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”His boat took 188 enemy hits”: Another Kerry Swift Boat story surfacesBy Fedora During the 2004 campaign, John Kerry faced a firestorm of controversy over the events surrounding the awarding of his third Purple Heart and his Bronze Star. One inconsistency investigators noticed was that although military documents described Kerry’s Swift Boat team as facing “about 5000 meters” of enemy fire while travelling down a 75-yard-wide stretch of the Bay Hap River, there was no record of any bullet damage to craft or crew. Not publicized in 2004 was another discrepancy magnifying this issue: while Kerry was making his first...

"I apologize to no one," snarled Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts, the failed 2004 Democratic Party presidential standard-bearer, as he struggled on Halloween to remove the foot he had once again stuffed into his own mouth. (Having grown up speaking French in an elite private Swiss boarding school, the haughty Mr. Kerry probably was tempted to invoke the Edith Piaf theme song of post-Nazi-collaborationist France: Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, "I regret nothing.") Kerry's latest faux pas came during a campaign appearance in Southern California. "You know," he told a group of college students, "education, if you make the...

DES MOINES, Iowa --Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry lashed out Sunday against a group that bashed him during his last run at the White House. Kerry, who made a weekend appearance in northwest Iowa, said he is concerned that Swift Vote Veterans for Truth is again resorting to "the politics of fear and smear." The group, financed by Texas conservatives, ran commercials questioning his claim of being a decorated Vietnam veteran -- the centerpiece of his presidential campaign in 2004. "We're not going to give them an ounce of daylight," said Kerry, who is considering another run at the Democratic presidential...

CHICAGO — Ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co. (HNZ) posted sharply lower third-quarter profits Monday, as the ketchup-maker said strong business in North America couldn't make up for rising fuel costs, soaring commodity prices and a large write-down. Earns for the quarter ending Jan. 26 was $152.4 million, or 43 cents per share. During the same period last year, the company earned $202.2 million, or 57 cents per share. The company reported $73.8 million in impairment charges during the third quarter, largely due to a write-off of an investment in the Hain Celestial Group Inc (HAIN). Excluding impairment charges and 4...