is well prepared. I worked for a time for the county's emergency services department and saw great interaction between the local municipalities, the county, state (PEMA), and FEMA. Taking things one step further, the local ARES/RACES amateur radio operators were also part of every disaster practice, serving as a backup communications link. The radio operators would be deployed to each town police and fire station in the event of an emergency "just in case." Pete Ruggieri, Lancaster, PennsylvaniaThe military is and should be the resource of last resort. Local officials are entirely responsible for planning and organizing the response to emergencies and natural disasters. State and federal coordination are essential, but preparedness must be local. Bill Babb, Phoenix, ArizonaThis problem stems back to the civil war -- the second biggest disaster to hit the South. The rights of the states were stripped away and we've been fighting ever since to get them back. I'd love to see changes in the government -- it will never happen. We need more power in each state to make a difference. Not some central authority that is unwilling and unable to hear the will of the people. Each state has to have the power to make a difference. Kurt Owings Mills, Maryland

(CNN) -- Government response to Hurricane Katrina was sharply criticized at all levels. CNN.com asked readers what suggestions they had to improve federal response to emergencies. Here is a sampling of the responses, some of which have been edited:The government did not create Hurricane Katrina. Mother Nature did. The government is not responsible for where someone chooses to live or where hurricanes hit. People need to take responsibility for their own lives and their own mistakes. Why should the government restructure for something that may never happen again. Pam, Sterling, MichiganIf you keep tripping over furniture in the middle of the night, the solution is not to rearrange the furniture, but to turn the light on! If the local, state, and federal leadership can't make common sense decisions now, just imagine how disoriented they would be by restructuring. Jennifer Rellick, Alexandria, VirginiaFEMA should be a stand-alone organization with a strong leader answerable only to the president. Homeland Security should be ended and the enormous salaries redirected to FEMA ...and Defense Departments...even to active and reserve military to make these areas more attractive to new recruits. After all our ultimate defense is the military -- not the Department of Homeland Security, which has been so ineffective. We don't need a color-coded alert system, just competent people to help and defend us in time of need. Donna Beevers, Magnolia, ArkansasThe very first step is to return FEMA to its original mission and structure. When established under President Jimmy Carter's overall government reorganization, the whole purpose of FEMA was to be the "go to" federal agency for all kinds of natural and human-caused domestic disasters in the US -- anything that wouldn't come under the authority of the Defense Department. With the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA seems to have become downgraded in more than just its loss of cabinet-level status. Jan Thomas, Madison, WisconsinBecause of the nature of our government, state rights vs national policies, I don't see how we can work together cohesively. Perhaps a constitutional amendment is needed to ensure that specific areas of common need [are] structured and financed only by the federal government but administered by the state and locals. Any deviation from the set policies and manipulation of these funds for other uses would be considered to be a federal offense and the elected local and state government officials and their appointees would face federal criminal charges. Perhaps that would stop these "big shots out of little guns" from mishandling and misusing their specific elected and appointed powers. Christine, Providence, Rhode IslandThings need to get done fast and time is wasted trying to get authorization for every move the local government takes. The federal government needs to step in and take over quickly with heavy equipment, manpower and whatever is necessary to secure an area that is expected to be impacted by a natural disaster or otherwise. Local governmental can't do it alone. Millions of our tax dollars are now going to pay for this so-called Department of Homeland Security. What good is it doing? At the rate it seems to be going, who needs terrorists to do damage to this country, we've got the Department of Homeland Security! Gerry Corriveau, N. Scitute, Rhode IslandFEMA has no business being under Homeland Security. They definitely need to be separate entities. Responding to a hurricane or natural disaster is quite different from responding to a terrorist attack. Put people in charge who have experience with the priorities of the respective disasters and how to best handle them so the response is both rapid and effective. Tammy Bodge, Troy, MaineYes, it definitely needs restructuring. The president declares an emergency and alerts the various agencies FEMA, Red Cross etc. State and local governments. National Guard troops should be sent to the affected area immediately and under military commanders. State governors can request assistance, but the government is in charge once troops are dispensed to the area. That includes power over both state, and local officials. In the Katrina disaster, both the governor and the New Orleans mayor should have asked for immediate assistance and the president should have acted upon seeing that nothing was being done by them -- not waited for them to act! Federal should have power over all of them but should act in conjunction with the various state and local officials as well as government emergency planners ie., FEMA, Homeland Security, HUD, etc., and emergency agencies such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc. Set