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.

(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."

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.

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 (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.

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.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- Brazilians soundly rejected a proposal to ban guns in a national referendum Sunday, striking down the bid to stem one of the world's highest firearm murder rates following a campaign that drew parallels to the U.S. gun control debate.Brazil has 100 million fewer citizens than the United States, but a staggering 25 percent more gun deaths at nearly 40,000 a year. While supporters argued that gun control was the best way to staunch the violence, opponents played on Brazilians' fears that the police can't protect them."I don't like people walking around armed on the street. But since all the bandits have guns, you need to have a gun at home," said taxi driver Mohammed Osei, who voted against the ban.With more than 92 percent of the votes counted, 64 percent of Brazilians were opposed to the ban, while 36 percent backed it, said election officials, giving the 'no' position an insurmountable lead.The proposal would have prohibited the sale of firearms and ammunition except for police, the military, some security guards, gun collectors and sports shooters. It would complement a 2003 disarmament law that sharply restricts who can legally purchase firearms and carry guns in the street.That law, coupled with a government-sponsored gun buyback program, has reduced deaths from firearms by about 8 percent this year, the Health Ministry said.But the referendum backfired for proponents. Earlier this year, 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.Campaign imported from the United StatesAnalysts said the pro-gun lobby benefited from equal time on television in the final weeks of the campaign and that they cannily cashed in on Brazilian skepticism of the police."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 political scientist David Fleischer of the University of Brasilia.The combination of Brazil's high gun-death rate and the nature of the debate over the right to gun ownership has drawn parallels to the gun debate in the United States."The whole campaign (against the ban) was imported from the United States. They just translated a lot of material from the NRA," said Jessica Galeria, a Californian who researches gun violence with the Viva Rio think tank, referring to the National Rifle Association. "Now, a lot of Brazilians are insisting on their right to bear arms, they don't even have a pseudo right to bear arms. It's not in their Constitution."NRA public affairs director Andrew Arulanandam called the proposal's defeat "a victory for freedom.""It's a stunning defeat for the global gun control movement. They poured millions of dollars and millions more man hours trying to enact this gun ban and they failed. The aim of this gun ban movement was to use Brazil as the rallying point to enact gun bans in the United States. We're happy they were defeated," he said.Some Brazilians said they resented the referendum because they feel the government is ducking its responsibility to keep the peace."It's immoral for the government to have this vote," said Pedro Ricardo, an army officer in Sao Paulo. "They're putting the responsibility on us, but ... the way to cut down on violence is to combat the drug trade and patrol our borders."Supporters maintain the referendum is the only way to make Brazil safer."We have to change the violence in this country," said Paulo Leite, an engineer from the upscale Ipanema beach district.About 39,000 people in Brazil are killed by guns each year, compared to about 30,000 people in the United States, although the U.S. population is about 100 million more than Brazil's, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.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.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. 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.

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The Rock did not meet his doom at the box office, but his latest action flick came in with a light pop instead of a bang during another slow weekend at movie theaters."Doom," adapted from the sci-fi video game, debuted as the top movie with a modest $15.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The movie led a lackluster lineup that continued Hollywood's box-office slump, with the top 12 movies taking in $71.3 million, down 27 percent from the same weekend last year."Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story," a horse racing family film starring Kurt Russell and Dakota Fanning, opened in second place with $9.3 million.Charlize Theron's blue-collar drama "North Country," based on the real-life story of a woman who led a sexual-discrimination lawsuit against male co-workers at a mining company, premiered a weak No. 5 with $6.5 million."Stay," starring Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts and Ryan Gosling in a thriller about a psychiatrist racing to save a suicidal patient, flopped with a $2.15 million debut.Films in limited release opened strongly. The romance "Shopgirl," starring Steve Martin, Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman in an adaptation of Martin's own novella, debuted in eight theaters with $236,000. The comic crime thriller "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang," starring Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer, took in $174,300 in eight theaters.Both films expand to more theaters over the next couple of weeks.Hollywood has been in a box-office slide for most of the year, with admissions running about 8 percent below 2004 levels.Though distributor Universal expects to make its money back on "Doom," the studio had hoped for a bigger opening weekend, said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution."I'm very concerned about the marketplace," Rocco said. "There are so many movies out, so much to choose from, yet the marketplace continues to fall, and not just by little amounts."Other studio executives are sticking to the idea that the industry has simply had a prolonged run of movies that failed to pack in crowds."I've been telling people for a long time that I think it's content-driven. I don't think we had a film that jumped out for people this weekend," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., which released "North Country." Warner Bros. and CNN are owned by Time Warner, Inc.Warner has a certain blockbuster coming in mid-November with "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Other big films scheduled through the holidays include "King Kong," "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "The Producers."October typically is a slow time for movies. Over the same weekend a year ago, though, the box-office shot up on the unexpectedly strong debut of the ghost story "The Grudge," which opened with $39.1 million."In all fairness, this was more of a typical late-October weekend, as opposed to a year ago, when 'The Grudge' surprised everyone and made this weekend look pale by comparison," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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.

