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The slow pace of New Orleans' post-Katrina recovery is part of a plan to change the city's racial makeup, Mayor Ray Nagin told a national newspaper publishers' group last week. According to The Washington Post, Nagin made those remarks at a dinner meeting Thursday of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a trade group for newspapers that target black readers. He told editors and publishers that the slow recovery is part of a plan to change the racial makeup, and hence the political leadership, of the city.

MINNEAPOLIS - A North Pole expedition meant to bring attention to global warming was called off after one of the explorers got frostbite. The explorers, Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen, on Saturday called off what was intended to be a 530-mile trek across the Arctic Ocean after Arnesen suffered frostbite in three of her toes, and extreme cold temperatures drained the batteries in some of their electronic equipment. "Ann said losing toes and going forward at all costs was never part of the journey," said Ann Atwood, who helped organize the expedition. On Monday, the pair was at Canada's Ward...

A Pakistani minister and woman’s activist was shot dead Tuesday by an Islamic extremist for refusing to wear the veil. Zilla Huma Usman, the minister for social welfare in Punjab province and an ally of President Pervez Musharraf, was killed as she was about to deliver a speech to dozens of party activists, by a “fanatic”, who believed that she was dressed inappropriately and that women should not be involved in politics, officials said.

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Former Vice President Al Gore was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his wide-reaching efforts to draw the world's attention to the dangers of global warming, a Norwegian lawmaker said Thursday. "A prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize is making a difference, and Al Gore has made a difference," Conservative Member of Parliament Boerge Brende, a former minister of environment and then of trade, told The Associated Press.

District Attorney Mike Nifong has requested that he have himself removed from prosecuting the Duke Lacrosse rape investigation, ABC News has learned. A source close to the investigation said Nifong sent a letter to North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper asking his office to assume responsibility of the case.Calls to the Attorney General's office and Mike Nifong's office were not yet returned. Three Duke Lacrosse players, Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans were indicted in 2006 on charges of rape, sexual assault, and kidnapping. The rape charges were dropped in December after the accuser could not recall key details...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2006 -- Iraqi officers will soon command all four Iraqi army divisions operating in northern Iraq, a senior U.S. officer said today. “By February, all four Iraqi divisions in Multinational Division North will be under Iraqi ground-force command,” U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon told Pentagon reporters during a satellite briefing. Mixon is the commander of Multinational Division North as well as commander of the 25th Infantry Division. The two-star general’s area of responsibility covers six Iraqi provinces in northern Iraq that include the cities of Kirkuk, Balad, Tikrit, Mosul and Samarra. The general said...

Four shot at Annapolis mall By RYAN BAGWELL and JOSHUA STEWART Staff Writers Secret Service agent wounded when he tries to stop fight. At least four people were shot at the crowded Annapolis mall last night, including an off-duty Secret Service agent who opened fire on a teen involved in a food court gunfight. At least six shots rang out just after 7:15 p.m. near the Cingular wireless store in the Westfield Annapolis mall, police and witnesses said, sending hordes of panicked shoppers running for cover. The gunfire erupted after a group of young men started fighting with another young...

When Laurie-Ann Fuca told loved ones she was planning to become a soldier, some doubled over and laughed until their stomachs hurt. They hooted that she'd never pass the physical at her age, that she'd wilt without luxuries like manicures and martinis. No one's laughing now at the 41-year-old Tucson soccer mom, who is making history as the first Arizona woman to join the Army past her 40th birthday. The mother of four leaves for boot camp Monday, three weeks after her eldest son, a 19-year-old soldier, was sent to Iraq. Until recently, the scenario would have been impossible. But...

Four police and eight robbers die in S Africa shoot-out By David Blair in Johannesburg (Filed: 26/06/2006) Paramedics rushed to the scene of a "bloodbath" in central Johannesburg yesterday when a daylight gun battle between South African police and armed robbers left 12 dead. Four of those killed were policemen. The other eight were among a gang of 20 criminals. The shooting raged in the suburb of Jeppestown, east of the city centre and barely half a mile from Ellis Park stadium, one of the largest sports venues in South Africa and a key location for the next World Cup...

One in four shops is caught selling knives to children under 16 By David Derbyshire, Consumer Affairs Editor (Filed: 21/06/2006) More than a quarter of shops that stock knives are illegally selling them to children under 16, according to a survey by trading standards officials. Despite concerns about rising knife violence, a significant number of shopkeepers are failing to check the ages of teenage customers or are wilfully turning a blind eye. Richard Beckett, 14, shows knives bought by teenage volunteers However, there was some evidence that the recent spate of stabbings and the Home Office amnesty may finally be...

Four Mexicans accused of sneaking across the border pleaded guilty Tuesday under a new state law targeting immigrant smugglers. They were among the first 48 alleged customers of smugglers to be charged as conspirators to the crime. The four, who pleaded guilty to solicitation to commit immigrant smuggling, were sentenced to two years supervised probation and expected to face deportation proceedings. Critics say the law was intended to be used against smugglers, not their customers. Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has said the customers of smugglers need to be held accountable. In all, 19 of the 48 have pleaded guilty...

