WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The number of foreign students at U.S. universities fell for the second straight year last year, but the decline that followed the September 11, 2001 attacks may already be abating, a survey showed on Monday.Enrollment by international students dipped 1.3 percent in the 2004-05 academic year to about 565,000 students, after a 2.4 percent drop the prior year, according to an annual report by the Institute of International Education.While the declines are a sharp contrast to the steady growth in enrollment a few years ago, the IIE said an early survey of the current school year suggests foreigners may already be coming back after being scared away by bad publicity and security fears."Strong recruitment, combined with more efficient and transparent student visa processes, have begun to stem the tide of decreasing international student enrollment," IIE president Allan Goodman said in a statement.A separate online survey of colleges and universities by the IIE and other associations found foreign enrollment may have bounced back this year. Forty percent of respondents said the number of international students had increased, while 26 percent said it had declined further and 34 percent reported little change.The online survey did not tally the total number of students, but echoed a report last week by the Council of Graduate Schools that showed a 1 percent increase in enrollment by foreigners in graduate schools in the fall of 2005.In the IIE annual report, foreigners made up 4.0 percent of the student population in 2004-05, down from a 4.6 percent peak two years ago.While there had been some backlash against foreign students after the September 11 attacks, educators said the U.S. government should do more to make foreign students feel welcome."We face severe competition in the global marketplace for the best and brightest students. The Departments of State and Homeland Security have worked hard to address the severe problems in the visa process, but further improvements are needed," said Nils Hasselmo, president of the Association of American Universities.The report showed international students tend to favor science and business degrees -- with nearly 18 percent studying business and management, 17 percent in engineering, 9 percent in math and computer science, and 9 percent in physical or life sciences.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

CINCINNATI, Ohio (AP) -- Students who can't speak French or Spanish might find themselves at a loss for words inside the University of Cincinnati's Valentine House.That is, unless somebody takes pity on them and translates."We are allowed to speak English to guests who don't understand, but the rest of the time we are supposed to speak in French or Spanish, and sometimes you forget that not everyone understands," said Jeff Dapo, a Spanish major from Columbus.Dapo is one of 22 students living at the university's language house -- one of the newest examples of language immersion that is growing more popular at colleges and universities around the country.Teachers and students say that increasing globalization, with more Internet and television access to news and businesses around the world, has fueled increased enrollment in foreign language courses.The Modern Language Association's most recent survey of foreign language enrollments at 2,769 two-year and four-year colleges and universities showed a 17 percent increase to about 1.4 million enrollments, compared with about 1.2 million in 1998. The 2002 enrollment total was the highest since the beginning of the MLA surveys in 1958.Julie Hollyday, a journalism major and French minor from Toledo at Valentine House, believes constant exposure to the French language will help her chances of working in Paris."With the Internet, the Iraq war and businesses that operate worldwide, people see that the world is getting smaller in so many ways and knowledge of other languages becomes more important," she said.More schools are requiring or recommending immersion as part of a foreign language degree, and language houses and dorms provide an alternative for students who can't afford to study abroad."When we started about five years ago in two separate wings of a dormitory floor, we had to recruit people and couldn't fill the areas," said Catherine Jones, an associate professor of French at the University of Georgia. "This year, we have 18 students in each language and more that we couldn't take because we didn't have the room."The Thatcher Language House, established 10 years ago in a dormitory at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, has grown from four languages to include areas for French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Chinese and German. The house usually has 30 to 40 students on waiting lists, said director Therese Pasquale.Ohio State University set up a German house about eight years ago. Bernd Fischer, chairman of the German department, said the school receives calls every year from universities wanting information on how to set up their own programs."It definitely seems to be a growing trend that is spreading beyond the big universities to smaller universities and colleges," said Annie Smart, a professor of French at Saint Louis University, where German, French and Spanish houses were established in 1999.Students in Valentine House sign a contract agreeing to speak the language as much as possible, and they could be asked to leave if they don't try. They meet weekly with their French and Spanish housemates to practice conversation and learn about the countries where those languages are spoken.A recent viewing of the 1950s French movie "And God Created Woman" on the house's large-screen TV even drew some of the house's Spanish students."I understood more of it than I expected," said Dapo, who often strums his Spanish guitar while his roommate adds to the beat with Spanish-style drums in their room decorated with posters from Costa Rica.The house's 11 French students live on one floor and the 11 Spanish students on another. Each floor is supervised by a resident assistant -- a native speaker who encourages the students to speak in the required language, answers questions and instructs them in French- and Spanish-speaking countries' history and culture.The University of Cincinnati students are allowed to speak English with guests in the first floor commons areas but are expected to abide by the no-English rule on the upper floors."Of course there are exceptions," Lowanne Jones, head of University of Cincinnati's Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, said, laughing. "They are allowed to yell 'fire' in English."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- The Museum of Modern Art's new exhibition "SAFE: Design Takes on Risk" may seem an unlikely haven for those who find the 110-foot drop below the building's sixth-floor catwalk unnerving. In this first major design show since Yoshio Taniguchi renovated MoMA's facility, warm-wood floors and clear white lighting embrace the goals driving curator Paola Antonelli. Her exhibition is a cocoon filled with expressions of concern, care and empathy. From emergency housing with doors -- "because people feel safer with a door they can close" -- to the Boezels Collection's huggable toys for troubled kids, Antonelli has searched out the emotional impetus for what we perceive as safety. She starts with what scares us. If it's the terrors of the open water, she gives us the Sea Shelter from Denmark, a covered raft with a keel that stabilizes it as people pull themselves aboard. It orients itself amid waves and wind. High and dry as we are, we begin to appreciate planning, material and implementation: design. The exhibits at "SAFE" recognize current events. Could the INVERSAbrane invertible building membrane, a large L-shaped chunk of which rises at the heart of Antonelli's exhibition, help distribute the concussion of a bomb blast in the same way it baffles wind? A section titled Shelter includes Ferrara Design's Global Village collapsible house. The treated-paper structure can be dropped from a plane folded. It's assembled in 15 minutes using only photo directions (no language barrier) and it can last 12 months. If only the Kashmiri quake victims had this sturdy little hut. Near it is the famous UNHCR plastic sheeting, used since 1985. In another section, Emergency, you're confronted with Israeli designer Ezri Tarazi's 2003 prototype Bazooka Joe turtleneck: In a gas attack, the wearer can cover his nose and mouth with the collar, which is fitted with filters and valves. Bezalel Research's Bardas Protection Systems are geared to their intended users' needs -- kids get a kind of gas hood that allows them freedom to play, while giving Orthodox Jews and Muslims room for their beards. Some entries are remarkably innovative. A three-in-one kite, splint and body warmer from designers Bernard William Hanning and Vernon Pascoe can protect a climber from cold, stabilize an injured limb or be flown as a gleaming kite to attract rescuers. The Design Against Crime consortium offers prototypes of caf� chairs designed to secure bags so that purse-snatchers can't rob chatting patrons. MoMA visitors are swarming daily around the Nido, Pininfarina's concept car that encases driver and passenger in an egg-like protective cell surrounded by a special internal "crumple zone" meant to withstand crashes of up to 45 mph. "Where can we buy this?" gallery goers ask Paola Antonelli. "You can't buy it, it's not made yet," she tells them -- and points them to the DaimlerChrysler Smart car, just put on display last week in the museum's permanent collection Design Galleries. SAFE-ty firstIronically, the events of September 11, 2001, slowed rather than sped this exhibition's development at MoMA. Its research was started months before the attacks with a focus on designing for emergency. Progress on the show then was put on the back burner for a time, an "emotional decision," according to Antonelli. As the project regained momentum, she notes in the catalog for the exhibition, the point was made by security specialist Bruce Schneier that safety and security are distinct concepts. Safety, in Schneier's understanding, is "being secure against random faults, against Murphy's Law. ... Security is much harder in that you are dealing with a malicious and intelligent adversary creating failures at the most inopportune times." But if good design can make living with threat more bearable, one museum patron asks, aren't we in danger of accommodating rather than resisting enemies? Antonelli turns to designer James McAdam's prototype of a Light Blanket, studded with colored lights that twinkle and gleam. "Would you tell a child," she asks, "not to accommodate a fear of the dark? Or would you give that child this blanket?" This is the sort of dilemma Antonelli relishes. In her December 2001 "Workspheres" exhibition, she asserted that no matter how grand a design might be waiting in the future, each workplace cubicle dweller should be able to organize career space her- or himself. Cameron McNall's Urban Nomad inflatable homeless shelter prototypes glow with color in this illustration.And in "SAFE," she happily ricochets between the dire and the whimsical. In Canadian Bill Burns' "Safety Gear for Small Animals" display, a gas mask for an otter or work gloves for a prairie dog can make us ponder what contaminants may be doing to those animals' habitats. The entry to the exhibition takes you past one of Dre Wapenaar's intriguing Treetents. Designed in 1998 for England's Road Alert Group for its protests against highways' being built through woodland, the teardrop structures are made to "hug" trees as housing for activists. And after inspecting Vizrt's futuristic cityscape that pictures emergency response efforts and a black bullet-resistant Ballistic Rose Brooch from Tobias Wong, when you step back onto West 53rd, you might encounter a jogger who likes to dash past MoMA on many evenings. Mid-20s, in a tank top and Nike shorts, he stops to a tie running shoe. Its exterior is silvery, shiny, a foil-flashing alert to drivers. That runner feels that those reflective shoes help him take on the risk of training for the marathon in Manhattan. So you haven't quite left Antonelli's show up on MoMA's sixth floor, after all. It stays with you. It paces that runner, and lopes along with our headlines. It keeps up. Art doesn't always do that. But when it does, it carries its own subtle comfort, a sense that good design is aware of us. And responding. And that helps make us all feel "SAFE."