LAGOS, Nigeria (CNN) -- Stella Obasanjo, wife of Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, died Sunday at a hospital in Spain, officials said.She had traveled to Spain to undergo surgery and died from complications resulting from that surgery, authorities said.Obasanjo, 59, was "rushed to the hospital late Saturday and the condition became critical," an official at the Nigerian Embassy in Madrid told CNN."We don't know the details" of her death on Sunday, the official added, declining to give his name.The official said the Nigerian ambassador to Spain and key embassy aides from Madrid were traveling to Malaga.Arrangements were being made to return Obasanjo's remains to Nigeria "as soon as possible."The official said he did not know when Obsanjo arrived in Marbella. She would have turned 60 on November 14, he said.The Spanish Foreign Ministry told CNN that Obasanjo was on a private visit to Marbella, and that her body was in a morgue in the nearby town of Malaga, where an investigating magistrate was conducting an autopsy.The ministry referred any other questions to Nigerian authorities.Obasanjo was hailed as the Nigerian president's "beloved wife," according to a one-sentence statement signed by presidential spokeswoman Remi Oyo, The Associated Press reported. Her death came a day after a passenger jet carrying 117 people crashed shortly after takeoff from Lagos, Nigeria's largest city. (Full story)Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki sent a message of condolence to Obasanjo and described the leader's wife as a motherly figure who inspired women in Nigeria and across Africa, The Associated Press reported."On behalf of the government and the people of Kenya, and on my own behalf, I extend our heartfelt condolences to your presidency personally and through you to all Nigerians," Kibaki said in a statement.CNN's Jeff Koinange and Al Goodman contributed to this reportCopyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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.

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.

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Times enthusiastically endorsed Mayor Michael Bloomberg for re-election, saying he was on course to be one of the best mayors the city has ever had.The overwhelmingly positive editorial published in Sunday's editions said Bloomberg, a Republican, has not been as entertaining as his predecessors but "has been better at running the city.""If he continues his record of accomplishment over the next four years, he may be remembered as one of the greatest mayors in New York history," the editorial said.Recent opinion polls put Bloomberg well ahead of his Democratic challenger, Fernando Ferrer.The Times praised Bloomberg for accomplishments including bringing down the crime rate, establishing the 311 telephone hot line for reporting city complaints and remaining "focused on getting things done, not getting headlines."The Times endorsed Bloomberg's Democratic opponent, Mark Green, in 2001, criticizing Bloomberg's "out-of-control campaign spending" and saying he was unwilling to engage his opponent in "an even fight."Bloomberg, a billionaire who is financing his own campaign, spent $75 million in the 2001 race and is on track to spend even more this year.The editorial praised Ferrer for running "a creditable race" but said his major campaign theme -- that the city is divided between rich and poor -- made the case for Bloomberg. By improving city schools and hospitals and by pledging to build more affordable housing, one of Ferrer's campaign themes, the mayor is addressing the problem, the Times said.Ferrer's camp was disappointed with the editorial, spokeswoman Jen Bluestein said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Women made up 7 percent of all inmates in state and federal prisons last year and accounted for nearly one in four arrests, the federal government reported Sunday.A co-author of a Bureau of Justice Statistics report, Paige Harrison, linked an upswing in the rate of arrest for women to their increased participation in drug crimes, violent crimes and fraud.The number of women incarcerated in state and federal prisons in 2004 was up 4 percent compared with 2003, nearly double the 1.8 percent increase among men, the study said. In 1995, women made up 6.1 percent of all inmates in those facilities."The number of incarcerated women has been growing at a rate nearly double that of men, due in large part to sentencing policies in the war in drugs," the Sentencing Project, a group promoting alternatives to prison, said in a statement.The group said the number of drug offenders in prisons and jails has risen from 40,000 in 1980 to more than 450,000 today. According to FBI figures, law officers in 2004 made more arrests for drug violations than for any other offense -- about 1.7 million arrests, or 12.5 percent of all arrests.Those sentenced