December 21, 2004

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Stu's ugly dog Phoebe wishes you 'Happy Holidays!'

WAR NEWS

Iraqi PM Warns of Strife After Bombings
Iraq's interim prime minister warned Monday that the rebels were trying to foment a sectarian war in the country, as thousands of mourners attended funerals in the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala a day after car bomb attacks killed 67 people.

Poll: War Not Worth Fighting
President Bush heads into his second term amid deep and growing public skepticism about the Iraq war, with a solid majority saying for the first time that the war was a mistake and most people believing that Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld should lose his job.

Bush: Iraq Bombers 'Are Having an Effect'
In a sobering assessment of the Iraq war, President Bush acknowledged Monday that Americans' resolve has been shaken by grisly scenes of death and destruction and he pointedly criticized the performance of U.S.-trained Iraqi troops. "No question about it," he said. "The bombers are having an effect."

Poll: Rumsfeld Losing Public's Support
Fifty-two percent of respondents to a new poll think Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign amid recent criticism in Congress over his handling of the war in Iraq.

Iran missiles pose threat to U.S. interests in Iraq
A senior U.S. official said Iran and Syria have developed ballistic missiles that can destroy U.S. targets in Iraq as well as in nations aligned with Washington.

WAR ON TERROR

German intelligence cracks terror codes
Said to decipher communiques of Ansar al-Islam organization

AP: Tanker Blast Would Impact Mile Radius
A terror attack on a tanker delivering liquefied natural gas at a U.S. port could set off a fire so hot it would burn skin and damage buildings nearly a mile away, government scientists say in a report expected to influence where new multibillion-dollar terminals will be built.

AXIS OF EVIL

N. Korea warns of 'deterrent force' boost
North Korea, which insists it needs a nuclear deterrent against a U.S. invasion, threatened Monday to strengthen its "deterrent force" if the United States pursues policies the communist state deems hostile.

CHRISTMAS NEWS

Bush White House's Christ-less Christmas
What's missing from the White House commemoration of Christmas this year? Jesus.

UK Christmas: Drink, shop, commit crime
Message of peace, love, goodwill appears to have been replaced

'Santa-Free Zones' created
A group of Germans are wanting to get rid of Santa saying he has become a symbol of the commercialisation of Christmas.

WWII shipbuilders worked for free on Christmas
With the Battle of the Bulge raging in western Europe during World War II, workers at a Brunswick shipyard were determined to deliver one more ship by year's end.

ON THE HOME FRONT

Baby stolen from womb said in good condition
A baby girl cut from her murdered mother's womb by a woman who later tried to pass the child off as her own was in very good condition, a Kansas hospital said on Monday.

Pregnant-Slay Probe Followed Cyber Trail
In the end, it wasn't a fingerprint or a blood spatter that led authorities to the woman suspected of strangling a mother-to-be and cutting the baby from her womb. It was an 11-digit computer code.

Heterosexuals Caught in Gay Marriage Issue
The Social Security Administration is rejecting marriage documents issued for heterosexual couples in four communities that performed weddings for gay couples earlier this year.

Same-sex marriage issue back to California
Judge to hear arguments seeking to put state on par with Massachusetts

Woman dies in road-rage chase
2 cars race for 3 miles before fatal crash

AROUND THE WORLD

Group Says Russia Now at 'Not Free' Status
Russia has restricted rights to such an extent that it has joined the countries that are not free for the first time since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, Freedom House said Monday, marking Moscow's march away from the Western democracies it has embraced as diplomatic partners.

U.N. Agency: Claims 'Invasion of Privacy'
The United States is invading the privacy of the U.N. nuclear chief if it is eavesdropping on his phone calls, a nuclear agency official said Monday.

EUROPEENING

France's Anti-religious Zealots Suppress Christianity
Evangelical Christians face growing problems as French authorities enforce secularism, view them as supporters of President Bush or favor Muslims.

RELIGION

Black minister: Say 'no' to Kwanzaa
Calls on blacks to celebrate Christmas, reject artificial holiday

ENTERTAINMENT

Villagers: Don't Sell Fijian Island to Mel Gibson
The star bought Mago Island, but natives say it was declared freehold property in the 1800s.

Streisand's stepson in wife-beating case
Josh Brolin has battery charge for incident with Diane Lane

HEALTH

Mobile Phone Radiation Harms DNA, New Study Finds
Radio waves from mobile phones harm body cells and damage DNA in laboratory conditions, according to a new study majority-funded by the European Union, researchers said on Monday.

Heart Risk Seen in Aleve Study
A study testing whether Celebrex or naproxen would reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease was halted Monday after researchers noted an increase in heart attack and stroke among participants who were taking naproxen, an over-the-counter pain reliever on the market for nearly 30 years.

SCIENCE / SPACE

NASA looking to smack comet
NASA is on a collision course with a comet, and scientists say they can't wait to see what happens.

BUSINESS / ECONOMY

Economic Indicators Rise for First Time in Half a Year
The index stands at 115.2 versus its all-time high of 116.5 in May.

POLITICS

Bush Vows He'll Cut Budget Deficit in Half
President Bush says he will submit a budget that cuts the deficit in half and maintains strict spending discipline.

Conservatives to challenge Bush
'Congress needs to assert itself more,' lawmaker says

Arnold chided for urging GOP to lean left
'Ignorant' to think base wouldn't revolt over abortion, marriage

McCain Begins 2008 With Straight Talk
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is ready to take his old campaign bus out of mothballs for a possible 2008 presidential run, while at the same time adopting positions at odds with the Bush White House with increasing frequency.

Powell: 'Doors Will Open'
With only about a month left as America's top diplomat, Secretary of State Colin Powell says he has no sure plans for the future. But, he says "doors will open and some of them I will go through."