up a chain of command and send it to every state in the nation so the next emergency is handled properly! Maryann Sivilich, Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania I believe the number 1 breakdown that globally hindered all of the various efforts in process immediately after the storm and flood was the breakdown in communications. I believe the current personnel structure is valid but no one had anticipated the loss of communications. Every parish in Louisiana has an OEP. Each of these offices should be equipped with military equivalent communications equipment. The communications equipment of every public emergency response department (police, fire, sheriff, etc.) should be evaluated and "drilled" on a routine basis. This should be done in all of the "high risk for natural disaster" areas in our country and coordinated through FEMA or homeland security. Tony Duhon, Lafayette, LouisianaRestructing may help if clear responsibilities are outlined. More importantly, they should hire competent individuals not each other's friends. They are individuals with backgrounds in solving process issues very quickly and those that can think of unorthodox solutions in emergency situations. Unfortunately, our government is not hiring those individuals. Chad, Atlanta, GeorgiaIt is apparent that governments at all levels -- state and federal -- are not prepared to deal with the magnitude of this catastrophic event. I believe the most responsibility lies at the feet of FEMA. I say restructure and prepare for more events that are more than likely to take place in the United States. Instead of sending billions of dollars to other countries, why isn't this money being spent in our own backyard to improve and fix the broken systems we have? Wake up America; If you think the Federal Government is going to bail you out when something horrendous happens, think again! Washington is not looking out for you -- they are lining their coffers and laughing all the way to the bank. Darlene Leard, High Point, North Carolina

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama (AP) -- A ceremony Saturday marking a seminal event in the civil rights movement -- a church bombing that killed four black girls -- drew native daughter Condoleezza Rice, a friend of one of the victims.In a park across the street from the 16th Street Baptist Church, the secretary of state said that the act of terror -- coming less than three weeks after Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech -- was meant to "shatter our dreams. It was meant to say we couldn't rise up."Even though the four girls were denied a chance to grow up, "in their deaths they represent the very tragedy to triumph that we are celebrating because we were not denied," said Rice, the highest-ranking black in the federal government.Bronze plaques featuring likenesses of the four girls, including Rice's friend Denise McNair, were unveiled. Among the estimated 200 people who attended the ceremony were city officials and family members of the girls as well as British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who is accompanying Rice on her two-day homecoming tour.The murders sparked outrage throughout the nation and around the world and provided a catalyst for passage of a comprehensive civil rights bill in 1964 and a voting rights bill a year later. Today, blacks dominate the city's political leadership.Afterward, Rice and her party were driven to Tuscaloosa, 50 miles away, to attend a football game between Alabama's Crimson Tide and the Tennessee Volunteers.A flood of memoriesRice made her sympathies known while visiting the Alabama campus on Friday. "The Tide is going to roll, roll, roll!" she told several hundred cheering fans during a speech.Rice spent her first 13 years in Alabama, and her 55-hour homecoming visit, which ends Sunday, has brought back a flood of memories.On Friday, for the first time in 39 years, she entered the Brunetta C. Hill Elementary School, where she was a pupil from grades 4-6. She seemed delighted that she could still remember the location of her classrooms and the library in the aging two-story building.It was a happy time for the piano-playing youngster but a period thick with racial tensions. Rice said Friday that Birmingham "has come a long way -- light years -- from when I lived here."Rice drew a link between Birmingham's successes and the problems she monitors daily in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. Only with democracy is there hope for a better day, she said.She said the city might not have escaped its racist ways were it not for democratic institutions that enabled compromise to prevail over conflict."At one point, not that long ago, the promise of democracy seemed distant here in Alabama and throughout the American South," she said in her Tuscaloosa speech."But when impatient patriots in this country finally demanded their freedom and their rights, what once seemed impossible suddenly became inevitable," she said. "So it was in America. So it was in much of the world. And so it will be in the Middle East."