for drug offenses made up 55 percent of federal inmates in 2003, the report said.The total number of people incarcerated grew 1.9 percent in 2004 to 2,267,787 people. That figure includes federal and state prisoners as well as 713,990 inmates held in local jails, 15,757 prisoners in U.S. territorial prisons, 9,788 in immigration and customs facilities, 2,177 in military facilities, 1,826 in Indian country jails and 102,338 in juvenile facilities.The country's state and federal prison population -- 1,421,911 -- grew 2.6 percent in 2004, compared with an average growth of 3.4 percent a year since 1995.Growth last year in federal prison populations was 5.5 percent, outpacing overall prisoner growth but slipping from the 7.4 average annual growth in federal prison populations since 1995. The number of inmates in state prisons rose 1.8 percent, with about half that growth in Georgia, Florida and California.Harrison attributed some of the prison population rise to tougher sentencing policies implemented in the late 1990s. She said the average time served by prisoners today is seven months longer than it was in 1995."You bring more people in, you keep them longer -- inevitably you're going to have growth," she said.The Sentencing Project said the continued rise in prisoners despite falling crime rates raises questions about the country's imprisonment system. The group said the incarceration rate -- 724 per 100,000 -- is 25 percent higher than that of any other nation."Policymakers would be wise to reconsider the wisdom of current sentencing and drug policies, both to avoid expensive incarceration costs and to invest in more productive prevention and treatment approaches to crime," Marc Mauer, the group's executive director, said in a statement.Another group, the Justice Policy Institute in Washington, said the statistics show little relationship between prison population growth and the crime rate, which has been falling in recent years."The nation does not have to lock more people up to have safer communities," said Jason Ziedenberg, the institute's executive director.About 8.4 percent of the country's black males between the ages of 25 and 29 were in state or federal prison, compared with 2.5 percent of Hispanic males and 1.2 percent of white males in the same age group, the report said.Blacks made up an estimated 41 percent of inmates with a sentence of more than one year, the report said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

To ace the interview you need to know how the interviewer thinks. In his book "Knock 'em Dead: The Ultimate Job Seeker's Guide," author and job-hunting guru Martin Yate examines the interview from the employer's perspective and shares the five secrets to getting hired.Secret 1: Ability and suitability: The first secret is to show the interviewer you have both ability and suitability. Every working professional has a combination of skills that broadly define those two aspects. For example, a good computer programmer working in a bank has both technical and professional skills; that is, the ability to program a computer as well as knowledge of how to get things done in the banking industry and the capacity to work well with bankers.Yate suggests you itemize your technical and professional skills as they parallel the requirements of the job. Then recall an incident to illustrate each of those skills. If applying for a job in an industry with which you're familiar, consider highlighting your industry sensibilities by describing how you've successfully collaborated and accomplished goals with other industry professionals.Secret 2: Willingness: The second secret is not to flip out if your interviewer asks if you're willing to make coffee or take out the trash -- especially if you're looking for a job in a small office. More and more potential employers are using these questions to gauge whether you are the kind of person who is prepared to do whatever it takes to help the team.Think of a time when you went the extra mile and how your doing so helped the company. Then rehearse the story until you can tell it in 90 seconds.Secret 3: Manageability and teamwork: Avoiding a nightmare employee is a major concern for managers who develop, over time, a remarkable sixth sense when it comes to spotting and weeding out mavericks and prima donnas.Being "manageable" and a team player means that you can work independently as well as with others and can take direction and criticism. Also crucial is the ability to work and get along with a diverse workforce in terms of sex, age, religion, race, politics, abilities/disabilities or national origin.Make sure you demonstrate with words and actions that you are someone who gets along well with people and has no problem tolerating differing opinions or beliefs. Don't bring up religious, political or racial matters during the job interview.Secret 4: Professional behavior -- Yate says there are universally