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It's a Historic Drought Sat Oct 16, 7:55 AM ET Top Stories - Los Angeles Times By Scott Gold Times Staff Writer OVERTON, Nev. — Early last year, fishermen searching for bass and bluegill on a northern finger of Lake Mead saw a curious cluster of concrete blocks jutting out of the water. It turned out to be the chimney of what had been, 65 years prior, an ice cream parlor. Within months, other ruins began to emerge from the lake: The steps of a nearby schoolhouse. The foundation of the old Gentry Hotel, where President Hoover once bunked for...

Soldiers safeguard historic Afghan vote By Terry Boyd, Stars and Stripes Friday, October 8, 2004 European edition, Thursday, October 7, 2004 FIREBASE ASADABAD, Afghanistan — The 82nd Airborne Division has not made it into the history books by coasting through easy missions. In the new anti-insurgency age, look for its rapidly deployable, light infantry units in the worst parts of bad neighborhoods anywhere from Fallujah to Asadabad. A battalion-sized force of 1,100 paratroopers, mostly from the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment is in Afghanistan to provide security for the historic national elections Oct. 9. Between 18,000 and 20,000 U.S....

A Bend-area developer who demolished a local landmark before getting the necessary permit will have to pay a $100,000 penalty, a De-schutes County Circuit judge has ruled. Judge Michael Adler found that Crown Investment LLC skirted the legal process when it leveled a well-loved 67-year-old mill without the permission of the city or the court. Adler said the $100,000 award must be used by the city to construct a memorial to the crane shed. excerpt

By Edward L. Daley On September 23, 2004, Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress. Below are some excerpts from that speech, and the hurried and predictably pessimistic response to it by John F. Kerry from a firehouse in Columbus Ohio. I am also including a few other recent statements by Senator Kerry concerning the Iraq War, the alternative positions of President Bush, and my own comments (preceded by the * symbol) regarding the issues raised. Furthermore, flecked throughout this article are quotes from several historical figures, added for the purpose of sharpening...

Sprinting is not only the most natural form of movement, but also an individual sport that allows comparing the performance of differente athletes over different periods of time. Today sprinting became the first and ONLY truly global individual sport. Jeromy Wariner became today the first white american (and the second white ever, after the greek Kenteris in 2002) to enter the top ten "all time" performer list of an olympic sprint contest (100, 200 and 400 m).

Lightning may never strike twice. But in the wake of the Democratic National Convention, both President Bush and John Kerry should take counsel from another '04 campaign -- the 1904 battle between Republican President Theodore Roosevelt, and Judge Alton B. Parker, a Democrat. Striking similarities, many of them downright eerie, abound between the two '04's in realms foreign and domestic, beginning with the event that launched Roosevelt's presidency. Then, as now, the nation reacted with shock and horror when a monstrous act of murder took place in New York in September of '01 -- the fatal shooting of President William...

From The Archives...An Elephant Never Forgets! IN 1992, AL GORE ATTACKED PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH FOR IGNORING IRAQ'S TIES TO TERRORISM. SEN. AL GORE: "[W]hen George Bush took office, he should have reevaluated what our relationship was with Iraq ..." CNN'S LARRY KING: "Well ..." GORE: "Let me finish, just briefly. Instead, he stepped up the foreign aid to Iraq, and he looked the other way when there were repeated incidents of terrorism in which Iraq had a part, terrorists operating openly in Baghdad, and repeated warnings from our national security people telling the Bush administration that Saddam was on...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Osama bin Laden, the Saudi millionaire accused by the United States of plotting bomb attacks on two U.S. embassies in Africa, has left Afghanistan, Afghan sources said Saturday. Bin Laden's whereabouts were not known, said the sources who declined to be identified. Taliban authorities in the militia's southern stronghold of Kandahar refused to either confirm or deny reports that bin Laden had left the country. The Taliban have called bin Laden their honored guest, a friend who helped the Afghan resistance fight invading Soviet soldiers in the 1980s. The Taliban's ambassador in Islamabad, Saeed-ur-Rehman Haqqani, said...