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- A nationwide antigun referendum has stirred many Brazilians to defend a right they feel they deserve, although it's not guaranteed by their Constitution: The right to bear arms.Just weeks ago, antigun advocates thought they'd win easily when they proposed a nationwide referendum to ban the sale of firearms in Brazil, which kill nearly 40,000 people a year.But as some 122 million Brazilians prepare to vote Sunday, polls show a majority are likely to oppose the ban."I'm going to vote 'no.' Not because I have a gun or want to buy one but because I think we have the right to buy guns to defend ourselves," said Maria Fatima da Silva, a 33-year-old social worker in Vila do Joao, one of the city's most violent shantytowns.The referendum proposes banning the sale of firearms and ammunitions with special exception for police, the military, some security guards, gun collectors and sports shooters.It is the last phase of a 2003 disarmament law that sharply restricted who could legally purchase firearms and who could carry guns in the streets.That law, plus a government-sponsored gun buyback program appears to have reduced the death toll from firearms by about 8 percent this year.Upswing in shooting club membershipBut the referendum may have backfired for those in favor of further reducing gun violence."What has happened is there has been a tremendous surge in demand for buying guns and stocking up on ammunition," said David Fleischer, a political science professor at the University of Brasilia. "There's been an upswing of people joining shooting clubs."Before the referendum, support for the ban was running as high as 80 percent. But in the weeks before the referendum, both sides were granted free time to present their cases on prime-time TV, and the pro-gun lobby began to grow.In a survey released Wednesday by Toledo & Associates, 52 percent of those questioned said they would vote against the ban, while 34 percent would support it. The poll questioned 1,947 people in 11 Brazilian state capitals on October 8-15, and had a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points."Most of the media supported the ban, so before the television spots, nobody gave it much thought, but when the pro-gun lobby got equal time the opinion really shifted," said Jessica Galeria, who researches gun violence for the Viva Rio think tank. "They were smart, using images of Nelson Mandela, Tiananmen Square and the Berlin Wall to link owning a gun with freedom."Mandela has reportedly threatened to sue the pro-gun lobby for using his image in connection with the campaign.Fleischer, said the country's pro-gun lobby successfully played on Brazilians' fears that the police can't protect them."The campaign for 'no' is much better organized in terms of marketing and psychology. They ask the question; 'Do you feel protected and do you think the government is protecting you?' and the answer is a violent no," said Fleischer.'We trust the drug traffickers more than the police'According to UNESCO, Brazil ranks second in deaths by guns, with 21.72 per 100,000 people a year. Venezuela has 34.3 gun deaths per 100,000.But in shantytowns like Vila do Joao, the rate rises to around 150 per 100,000. And for males between 17 and 24, the death rate is closer to 250 per 100,000.Dr. David Meddings of the department of Violence and Injuries Prevention at the World Health Organization says violence in Brazil is worse than in many war zones."Deaths in conflict settings, particularly those that are highly visible and political conflicts, tend to receive fairly extensive press coverage. The actual underlying rates of death through violence may be much less than those seen in any number of Brazilian cities," Meddings said in an e-mail.Despite the grim statistics, few in Vila do Joao seem to favor of the ban."Here we trust the drug traffickers more than the police. We don't need guns to protect ourselves here in the shantytown because the traffickers protect us, but we want guns to protect ourselves when we leave the shantytown," said Jomar da Silva Fonseca, a 26-year-old house painter.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(CNN) -- Indian officials said Saturday that if Pakistan agrees, India will open three relief camps for earthquake survivors in Kashmir along the Line of Control.The line separates the disputed region between areas controlled by the two rivals, which have fought three wars over the territory since 1947.India would allow people seeking medical care and food to cross from the Pakistani side of Kashmir into the Indian side and remain temporarily, said a spokesman for the Indian government. "Arrangement is being made for providing relief material, medical aid, food, drinking water and temporary accommodation at these points," the spokesman said. The relief centers could be opened by Tuesday, he added.The offer came a day after Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf appealed for more relief supplies to be distributed to survivors of the 7.6-magnitude earthquake. Half a million tents and blankets are still needed, Musharraf told CNN. With cold weather approaching, hundreds of homeless Pakistanis will die if they do not receive temporary shelter, he said.Musharraf told CNN that if people drop off supplies at Pakistan's embassies and consulates worldwide, he promised the supplies would reach people in need.International aid groups also have said they are in desperate need of more help for the victims, with thousands facing death in the Himalayas from exposure.The quake devastated the northern part of Pakistan nation nearly two weeks ago. Nearly 53,000 people were killed and more than 74,500 injured in Pakistan, according to the office of Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.India says the quake killed 1,200 people in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The Indian government and private groups have already delivered 82 tons of medicines, 104,550 blankets, 20,620 tents, 35,000 mattresses, 28 tons of plastic sheeting and 100 tons of fortified biscuits to Pakistan, said the Indian government spokesman.Over the next few days in Indian-controlled Kashmir, India is providing a free telephone service that enables people to inquire about missing relatives in Pakistan.NATO has agreed to send as many as 1,000 military engineers, medics and other troops to help with the relief efforts. (Full story)U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that international donors have pledged a little more than 8 percent -- or $37 million -- of the $312 million that relief agencies estimate is needed. (See which agencies accept donations)CNN's Becky Anderson, Satinder Bindra, Ram Ramgopal and Syed Mohsin Naqvi 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.

