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LONDON (AP) - Queen Elizabeth II has canceled three engagements after catching a cold, Buckingham Palace announced Monday. The engagements included a visit to the elite Sandhurst military academy near London, where the 79-year-old monarch's grandson Prince Harry is a cadet officer. The queen developed a sore throat over the weekend and has a "heavy" cold, a spokeswoman for Buckingham Palace said. She withdrew from a reception late Monday to mark the centenary of the charity Friends of the Elderly at St. James' Palace in central London. She also canceled a Tuesday visit to Sandhurst to watch officer cadets on...

May 31, 2005Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Psalm: Tuesday 25 Reading IZep 3:14-18a Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!Sing joyfully, O Israel!Be glad and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem!The LORD has removed the judgment against you,he has turned away your enemies;The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,you have no further misfortune to fear.On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!The LORD, your God, is in your midst,a mighty savior;He will rejoice over you with gladness,and renew you in his love,He will sing joyfully...

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The man charged with kidnapping teenager Elizabeth Smart was kicked out of his mental competency trial Friday after he began singing a religious hymn, the fourth time he has been removed from hearings for singing. As Brian David Mitchell was led away, he shouted, "He mocks and scorns the son of God. ... You know I speak the truth. You know I speak the truth." The hearing then resumed with defense expert Stephen Golding testifying that Mitchell has become increasingly more mentally disturbed and unfit for trial. Golding said Mitchell has vowed to do everything...

OK, I'm going to stick my neck waaaaaaay out and explain why I think we are celebrating Christ's conception, and not his birth, on Christmas. Which will explain why I think life begins at conception.

Since I cannot start a thread (which I think is a good rule by the way), I have to hijack one -- at least briefly. I do want this thread to continue on, though, because the topic is so important. (Moderators can feel free to move this, of course.) But I also had something I wanted to say to all of you. You know that I read DU and have for quite some time, long before any of you knew my name. I really appreciate the support you have given me on this latest hurdle and before. It means a...

In less than a week we will finally be spared the coma-inducing drone of John Kerry. His interminable lies will cease to dirty the airways, his false posturing will drop from the scene. No more fake hunting vignettes. No more windsurfing. No more stage shots of the elitist forcing down old Chex Mix and the contents of a bottle of Miller Genuine Draft. His followers will no longer rob and trash the campaign headquarters of his opponents. His chance to commit voter fraud - Democratic thugs and henchmen registering the dead and suing to overturn the choice of legal voters...

First Lady hopeful Teresa Heinz-Kerry today apologized for her earlier apology for a yet-earlier apology, in which she expressed regret for comments made about First Lady Laura Bush in a USAToday interview. When asked to list differences between herself and Mrs. Bush, she had originally said that "well, I don't know, but you know, I guess, that there is that annoying twinkle in her eye, and as far as I know she has never had a real job, in her adult life, whereas I have many, many years of experience dealing with many troubling real world issues, like insolent kitchen...

edinan@seacoastonline.com "Keeping Our Families Safe" was the name of Elizabeth Edwards’ town hall discussion Saturday in Manchester. Her message was be afraid. Addressing an audience of about 100 in the Green Acres School gymnasium, Edwards, wife of vice presidential hopeful John Edwards, told the group that America is not safe and that President Bush is to blame. Elaborating, Edwards said there is a one in 10 chance of a terrorist successfully smuggling a nuclear bomb into this country, as President Bush spends 90 percent of the homeland security budget on airports, where cargo is not checked. She said two-thirds of...

We freeped Elizabeth Edwards Today !! Elizabeth Edwards came to Grand Junction, CO this afternoon. We didn't know about it until 2:00 pm ( we don't take the local paper) when I saw it on FR. We closed up the office, and sprang into action. We drove up to the campus of Mesa State College, where she was speaking, and located some fellow Republicans, already standing on the corner. It rained, and hailed, for about 20 minutes, which is why our signs look kind of soggy. We had lots of honking, and thumbs up, from drivers-by; and a few flippers....

Elizabeth Edwards touted a Democratic commitment to bolster rural health care Sunday, arguing that both nominee John Kerry and running mate John Edwards have long ties to rural America that give them credibility. Mrs. Edwards said her husband and Kerry virtually moved to Iowa when they campaigned for Iowa's leadoff caucuses, and have nurtured close ties to the state. "They didn't come to just the big cities like Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, they came to small towns all across this state," said Mrs. Edwards. "They didn't just talk to you _ they listened." She used prominent rural icons to...

Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your warm welcome. And folks, this time I promise to stay behind the podium! For giving me the privilege and honor of representing them in the United State Senate, let me say thank you to the folks of the great state of North Carolina. For giving America courageous leadership in times of trial, decisive leadership in times of crisis, we thank you, Mr. President. You have restored honor and dignity to the White House. The Presidency tests all who have been there. It has tested you, sir. Your road has not been easy; your...

(A couple of key paragraphs from the article). But the same traits that endear her and Elizabeth Edwards to some voters - their bluntness, intellect and strong opinions - might be a turnoff to other voters, some of whom are still undecided. I ask whether either woman ever thinks about putting her guard up and retreating. "Never," says an adamant Heinz Kerry. Edwards, who is sitting across the table, shakes her head and says: "I think it's really important for all of us to be exactly who we are at all times. Americans are very good at being able to...

A new and emerging understanding of how heart attacks occur indicates that increasingly popular aggressive treatments may be doing little or nothing to prevent them. The artery-opening methods, like bypass surgery and stents, the widely used wire cages that hold plaque against an artery wall, can alleviate crushing chest pain. Stents can also rescue someone in the midst of a heart attack by destroying an obstruction and holding the closed artery open. But the new model of heart disease shows that the vast majority of heart attacks do not originate with obstructions that narrow arteries. Instead, recent and continuing studies...

Former Dole Official Pleads in Fraud Case 1 hour, 46 minutes ago By CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - A former consultant to a fund-raising committee for North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole's 2002 election campaign pleaded guilty Wednesday to mail fraud in an embezzlement scheme involving more than $174,000 of political contributions. Earl Allen Haywood, 40, entered the guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman in Washington. Haywood, an assistant treasurer to campaign committees that raised money for Dole, could face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on May 26 and has agreed to make full...

Meet Joe Dirt Stuart K. Hayashi In 2001, comedian David Spade came out with a movie titled "The Adventures of Joe Dirt." It now appears that the film was about Joe Conason, the author of "Big Lies: The Right-Wing Propaganda Machine and How It Distorts the Truth" and an editorialist for the liberal-biased Salon.com. In the person of Brad Pitt, you've already Met Joe Black. Now Meet the Real Joe Dirt. His book purports to expose how right-wingers harness the corporate media to brainwash society. Instead of demonstrating such, however, Joe is too busy flinging his Dirt around. In two...

Great article on Senator Dole. Perhaps 2008 will see Clinton versus Dole II, gauranteed to have a woman in the White House :)

A. SMART: You know, I -- it's just amazing that we didn't get it. It's amazing that all of the people who have seen her didn't get it. You know, there has been -- people have speculated and said, you know, she never tried to run away. She never tried to flee in any way. However, when she was on her way back up from San Diego just in Utah, just south of -- I'm sorry, I can't give you specifics on it, but just south -- they had an interview yesterday with a gentleman who was in an audio,...

Man arrested in alleged Smart extortion plot Wednesday, November 6, 2002 Posted: 8:16 PM EST (0116 GMT) Man arrested in alleged Smart extortion plot Wednesday, November 6, 2002 Posted: 8:16 PM EST (0116 GMT) SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (CNN) -- FBI agents arrested an 18-year-old man in Charleston, South Carolina, Wednesday who allegedly claimed to have kidnapped Elizabeth Smart and who was demanding $3 million for her return.

Killer of Calif. Girl May Strike Again, Police Say Wed Jul 17, 2:32 PM ET By Jill SerjeantLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Investigators issued a chilling warning on Wednesday that the sexual predator who brazenly assaulted and murdered a 5-year-old southern California girl was on the loose and may strike again soon.  Reuters Photo Samantha Runnion's nude body was found late on Tuesday dumped beside a rural road about 75 miles from her home in Stanton in Orange County. Investigators said Samantha, who was snatched in a frightening daylight abduction outside her home on Monday, had been sexually assaulted and...

Smarts' computers returnedNothing pertinent to case was found on them, police sayBy Derek JensenDeseret News staff writer      Police have finished examining three personal computers taken from the Federal Heights home of Elizabeth Smart following the 14-year-old's abduction more than two weeks ago. Blue balloons and ribbons line Virginia Street leading up to the Smart family's house. Youths from two LDS wards hung the decorations. Jeremy Harmon, Deseret News       The three computers from the Smart home were part of 12 computers seized by investigators in the days following Elizabeth's abduction June 5.      Most of...