DENVER, Colorado (AP) -- Winter doesn't officially start until December 21, but resorts around the West are starting to open, and skiers are getting ready for their favorite time of year. Here are some of the new features for the upcoming season around the West, along with contact information and ideas to help you plan a trip.CaliforniaAlpine Meadows has added a high-speed quad lift in its Sherwood Bowl area. Kirkwood has added a high-speed quad, the TC Express, that will serve a beginner area and provide a quick return route from the popular advanced terrain of the Palisades.The state's 34 downhill and cross-country ski resorts include Heavenly, Mammoth Mountain, Squaw Valley, Sierra, Mount Rose, Kirkwood, Boreal, Sugar Bowl, Snow Summit and Bear Mountain. Information at www.visitcaliforniasnow.com includes interactive maps showing resort locations, or call (800) 862-2543.ColoradoSnowmass has replaced the Fanny Hill lift with a six-passenger high-speed lift that will deposit skiers at Sam's Knob, eliminating one lift ride. Aspen Highlands' new Deep Temerity lift will offer access to some of the steepest terrain in the state. At Breckenridge, a new high-speed quad lift will reach the top of Peak 8, at 12,840 feet the highest lift-served terrain in North America. Mary Jane (Winter Park) is replacing the four-seat Summit Express with a six-seater.Colorado has 24 ski resorts, but winter destinations and pursuits also include ski biking at Purgatory at Durango Mountain Resort; Vail's Colorado Ski Museum; ice-climbing at the Ouray Ice Park, opening mid-December, and natural hot springs where you can warm up after an day of snow sports. Call (800) 265-6723 or visit www.coloradoski.com for details.IdahoTamarack, in its second year of operation, is adding a third high-speed quad, 10 new alpine trails and 1,700 additional vertical feet. Sun Valley has replaced its grooming fleet with 10 new machines, while Northern Idaho's Schweitzer Mountain is opening 400 new acres of terrain including five new runs for advanced, intermediate and expert skiers and riders. Schweitzer Mountain has also been chosen to host the World Cup Telemark Finals March 10-12, the first World Cup Telemark event to be held in the United States in three years.Other winter destinations include Smoky Mountain Lodge, which claims to be the only fly-in heli-ski lodge in the lower 48; Boise's Bogus Basin Mountain Resort, offering lighted night skiing on a Nordic trail this year; and Silver Mountain Resort, which has an expanded terrain park and two new runs. For more information on skiing in Idaho, go to www.idahowinter.org or call (800) 847-4843.MontanaBig Sky and its two-year-old neighbor, Moonlight Basin, will offer a joint pass and lift ticket. Combined, the two trail networks cover 5,300 acres served by 23 lifts and a vertical drop of 4,350 feet.Montana has a total of 16 downhill ski resorts, and nine national forest areas have cross-country ski trails; details at wintermt.com, where you can order a free winter vacation planner for the state, or call (800) 847-4868.New MexicoA new triple chair at Ski Santa Fe will take snowriders to the top of Deception Peak, 12,075 feet, and will serve six new trails.At www.skinewmexico.com or (505) 982-5300, you'll find information on ski packages at destinations that include Sipapu, Red River, Pajarito Mountain and other places.UtahDeer Valley's Sultan chairlift has been replaced with a high-speed detachable quad that adds 1,000 feet of vertical.There are also new lodges at Alta, Snowbird and Solitude, along with new grooming machines at other Utah resorts and improved terrain parks for snowboarders. For the 2006-07 season, Snowbird is building a 595-foot, European-style tunnel high on its mountain to move skiers along a conveyor belt to the resort's back side at Mineral Basin, avoiding steeper slopes.As for this season, if you can't get out there before February, don't worry. Snowbird was open until July 4 this year, its longest-ever season with 53 feet of snow. Details at www.skiutah.com or (800) 754-8824.WyomingAt Jackson Hole, a new lift, the Sweetwater, will take skiers from beginner slopes to intermediate runs for those who like groomed terrain. The resort will also close its 39-year-old aerial tram after this season, which means a new tram or chairlifts will have to be used to get to some of Jackson's most storied expert terrain.Jackson Hole is also offering a new "Wild West Woods" theme for children on some of its beginner ski slopes, with teepees, bridges, life-size animal figures and a warming hut that looks like an old-style settler's tent. The trails also offer educational and environmental features, such as tree identification and displays on the science of snows.Jackson Hole and two other major resorts nearby, Grand Targhee and Snow King, are among a dozen ski resorts in the state. For details, go to www.wyomingmade.com/ski.htm or call (800) 225-5996.DealsIf you plan to ski regularly in one state, consider getting a pass like those available in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico that let you sample most or all resorts statewide.Also, ask individual resorts about package deals on airfare, lodging and lift tickets. Jackson Hole has a deal in which kids fly free, stay free and ski free with a fare-paying adult on certain flights; details at (888) 838-6606 or click on "Specials and packages" at www.jacksonholewy.com. A similar offer exists for skiing in Crested Butte, Coloradi, in conjunction with American Airlines' "Kids Fly Free!" program, January 2-February 16; details at (800) 814-8893 or www.GunnisonCrestedButte.com.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- For sale: acre plots, great Earth views, low gravity, moonrock-bottom prices, about as away from it all as you can get.A Chinese company is fighting for the right to pitch plots of land on the moon for sale after authorities shut the scheme down on charges of profiteering and lunacy.Beijing Lunar Village Aeronautics Science and Technology Co. has sued commercial authorities in China's capital for suspending its business licence on October 28, just days after it opened, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday."There is not a law or regulation in China that prohibits the selling of land on the moon," chief executive officer Li Jie was quoted as saying."They don't have enough evidence to make the ruling."The company, which calls itself the "Lunar Embassy to China", had sold 49 acres of lunar land to 34 Chinese clients within three days of opening on October 19, Xinhua previously reported, two days after two Chinese astronauts returned to Earth from the country's second manned space mission.Just under 300 yuan ($37) was all it cost to buy a deed promising rights to one acre of dusty lunar soil and any minerals up to two miles underground until the company was accused of illegal speculation and profiteering.The domestically financed firm is the China agent of the U.S.-based Lunar Embassy, an extra-terrestrial real estate agency aimed at exploiting what it sees as a loophole in a 1967 international treaty on the moon.Earlier this month, the Lunar Embassy started selling domain names for the "extra-terrestrial Internet", which the company says will eventually include Web sites with such endings as .lunar, .space and .uranus.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

FRESNO, California (AP) -- A federal judge stopped a logging project in Giant Sequoia National Monument on Monday, keeping intact more than 1,000 acres in a preserve that houses two-thirds of the world's largest trees.Judge Charles R. Breyer issued a preliminary injunction blocking a timber sale, saying the U.S. Forest Service had ignored extensive research on how commercial logging would affect wildlife in the region."We hope they're finally getting the message," said Deborah Reames, an attorney with Earthjustice, one of several environmental groups that brought the lawsuit.Reames said the project would have hurt wildlife, some of which is at the point of extinction.The Forest Service said timber sales help preserve logging jobs and the natural ecosystem. The project would thin out smaller trees that are fire hazards, not completely clear out the area, spokesman Matt Mathes said."We desperately need to bring the ecosystem back into balance. The smaller trees in that area act as ladders to take fires into the taller Sequoias," Mathes said.Congress declared parts of the Sequoia National Forest a national monument in 2000. That designation generally would prevent further logging. But, because the sale was approved before the declaration, Mathes said, the project was exempt from monument rules.Mathes said he did not know if the Forest Service would challenge the injunction.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal health officials didn't follow normal procedures in rejecting over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill -- and some documents suggest the decision was made even before scientists finished reviewing the evidence, congressional investigators reported Monday.Politics trumped science, immediately charged long-suspicious members of Congress who had requested the independent audit."We are deeply opposed to this subversion of science," Rep. Henry Waxman, D-California, and 17 other lawmakers wrote Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt.They urged that Leavitt, who oversees FDA, intervene to assure that a pending reconsideration of the pill's status "is based on the best available science instead of ideology."The morning-after pill is a high dose of regular birth control that, taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex, can lower the risk of pregnancy by up to 89 percent. The sooner it's taken, the better it works, but it can be difficult for women to get a prescription in time.In December 2003, FDA's scientific advisers overwhelmingly backed over-the-counter sales for all ages, citing assessments that easier access could halve the nation's 3 million annual unintended pregnancies. But the following May, FDA leaders rejected that recommendation, citing concern about young teens' use of the pills without a doctor's guidance.The maker reapplied, seeking to sell Plan B without a prescription to women 16 or older while younger teens continue to get a doctor's note, much like the age restrictions that govern cigarette sales. In August, FDA's then-commissioner postponed that decision indefinitely, saying it wasn't clear how the FDA could enforce an age limit.The independent Government Accountability Office reviewed FDA's first rejection, uncovering what they called "unusual" decision-making. Among the findings:Conflicting accounts of whether the decision was made months before scientific reviews were completed.Unusual involvement from high-ranking agency officials.Three FDA directors who normally would have been responsible for signing off on the decision did not do so because they disagreed with it.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Eight advocacy groups asked a federal judge on Monday to ensure that no elderly or disabled Americans lose access to their prescription drugs as they enroll in the new Medicare drug plan.The groups filed the suit on behalf of about 6.4 million people who qualify for Medicare as well as Medicaid because of their incomes. Their earnings are usually well below the poverty level. Nearly 40 percent have dementia or other impairments.Medicaid, a state-federal partnership, now covers most of their prescription drug costs. But, beginning on January 1, Medicare will undertake that role.The advocacy groups are concerned that some of the "dual eligibles" will no longer be able to obtain drugs, either because they weren't enrolled in a drug plan or they could not understand communications about their new coverage.Even temporary glitches could be fatal for the beneficiaries, the groups contended in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York."If the government transitions 99 percent of these men and women flawlessly, there will still be 64,000 people without their medicine come January," said Robert Hayes, president of the Medicare Rights Centers, which is based in New York. "That cannot be allowed."The suit, which names Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt as the defendant, seeks a system under which existing coverage would be continued until these beneficiaries are enrolled in a plan that meets all their prescription needs.Under the current program, these people can choose any drug plan they believe meets their needs. If they don't choose a plan, they will be automatically enrolled effective January 1. Last month, Medicare sent letters to dual eligibles letting them know what plan they would be in if they didn't join one before December 31.Gary Karr, a spokesman for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the agency has taken numerous steps to make sure that people with Medicare and Medicaid will have their drug coverage on January 1, including the automatic enrollments."We're also working on further steps to insure that, when a beneficiary goes to a pharmacy in 2006, they'll be able to get their prescription drugs, even if the only proof they have is that they are in Medicaid and Medicare," Karr said.Other parties joining the lawsuit were the New York Statewide Senior Action Council, The Coalition of Voluntary Mental Health Agencies, Inc., United Senior Action of Indiana, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Maine, Action Alliance of Senior Citizens of Greater Philadelphia, Massachusetts Senior Action Council and the Congress of California Seniors.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