admired behavioral traits common to successful people in all fields: Drive, motivation, communication skills, team chemistry, energy, determination, confidence, reliability, integrity, pride, dedication, analytical skills, listening skills, goal-orientation, efficiency, economy, ability to follow procedures.Yate suggests you pick several of the traits that apply to you and that you can back up with stories from your work history. The idea is to create a mental movie of an event, which is much more powerful than simply stating your strong points.Secret 5: Everyone hires for the same job: All companies are looking for problem solvers. So think of your profession in terms of its problem-solving responsibilities. Then, identify a list of related problems you have solved for your past employers. Come up with specific examples for as many different success stories as you can think of. Then, ask what the first projects you as an employee would be involved in if hired. From there, you can select the most relevant problem-solving examples to share. When reciting these examples use the following formula:State the problemIsolate relevant background informationList your key qualitiesRecall the solutionDetermine what the solution was worthRemember, stories help interviewers visualize you solving their problems -- as a paid member of the team.Keep these secrets in mind when preparing for your next interview. Approaching the interview from the employer's perspective and demonstrating your strengths through stories will cast you in a great light and make it hard for the interviewer to forget you.

(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

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AP) -- A majority of people killed by Hurricane Katrina were older residents unable or unwilling to evacuate in the rising floodwaters, according to a study of almost half the bodies recovered in Louisiana.About 60 percent of the nearly 500 victims identified so far were age 61 or older, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals reported."The elderly were much more likely to be in hospitals and nursing homes as well as possibly homebound and not able to access transportation in order to evacuate from the storm," said agency spokesman Bob Johannessen.More than 215 bodies out of 1,048 recovered statewide were found in or around hospitals and nursing homes, according the state. Two nursing home operators have been charged with negligent homicide in 34 deaths at one facility, and others are under investigation.A breakdown of the studied deaths by ZIP code shows large numbers were found in neighborhoods devastated by water rising from levee breaks, particularly in the Lower 9th Ward, a low-lying largely impoverished neighborhood of New Orleans, and the historic Gentilly neighborhood.But people also died in affluent areas where residents had means to evacuate, the report shows. Between 21 and 30 bodies were found in Lakeview, while a ZIP code that includes parts of Uptown that didn't flood had between 11 and 20 bodies.Forty-two percent of the identified victims were black, 37 percent white and 3 percent Hispanic, the report said. The remaining 18 percent weren't identified by race or ethnicity.On Friday, officials said three more bodies had been recovered, but eight others were removed from the list because the deaths were not storm related.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

PELHAM, Alabama (Reuters) -- British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw joined Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for a weekend tour of her home state to promote understanding of the Anglo-American alliance, but Alabamans struggled to name him."You're the English guy," Joyce Delahoussaye said as she shook hands with the foreign minister of America's closest ally. "I've seen you on TV, and they said you were from England.""He's Mr. England," she said, introducing Straw to her son, Randy, as the two diplomats met displaced victims of Hurricane Katrina in Pelham.At a ceremony to unveil statues in Birmingham, speakers variously called the visitor Mr. Shaw and Mr. Snow. They also mangled his title, appointing him secretary of state to the commonwealth of the United Kingdom.British and U.S. officials said the tour was designed to show Alabamans that diplomacy is relevant to their lives. They noted that in addition to the photo opportunities with schoolgirls and sports fans, Straw and Rice also each gave a policy speech on democracy.But local newspaper The Tuscaloosa News questioned whether Straw was just on a junket to help shore up the Bush administration image.And Alabamans generally appeared bemused by the man from Blackburn, Lancashire.Straw called American football "rugby with commercials" and tried to explain to a group of elementary schoolchildren the popular British sport of cricket.Rice said, "When he told them that it took five days, there was just stunned silence."Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) -- A volcano has begun to erupt on one of the Galapagos Islands known for its diverse flora and fauna, including the archipelago's famed giant tortoises, park officials said Sunday.The 1,500-meter (4,920-feet) Sierra Negra volcano, located on seahorse-shaped Isabela, the largest of the Galapagos Islands, began erupting late Saturday afternoon, producing three lava flows, officials from the Galapagos National Park told The Associated Press in a statement.It has not yet been determined whether the island's plant and animal life have been affected.Many Galapagos tortoises, some of which have a lifespan of more than 150 years, live near volcano craters.Puerto Villamil on Isabela's southern coast is home to 2,000 people, but the eruption posed "no risk to the population," the statement said. Tourist centers near Sierra Negra were closed as a precaution.The Galapagos Islands, located 1,000 kilometers (625 miles) off Ecuador's Pacific coast, were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 for their exotic wildlife such as marine iguanas and blue-footed boobies.The islands' rich biodiversity inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

POTTSTOWN, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A 14-year-old girl may lose her arm after being bitten by a poisonous copperhead snake at school, authorities said.The snake was caught in Valley Forge by a 17-year-old male student, who took it in a shoebox to a drama club gathering at St. Pius X High School on Friday, Lower Pottsgrove Police Chief Ray Bechtel said. No regular classes were held that day, which was designated for staff development.The boy was showing the reptile to other students when it bit the girl's finger, Bechtel said.The girl, whose name was not released by police, apparently threw the snake across the room and the boy threw it outside. The snake was not found, but authorities were able to identify it because the boy photographed it with his camera cellphone, said Bechtel.The victim was treated at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center about 45 minutes after being bitten, he said."The doctors said if it had been a half-hour longer she would likely have been dead," said Bechtel.However, police said she could still lose her arm.Police did not have an update on the girl's condition Sunday. She had been in very serious condition at Hershey Medical Center.No charges were filed but police said they were investigating.Copperhead snake bites are typically not fatal but are extremely painful and may cause extensive scarring and loss of limb use, according to the North Carolina Cooperative Extension of North Carolina State University.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) -- Tough-talking Warsaw Mayor Lech Kaczynski of the nationalist Law and Justice Party won Poland's presidential runoff Sunday, coming from behind after convincing older and poorer voters with his calls to preserve the social safety net in a conservative government.With 91 percent of the votes counted, Kaczynski led rival Donald Tusk from the pro-market Civic Platform party, 55.5 percent to 44.5 percent, according to the State Election Commission.During the campaign, Kaczynski vowed to root out former communists and fight political corruption, but sounded a conciliatory note as he claimed victory late Sunday.He urged Tusk's Civic Platform to finish work on a coalition government with his Law and Justice Party, headed by his twin brother, Jaroslaw Kaczynski."Poland needs wrongs to be accounted for, but even more Poland needs accord. I want to reinstate that accord," Kaczynski said. "I want to now address my friends in Platform to ask them to quickly complete work on a new government."Tusk conceded defeat. "Today I must tell myself I did not make it," he told glum supporters at his election headquarters.Tusk led the first round of presidential voting two weeks ago with 36 percent of the vote, with Kaczynski placing second with 33 percent. The runoff between the top two candidates was held because none of the 12 candidates received more than 50 percent of the vote.In the runoff campaign, Kaczynski forged ahead as voters responded to his warnings that free-market policies must not cut social welfare for the less fortunate.Tusk won in the most prosperous, western regions of the country, while Kaczynski swept the poorer east, exit polls showed.The mild-mannered Tusk made some wonder whether he was tough enough to be president, in contrast with the aggressive Kaczynski, a populist who tried to stop a gay rights parade and issued Germany a bill for damage done during the World War II occupation.In the last week of the campaign, Kaczynski won a key endorsement from anti-European Union populist Andrzej Lepper of the left-wing Self-Defense party. Lepper received only 15 percent of the vote in the first round, but