News

Reuters - The United States said on Friday it was
consulting European governments about possible sanctions
against Iran for intransigence over its nuclear program, but
the EU signaled it wanted to see more dialogue with Tehran.

Reuters - Iran appears to be encountering
technical difficulties with its uranium enrichment but this
does not diminish the fact that it has nuclear ambitions and is
acting on them, U.S. officials and experts said on Thursday.

AP - President Bush said Thursday the war against Islamic militants was like last century’s fight against Nazis and communists and that a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq would lead to its conquest by America’s worst enemies.

AP - NASA on Thursday gave a multibillion-dollar contract to build a manned lunar spaceship to Lockheed Martin Corp., the aerospace leader that usually builds unmanned rockets.

Reuters - The United States has expanded its
force in Iraq to 140,000 troops, the most since January and
13,000 more than five weeks ago, the Pentagon said on Thursday,
amid relentless violence in Baghdad and elsewhere.

Reuters - The U.S. military is operating on
the assumption that Tehran is five to eight years away from
being able to build a nuclear bomb, The Washington Times
reported in its Thursday edition.

Reuters - Former champion Andy Roddick
celebrated his 24th birthday by using a booming serve to
overpower Kristian Pless of Denmark on Wednesday and book the
first berth in the third round of the U.S. Open.

AP - Israel on Wednesday rejected demands from visiting U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan that it immediately lift its sea and air blockade of Lebanon and withdraw its forces once 5,000 international troops are deployed.

AP - The top U.S. commander in Iraq expressed optimism Wednesday that Iraqi forces are making enough progress to provide their own security within 18 months. But violence showed no sign of abating, with 66 people killed nationwide, including 24 in a Baghdad market bombing.

AP - Hurricane John lashed tourist resorts with heavy winds and rain Wednesday as the dangerous storm marched up Mexico’s Pacific coast, and forecasters predicted its center would brush close to land before nicking the tip of Baja California and heading out to sea.

Reuters - Hurricane John roared past
Mexico’s Pacific coast on Wednesday as a dangerous Category 3
storm, pummeling beach resorts with heavy rain and winds and
threatening flash flooding and mudslides.

Reuters - Actor Glenn Ford, a handsome and
quiet character actor who made his mark in big films like
“Gilda” and “The Big Heat,” died on Wednesday in his Beverly
Hills home, police said. He was 90.