GOLDEN, Colorado (AP) -- A woman who authorities said had sex with high school boys during alcohol- and drug-fueled parties has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, officials said.Silvia Johnson, 41, described herself to investigators as a "cool mom" who "was never popular with classmates in high school" and who was beginning to feel like one of the group.She pleaded guilty in July to two misdemeanor counts of sexual assault and nine felony counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.She also was sentenced for additional charges of third-degree assault, violation of a restraining order and harassment for unrelated cases involving her husband and children, prosecution spokesman Carl Blesch said.Authorities said Johnson held parties for the boys almost weekly between October 2003 and October 2004. They said Johnson provided drugs and alcohol to eight boys and had sex with five of them.Johnson was to be sentenced on September 26, but the hearing was postponed after she was injured the day before while riding in an SUV that veered off an interstate.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

(CNN) -- Beset with an unpopular war and an American public increasingly less trusting, President Bush faces the lowest approval rating of his presidency, according to a national poll released Monday.Bush also received his all-time worst marks in three other categories in the CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll. The categories were terrorism, Bush's trustworthiness and whether the Iraq war was worthwhile.Bush's 37 percent overall approval rating was two percentage points below his ranking in an October survey. Both polls had a sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points. (Watch: The last Bush Democrat? -- 2:02)Sixty percent of the 1,006 adult Americans interviewed by telephone Friday through Sunday said they disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president.The White House has said it doesn't pay attention to poll numbers and the figures do not affect policy."We have a proud record of accomplishment and a positive agenda for the future," White House spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters Wednesday. "We look forward to continuing to talk about it. I mean, you can get caught up in polls; we don't. Polls are snapshots in time."Bush, who received high marks after the terrorist attacks of 2001, also rated poorly in the new poll for his policy on terrorism. For the first time, less than half -- 48 percent -- of those surveyed said they approved of how the president was handling the war on terror. Forty-nine percent said they disapprove.In November 2001, Bush had an 87 percent overall approval mark and an 86 percent rating on terrorism.Bush has been under fire from Democratic lawmakers for the way his administration made the case to invade Iraq in 2003 and how it has handled the conflict since then.The president fired back in a speech Monday, accusing Democrats of "playing politics." (Full story)In the new poll, 60 percent said it was not worth going to war in Iraq, while 38 percent said it was worthwhile. The question was asked of about half of those surveyed and had a margin of error of five percentage points. The results marked a decline in support of seven percentage points from two months earlier.Bush's lowest approval ratings came on two issues that divide his own Republican Party. On federal spending, 71 percent disapproved of his performance and 26 percent approved. The approval rating was the same on immigration issues, and the disapproval mark was 65 percent.Sixty-one percent of respondents disapproved of Bush's handling of the economy, and 37 percent approved.The country appears to be split on whether Bush is a strong president and whether or not Americans personally like him.When asked about his abilities, 49 percent of those surveyed said he was a strong president and 49 percent said he was a weak leader.About 50 percent of people polled said they disliked Bush, with 6 percent claiming to hate the president.Bush's overall approval mark matched the 37 percent rating of newly elected President Clinton in June 1993. (Interactive: Second-term slump)When asked if they trust Bush more than they had Clinton, 48 percent of respondents said they trusted Bush less, while 36 percent said they trusted him more and 15 percent said they trusted Bush the same as Clinton.For the first time, more than half of the public thinks Bush is not honest and trustworthy -- 52 percent to 46 percent.A week ago, President Bush campaigned for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore, who lost the election a day later to Democratic Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine. (Full story)In the poll, 56 percent of registered voters said they would be likely to vote against a local candidate supported by Bush, while 34 percent said the opposite. Only 9 percent said their first choice in next year's elections would be a Republican who supports Bush on almost every major issue.Forty-six percent said the country would be better off if Congress were controlled by Democrats, while 34 percent backed a GOP majority.A large majority of Republicans -- 80 percent -- approve of Bush's performance, compared with 28 percent of independents and 7 percent of Democrats. Those results had a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. Vice President Dick Cheney's approval rating has dropped 14 points since the start of the year, down from 54 percent in January to 40 percent.His chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, resigned last month after he was indicted on charges including obstruction of justice and perjury. Libby is accused of lying to investigators and a grand jury investigating the disclosure of the identity of a CIA officer whose husband criticized the White House case for war. (Full story)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Tuesday that Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito had distanced himself from a memo he wrote 20 years ago that said "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion." Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the only female member of the committee that will vote on the nomination, said she asked the appeals court judge about the memo."What [Alito] said was, 'It was different then. I was an advocate seeking a job. It was a political job,'" the California Democrat said. She said Alito said 1985 was a "very different" time, when he was an advocate for the Reagan administration. As a judge for 15 years, he looks at legal matters differently."I don't give heed to my personal views. What I do is I interpret the law,'" she said, quoting the 55-year-old judge from New Jersey.Feinstein said she believed Alito was sincere.She said they discussed Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that legalized abortion, and that Alito said he had been through "many reviews" of the case but did not say he accepted it as legal precedent. In 1985, Alito was working in the solicitor general's office, where he helped prepare cases to be argued in court on behalf of the government. His memo was part of an application to become deputy assistant attorney general. In the memo, he writes, "I am and always have been a conservative and an adherent to the same philosophical views that I believe are central to this administration." (Read an excerpt from the document)Later he writes about his accomplishments, "I am particularly proud of my contributions in recent cases in which the government has argued in the Supreme Court that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Constitution does not protect a right to abortion."He notes that as a federal employee, "I have been unable to take a role in partisan politics. However, I am a lifelong registered Republican."Democratic senators said Alito's comments in his job application troubled them."I'm concerned about documents that show an eager and early partisan in the ranks of ideological activists in his party's extreme right wing," Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, the Senate Judiciary Committee's ranking Democrat, said. "Judge Alito has many questions to answer during his upcoming hearings before the Judiciary Committee.""This puts a much stronger onus on Judge Alito to answer questions on this subject," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, told the Associated Press. Schumer called the 1985 document "the strongest statement we've seen from a nominee on this very controversial subject for a long time." Liberal groups were also quick to criticize Alito's memo."Combined with his judicial record, Judge Alito's letter underscores our concern that he would vote to turn back the clock on decades of judicial precedent protecting privacy, equal opportunity, religious freedom, and so much more," said Ralph Neas, president of People For the American Way. "And it is further evidence that if Samuel Alito is confirmed to replace Sandra Day O'Connor, he will shift the Supreme Court dramatically to the right for decades to come."The documents are among dozens of pages released Monday by the Reagan and Bush presidential libraries. Alito did get the job he applied for, and went on to serve as U.S. attorney in New Jersey from 1987 to 1990. He then became a federal appeals court judge, his current job.He was nominated last month to take O'Connor's seat. Abortion is certain to become a key issue in confirmation hearings.As a judge, he dissented in 1991 as his appeals court threw out a Pennsylvania provision requiring a married woman seeking an abortion to notify her husband. The Supreme Court later upheld that ruling.Alito has told senators in private meetings in recent days he has "great respect" for precedent, including the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. But he would not say whether he would continue to uphold that ruling.CNN's Bill Mears contributed to this report.