IN THE NO-FLY ZONES OF northern and southern Iraq, Saddam Hussein's gunners blindly fired surface-to-air missiles at patrolling American and British warplanes. In Yemen, terrorists seized a group of British Commonwealth and American tourists, and four of the hostages died in a shootout. In Tel Aviv, the U.S. Embassy abruptly closed down after receiving a terrorist threat. Perhaps it was just a typical week in the Middle East. But in a region where no one puts much faith in blind coincidence, last week's conjunction of Iraqi antiaircraft fire and terrorism aimed at the countries that had just bombed Iraq convinced...

One hundred one academics who support the Presidential candidacy of Walter F. Mondale bought a quarter page advertisement in today's issue of the New York Times to say Mr. Reagan's suggestion "that his record was in the tradition of Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy" was "a flagrant distortion of reality to serve his own political purpose." The group, which includes five Nobel prize winners, comes from 22 colleges, universities and other institutions.

SHOW: CNN CROSSFIRE 19:30 pm ET November 12, 1997; Wednesday 7:30 pm Eastern Time Transcript # 97111200V20 JOHN SUNUNU, CROSSFIRE: Senator Kerry, in fact, in spite of the administration claiming it has restored unanimity, that has not occurred. All the strength of this resolution had to be pulled out of it get any votes at all other than our own. Isn't this exercise actually counterproductive in sending a signal to Iraq that the coalition still remains frayed? SEN. JOHN KERRY, (D), MASSACHUSETTS, FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Well, John, you're correct that this resolution is less than we would have liked. I...

The New York Times, March 4, 1999 March 4, 1999, Thursday, Late Edition - Final SECTION: Section A; Page 1; Column 5; Foreign Desk HEADLINE: Terror Suspect Said to Anger Afghan Hosts BYLINE: By TIM WEINER DATELINE: WASHINGTON, March 3 BODY: The suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden and the Taliban, his protectors in Afghanistan, have had a violent falling-out, raising the possibility that his days of refuge may be numbered, senior American officials said today. Three American officials and two Taliban representatives said a fight broke out three weeks ago in Afghanistan between Mr. bin Laden's bodyguards and a group...

RONALD WILSON REAGAN, 1911 - 2004 "And whatever else history may say about me when I'm gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts. My dream is that you will travel the road ahead with liberty's lamp guiding your steps and opportunity's arm steadying your way. My fondest hope for each one of you -- and especially for young people -- is that you will love your country, not for her power or wealth, but for her selflessness and her idealism. May each of...

By now a new cliché has been added to the time-worn lit, but I know of no other way of comment on the election than to open with the by now familiar — "Well, it's over and we lost." Yes, we did; we lost a battle in the continuing war for freedom, but our position is not untenable. First of all, there are 26 million of us and we can't be explained away as diehard party faithfuls. We cross party lines in our dedication to a philosophy. There are no plans for retreating from our present positions, but we can't...

Regional Governance is Here "This commission has become a nightmare, beyond the reach of either state government, or Congress, short of repealing the Act altogether. This appointed commission has absolute authority over all land use within the designated counties, with the authority to override both county and state elected officials..." March 1, 2004 By Henry Lamb henry@freedom.org NewsWithViews.com To submit a Letter to the Editor: newswithviews@newswithviews.com There are currently six Regional Commissions in place, or pending final approval, which impact states from New York to California; from Florida to Washington. Few people realize that these regional commissions even exist, or...

Sharon failure to exile Arafat 'was historic mistake' By Toby Harnden in Tel Aviv (Filed: 11/02/2004) Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, made a "historic mistake" in failing to exile Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian leader, a leading cabinet member said yesterday. The comments by Shaul Mofaz, Israel's defence minister, will help burnish his credentials as a future prime minister when Mr Sharon is politically vulnerable and under attack from the Right. On the eve of his first official visit to Britain in his present post, Mr Mofaz, former head of the Israel Defence Forces, insisted that Mr Arafat must go....