POTTSVILLE, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Child welfare authorities seized a newborn from a hospital Friday and placed the baby in a foster home because his father is a convicted sex offender.A judge granted the mother supervised visitation rights but prohibited visits from the father."There's no happy ending in these things. It's what we think is the best interest of the children," said Gerard Campbell, executive director of Schuylkill County Children and Youth Services. The agency took custody of the baby over the mother's objections.The baby was born Tuesday and the agency obtained an emergency court order Wednesday authorizing it to take the infant. Child welfare workers argued the infant boy's safety is in jeopardy because the father pleaded guilty to rape and sodomy two decades ago in New York. The agency also cited the mother's alleged history of drug abuse.Another hearing is set for October 31."I think they're sending the message that if you or any member of your family screws up, you can kiss your parental rights goodbye," said American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Mary Catherine Roper, who represents the mother, Melissa WolfHawk.WolfHawk, 31, declined to talk with reporters after a hearing before Common Pleas Judge Charles Miller.The 53-year-old father, DaiShin WolfHawk, did not attend the hearing but said he was "just shocked" by the judge's decision."I thought I was living in America," he said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- While acknowledging the acute shortage of priests in the Roman Catholic Church, bishops from around the world reaffirmed the church's stance on celibacy for priests Saturday in a set of 50 recommendations they agreed to submit to Pope Benedict XVI.The proposals, meant for the pope to consider in a future document on the Eucharist, also dealt with whether Communion should be denied to Catholic politicians who support laws that contradict church teaching, such as the right to abortion, as well as the plight of Catholics who divorce and remarry without getting an annulment.The estimated 250 bishops who gathered for the three-week Synod of Bishops voted behind closed doors on the recommendations, which disappointed some church reform groups by hewing closely to church teaching. The synod, which began October 2, formally ends Sunday with a Mass celebrated by Benedict.Cardinal George Pell of Australia said at a press conference after the vote that the proposals were a "massive restatement" of the church's celibacy rule for priests and other church traditions.He also defended the meeting amid questions about why it was necessary to bring prelates from around the world to Rome to essentially approve the status quo."If you restate what are the central doctrinal positions of the church, with a massive unanimity on the nature of the Eucharist, that's something," he said. "And if you reaffirm a particular discipline, or two or three disciplines, that's also something."Debate about the priest shortage dominated the synod, with bishops complaining that Catholics sometimes have to go weeks or months without having a priest to celebrate Mass because there are too few to go around.Some liberal Catholics and church reform groups say more men would join the priesthood if they were allowed to marry, and several bishops at the synod raised the issue of whether so-called "viri probati" or married men of proven virtue could be ordained.But the final recommendation reaffirmed the "inestimable gift of ecclesiastical celibacy" and said the idea of ordaining "viri probati" was a "path not to follow," according to the list of the propositions released by the Vatican.Catholic reform groups critical of outcomeThe proposition also called for Catholics to pray for new priests, for pastors to encourage young people to go into the priesthood, and for bishops to be more willing to share their priests with dioceses in need if they have a surplus.Several reform groups praised the openness of the discussion on the problem but said they were disappointed with the outcome."They opened the issue, talked solutions, then ran as fast as they could in the other directions," said Sister Christine Schenk, of the reform groups FutureChurch and Call to Action.We Are Church, another reform group, said in a statement it regretted the bishops' "lack of courage" to make any concrete changes.Among their other recommendations, the bishops said Catholic politicians should realize their "grave social responsibility" and not support laws that contrast with church teaching.But no blanket recommendation was made on whether the politicians should be denied Communion, with a final proposal saying local bishops "should exercise the virtues of firmness and prudence taking into account concrete local situations."The issue gained attention during the 2004 presidential campaign when St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke said he would deny the Eucharist to Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a Catholic who supports abortion rights. Other church leaders said they were not comfortable denying Communion and the U.S. bishops' conference is studying the issue.Another major issue of the synod was how to deal with Catholics who divorce and remarry without getting an annulment. Church teaching says such Catholics cannot receive Communion because their situation "objectively contrasts with God's law."The bishops reaffirmed church policy but called for these people to make "every possible effort" to have their previous marriages annulled. If the marriages cannot be declared invalid, the couple should celebrate their new marriage as a "loyal and trustworthy friendship" -- meaning they shouldn't consummate it.Other propositions reaffirmed the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, called for priests to prepare better homilies and suggested some changes to particular Mass rituals, such as the placement of the "sign of peace" during Mass.