(CNN) -- If Maureen Dowd was trying to cause controversy, she's done a good job.Her new book, "Are Men Necessary?" (Putnam), compiles a number of her New York Times columns and new thoughts on that oldest of conflicts: the battle of the sexes.In the book she wonders about the state of feminism, the value in pursuing a mate, the belief that smart women get left home on Saturday nights and whether women's magazines have given up thoughtful articles for beauty tips and empty sexuality.She's obviously hit a nerve. An excerpt from the book that appeared in the October 30 New York Times Magazine was, for a time, the newspaper's most e-mailed article. On Sunday, the magazine printed 20 letters about the piece -- six or seven times more than it ran for any of the other articles in the Dowd issue.And those letters were passionate."Will someone please marry Maureen Dowd?" asked one letter writer. "She has managed to spin her inability to find a suitable mate into a national crisis.""I sadly concur with Dowd's observations about today's young women and their feminist predecessors," wrote another."Maureen Dowd isn't looking at the whole picture," observed a third. "I know plenty of men who are not afraid of 'the perfume of female power.' ""The entire article is your basic baby-boomer whine that the boomer girls didn't get everything they wanted," sneered another writer. The correspondent extended her dislike to the 53-year-old Dowd's use of the word "girl" in describing herself and her peers.Dowd seems a bit surprised about the book's reaction -- particularly from those peers."I thought that men would be scared of the book, but it's women," she told Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien on CNN's "American Morning" last week.Combining politics and genderDowd is no stranger to upsetting perceptions -- or stereotypes. With her cutting, caustic writing style, she was one of President Clinton's severest critics during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and has been -- if anything -- even more scathing regarding the Bush White House.She even managed to combine politics and gender in her November 5 column: "I've said it before and I'll say it again," she began. "Men are simply not biologically suited to hold higher office. The Bush administration has proved that once and for all," she continued, before firing darts at former Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Michael Brown, President Bush and the "Mean Girls cabal headed by Dick Cheney, Rummy and the Rummy aide Douglas Feith.""Are Men Necessary?" (the title is a twist on E.B. White and James Thurber's 1929 work, "Is Sex Necessary?") starts with a question of genetics, Dowd told CNN."There's a body of evidence now that the Y chromosome is rotting at such a fast rate that it will go out of business in about 100,000 years," she said on "American Morning." "So now that women don't need men to reproduce and refinance, the question is, will we keep you around? And the answer is," she added puckishly, "you know we need you in the way we need ice cream, you'll be more ornamental." (A Times book reviewer has noted that other research indicates the Y chromosome has stabilized.)But Dowd also wonders where feminism has led."Just as there were excesses at the beginning -- the early feminists [tried] to rule out a lot of the sexuality and frivolity and, you know, they demonized Barbie and Cosmo girl in high heels and shopping and a lot of the fun stuff women like -- at the end, you know, they are equally sort of into conformity, but completely the opposite way," she told CNN's Anderson Cooper."The beginning was about not being a sex object, and now women are turning themselves into self-actualizing sex kittens and looking for their inner slut, and even tweens are wearing T-shirts that say, 'My Dad Thinks I'm a Virgin' and 'You Looked Hotter Online.' "Men afraid of female power? Despite -- or perhaps because -- of the multiplicity of female identities, Dowd observes that, decaying Y chromosome or not, men appear afraid of female power. At the least, she suggests, they may be afraid of her and her intelligent peers. (Dowd quotes a friend, Times book reviewer Michiko Kakutani, crying, "Now I'll never get a date!" after winning the Pulitzer.)Some reviewers have questioned Dowd's theory."As Dowd would have it, men simply find her intelligence, her status, her wit too daunting," wrote Katie Roiphe in Slate. "But is it possible that there is something else at play? ... [A New York magazine] piece ... describes the wide variety of men Dowd has been involved with, ranging from movie stars, to important editors, to creators of television dramas. ... One imagines that her intelligence, her sharpness, her sarcasm may even have interested these men. Could there possibly be another reason that the attractive, successful Dowd has not settled down?"Dowd said the issue isn't so black or white."[The book] isn't at all pessimistic about the chances of strong, successful women," she said. "The only point I make is that ... at the dawn of feminism, we assumed that having a high-power career and having, you know, snappy banter would be things that would fascinate men. And a lot of times I think it's turned out that men find those things draining and oftentimes would rather be with a woman who is in awe of them."Despite her wonder, Dowd said she is also amused at the reaction the book has provoked."I've created this international kind of sensation. I'm getting calls at midnight from British reporters," she told the "American Morning" hosts. "I think a lot of these people haven't actually read it. It's a breezy, fun book that has a lot of morsels that men and women can talk about and debate."And as for controversy?"As a columnist that's my job. Pat Oliphant, the political cartoonist, calls it 'stirring up the beast,' " she said. "So if we can have a national conversation, that's good."

NEW YORK (AP) -- The man who murdered John Lennon 25 years ago says "nothing could have stopped" his twisted quest to track down and assassinate the ex-Beatle."I was under total compulsion," killer Mark David Chapman says in a segment to be aired at 8 p.m. EST Friday on "Dateline NBC.""It was like a train, a runaway train, there was no stopping it."Chapman fatally shot Lennon on December 8, 1980, as the musician and his wife, Yoko Ono, returned home from a night in a Manhattan recording studio. Chapman's comments came from audiotapes made in 1991-92 and first used as part of a British documentary.Chapman recalled waiting for Lennon that night, then reacting as he saw a limousine pull up outside the ex-Beatle's home."I heard a voice in my head saying, 'Do it, do it,' " Chapman recounted. "And as he passed me I pulled out the gun, aimed at his back and pulled the trigger five times in succession."Chapman recalled that his desire to kill Lennon began one day in his apartment in Hawaii, where he was sitting on the floor and looking at the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album. His animosity soon began to consume Chapman."There was a successful man who kind of had the world on a chain, so to speak, and there I was, not even a link of that chain, just a person who had no personality," Chapman said. "And something in me just broke."Chapman, 50, is eligible for parole again next year. Ono has repeatedly argued against Chapman's release, and his bids for freedom were already rejected three times by the state parole board.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The United States is headed for a showdown with much of the rest of the world over control of the Internet but few expect a consensus to emerge from a U.N. summit in Tunisia this week.The very notion of "Internet governance" may seem an oxymoron to the 875 million users of the global computer network, which has proven stubbornly resistant to the efforts of those who wish to rid it of pornography, "spam" e-mail and other objectionable material.But the United States, which gave birth to the Internet, maintains control of the system that matches easy-to-remember domain names with numerical addresses that computers can understand.That worries countries like Brazil and Iran, which have pushed to transfer control to the United Nations or some other international body.Even the European Union, where much of the business community backs the current system, has taken swipes at the United States."We just say this needs to be addressed in a more cooperative way ... under public-policy principles," said one EU official who asked not to be identified.The issue is expected to dominate the World Summit on the Information Society, which begins Wednesday in Tunis, Tunisia.Part diplomatic summit, part trade fair, the summit was launched two years ago with a focus on bringing the Internet and other advanced communications to less developed parts of the world.That remains a hot topic for many of the 17,000 diplomats, human-rights activists and technologists expected to attend.High-tech heavyweights like Intel Corp. and Alcatel will send top executives to talk up their development programs.Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will unveil a $100 laptop computer that can be powered by a hand crank in areas without a reliable supply of electricity.But progress can't come without legal reform, business groups say. Internet access in the developing world will always remain expensive as long as governments allow their telecommunications monopolies to discourage competition, said Allen Miller, a senior vice president at the Information Technology Association of America."For most of these countries that are complaining about it, it's their own regulation and lack of liberalization that's preventing backbone providers from coming in," he said.Over the past two years tension between the haves and have-nots has shifted from the question of who has access to the Internet to who controls its plumbing.Diplomats were to meet on Sunday for a final round of negotiations before the summit. They might agree to set up a forum to discuss issues like cyber-crime and spam, and countries might win more direct control over their own top-level domains, such as .nl for the Netherlands and .fr for France.But the United States has said repeatedly it does not intend to cede control of the domain-name system to a bureaucratic body that could stifle innovation."No agreement is preferred to a bad agreement," U.S. Ambassador David Gross said at a recent public meeting.Many experts say the Internet needs less government involvement, not more."When governments talk about imposing their public policies on the Internet, unfortunately they don't typically mean, 'Let's protect human rights, individual rights, let's guarantee the freedom of the Internet,'" said Milton Mueller, a professor at Syracuse University's School of Information Studies."They mean, 'Damn it, somebody using the Internet did something I don't like and let's find a way to stop it,'" he said.Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Authorities early Tuesday arrested a northern Virginia woman suspected of robbing suburban Washington banks while talking on her cell phone, police said.Candice Rose Martinez, 19, was taken into custody around 3:35 a.m. in Centreville, a suburb west of Washington, said Maryann Jennings of the Fairfax County, Virginia, Police Department.Authorities also seized $3,500 from the suspect's Chantilly, Virginia, apartment -- 20 $100 bills and 30 $50 bills secured with Wachovia bands -- according to an affidavit filed in Fairfax County. Agents also confiscated a cellular phone box, a computer and a digital camera, the document said. Martinez is suspected of robbing four banks between October 12 and November 4, police said.In three robberies, surveillance cameras captured a woman talking on a cell phone as she presented a box containing a holdup note to tellers. In the fourth robbery, the woman did not carry a box but displayed a handgun and handed the teller a note, police said. (Watch how some bandits earned their criminal monikers -- 1:45)The affidavit detailed one of the woman's notes, which was taped to an empty box on October 22."You have 40 seconds to put all your money in the box, do not make any sudden moves," the note said, according to the court document.The woman asked the teller to put all $100 and $50 bills in the box, then complained, "You're taking too long, you have 40 seconds," according to the affidavit. "I need you to empty all the drawers -- you have three," the woman said, according to the document. Jennings of the Fairfax County police said an FBI agent spotted a car sought in connection with the bank robberies, and other law enforcement agencies aided with Tuesday's arrest. (Watch robbery suspect in action --1:34)Two men also were detained but later released, an FBI spokesman said. Martinez likely will face a federal bank robbery charge, the FBI said.On Monday, her boyfriend, David Williams, was arrested on probable cause for one count of bank robbery in Fairfax County, the FBI said. CNN's Kevin Bohn and Terry Frieden contributed to this report.

