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Security forces at the scene of the blast in Jerusalem. At least seven people were killed and 38 injured, three seriously and one in critical condition, when a suicide bomber blew himself up Wednesday at the French Hill intersection in Jerusalem close to 7:10 P.M. The explosion, next to a hitch-hiking post, blew out the back and the sides of the shelter, leaving just a concrete bench and the roof. (Click here for chronology of terror attacks) Body parts were scattered on the street, a baby carriage was overturned, and rescue workers covered it with a black plastic bag. Channel...

MSNBC pulling plug on KeyesHost rejects offer for afternoon timeslot Posted: June 19, 20021:00 a.m. Eastern By Ron Strom © 2002 WorldNetDaily.com Barring last-minute negotiations, "Alan Keyes is Making Sense," a primetime cable news show on MSNBC, will end its five-month run on July 11 after the network told Keyes his show would be moved to an afternoon timeslot ? an option the talk-show host rejected. Alan Keyes Debuting last January, Keyes' show takes on various cultural and political issues of the day, and has often focused on the Middle East conflict. The show currently airs Monday through Thursday at 10 p.m....

TOKYO (Reuters) - Four men were injured in an explosion in a lobby housing Asahi Bank automated telling machines on a busy street in Osaka, western Japan, on Tuesday, a police spokesman said. Two men suffered serious burns when the lobby caught fire after what witnesses described as an "incredible noise." Two passers-by were slightly injured. Police and firefighters were trying to determine the cause of the explosion, which took place around 1845 hours (5:45 a.m. EDT).

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Some of the Internet's best Web sites were honored Tuesday at the 6th Annual Webby Awards, a once festive event that has pared down its profile since the dot-com downturn took hold.</p> <p>The search engine site Google.com took home the Best Practices Award, given to the nominee that received the highest overall marks from the Webby Awards' eclectic panel of judges.</p>

Envelope With No Return Address Found Tuesday ATLANTA -- Tests are being done on an envelope containing a suspicious white powder that was found at the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta. A mailroom at the Cable News Network was evacuated for an hour Tuesday after an employee found the envelope. Phillip Evans, a spokesman for Turner Broadcasting System, says fewer than 15 employees were in the mailroom when the envelope was found. He says the letter was addressed to CNN and did not specify an individual person or have a return address. Atlanta police and fire employees removed the envelope...

Abortion. The word alone causes civil conversation to flee the room. This is largely because the pro-choice and pro-life positions are being defined by their extremes, by those who scream accusations in lieu of arguments. More reasonable voices and concerns, on both sides of the fence, are given short shrift. For example, pro-life extremists seem unwilling to draw distinctions between some abortions and others, such as those resulting from rape or incest with an underage child. They would make no exception in the recent real-life case of a woman who discovered in her fifth month that her baby would be...

Follow-ups: The Instapundit caught Debbie Schlussel's NY Post column on the Caribou coffee flap that sums things up very well. So it's a coffee war: Starbucks, headed by a man who condemns terrorism and decries anti-Semitism, versus its nearest rival, Caribou, owned by a company whose investments are cleared by a cleric who cheers terrorism. In these parts you can get coffee here at the store and Thelma's Country Kitchen, so we don't get to play in the coffee wars, but when we play, we play to win. So I have to point out that the First Islamic Bank owns...

The U.S. Mint almost booted Monticello off the nickel this week — until Virginia's delegation to the House of Representatives, led by Republican Eric Cantor, introduced legislation to stop it. That's the story Cantor's office is spreading, though the Mint says the whole thing is just a big misunderstanding. What's clear, however, is that the Mint doesn't want next year's nickels looking like the ones now jingling in your pocket. The Mint would like to redesign all of America's coins. Its ongoing 50 State Quarters program has been a popular success. As a celebration of federalism, too, it's something conservatives...