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(CNN) -- The son of slain former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said Saturday his father was a "martyr" and called for an international court to exact justice on his assassins."Today, we are not asking for revenge," Saad Hariri said in a videotaped statement from Saudi Arabia. "We are asking for justice. And justice will take its course, its full course, God willing.""The truth in this case will not die," he said. "Those perpetrators will be pursued and will be punished."The statement followed the release of a U.N. report that concluded there was "converging evidence" of Lebanese and Syrian involvement in Hariri's February 14 assassination in Beirut. (Full story)On Friday, U.S. President George W. Bush urged the United Nations to quickly address the findings of the report. (Watch Bush's reaction to the report -- 1:17)A Bush administration source who spoke on condition of anonymity said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will ask for the United Nations to convene "early next week." The Security Council already is scheduled to meet Tuesday with the report's author, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis. (Full story)Saad Hariri said his father braved many "political assassination attempts" aimed at sabotaging his goal of a Lebanon free of Syrian occupation, including pressure, threats, smear campaigns and "political traps.""Rafik Hariri, however, continued to refuse to hand over the country to a system of security mandate," he said."Rafik Hariri was not martyred by chance. ... He carried, with all the honorable Lebanese, the project of saving Lebanon and reclaiming its sovereignty and freedom over the last few years."They failed to assassinate him politically; they assassinated him physically. They wanted, it is said, to sideline him, to take him out of the Lebanese political field. He became dangerous for the mandate system and the hegemony. He was dangerous for the tools to blackmail Lebanon and the Lebanese government."However, he said, "the killers found out that the project of Rafik Hariri is gaining momentum, and the people who raised the finger of accusation after the crime were not wrong."The U.N. probe concluded that the bomb used to kill Hariri was detonated above ground and used at least 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of military explosives.Syrian officials have hotly denied any involvement in Hariri's assassination and have said the report is false and politically motivated."It is not a credible report," said Fayssal Mekdad, the Syrian ambassador to the U.N. He said the Syrian government did not hinder the U.N. investigator, but criticized investigators for focusing on "too much politics and less concrete actions."On Saturday, Syria's foreign minister said his country was an easy target for U.N. investigators. Speaking at a news conference to refute a U.N. report on Hariri's killing, Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shara said just because Syria had a strong military presence in Lebanon did not mean it was involved in the former prime minister's assassination. Also Saturday, a Syrian Foreign Ministry official denied that Damascus failed to cooperate in the U.N. investigation and said it might allow U.N. investigators to quiz Syrian officials. (Full story)Five officials named in the U.N. report, including the Syrian president's brother and brother-in-law, were deleted from the final version Thursday -- last-minute changes that apparently were made at the same time Mehlis met with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan.The names were never meant to make it to the press, but one electronic version of the report showed the deleted names in a margin and the time of day that the changes were made.Mehlis said Friday he made the changes after learning the U.N. planned to release the report to the news media. The names were only provided by one witness, he said, and he didn't want them presented as fact.Hariri said he agreed with many of the report's findings and that it would not dilute or harm Lebanon's Arab identity.He noted that Lebanon was at a crossroads and has an opportunity to move itself forward towards democracy and national unity.Hariri did not mention the Syrian government specifically. But he did mention the Syrian people and said the Lebanese looked forward to working with them "to serve our national causes and reinforce brotherly relations that are based on honesty and mutual respect."In an October 12 interview with CNN, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told CNN that any Syrian involved in the plot "would be considered as a traitor and most severely punished."Hariri's assassination sparked a wave of protests in Beirut that helped lead to Syria's announced withdrawal from the country in April.