HANOI, Vietnam (Reuters) -- Vietnam slaughtered thousands of birds in its two largest cities on Tuesday, while other Asian nations boosted efforts to halt the spread of deadly avian flu.China vowed to vaccinate its entire stock of 14 billion poultry against bird flu, with the government promising to help pay for the process. (Full story)The deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu is endemic in poultry in parts of Asia and has killed more than 60 people in the region.The virus remains hard for people to catch, but experts fear it could mutate into a form which can be passed from person to person and trigger a pandemic in which millions could die.Britain said it believed an outbreak of H5N1 in a quarantine centre last month was introduced by birds imported from Taiwan.It had previously blamed it on a parrot from South America, a region which has no reported cases of H5N1.Officials in Vietnam were racing against time to meet the government's deadline of Tuesday for ending poultry raising in the capital Hanoi and in Ho Chi Minh City, the country's commercial hub and largest urban center.Police, veterinarians and health workers, wearing masks and protective clothes, gathered at duck farms in Hoang Mai district on the edge of Hanoi where outbreaks were detected earlier."We are carrying out the city's decision to kill all the poultry inside the city," veterinary official Phi Thanh Hai said, as 3,500 ducks quacked in bags after being rounded up at a pond next to the Red River.Hanoi poultry farmers said they got compensation of 15,000 dong ($0.95) for each destroyed duck, which cost 40,000 dong to raise. Forty-two people have died from bird flu in Vietnam.Resources neededIndonesia and Vietnam should be given more resources to help stamp out the spread of the virus, the head of a global animal health body said on Tuesday.Bernard Vallat, director general of the World Organisation for Animal Health, urged vaccination of poultry."Early detection is the first line of defence in defeating the virus. But Indonesia and Vietnam, which do not have enough resources and adequate organisation, were late in responding to bird flu," Vallat told Reuters during a visit to South Korea."They cannot manage this virus by just killing animals at this stage. It is too late. The solution is using vaccination."Indonesia, its resources stretched by the tsumani disaster last December, has largely resisted calls for a mass cull of chickens, saying it does not have funds to compensate owners.China, battling several outbreaks of H5N1 among poultry, set itself the tough target of vaccinating billions of birds.Jia Youling, director-general of the Agriculture Ministry's veterinary bureau, said the central government would cover 50 to 80 percent of provinces' costs, the Xinhua news agency reported.It gave no timetable for the inoculation campaign.The nine outbreaks reported across China this autumn "have been basically brought under control," Jia was quoted as saying.British caseMigratory birds have carried the virus to eastern Europe and Kuwait, and experts fear it will soon spread to Africa.Britain said it believed an outbreak last month in a quarantine centre was caused by birds imported from Taiwan, rather than a parrot from Suriname, originally thought to be the carrier.More than 50 birds from Taiwan died at the quarantine centre, the government said.Officials said tissue samples from the finch-like mesias were pooled so it was impossible to say how many of the 53 dead birds had been killed by H5N1."The very strong conclusion of this epidemiological report is that it came via Taiwan," said animal welfare minister Ben Bradshaw. Copyright 2005 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Authorities on Tuesday began evacuating 7,500 people living on the slopes of a volcano in southwest Colombia over concerns it is about to erupt.Following a mandatory evacuation order Monday, emergency officials began knocking on the doors of the poor farmers who live in the high-risk area of the Galeras volcano, near the Ecuador border 540 kilometers (335 miles) southwest of Bogota, said Roberto Torres, a geologist at Colombia's Geology and Mines Institute.Three weeks ago the institute raised its warning for Galeras to Level 2, signifying "a probable eruption within days or weeks," Torres said. Although the warning remains at Level 2, Torres said government officials ordered the evacuation as a precaution."We can't wait until it occurs before taking action," said Interior and Justice Minister Sabas Pretelt.The government says it is providing shelter and food to all evacuees. Many schools in the area were closed and workers told to abandon their jobs indefinitely.The recent seismic activity at Galeras has resembled that observed prior to a 1993 eruption that killed nine people, including five scientists from around the globe who had descended into the crater to sample gases at the moment the volcano blew, the institute said.The evacuation order comes one day after Colombians commemorated the 20th anniversary of the eruption of another volcano, Nevado del Ruiz, which melted ice and snow and triggered a mudslide that buried a town, killing 25,000 people.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori on Tuesday lost a second bid to be released from his eight-day arrest as he fights extradition to Peru on human rights and corruption charges.A three-member panel of the Santiago Court of Appeals turned down a request for Fujimori's release, ruling that the arrest of the 67-year-old former president was legal, according to one of the judges, Lamberto Cisternas.That means Fujimori, who is being held at an academy for corrections officers, will remain under arrest as Peru pursues his extradition on 21 charges of corruption and human rights stemming from his 1990-2000 government.The request on behalf of Fujimori was filed by Antonio Marin, a private citizen whose connection to Fujimori was unclear.It was the second time Fujimori was rejected for release while awaiting an extradition trial. Supreme Court justice Orlando Alvarez rejected another such petition on November 7, just hours after ordering Fujimori's arrest as the former Peruvian leader returned from five years of protected exile in Japan.Fujimori fled to Japan in 2000 as his government collapsed amid a corruption scandal. He resigned the presidency in a fax sent from Tokyo.He said he came to Chile only as a stopover on his way back to Peru to again seek the presidency in elections set for April 2006, in spite of a congressional ban on Fujimori holding any public office until 2011.Relatives and aides who have visited him in Chile have also said he aims to mount a new presidential candidacy, prompting the Chilean government to warn them that they must abstain from campaign or political activities in Chile. Foes and supporters of Fujimori have staged peaceful demonstrations in front of the academy where he is being held.The Chilean lawyer hired by the Peruvian government, Alfredo Etcheberry, said a formal extradition request will be filed close to the 60-day deadline that expires in mid-January. In all, the trial should take about four months, legal experts say.At home, Fujimori faces charges ranging from abuse of power and corruption to sanctioning a paramilitary death squad. The death squad allegedly committed two massacres of suspected guerrilla collaborators in which 25 people were killed, including an 8-year-old boy.Peruvian prosecutors are seeking a 30-year sentence and a $29 million fine for his alleged role in the death squad killings, the most serious charge he faces.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) -- Adrian Rogers, a three-time president of the Southern Baptist Convention who helped religious conservatives take control of the 16 million-member denomination, died Tuesday at age 74.Rogers was hospitalized this month after developing pneumonia during cancer treatment, according to an announcement of his death on his ministry's Web site."A mighty oak has fallen in God's forest," said fellow Baptist leader Jerry Falwell.Rogers was first elected president of the SBC in 1979 at the beginning of a long and sometimes bitter power struggle between religiously conservative pastors and their more moderate counterparts. He also was president in 1986 and 1987."He began the theological and spiritual renaissance that brought the largest Protestant denomination back to its original roots and commitment to the Bible," Falwell said from Lynchburg, Virginia, where he directs Jerry Falwell Ministries.Rogers was part of an "inerrancy movement," which championed the belief that the Bible is free from error and literally accurate in all ways.The conservative movement Rogers helped lead also pushed the denomination to stronger political opposition to abortion, homosexuality and the ordination of female pastors, said Bob Allen, a writer and commentator for the Baptist Center for Ethics, an independent Baptist organization headquartered in Nashville."The Southern Baptist Convention today would be part of the religious right and 20 years ago it would have been more mainstream," Allen said. "I think it would also be fair to say the conservatives have developed pretty strong ties to the Republican Party."In 1992, members of the SBC who called themselves moderates broke away and formed the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.While Rogers may have been less well-known outside the SBC than some other Baptist leaders, "no one has been more influential inside the Southern Baptist Convention," Allen said.He was pastor of Memphis' Bellevue Baptist Church for 32 years, and under his direction, the church's membership grew from 9,000 to more than 28,000. He stepped down as Bellevue's pastor in March.In 1987, Rogers founded a ministry called Love Worth Finding that produced broadcasts for radio stations and cable TV outlets around the country and abroad. In 2003 he was inducted into the National Religious Broadcasters' Hall of Fame.Richard Land, president of the SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, described Rogers as "one of the giants of the faith.""Adrian Rogers was perhaps the last half-century's premier example of an expository preacher who used his gifts to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ and his victory for humanity on the cross," Land said.Rogers is survived by his wife, Joyce, four children and one grandchild.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hunters eventually could be allowed to kill grizzly bears in three states if the government is successful in removing federal protections.Grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park had dwindled to 220 to 320 animals in 1975, when they were listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. In the past 30 years, the Interior Department says, the number of bears in that region has grown at a rate of 4 percent to 7 percent a year, and they now number about 600.Because of this rate of recovery, the department on Tuesday proposed taking the grizzlies off the list.Removing federal protection would allow Wyoming, Montana and Idaho to assume management responsibilities from the federal government for grizzlies around Yellowstone, and state plans leave open the possibility of limited grizzly bear hunting. Bears within Yellowstone and Grand Teton national park would remain off limits to hunting, however.Environmental groups are split over the issue. The National Wildlife Federation supports ending the protections, saying it would highlight the success of the endangered species law. But the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club and other groups contend the grizzly should remain on the list because too many threats to the animal still exist. They include oil and gas drilling, logging and the growing number of housing developments.Republican lawmakers say the success of recovering the bears is a rarity under an endangered species law that is ineffective and burdensome to landowners. Fewer than 20 species have been recovered since President Nixon signed the law in 1973.Many in Congress have called the law a failure, and the House passed a bill in September to lessen the government's role in managing species."The fact that we are rolling this out with such fanfare underscores what a rarity recovering a species is," said Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho. "It is a testament to the partnerships created in this case, but also a cry for reform of the ESA."Interior Secretary Gale Norton said Tuesday that grizzly bear recovery has been a success because of cooperation between state and federal governments, along with biologists and conservation groups. She added, though, that the Bush Administration would like to see the law focused more on recovery efforts than on penalizing landowners who find endangered species on their land.Four other grizzly populations in the lower 48 states will continue to be protected as threatened species under the act. These bears live in the Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. Alaskan grizzly bears, which number about 30,000, were never listed.Norton said Yellowstone grizzlies could be removed from the list as early as 2006, but acknowledged that litigation could delay the move.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- How did two pricey Van Goghs become Van Gone?That is one of many questions asked by the FBI Tuesday when the agency unveiled its list of the world's "Top 10 Art Crimes," an effort to enlist the public's help in solving some of the world's most famous art heists.The Van Goghs, "Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen" and "View of the Sea at Scheveningen," which are valued at a collective $30 million, are high on the FBI's list of artworks it wants to retrieve. Both were stolen from the Vincent Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 2002. Two men were arrested in the theft, but the paintings have not been found.Art theft has become a thriving black-market industry that causes global losses of about $6 billion a year, according to the FBI. However, FBI assistant director Chris Swecker said during a Tuesday press conference that the amount isn't precise because art is difficult to appraise. For example, a piece expected to snare $4 million at auction recently sold for $13 million, he said. (Watch the FBI's new art crime team -- 2:04)Saying art theft "impoverishes us all," Swecker said that the "theft of cultural property is a worldwide problem, and the FBI Art Theft Program and Art Crime Team are part of the solution." Making the crimes more serious is that the FBI has evidence of ties to organized crime and terrorism, he said.The stolen works on the agency's list could form an impressive gallery on their own. Along with the Van Goghs are works by Leonardo da Vinci, Paul Cezanne and Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio. The institutions that were robbed dot the globe, from Boston to Baghdad.Perhaps the most recognizable masterpiece on the list is Edvard Munch's "The Scream," which was stolen, along with the painter's "The Madonna," from the museum bearing his name in Oslo, Norway, last year. (Full story)The list includes thefts of works other than paintings, such as the $3 million Davidoff-Morini Stradivarius violin, which was stolen in 1995 from the New York City apartment of Erica Morini, a noted concert violinist.In an apparent effort to tout the successes of its year-old Art Crime Team, the bureau also included on the Top 10 list the theft of three paintings that have already been recovered. Two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir and a self-portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn were stolen from the National Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2000. One of the Renoirs was recovered by the Stockholm County Police the next year. A task force of international police agencies, including the FBI, found the other missing Renoir and the Rembrandt this year. The missing Renoir was found in Los Angeles, California, and the Rembrandt was found in Copenhagen, Denmark, according to an FBI press release.Also included on the list are Cezanne's "View of Auvers-sur-Oise;" Leonardo's "Madonna of the Yarnwinder;" Benvenuto Cellini's "Salt Cellar;" Caravaggio's "Nativity;" between 7,000 and 10,000 looted or stolen Iraqi artifacts; and 12 pieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (including three more Rembrandts) worth an estimated $300 million. (Wolf Blitzer on how the museum tried to retrieve its artwork in March)The FBI hopes its Top 10 list will increase the visibility of its Art Crime Team, yielding more leads and tips to recover the art, Swecker said. The bureau also has established a tip line on its Web site, www.fbi.gov.