London - Iran could be able to produce between 20 and 25 kilos of highly-enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon by 2010, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London said Wednesday. 'The IISS estimate of 2010 remains valid,' the institute said in its report The Military Balance 2006 published Wednesday. Other estimates of an Iranian nuclear weapons capacity by 2009, or even 2008, were 'within the margin of error, given the number of unknowns', the report said. It stressed that the limited access of the IAEA nuclear watchdog to Iran's facilities required policymakers 'to rely on worst-case assumptions...

HADITHA, Iraq (May 5, 2006) -- A Marine sat on a collapsible metal chair with several other warriors seated around him and stared at four sets of dog tags, combat boots, rifles and Kevlar helmets. Tears welled up in his eyes as he slowly let his head drop into his hands. The tears fell, splashing the concrete floor. This Marine is one of hundreds from the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment who are still mourning the loss of Staff Sgt. Jason C. Ramseyer, who was killed two weeks ago in an explosion from an improvised explosive device. IEDs –...

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy announced April 27 that the first four Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) will be homeported at Naval Station San Diego, Calif. Key in the success of implementing these new concepts is the ability to colocate these ships to achieve readiness alignment and economy of scale. This colocation is especially important for the first ships in the class as waterfront facilities, infrastructure, training and maintenance efficiencies are developed. San Diego was chosen as the initial homeport because of the Navy’s increased emphasis on the Pacific theater based on the Quadrennial Defense Review. “Homeporting the first four ships...

PALOMINAS — The Naco Border Patrol Explorer post added four new members Wednesday with a ceremony at Valley View School honoring the newest graduates of its training class. “You came in as individuals and now you graduate as a team,” Darcy Olmos, Patrol Agent in Charge at the Naco Border Patrol station, told the graduates. The new Explorers are Alexalyn Hardgrave, 15, of Sierra Vista; Sammy Collins, 16, of Sierra Vista; Devin Humphries, 16, of Hereford; and Christopher Tillman, 15, of Sierra Vista. Humphries was honored for having the group’s highest test score average at 91 percent. Hardgrave also was...

WASHINGTON, March 3, 2006 – Four brothers, all Army Reserve officers, are deploying to Iraq with the same division and are planning to chronicle their experiences in a forthcoming book. (Clockwise from top left) Army Reserve Maj. Matt Holbert, Capts. David and Carlton Holbert, and Lt. Col. Buddy Holbert pose together Feb. 28 prior to their mobilization. The four brothers will deploy to Iraq soon as part of the 108th Division. Courtesy photo   The book's working title is "An American Story -- The Holbert Family: Four Brothers Who Serve." Its publisher, Linda Dennis, hopes to tell the story of...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15, 2006 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed four terrorists and detained 16 in a series of operations in the past 24 hours, and coalition forces also found several weapons caches yesterday, military officials in Iraq said. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, came under small-arms fire from insurgents south of Baghdad early this morning. A firefight ensued, and one insurgent was killed. Two other suspected terrorists were detained. The patrol also confiscated two AK-47s. Three more insurgents were killed and 14 others detained in several operations yesterday: A...

/13/2006 - RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- The Air Force Manpower Agency activated four new manpower squadrons to more effectively meet the needs of today’s expeditionary Air Force and to better position itself to support future capabilities. The 5th Manpower Requirements Squadron at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and the 4th MRS at Buckley Annex, Colo., held formal activation ceremonies in January. The 2nd MRS at NASA-Langley Research Center, Va., and the 3rd MRS at Scott AFB, Ill., will have formal activation ceremonies later this spring. “These new squadrons have a clear mission: to determine Air Force manpower...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2006 – A combined U.S. and Iraqi patrol killed four insurgents yesterday, and in separate incidents Feb. 2, a U.S. team seized a weapons cache west of Fallujah and Multinational Division Baghdad forces detained three suspected terrorists, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported today. The insurgents were killed after they opened fire on U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers patrolling along the Euphrates River south of Hit. The combined patrol was conducting a cache sweep when the insurgents attacked with small-arms fire, officials said. U.S. and Iraq troops returned fire, killing four insurgents and detaining three others for questioning....

'Four mothers' for Europe's Jews There are now some 8m people of Ashkenazi origin around the world Almost half of Europe's Jews are descended from just four women who lived 1,000 years ago, a study says. Scientists studied the mitochondrial DNA - passed from mother to daughter - of 11,000 women of Ashkenazi Jewish origin living in 67 countries. The Ashkenazis moved from the Mid-East to Italy and then to Eastern Europe, where their population exploded in the 13th Century, the scientists say. One of the authors said the study shows the importance of Jewish mothers. "This I could tell...