(CNN) -- Syria's Foreign Ministry adviser on Saturday said his country was an easy target for U.N. investigators examining who was behind the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.Speaking at a news conference Saturday to refute a U.N. report on Hariri's killing, Riyad Dawoodi said just because Syria had a strong military presence in Lebanon did not mean it was involved in the former prime minister's assassination."There's a presumption taken by the (U.N.) commission that the very presence of Syrian troops and the Syrian security organs in Lebanon is something which should imply so and so and so," said Dawoodi, speaking in English."You cannot put any weight on the idea (that) because you are present in Lebanon, everything happening in Lebanon ... should be done according to your knowledge and you know about it," Dawoodi said."The report has a conclusion that this operation, the assassination of late Prime Minister Hariri, cannot be done without a means, a very sophisticated means which belongs to a highly-equipped security organ. And you just look around you, who is very very well equipped?" Dawoodi said.The U.N. report concluded there was "converging evidence" of Lebanese and Syrian involvement in Hariri's February 14 assassination. (Full story)The report's author, German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, would not say if the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was cooperative during the investigation, telling a Friday news conference: "That's something we should leave for later."Dawoodi repeated Syrian denials of involvement in Hariri's killing and said the report's findings were politicized and aimed at targeting Syria rather than finding the truth."All that was contained in the report is based on presumptions and allegations ... . There's no proof," he said."The (U.N.) committee until now has not provided any worthy evidence ... but rather has opened the door to debate on points it still is trying to prove," he said. "This report could not be used in court."Hariri's assassination sparked a wave of protests in Beirut that helped lead to Syria's announced withdrawal from the country in April.Saad Hariri -- Rafik Hariri's son and a Lebanese parliament member -- on Saturday said he agreed with many of the U.N. report's findings and called for an international court to exact justice on the assassins. (Full story)Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The U.S. military said 20 insurgents were killed and another was captured during raids by coalition forces on "foreign safe houses" Saturday in the western Iraqi town of Husayba.The insurgents were "suspected of sheltering al Qaeda in Iraq" militants, according to a military statement. The raids were staged in a section of Anbar province near the Syrian border. Two neighborhoods were raided, the military said, and coalition forces found "two large weapons caches containing small arms, ammunition, rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds, explosives, and bomb-making materials to include radios and detonators."Upon leaving the area, coalition forces used "precision-guided munitions" to destroy a car bomb, five safe houses and weapons caches, the military said.U.S. and Iraqi troops have been launching raids and offensives for months against insurgents in the province.About 60 miles north of Baghdad, in Ad Duluiya, a Task Force Liberty patrol killed an insurgent during a firefight. Another insurgent was wounded and a third was captured.Early vote figures emergeVoters in Diyala province -- a key Iraqi swing province with a significant Sunni Arab presence -- are backing the country's draft constitution, according to unofficial returns from last weekend's referendum.Meanwhile, at least one Sunni-dominated province has emerged overwhelmingly anti-constitution. In Salaheddin province, the home of former dictator Saddam Hussein, 81 percent of the voters cast "no" ballots and 18 percent voted yes.Figures for two other provinces with significant Sunni Arab populations -- Anbar and Nineveh -- were not issued. Should those provinces also turn up "no" votes that surpass two-thirds, the measure will fail.Nearly 10 million people voted in the referendum.Fareed Ayar, spokesman for the Independent Electoral Commission of Iraq, told CNN that the numbers released on Saturday represent about 34 percent of those who voted in the referendum. (See breakdown by province so far)U.S. troops killedThe military announced Saturday the deaths of four U.S. troops in Iraq this week, bringing the total U.S. death toll in the war to 1,993.Two Marines were killed Friday in a roadside bombing near Amariya in Anbar province.Both were assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).A third Marine was killed by an explosion Friday in the vicinity of Haqlaniya. "During the subsequent engagement, Marines killed four insurgents and destroyed a bunker adjacent to their position with an unknown number of insurgents firing from inside," the military said in a news release. The dead Marine was assigned to Regimental Combat Team 2, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).Also, a Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed Thursday from a "non-hostile gunshot wound" in central Baghdad, the military said.