Historic find is pure gold! Jan 14 2004 By Tony Collins, Evening Mail City archaeologists have struck gold - with a major Bronze Age discovery in eastern Europe. A team of experts from the University of Birmingham has discovered what may be one of the most important archaeological sites of the last 50 years, in a riverbed in Croatia. Items recovered from the river include more than 90 swords, a Roman legionnaire's dagger complete with sheath, more than 30 Greco-Illyrian helmets, plus numerous items of jewellery, axes and spearheads. It is believed a large number of objects were thrown into...

If you want to see the face of transformation – if you want to see what it looks like in action – you need not look any further than Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. That's the view from the top by Retired Vice Adm. Arthur Cebrowski, chief of the Defense Department's Office of Force Transformation and one of the department's chief architects in the effort to transform the military. During a recent interview, Cebrowski said several elements of OEF and OIF were both representative of transformation and historic. He cited speed of operations as an example – speed of...

The nation's largest Catholic civil rights organization is blasting officials at a Connecticut public library for censoring Jesus. Artist Mary Morley was asked by officials at the Meriden Public Library to display an exhibit of artwork titled "Vision, Hopes, and Dreams." The exhibit included paintings of a Nativity scene, Jesus carrying the cross, His crucifixion and resurrection, and Christ with a halo. Portraits of Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Moses, and the prophet Elijah were also included. But library officials said the five images of Jesus were not permitted because they were "inappropriate" and "offensive." Louis Giovino with the...

Dear Norm, Today the Senate passed and sent to the President an historic Medicare bill that provides affordable prescription drug coverage for seniors and improves the Medicare system. While a majority of Senators were concentrating on how to fix our nation's problems, some Democrats continued their policy of protest, pessimism and obstruction by opposing the ill's passage and attacking those who support the bill instead of attacking the challenges we face. The Medicare bill passed by the House and Senate is a historic achievement in our nation's efforts to provide affordable prescription drug coverage for seniors and improve the Medicare...

Brace for shock at pump Gas prices may reach highest level in history By NELSON ANTOSH and JENALIA MORENO Aug. 21, 2003, 10:42PM The highest gasoline prices in history appear to be just down the road. Dwindling supplies in the face of increased demand threaten to push pump prices over the national record set last mid-March, when markets were shaken by the prospects of a war with Iraq. On Thursday, the markets "went ballistic," says Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service in Lakewood, N.J. That means the highest pump prices ever seen are just a...

After standing tall across the Kinzua Gorge for more than a century, 11 towers on the Kinzua Viaduct went crashing into the valley below around 3:15 p.m. Monday. "It appears as though a high gust of wind or a tornado has hit," said Steven Brode of W.M. Brode Construction Co., the contractors hired by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to renovate the structurally-deteriorating viaduct. "The bridge has sustained some damage," said Donald Main, assistant director of the Bureau of State Parks, early Monday afternoon. He added that crews were headed to the scene to evaluate the damage,...

Fox News just reported that Iraqi media has given a statement that Saddam (or Saddam's doppelganger) will soon make a historic speech.

Park Service may save skyline relics of Bethlehem SteelBy LARA JAKES JORDANThe Associated Press     It was bad enough, locals say, when the Bethlehem Steel blast furnaces shut down. The whole plant stilled that day - Nov. 18, 1995 - to hear a lone steelworker whistle "Amazing Grace" as the furnaces' ever-constant blue flame died out.Now the five towering furnaces themselves are in danger of demolition - unless the National Park Service saves the local skyline by designating them historic landmarks.Bethlehem Steel - or, simply, "Steel" to the surrounding city of 69,000 - stopped all work at its headquarters...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 July 20 Footprints on Another World Credit: Apollo 11, NASA Explanation: On July 20th, 1969, humans first set foot on the Moon. Taken from a window of their Apollo 11 lunar module, the Eagle, this picture shows the footprints in the powdery lunar soil made by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. It has been estimated that one billion people on planet Earth watched Armstrong step from...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 March 7 Comet Ikeya-Zhang Brightens Credit amp; Copyright: Gerald Rhemann Explanation: In the last week, Comet Ikeya-Zhang has become bright enough to be just visible to the unaided eye. Based on its present activity, observers are optimistic that Ikeya-Zhang will become substantially brighter. This composite color image from March 3rd, captured with a wide-field telescope, shows this active comet's bright, condensed coma and a delightful array of...