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Biden says he looks forward to debate with Palin Sun Sep 7, 11:22 AM ET WASHINGTON - Democrat Joe Biden says he's debated "an awful lot of tough, smart women" throughout his career and that next month's vice presidential debate with Republican Sarah Palin will be no exception. But he'd like to know where she stands on issues. "She's a smart, tough politician, so I think she's going to be very formidable," -snip- The Democratic senator from Delaware and the Republican governor of Alaska are scheduled to debate Oct. 2 at Washington University in St. Louis. Biden, serving his sixth...

"The republicans, they did something very different. They said: 'Ok, you guys were on the line, our party will provide, that, that we can seat you but you only have half a delegate for your elected delegates, and your super-delegates will be seated as full votes.""Our rules provide for exactly the same thing, and we didn't do that. "Then she said: 'OK, well, give 'em another election.' And he said 'no'. I mean, basically he instructed his supporters from [this] election to kill any attempt to have a re-vote." "So, probably the only option now is to seat them under...

SEOUL (Reuters) - The leaders of North and South Korea pledged on Thursday to bring peace to the Cold War's last frontier by seeking talks with China and the United States to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean War. The agreement came at the end of only the second summit between the divided Koreas whose war ended with an armistice not a peace treaty. "North and South Korea shared the view they must end the current armistice and build a permanent peace regime," South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il said in a joint statement at the...

4 in N.M. charged with corruption ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A former state senator and three other people were charged with corruption Thursday in a highly politicized case that a former federal prosecutor told Congress he believes led to his firing.A federal grand jury accused former New Mexico Senate President Pro Tem Manny Aragon and the others of conspiring to skim $4.2 million in public funds meant for construction of a county courthouse.David Iglesias, one of eight U.S. attorneys fired late last year, told Congress this month that he rejected what he believed to be pressure from U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici...

DUELING STEM CELLS By Maggie GallagherThu Jun 30, 5:41 PM ET Gov. Mario Cuomo has just announced the solution to the vexing moral questions raised by the stem cell debate about when human life begins: Convene an expert panel. "If indeed such a panel confirms that ... science cannot supply the proof that human life starts at conception, then ... the president would be wrong to deny the rest of America that does not share his faith the vast potential benefits of embryonic stem cells," wrote Cuomo in a New York Times op-ed. Sigh There's something dismayingly Catholic, in...

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Gunmen took 29 kindergarten pupils hostage at international school in the Cambodian town of Siem Reap on Thursday, including the children of American, British and Japanese expatriates, a resident said. The hostages also included Irish, Singaporean, Australian, Canadian, Indian, Indonesian, Swiss, Filipino, Korean and Taiwanese children between the ages of 2 and 6. The expatriate resident, who said she had seen a list of the children held in the school, said the gunmen had released one class of children at the Siem Reap International School, but were holding another class hostage to demand money, weapons and cars....

If the song "It's a Small World" has ever driven you bananas, then you've got an idea where this story is going.We've all had tunes stuck in our heads. Some of them remind us of childhood friends, places or events.A new study backs the obvious notion that a song can evoke strong memories. It also reveals that you don't even have to hear a song for the past to come flooding back. In fact, most people have an amazing ability to effectively hear songs that aren't even being played. Word powerThe new study involved 124 people, average age 19, who...

Chalabi quits after US raid From correspondents in BaghdadMay 21, 2004 A LEADING member of the Iraqi Governing Council, Ahmed Chalabi, cut ties with the US-led coalition after a police and military raid on his house, as President George W. Bush sought to ease Republican fears over Iraq's future. But new photos of abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison, a report of abuses at another secret facility, and accusations - strongly denied by the US military - that 41 people celebrating a wedding were killed in a US air raid cast fresh shadows over the US occupation. US forces were...

<p>ORUZGAN, Afghanistan - Afghan fighters bristling with rocket launchers and machine guns pour into a government compound here to try to intimidate a small team of U.S. Special Forces soldiers in their midst.</p> <p>The Green Berets, a long way from home and two days from their base, want to destroy 10 tons of weapons found in bunkers under the hilltop headquarters of the fighters' leader, a district chief here. The atmosphere is suddenly hostile.</p>

Intruder Shot but Furniture OK in Calif. RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif. - A 53-year-old woman who fired nine shots with two handguns to ward off an intruder said she tried to avoid hitting her furniture. "Priorities, right?" said Carolyn Lisle of Rancho Cordova. "It was one of those nights. I have a few holes in my glass out front." The Sacramento County sheriff's department said William Kriske, a 47-year-old parolee, was treated for a gunshot wound to the arm, then jailed on suspicion of burglary and resisting arrest after he crashed through Lisle's sliding glass door Thursday evening. Lisle's three guests...