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- A boy who died this summer after riding the "Mission Space" ride at Walt Disney World's Epcot Center in Orlando had a pre-existing heart condition, according to autopsy reports.Four-year-old Daudi Bamuwamye lost consciousness while on the ride in June. The autopsy report released Tuesday by the Orange County Medical Examiner's Office states the boy died as a result of the heart condition.Toward the end of the ride the boy became rigid, and when the ride ended, Bamuwamye's body "was limp and unresponsive," his mother, Agnes Bamuwamye, told authorities. Paramedics and a park employee tried to revive him. He died later at the hospital.The autopsy report states the boy suffered from a heart condition that affected his heart's left ventricle. The boy's family was unaware of the condition, said a spokesman in the medical examiner's office."Mission Space" opened in 2003, and seven people who have ridden it have been taken to the hospital for chest pains, fainting or nausea. Signs posted near the attraction, which simulates a rocket blastoff and mission to Mars, warns that riders should be in good health.Disney's Web site advises that riders "should be free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride."A statement from Walt Disney World extended sympathies to the family and declined to comment further on the boy's death.

LOS ANGELES, California -- A California engineer and his wife and brother have been charged in a plot to pass information about U.S. submarines to the Chinese, federal prosecutors said Tuesday.Chi Mak, 65, who worked for the defense contractor L-3 Communications' subsidiary Power Paragon, was accused in an indictment of taking home information "relating to a sensitive government project." Federal prosecutors said the information involved technology that enables submarines to avoid detection by sonar.Mak's wife, Rebecca Chiu, 62, helped him copy the data to compact discs, and his brother, Tai Mak, encrypted the information and arranged to transport it to China, the indictment states. All three are charged with acting as unregistered foreign agents and face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. Chi Mak, a Chinese-born American citizen, had a secret security clearance and access to Navy "quiet propulsion" technology, according to an affidavit. The information is not considered secret, but its distribution to other governments is restricted.The FBI arrested Tai Mak and his wife, who was not charged, October 28 at Los Angeles International Airport. They were preparing to board a Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong, said Gregory Staples, an assistant U.S. attorney in Santa Ana, California. (Full story)FBI agents arrested Chi Mak and his wife, also a Chinese-born American citizen, at their home in nearby Downey.The brothers are being held without bail, and Chiu was released after posting a $300,000 bond, Staples said.

ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) -- The rate of Caesarean sections in the U.S. has climbed to an all-time high, despite efforts by public health authorities to bring down the number of such deliveries, the government said Tuesday.Nearly 1.2 million C-sections were performed in 2004, accounting for 29.1 percent of all births that year, the National Center for Health Statistics reported. That is up from 27.5 percent in 2003 and 20.7 in 1996.The increase is attributed to fears of malpractice lawsuits if a vaginal delivery goes wrong, the preferences of mothers and physicians, and the risks of attempting vaginal births after Caesareans.The C-section rate increased for all births, even those that involved healthy, first-time pregnancies with a full-term, single child. In 2000, the government announced a national public health goal of reducing the C-section rate for such births to 15 percent by 2010, but the actual rate now is about 24 percent and rising.The government also reported that more than a half-million infants were born preterm -- at less than 37 weeks' gestation -- in 2004, which is another record. And the proportion of infants with a low birth weight rose to 8.1 percent in 2004, from 7.9 percent the year before.Increases in multiple-fetus pregnancies and in preterm C-sections seem to help explain the preterm and low birth weight numbers, said Joyce Martin, an epidemiologist who co-wrote the report.A C-section is major surgery: A doctor cuts open a women's abdomen to retrieve the baby. The risks include infection and in rare cases death, and recovery time is longer than with a vaginal delivery. Doctors often perform a Caesarean when the fetus lacks oxygen or is in some other kind of life-threatening distress.For decades, C-sections were done in only a small fraction of births. In 1970, the national rate was 5 percent. Then it rose, surpassing 20 percent by the mid-1980s.Experts say many factors drove the rate: Mothers increasingly preferred the convenience of C-sections, which could be scheduled. Technological innovations let doctors better see problems before birth.The trend temporarily reversed in the early 1990s, partly because HMOs pressured doctors to curtail unnecessary procedures. But by the late 1990s, health insurers had cut back their C-section control efforts.Also, doctors became worried by studies that showed that women who deliver vaginally after having a C-section earlier suffer a ruptured uterus -- a potentially lethal complication for both mother and child -- in about 1 percent of such cases.Some hospitals have banned vaginal births after C-section, said Tonya Jamois, president of the International Cesarean Awareness Network, an advocacy organization."Women are struggling to avoid unnecessary surgery, but the medical system has abandoned them. For many, they have to submit to major surgery in order to get medical care," she said.The rate of vaginal deliveries has dropped to 9.2 percent of births after a previous Caesarean in 2004, compared with 28.3 percent in 1996.The rate of Caesareans among women who have not previously had one has shot up, climbing to 20.6 percent of such births in 2004, compared with 19.1 percent in 2003 and 14.6 in 1996.Dr. Sarah Kilpatrick, head of a practice committee for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said that 20 years ago, virtually no women asked for C-sections. But nowadays, she said, "the public gets the sense that it's like a zipper -- they open you and then close you back up."Some women believe they have a lower chance of becoming incontinent if they opt for a C-section, though the evidence to support that is not complete, Kilpatrick said.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