surveys showed that more than 80 percent of his supporters' votes went to Kaczynski.Kaczynski's promises to stand up to Germany -- even though the two countries enjoy good relations -- appeared aimed at older voters who remember the war. His promises to keep pensions and social benefits apparently helped him win voters over 60 by a 61-39 percent margin, exit polls for TVN24 showed."He thinks about poor people, about retired people and children, and we are retired, that's why we voted for him," said Danuta Niemkowska, a 71-year-old retired teacher, after she and her husband voted at a school in Warsaw's riverside district.Both candidates are right of center, but Tusk is more oriented toward market economics and favors a flat tax. Kaczynski supports tax cuts, but prefers the system under which high earners pay more and advocates tax breaks for those with large families. His campaign also stressed Roman Catholic stands such as opposition to abortion and gay rights.The two Kaczynski brothers, both former activists in the Solidarity free trade union movement which ended communist rule, won fame as child stars in a hit film, "Two Who Stole The Moon." But their resemblance became a political handicap, pushing Jaroslaw to abandon his claim to become prime minister in favor of a little known party official Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz after Law and Justice won the Sept. 25 parliamentary elections.Lech Kaczynski said he would leave Law and Justice; although there is no requirement that he do so, the president is regarded as above day to day politics, and outgoing President Aleksander Kwasniewski quit his party after being elected.Kwasniewski, a former communist popular for his easy style, has served his maximum of two five-year terms and could not run again.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- A former Iraqi intelligence officer who is critically ill testified before the Iraqi Special Tribunal in a special session Sunday in the case against former dictator Saddam Hussein, the chief investigative judge told CNN.The testimony came as the Iraqi Lawyers Union called on all Iraqi lawyers to refuse to appear before the tribunal until the killing of Sadoon al-Janabi -- an attorney for a Hussein co-defendant -- is solved.Wadha Ismail al-Sheikh, 55, testified from a Baghdad hospital in the first case against Hussein taken up by the tribunal.The trial, which began Wednesday but was adjourned until November 28, centers on the torture and killings of citizens 23 years ago in the town of Dujail, north of Baghdad.Chief Investigative Judge Raed Juhi said three judges and a prosecutor in the case went to the hospital to hear his testimony because, according to tribunal statutes, if a witness cannot appear in court, the court must go to the witness.Al-Sheikh's testimony away from courtroom was permitted because it was feared he may not survive until the trial resumes, according to a source close to the tribunal.Hussein and seven other defendants have pleaded not guilty to charges that they ordered the torture and killings of residents in the aftermath of a failed assassination attempt on the Iraqi leader July 8, 1982.A senior official in Iraq's intelligence service, al-Sheikh was appointed by Hussein's regime to investigate the assassination attempt, and his testimony is considered crucial in the case.Khamis al-Ubaidi, one of Hussein's attorneys, told CNN he and colleague Khalil al-Dulaimi did not attend Sheikh's testimony to protest al-Janabi's killing. Al-Ubaidi said any testimony given when defense lawyers were not present would not hold up in court.A representative in Baghdad of the New York-based group Human Rights Watch said tribunal statutes require the presence of defense attorneys at all testimony.Juhi told CNN the defense lawyers were invited to attend the session and were offered security to make the trip to the hospital.If they chose not to accept that offer, Juhi said, they could have participated in the session via video. He said the attorneys declined both options.Al-Sheikh, who was detained in 2003 by U.S. forces, was accused of embezzling from the Iraqi intelligence service in 1988 and was jailed for five years.Kamal Allaw of the Iraqi Lawyers Union told CNN the group called for a strike to take place Wednesday to condemn al-Janabi's slaying.His body was found in the Banook neighborhood of northern Baghdad on Thursday night, hours after gunmen burst into his office and abducted him. Iraqi police said he had been shot in the head. (Full story)Al-Janabi represented Awad Hamad Bandar, former chief judge of Saddam's Revolutionary Court, who is accused of having sentenced to death more than 140 residents of Dujail.Human Rights Watch said it had been told by several defense attorneys in the case that they would boycott proceedings until the security situation for the defense is addressed. The lawyers, the organization said, have