Kashmir Key to Al Qaeda's Strategy Versus U.S. 19 June 2002 Summary Kashmir is growing in importance to al Qaeda, which is using training camps in the disputed state to replace those lost in Afghanistan. Al Qaeda's grand design there is to provoke a war between India and Pakistan with the front line in Kashmir. That would only help al Qaeda by distracting the United States with a regional war and lead to the possible replacement of the Musharraf government with a fundamentalist Islamic regime. Analysis The question of al Qaeda's presence in Kashmir is quickly becoming a critical issue...

<p>NEW YORK — True to the laws of the cartoon world, Speedy Gonzales has won again.</p> <p>The hyperactive cartoon mouse, who had been barred from the air by the Cartoon Network because it considered him an offensive ethnic stereotype of Mexicans, is roaming the airwaves once again.</p>

<p>ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) --  Under pressure to move against terrorism, Pakistan announced new measures Wednesday to strengthen control of the country's 8,000 Islamic religious schools.</p> <p>The schools, known as madrassas, would be shut down and fined if they fail to register with a government oversight board.</p>

Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus Working Toward Sound Immigration Policies for America Chairman Tom Tancredo (R-CO)

Ananova: Police in Maryland say a man who tried to rob a store died after a customer sat on him. James Thompson was pronounced dead minutes after officers arrived at the scene. He was sat on by a six foot two man who weighed 280 pounds after he was spotted stuffing packs of cigarettes into a bag. Police say they have launched an investigation in to the death. Diane Richardson, a Prince George's County police spokeswoman, said: "Thompson said to them to back off, that he had a gun and that he had recently come out of jail and wouldn't...

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Another fallen hero from September 11 has been identified by the Medical Examiner’s office. The ME confirmed Wednesday some remains found in the rubble of the World Trade Center are those of Firefighter Salvatore Calabro. A memorial service for Calabro was held back in November. Calabro served with New York's Bravest for 14 years. He rushed to the World Trade Center on September 11 with other members from Ladder Company 101 in Brooklyn. Calabro lived on Staten Island. He leaves behind a wife and two sons, ages four and two.

WASHINGTON -- Back-to-back bombings in Jerusalem prompted President Bush on Wednesday to put his prescription for Palestinian statehood on hold. Bush had hoped to spur Israel and the Palestinian Authority to begin mapping a state with the support of the United States and the world community. But in light of the two Palestinian terror attacks in two days, administration officials said a presidential announcement at this sensitive stage in the Arab-Israeli conflict would be unlikely to have a positive impact. "It's obvious that the immediate aftermath is not the right time," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said. "The president wants...

June 19, 2002Wednesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Psalm: Wednesday Week 28 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel Reading I2 Kgs 2:1, 6-14 When the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,he and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal.Elijah said to Elisha, "Please stay here;the Lord has sent me on to the Jordan.""As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live,I will not leave you," Elisha replied.And so the two went on together.Fifty of the guild prophets followed andwhen the two stopped at the Jordan,they stood facing them at a distance.Elijah took his...

WHY WE NEED COWBOYS At a small airport terminal in Texas, three strangers awaiting their shuttle flight start conversing about the recent world events. The strangers were of varying cultures. One was Native American. Another was a cowboy from Texas. The other person was a fanatical Arab Muslim. During their conversation, they began to discuss their cultural history. The Native American stated “once my people were many, now we are few.” The Muslim then chimed in and arrogantly said, “Once my people were few and now we are many.” The Texas Cowboy looked at the Muslim, shifted the toothpick in...

<p>In these days of downsizings and wallet crimpings, some folks with an eye on the bottom line are joining a hot (or perhaps cold) new trend: buying coffins and using them as furniture.</p> <p>That is, using them as furniture before the time comes to actually be laid inside the boxes for the big sleep.</p>

Days after the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops set a nationwide policy on handling molestation of minors by priests, new allegations of sexual misconduct have surfaced in a Queens parish. According to a report in the New York Times, the pastor of St. Elizabeth's in Ozone Park, Reverend John Thompson, lived with an 18-year-old gay lover in the parish rectory. The 50-year-old priest reportedly lavished the young man with gifts using funds from the budget of a parish school that was deep in the red. The principal of the school, Barbara Samide, told the Times that church officials had repeatedly...