LITITZ, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- An 18-year-old Pennsylvania man suspected of killing the parents of his 14-year-old girlfriend Sunday and fleeing with her to Indiana made his first court appearance Tuesday. David Ludwig was flown back to Pennsylvania and arraigned on two counts of criminal homicide, one count of kidnapping and one count of reckless endangerment. Earlier, he had waived an extradition hearing.He was ordered held without bail, pending a preliminary hearing, said Donald Totaro, the district attorney in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.Totaro said he would decide at a later date whether to seek the death penalty in the case.Ludwig's girlfriend, Kara Beth Borden, was flown back to Pennsylvania separately on a private jet, accompanied by investigators. She walked from the plane without handcuffs to an unmarked sedan and got inside.Totaro said she had been reunited with family members, and a legal guardian was appointed for her.Police have said they were still investigating the circumstances of the case to determine whether the girl was kidnapped by Ludwig or fled with him willingly.Asked if the kidnapping charge lodged against Ludwig indicated that prosecutors believe she was a victim, Totaro said, "That's correct." But he also said that "we are still investigating this case, and at this point in time, we are trying to determine what exactly happened in the home."Chief Richard Garipoli of the Warwick Township, Pennsylvania, police -- the agency leading the investigation -- said Tuesday that Borden "is the victim in this case until I hear otherwise." "She's devastated, and it's important that we put her back with her family where she belongs," he told reporters before the girl was returned to Pennsylvania.Police in Lititz, about 80 miles west of Philadelphia, discovered the bodies of Michael and Cathryn Borden, both 50, on Sunday morning. Each had been shot once in the head, police said.Ludwig was captured and Kara Beth Borden was taken safely into custody by police Monday in Indiana after a high-speed chase and crash. (Watch as Indiana police arrest Ludwig -- 1:42) Trooper David Cox, who apprehended Ludwig, described Borden as "just frantic, crying, screaming" when she emerged from the car. (Full story)Questions over extent of relationshipCourt documents made public in Pennsylvania suggested a close relationship between the two teens. The couple had been dating since May, said police there.A "close friend" of Ludwig's told investigators Monday that he was "well aware that Ludwig and Kara Borden were involved in an ongoing, secret, intimate relationship of a sexual nature," according to an affidavit used to secure search warrants for the homes of both Ludwig and Borden.The 19-year-old friend said he often spoke to Ludwig about the relationship, the affidavit said. The friend also told investigators Ludwig and Borden "often communicated via instant messages and text messages on the Internet." Their communication, according to the affidavit, included "flirtatious messages" as well as "inappropriate images of one another via various electronic media" such as their computer systems and cell phones. Each had a Web site. Borden's talked about attending prayer groups and her interest in soccer and baby-sitting.On his site, Ludwig quoted lyrics from a Christian rock band and discussed his affinity for computers and volleyball. He worked as a lifeguard and at an electronics store during the summer.Garipoli said he had not heard whether the two had a sexual relationship, but "if later on down the line the detectives in my unit find out that there was some kind of illegal activity going on, those charges will be added."Friends of the Borden family said they were stunned.The Rev. Kevin Eshleman described the Bordens as "a good family" dealing with typical teenage issues. Of Kara, he said: "I think she loved her parents.""I can't comprehend any way in which she would conspire against her parents," he told CNN. "It just is almost incomprehensible to think that she would be a part of something like that."Teen Skyler Jones described Kara as "an amazing friend." She added, "Her parents always made us feel at home at her house. It was just a nice place to be."Neighbor Tom Mannon said, "She seemed to be a typical all-American girl, just a sweet kid on the street."CNN's Allan Chernoff and Sumi Das contributed to this report.

PARIS, Tennessee (AP) -- Severe thunderstorms rolled across the nation's midsection late Tuesday, producing funnel clouds that tore off roofs and destroyed or damaged buildings in at least four states.Tornado touchdowns were spotted in 12 counties in western and central Tennessee, with the worst damage apparently occurring in Henry County, about 90 miles west of Nashville."Numerous homes there were damaged, some completely destroyed," said Faye Scott, spokeswoman for the Henry County Sheriff's Department. "It's major destruction."Funnel clouds were also sighted in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, but it was unclear how many remained aloft or touched the ground. There were no immediate reports of serious injuries.A tornado made a direct hit on Henry County's emergency management center, forcing authorities to relocate to another building to handle the disaster, County Mayor Brent Greer said.The county medical center treated 13 people with injuries, mostly cuts and bruises, hospital spokeswoman Sandra Sims said.The storm also ripped the roof off the main shop at the county highway department, destroyed two smaller shops and damaged a furniture manufacturer next door, Greer said.Most of the highway department staffers were able to take cover in the basement. "We're very fortunate," Greer said.Brenda Magee was just arriving for work at the furniture factory when the storm hit."We were there for about 10 minutes under tables, dust and everything swirling around," she said. "It was a big roar. We heard it hit."Another business, Paris Industrial Services, was destroyed, but none of the employees was hurt."They told us just to come back tomorrow. We'll figure out things from there," employee Chad Fisher said.In neighboring Weakley County, up to seven homes and trailers were damaged or destroyed.Andy Zirkle, a spokesman for the Indiana Emergency Management Agency, said the storms destroyed at least nine homes in the southern part of the state."The wind was just really, really ferocious," said Julie Wilz, a desk clerk at the Red Roof Inn in Montgomery, Indiana, where about 15 people took shelter during the storm. Before heading inside, she said she saw the tip of a funnel cloud.The National Weather Service could not immediately confirm the tornados.In western Kentucky, storms leveled homes and toppled power lines. At least 22 people were treated for storm-related injuries ranging from minor cuts and bruises to head trauma, according to Jane Barton, a spokeswoman for the Regional Medical Center in Madisonville.In southern Illinois, high winds peeled the roofs off a church and several barns.Meteorologists said the severe weather was the result of a cold front moving east and colliding with warm, unstable air across the central Mississippi and lower Ohio valleys.Dan Spaeth, a weather service forecaster, said Tuesday's conditions were similar to those that produced the tornado on November 6 that caused 41 miles of damage from Kentucky into the Evansville, Indiana, area and killed 23 people.The most severe damage on November 6 was in a mobile home park on the eastern edge of Evansville where 19 of the victims were killed. Four other people were killed in neighboring Warrick County.Elsewhere in the Midwest, nine tornadoes swept across central Iowa on Saturday, killing one woman.Though severe thunderstorms and tornados are not uncommon in the fall, Spaeth said the strength of storm systems that have produced recent tornadoes suggests severe weather could lie ahead."It's not usually as widespread or frequent," he said. "But if it happens once, it can happen again."Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

KYOTO, Japan (CNN) -- U.S. President George W. Bush is pushing China to grant more freedoms to its people, citing Taiwan as an example of a successful Chinese democracy.In remarks released from a speech to be delivered later Wednesday in Japan, Bush urges Chinese leaders to allow more freedom in their country, including the right "to worship without state control.""Modern Taiwan is free and democratic and prosperous. By embracing freedom at all levels, Taiwan has delivered prosperity to its people and created a free and democratic Chinese society," Bush will say according to an advance text released by the U.S. White House."By meeting the legitimate demands of its citizens for freedom and openness, China's leaders can help their country grow into a modern, prosperous and confident nation," Bush will say."In the 21st century, freedom is an Asian value because it is a universal value."President Bush is due to arrive in China on Saturday, after attending the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Busan, South Korea with leaders of 20 other countries in the Pacific Rim.On the first leg of his eight-day trip to Asia, President Bush will meet Wednesday with one of his strongest allies in the region, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, to discuss the continued deployment of Japanese troops in Iraq and the possible realignment of U.S. forces stationed in Japan.In his keynote address in Kyoto Wednesday Bush will also salute Japan, South Korea and Taiwan for building "free and open societies."Trying to strengthen America's influence in Asia in the face of China's rising economy and military might, Bush will say China's determination to strengthen its economy must be accompanied by more freedoms for its people, The Associated Press reports."As China reforms its economy its leaders are finding that once the door to freedom is opened even a crack, it cannot be closed. As the people of China grow in prosperity, their demands for political freedom will grow as well," the speech will say.By talking about Taiwan, Bush is raising an issue that has been a major U.S.-Chinese irritant.Taiwan, 160 kilometers (110 miles) off China's southern coast, split from the mainland when nationalist leaders fled there in 1949 during China's civil war. Since then, Beijing has threatened repeatedly to use force against the self-governed island that China claims as its own.The island has had de facto independence for more than 50 years, largely because of American support.While saluting Taiwan's progress and urging China to take more steps, Bush stresses that the United States is not changing its official policy that there is one China -- including Taiwan -- or its position that there should be no unilateral attempt to change the status quo by either side, AP reports.In his speech, Bush also pushes China to open its economy to international competition to narrow the expected $200 billion trade surplus with the United States, according to the AP. (Trade deficit sore point)Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said Wednesday agreements between the U.S. and China outnumbered the differences."The Chinese people talk about human rights every day," Li told Hong Kong Cable TV. "Everything we do is for improving the people's livelihood, that includes guaranteeing the people's property rights, political rights and cultural and education rights and democratic development rights."Japanese troops in Iraq"China needs to provide a level playing field for American businesses seeking access to China's market," Bush will say, adding that China must fulfill its promise to move towards a more market-based currency. While in Japan, Bush is expected to press close ally Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to stand by his controversial decision to send Japanese troops to participate in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.About 500 Japanese troops remain, and Bush is expected to ask Koizumi to keep them on the ground at least through Iraq's elections in December.The two leaders are also expected to discuss the possible redeployment of some of the 53,000 U.S. troops now stationed in Japan. Some local communities, particularly in the southern island Okinawa, have been pressing to move the U.S. bases.Another likely topic of conversation between the leaders is a Japanese ban on importing American beef, imposed two years ago after isolated cases of mad cow disease turned up in the United States.Bush is expected to push for Koizumi to lift the ban.CNN Correspondents Dana Bash, Suzanne Malveaux and Atika Shubert 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.

AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- Eleven officials in Jordan's royal court were fired Tuesday by King Abdullah II, Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher said.Among them was the country's national security adviser, Muasher said.The reshuffling came less than a week after suicide bombings at three Amman hotels killed 60 people, including three bombers.The attacks placed Jordan's security services under increased scrutiny, but it was not clear if the firings were directly connected to the attacks.There had been speculation for months that some members of the royal court would be dismissed, but the scope of the reshuffling was unprecedented.Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Amman said a fourth American has died as a result of last Wednesday's attacks on three hotels. The slain American was not identified.The king appointed Marouf al-Bakhit, Jordan's ambassador to Israel, to replace outgoing security chief Saad Kheir, a former intelligence director, according to The Associated Press.No further information was provided about the dismissals of Kheir and 10 others -- including Royal Court chief and former Prime Minister Faisal Fayez, one of the king's closest confidants -- and prominent religious advisers to the king, the AP reported.Fayez, expected to be named speaker of the king-appointed senate, was replaced by Salam al-Turk, a retired army general and a former government official, the AP reported.One senior official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said the selection of Turk signaled a desire to increase the influence of old-guard military leaders with a reputation for being untouched by corruption.U.S. hopes would-be bomber usefulIn Washington, U.S. intelligence officials said Jordan's capture of an Iraqi woman who says her suicide belt failed to detonate in the attacks may provide important intelligence on the operations of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's terror group in Iraq."It could potentially be very useful," one U.S. official said Monday.U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Amman on Monday, telling Jordanian television that she had met with the king and "talked about our common struggle against terrorism."The confessed would-be bomber, Saijida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi, is the sister of former top al-Zarqawi deputy Thamir Mubarakk Atrous al-Rishawi, who was killed by U.S. forces in Falluja, Iraq, in April 2004, according to U.S. officials.Earlier, Muasher had said Saijida al-Rishawi was the sister of al-Zarqawi's "right-hand man."The U.S. officials said they hope she will provide information about how al-Zarqawi's al Qaeda-affiliated group recruits, trains and transports suicide bombers, as well as some of the names and locations of his top operatives.Saijida al-Rishawi was detained Sunday and accused of planning to be the fourth suicide bomber in Wednesday's attacks at Amman hotels. Later, in a televised video, she confessed to having participated."My husband detonated his bomb, and I tried to detonate mine but failed," she said. "People fled running, and I left running with them." She wore a belt in the video that she and investigators said she intended to use in the attacks.Jordanian authorities say al-Rishawi, 35, and her husband, Hussein Ali al-Shamari, went to carry out their bombings at the Radisson hotel. His explosives went off, killing 38 people attending a wedding reception in the ballroom.Authorities said Sunday that in addition to al-Rishawi, 12 people have been detained in connection with the investigation.A posting on a Web site used by al Qaeda in Iraq -- led by Jordanian-born al-Zarqawi -- claimed responsibility for the attacks. It identified the woman it said was among the suicide bombers as "Om Omeir, who chose to accompany her husband on his road to martyrdom."During her televised confession, al-Rishawi said, "My husband is the one who organized everything. I don't know anything else." CNN's David Ensor and John Vause contributed to this report.Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- Vice President Dick Cheney was heckled by peace protesters Tuesday as he spoke at the groundbreaking for a public policy center honoring former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker.During Cheney's remarks, about a half-dozen people protesting the war in Iraq yelled, "War, what is it good for?" and held up a large banner saying, "Peace Now."Cheney continued speaking and didn't acknowledge the protesters, who were escorted from the ceremony inside the University of Tennessee's basketball arena.About 50 protesters, most of them appearing to be college age, demonstrated outside. Several carried signs, including one that read "Honor Baker, Impeach Cheney."Cheney during the event lauded Baker, a Republican who was President Reagan's chief of staff and ambassador to Japan."It's good to know that far into the future people will come to this place and learn of Howard's career and his deep belief in the nobility of public service," Cheney said.About 400 people attended the ceremony, which coincided with Baker's 80th birthday.Asked about the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war, Baker said he doubts there was "something sinister and significant that would be uncovered by a closed session" of the Senate on the buildup to the war."It is almost always the cover-up rather than the event that causes trouble, and I see no evidence of a cover-up here," added Baker.He is still remembered for posing a key question during the 1973 Watergate hearings that rocked the Nixon White House: "What did the president know and when did he know it?"The $25 million privately financed Baker Center is being created to foster greater appreciation of public service and greater understanding of government.Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate demanded regular reports on the progress of the war in Iraq on Tuesday but rejected a Democratic plan to require the Bush administration to lay out a timeline for a U.S. withdrawal.Senators voted 79-19 to add language to a $491 billion Pentagon spending bill that declares 2006 to be "a period of significant transition" for Iraq and calls on the Bush administration "to explain to Congress and the American people its strategy for the successful completion of the mission in Iraq."The measure was drafted largely by Democrats, but GOP leaders removed language that would have called for a flexible timetable for a possible American pullout from Iraq.But because its stated purpose was "to clarify and recommend changes" to U.S. policy in Iraq, Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid called its adoption a vote of "no confidence" in the administration and said "staying the course will not do.""The administration's strategy is aimless, and sadly, it's rudderless," said Reid, a Nevada Democrat. "[The vote is] a victory for our troops and the American people."But Sen. John Warner, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, rejected Reid's characterization of the amendment as any sort of confidence vote. He said White House aides were consulted on the language, even if they did not "formally bless this."The measure was attached to a spending bill that senators approved unanimously Tuesday afternoon. Warner, a Virginia Republican, said its message was largely aimed at Iraq's fledgling government, which he said needs "to take a stronger, take-charge action" once a permanent parliament is elected in December."The coalition forces, most particularly the United States and Great Britain, have done their job," he said. "Now we expect in return that they take charge of their nation and run it and form a democracy and prevent any vestige of a civil war from taking place."Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the Pentagon already sends numerous reports to Congress about the progress of the war but that the lawmakers' push for more information was understandable.He said the withdrawal of U.S. troops will depend on when Iraqi forces can take their place, "and already some responsibilities are being assumed by the Iraqi security forces.""We must be careful not to give terrorists the false hope that if they can simply hold out long enough that they can outlast us," he said.The vote took place amid renewed acrimony over the war, a slump in public support for the conflict -- which has taken more than 2,000 U.S. lives -- and new questions about the Bush administration's arguments that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was necessary. The White House has pushed back by attacking Democratic critics of its case, noting that many of them -- including Reid -- voted to authorize military action against Iraq in 2002. Rumsfeld waded into the dispute Tuesday, citing Clinton administration statements that Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, ousted in 2003, would have rebuilt his weapons programs if left alone. He said President Bush launched the war in Iraq based on "the same information that President Clinton and the previous administration had.""It's the same information members of the House and Senate had. It's the same information that the other intelligence services had," he said."People who are willing to risk their lives need to know the truth," Rumsfeld said. "They need to understand that they are there based on decisions that were made in good faith, by responsible people, and that this world is going to be a lot better off with Saddam Hussein gone and with that country on a path toward democracy."But Senate Democratic Whip Richard Durbin mocked Rumsfeld for quoting Clinton administration officials, saying, "What is wrong with this picture?""This administration portrayed a situation in Iraq that was not true. It was not accurate," said Durbin, an Illinois Democrat. "They need to be held accountable. We're going to continue to press forward on this."Democrats shuttered the Senate to the public earlier this month to demand that it complete an investigation into how policymakers used intelligence about Iraq to argue for the invasion. Previous reports have said there was no evidence that political pressure skewed the intelligence, but those did not address how the administration made its case."We hope before the end of the week the Senate Intelligence Committee will reach an agreement to move forward in this important phase of the intelligence investigation," Durbin told reporters.The Senate backed the Bush administration's military tribunals for foreign terror suspects, but defied the White House by imposing standards for the treatment of prisoners in U.S. military custody, according to The Associated Press.The Senate last month voted 90-9 to include the amendment, sponsored by Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, that bars "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" of prisoners. (Full story)White House spokesman Scott McClellan had said that Bush would likely veto the bill if McCain's language were included, calling the amendment "unnecessary and duplicative."The measure was not included in the House version of the Pentagon spending bill.In a bipartisan compromise, senators voted 84-14 to support the use of military tribunals for prisoners at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but to allow the detainees to appeal their status and sentences in a federal court, the AP reported.Copyright 2005 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.