asked that they be allowed to choose their own security detail, which would be licensed to carry arms and provide protection.Five U.S. soldiers among woundedAttacks in central and northern Iraq killed 10 people and wounded 32 others Sunday, officials said.In one of the deadliest strikes, a bomb in a parked car killed three people and wounded 14 others next to a Baghdad movie theater, police said. Two Iraqi police officers were among the dead and two other officers were injured. Three bombs struck the north-central city of Tikrit, killing Iraqi police Lt. Col. Haitham Akram and his three sons and wounding his wife at their house, an Iraqi police official said.Three children passing by the home on their way to school were wounded in the Qadisiya neighborhood bombings, the official said.In other attacks Sunday, gunmen shot and killed an Iraqi police officer in a market in central Baquba, north of Baghdad, a Baquba police official said. Shortly after the shooting in Baquba, gunmen shot and killed Shiite cleric Sheik Ahmed Abdul Rahman in Buhriz, a town about six miles (10 kilometers) to the south.In the Iskan neighborhood of eastern Kirkuk in northeastern Iraq, a suicide car bomb targeting a U.S. military convoy killed a civilian and wounded seven others, said Kirkuk police chief Maj. Gen. Torhan Abdul Rahman. Three separate roadside bombs targeted U.S. troops in central Baghdad on Sunday, said Sgt. David Abram, a U.S. military spokesman with the 3rd Infantry Division. The attacks injured five soldiers.The number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war stands at 1,993, according to U.S. military reports.Other developmentsFour American contractors were killed in an attack north of Baghdad on September 20, the U.S. military said Sunday. Another two Americans were injured in the attack near Duluiyah, said Maj. Richard Goldenberg, spokesman for Task Force Liberty, 42nd Infantry Division. U.S. contractor KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton Co., said three of its employees were killed that day, said Halliburton spokeswoman Cathy Mann.Two bodies were found Saturday in Diyala province in the southern suburbs of Baquba, police said. Police have not identified the bodies, but the victims' ages were estimated between 25 and 30 years old. They were shot in the head with their hands tied behind their backs, police said.CNN's Enes Dulami, Nic Robertson and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this report.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Democrat on the Senate committee that will consider Harriet Miers' nomination said Sunday that President Bush's Supreme Court choice lacks the votes now to be confirmed, saying there are too many questions about her qualifications."If you held the vote today, she would not get a majority either in the Judiciary Committee or the floor," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York. On the 18-member GOP-controlled committee, "there are one or two who said they'd support her as of now."But the committee's chairman, Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, rejected the notion that Miers' nomination was in trouble. Specter said most senators are waiting for the hearings before making up their minds "There are no votes one way or another," he said.Miers, a longtime Bush confidante who has never been a judge, was nominated to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. The nomination has troubled some conservatives who say it was a risky choice because Miers was a blank slate on issues such as abortion and gay rights.Democrats, too, have expressed concerns about whether the current White House counsel could sever her close ties to Bush and rule independently once she were on the bench."The hearings will be make or break for Harriet Miers in a way they haven't been for any other nominee," Schumer said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "She'll have to do very well there. She has a tough road to hoe."Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, rejected suggestions that the White House was considering whether to withdraw Miers' nomination. Hutchison said the former Dallas lawyer is highly qualified and deserves to present her case. Confirmation hearings are set to begin November 7."She is the only one whose entire career is in private practice," Hutchison said, in contrast to the current justices. "I can't imagine not having someone with practical real-world experience."Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kansas, and Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, have asked the White House to release more information on the nonlegal work Miers has performed there over the past five years.Brownback, a Judiciary Committee member, cited concerns he had about Miers' views on affirmative action following reports that she supported diversity and numerical set-asides when she was president of the State Bar of Texas."I do think we're going to have to see more information -- not attorney-client privilege type information, but more information of the work product that she was involved with at the White House that was not of a legal nature but that's of a policy nature," Brownback told "Fox News Sunday."Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the committee, agreed. "The president has based that decision based on what he's seen her do in the White House. We ought to at least know what she did in the White House," he said.A second committee Democrat, Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, said she needs to hear more evidence that Miers can rule independently of the president, including administration decisions involving executive power, the fight against terrorism and the role of international law."I asked her whether she would recuse herself. She wouldn't answer that question. For me, that has to be yes," Feinstein said. "I think because so little is known about her views, she has an obligation to discuss those views fully." She appeared with Specter on CBS' "Face the Nation."The head of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean, said it was his guess that Miers would not be confirmed if the White House failed to provide the request documents."We have no idea what this woman's record is about. She's obviously an accomplished attorney. The question is what does she believe. We have no idea," Dean told ABC's "This Week.""We've got to see what she wrote for the president when she was his legal counsel," he said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) -- The United States and Britain jointly criticized Syria on Sunday and called for international action to be taken over a U.N. investigation that implicated Syrian officials in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice didn't discuss any specific actions that the United States might push for when the U.N. Security Council considers the investigator's report Tuesday, but she said the matter "really has to be dealt with.""These are very serious charges, and they have to be debated at the level of foreign minister," Rice told the BBC in an interview during a tour of her home state of Alabama with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw.Straw pointed to testimony about "false testimony being given by senior people" in Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad's regime."The report indicated that people of a high level of this Syrian regime were implicated," Straw said.The comments came as Syria's deputy foreign minister denied the U.N. report's statement that he threatened Hariri 13 days before the February 14 assassination.Diplomats at the United Nations and in Washington said U.S. and French officials have been talking with Russia and other nations about anti-Syria resolutions to put before the Security Council, including the possibility of punitive economic sanctions.The U.N report tied top Syrian officials to the February 14 bombing that killed Hariri, who was an opponent of Syria's domination of Lebanon. It also said Syria's government did not cooperate with the investigation into Hariri's killing.Syrian officials deny any involvement and insist they have cooperated.Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said he never threatened Hariri, as the report claimed."This is totally untrue," Moallem said in a call to a talk show on Syrian state television, which was monitored in Beirut."I did not go to Premier Hariri to make threats," Moallem said. "I went to him to inform him about my mission and ask him to cooperate in order for the mission to succeed."The U.N. report, released Thursday night, said a tape of a conversation between Moallem and Hariri has the Lebanese official complaining that security services were waging a campaign against him."But Lebanon will never be ruled from Syria. This will no longer happen," Hariri said, according to the report.It said Moallem responded that Hariri was in a corner. "Please do not take things lightly," the report quotes Moallem as saying.The report said the tape "clearly contradicts" Moallem's testimony to the U.N. commission investigating Hariri's killing. He "falsely described the February 1 meeting as 'friendly and constructive' and avoided giving direct answers to the questions put to him," the report said.The U.N. investigation said the bombing that killed Hariri in Beirut could not have been carried out without the complicity of the Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services.At the time, Syrian troops controlled Lebanon, but the killing set off mass demonstrations and international pressures that forced Syria to withdraw its army in April after a nearly three-decade occupation.Syrian officials have dismissed the report's findings as unproven allegations based on "gossip" from anti-Syrian elements.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.