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Two days of Capitol Hill hearings on the current and future roles and missions of the National Guard and Reserves have launched a comprehensive, year-long assessment of the use of the nation’s Guard and Reserve Components at home and abroad. The hearings, which concluded today [9 March], were conducted by the independent Commission on the National Guard and Reserves. The 13-member Commission has been charged by Congress to recommend changes in the laws and policies under which the Guard and Reserves operate, to ensure that they are tasked, organized, trained, equipped, compensated, and supported to best meet the nation’s security...

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2006 – The United States always has planned to transfer authority for all detention facilities in Iraq to the Iraqis, but announcements regarding the imminent closure at the Abu Ghraib prison are premature, defense officials said today. News reports that the U.S. military intends to close Abu Ghraib within the next few months and to transfer its prisoners to other jails are inaccurate, officials said. There's no specific timetable for that transfer or for closure of the Baghdad prison, they said. Decisions regarding Abu Ghraib and other detention facilities in Iraq will be based largely on two...

Republican Rep. Bill Thomas, chairman of the influential House Ways and Means Committee, was set to announce Monday whether he would retire from Congress or seek a 15th term. Thomas, 64, scheduled a morning news conference in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif., amid speculation that he would leave the House of Representatives. Because of House Republicans' self-imposed term limits for committee chairmen, the mercurial but brainy former college professor is serving his last year as head of the powerful committee that writes tax laws. GOP officials are working under the assumption that Thomas will retire, according to a Republican election...

Mugabe plans a lavish party as nation suffers By Peta Thornycroft in Harare (Filed: 22/02/2006) Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe turned 82 yesterday in robust health, in contrast to the state of his country. Life expectancy for Zimbabweans is plunging, three quarters of the population is short of food and inflation is 613 per cent. However, President Mugabe is as healthy as a man his age could be. He recently told the state press that a doctor said his "bones were not exactly as a boy of 26, but certainly someone of 30". A shortage of bread has pushed the price...

With just 17 or so flights left on the shuttle manifest before the program is terminated in 2010, NASA's three remaining orbiters can only expect to fly about five missions each. As it turns out, NASA now plans to retire Atlantis in 2008, after five flights, rather than put it through a required overhaul and to "fly out" the remaining half-dozen missions on the manifest with Discovery and Endeavour. But shuttle program manager Wayne Hale told Kennedy Space Center employees today that Atlantis will not be given to a museum, at least not right away. Instead, the space shuttle will...

Trailing in the polls and facing friction inside his own Republican Party, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has set a fundraising goal of more than $120 million for the November election. The sum rivals the amount raised and spent by the entire field of candidates in the 2002 governor's race. If Schwarzenegger succeeds, the money raised — along with tens of millions of dollars that Democrats are likely to spend — would shatter state and national campaign finance records. --snip-- Asked if the governor's ambitious fundraising goal this year might not fuel further attacks, Stutzman replied: "Whether you like it or not,...

Bush plans huge propaganda campaign in Iran · Congress asked for $75m to fund programme · Rice to visit Gulf states as nuclear crisis deepens Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger in Washington Thursday February 16, 2006 The Guardian (UK) The Bush administration made an emergency request to Congress yesterday for a seven-fold increase in funding to mount the biggest ever propaganda campaign against the Tehran government, in a further sign of the worsening crisis between Iran and the west. Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said the $75m (£43m) in extra funds, on top of $10m already allocated for...

NEW ORLEANS - The Rev. Jesse Jackson is planning a march this spring to protest post-hurricane policies he fears will marginalize the black community, the civil rights leader said Monday as he toured one of the city's hardest-hit areas. The march on April 1 will cross the Crescent City Connection, a major Mississippi River bridge that was blocked to keep people trying to flee flooded New Orleans from going into cities that weren't as heavily damaged, Jackson said. Officials across the river in Gretna said they blocked the bridge because they had no more room for evacuees. As he squatted...

US plans to 'fight the net' revealed By Adam Brookes BBC Pentagon correspondent A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks. The document says information is "critical to military success" Bloggers beware. As the world turns networked, the Pentagon is calculating the military opportunities that computer networks, wireless technologies and the modern media offer. From influencing public opinion through new media to designing "computer network attack" weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war. The declassified document is called...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that he isn't worried about losing the Republican Party's support as punishment for hiring a Democratic activist as his chief of staff, and he added that he doesn't know what all the fuss is about. Schwarzenegger has come under fire from some conservative Republicans ever since he hired Democrat Susan Kennedy in the wake of his failed special election. Some Republicans plan to propose at their annual convention in San Jose next month that the party pull its endorsement of Schwarzenegger in the 2006 gubernatorial election. The governor told a meeting of...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, Dec. 23, 2005 – The United States has not discussed basing American troops in Iraq, and would do so only following negotiations with the new Iraqi government, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said here today. "At the moment, there are no plans for long-term bases in the country," Rumsfeld told a Marine during a question and answer session here today. The secretary said the subject has not been discussed because until the most recent election, there was no one to speak with. He said the United States has been working with successive transitional governments in Iraq about...