Party Officials Register Biggest Number Of Democrats Ever The deadline has come and gone -- if you haven't yet registered as a Democrat, you won't be voting as one in the state's presidential caucus. Most political eyes will be on New Mexico in early February, when the state holds its Democratic presidential caucus. Tuesday was the deadline to register to vote. In Bernalillo County, 620 people signed up in November. This month, 900 registered to vote Democratic. The deadline to register as a Democrat in New Mexico ran out at 5 p.m. Tuesday, and party officials say they're feeling lucky....

Pakistan: Slain Al-Qaida Member Likely High-Ranking Pakistani Raid Earlier This Month Killed 8 Members Of Al-Qaida POSTED: 2:35 p.m. EDT October 15, 2003 UPDATED: 2:41 p.m. EDT October 15, 2003 PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- One of the men killed in Pakistan's largest-ever offensive against al-Qaida appears to have been a high-ranking member of the terrorist network. The massive raid, which took place earlier this month, killed eight members of al-Qaida and two Pakistani solders. An information minister said Wednesday that he can't confirm it but said it looks as though one of the dead al-Qaida members was "one who has...

Chinese Scientist Sentenced Over Iridium BEIJING - A Chinese nuclear scientist has been given a suspended death sentence for planting radioactive materials in the office of a business rival, sickening the man and 74 other people, official newspapers reported Monday.   Nuclear medicine researcher Gu Jiming stashed a case containing pellets of iridium 192 above ceiling panels at a hospital in the southern city of Guangzhou, the Beijing Evening News reported. Soon after the victim — identified only by his surname, Liu — began complaining of fatigue, loss of appetite, headaches and vomiting, the paper said. A medical checkup two...

<p>California Gov. Gray Davis: "I'm going to do the job the people asked me to do."</p> <p>SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- Facing the likely prospect of becoming the first California governor placed on a recall ballot, Democrat Gray Davis on Wednesday attacked the GOP-led effort as a "hostile takeover by the right" and warned that ousting him would "slam [the state] into reverse."</p>

By The Associated Press The top five recipients of special interest money during the 2002 campaign cycle on each issue and how they voted. (Y-yes, N-no, NV-not voting, P-present): MEDICAL MALPRACTICE Contributions from doctors and other health care professionals, who wanted a "yes" vote: Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., $333,200, Y Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., $275,499, Y Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, $224,352, N Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., $218,230, Y Billy Tauzin, R-La., $174,128, Y Contributions from trial lawyers, who wanted a "no" vote: Dick Gephardt (news - web sites), D-Mo., $638,053, N Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., $322,305, N Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., $300,248, N Rahm Emanuel,...

ONG KONG, May 23 — The World Health Organization today lifted its advisory against travel to Hong Kong and neighboring Guangdong Province in southern China, once the twin epicenters in a global outbreak of SARS, saying that the respiratory disease was being contained in both places. The W.H.O.'s decision is the clearest sign yet that SARS is not spreading nearly as fast as once feared, although American officials have warned that it might show a resurgence next winter, the season when many other respiratory diseases are particularly prevalent. The number of new cases reported daily in China has plunged in...

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president? The poll is located on the right colum about halfway down the page. Link Here :-)

By Rob Stein Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, May 18, 2003; Page A12 The SARS epidemic appears to be coming to an end everywhere there has been an outbreak except China and Taiwan, scientists concluded at the close of an international assessment yesterday.Aggressive measures to identify and isolate victims early have brought outbreaks under control in Hanoi, Toronto, Singapore and Hong Kong, experts announced at the end of a 11/2-day World Health Organization meeting.WHO brought together more than 40 leading epidemiologists from 16 countries to assess the state of the epidemic and what is known about the new lung...

Atari rises again Infogrames changes its name By Staff at the Newsdesk: Wednesday 07 May 2003, 12:42 THE NAME ATARI has a chequered history to say the least. The original firm was created by Nolan Bushnell and is normally credited as bringing video gaming to the masses in the form of Pong. The company suffered many ups and downs, with the brand name eventually being bought by Infogrames. Now Infogrames has decided to change its name to Atari. It's an interesting move, possibly one worthy of the cry of "atari!" in go that the firm was originally named after. Infogrames...

Less than a month after scientists cracked the genetic code of the SARS coronavirus, the virus is mutating, causing new forms to emerge in Southeast Asia.Doctors at the Chinese University of Hong Kong report at least two types of SARS in the territory's hospitals.''The virus is mutating fast,'' said Dennis Lo, one of a team of microbiologists who have just finished a study on the SARS virus.''Such a quick mutation means that even if there is a cure it may become ineffective. Even a diagnostic test may not be able to detect it if it has undergone change.''Dr. Lo doesn't...