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The head of NASA said on Tuesday that the U.S. space agency has had to scale back its plans even since he took the job in April because of "daunting fiscal realities." In early 2004, U.S. President George W. Bush outlined a vision of returning humans back to the moon by 2020 and eventually to Mars. Some had hoped such a program would reignite public interest in the space program that has waned since the 1960s and early 1970s. "We must also acknowledge the plain fact that we cannot do everything that was on our plate...

CRAWFORD, Texas - The fallen soldier's mother who drew thousands to her 26-day war protest near President Bush's Crawford ranch this summer plans to return for Thanksgiving next week, despite new county ordinances banning roadside camping. Cindy Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., and at least a dozen supporters are prepared to be arrested as they return to the makeshift campsite along the road leading to Bush's ranch, where he is expected to spend the holiday. "It's significant that we do not let up on this administration," said Hadi Jawad, co-founder of the Crawford Peace House, which supported the protesters during their...

The company on Tuesday is set to announce the next version of its business software, Microsoft Dynamics GP 9.0. Due out Dec. 19, the release marks the first wave of a broader strategy to embrace Web services — software that runs all sorts of business tasks over the Internet. Though Microsoft's Windows and Office software is nearly ubiquitous, the company hasn't had as large a role in more complex corporate software — the realm of SAP (SAP) and Oracle. (ORCL) But as businesses shift more of their computing online, Microsoft sees a chance to grab a bigger piece of the...

Vermont may sue to stop tire burn November 6, 2005 By Darren M Allen Staff Writer MONTPELIER — If New York environmental officials choose to disregard Vermont's opposition to plans by International Paper Co. to burn up to 72 tons of shredded tires at its Ticonderoga, N.Y., paper mill for a two-week test, Vermont will likely take the matter to court. Gov. James Douglas and his administration, in cooperation with the Vermont Attorney General's Office, are prepared to exercise every legal avenue at their disposal, the governor's press secretary said last week. "Gov. Douglas has asked the Agency of Administration...

Congress Plans to Raise Budget for Census By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago WASHINGTON - The census always been about more than just counting people and divvying up seats in Congress. The first one, in 1790, was used to find out how many "free white males" were available for military service. The 1870 census documented freed slaves who had been denied the right to vote. In 1940, it assessed housing conditions following the Great Depression. Times change and so does the census, evolving over two centuries to reflect America's shifting economy and values. Today, it is on...

DES MOINES, Iowa - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says a federal investigation into his sale of stock in a family-owned hospital chain will affect his decision on whether he will seek the presidency in 2008. Frist, R-Tenn., said Saturday during a visit to Iowa — site of the nation's first presidential caucuses — that he has not lost the public's trust and wants people to "wait for the facts before passing judgment." Before speaking at the Iowa GOP's annual fundraising dinner, Frist told reporters that his visit does not confirm any presidential aspirations. "I've been to Iowa many times,"...

NEW YORK (Oct. 20, 2005) -- Two Marines will consecrate their love for one another by taking the vows of marriage in front of the Soldiers’, Sailors’, Marines’, and Airmen’s Club (SSMAC) here, October 27. Cpl. Kelly Orman and his future wife, former PFC. Rachel Cole, will join as one at the very spot they were engaged earlier this summer. Following the service, the newlyweds will have a champagne toast and bouquet toss inside the club. The USO Troupe of Metropolitan New York will also perform a musical tribute to the couple following the ceremony, honoring the young couple as...

CNSNews.com) - The House is expected to vote Wednesday on a bill that would restrict lawsuits against gun makers and gun sellers for the criminal misuse of their products. But even before the voting begins, a gun control group announced it would challenge the measure on constitutional grounds. The Senate passed the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act" in July, and the House is expected to follow suit. The National Rifle Association says the bill will stop "meritless, reckless lawsuits" that are filed with the goal of bankrupting the gun industry. But lawyers at the Brady Center to Prevent...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, concerned that the decline in President Bush's popularity will pull down his special election measures, is not expected to appear with the president when he visits California next week. Bush is scheduled to attend a fundraiser in Los Angeles for the Republican National Committee on Thursday and help cut the ribbon Friday at the opening of the new Air Force One exhibit at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley. Although the governor's staff will not confirm his schedule this far in advance, sources said Schwarzenegger is not planning to attend either event. He is tentatively...