News

AP - The White House and Sen. John Kerry traded their harshest accusations since the 2004 presidential race on Tuesday, with President Bush accusing the Democrat of troop-bashing and Kerry calling the president’s men hacks who are “willing to lie.”

Reuters - The California wildfire that killed
four firefighters last week claimed a fifth victim who was
critically burned in the tragedy, officials near Los Angeles
said on Tuesday.

AFP - North Korea has confirmed it would return to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks if the issue of lifting US financial sanctions is settled during the negotiations.

Now that aspiring casino magnate Dennis Troha and family have pretty much maxed out on Gov. Jim…

AP - In a surprise turnabout, North Korea agreed Tuesday to return to six-nation disarmament talks just three weeks after rattling the world by conducting an atomic bomb test. The breakthrough came after pressure from China and a U.S. offer to discuss financial penalties already in place.

AP - Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday endorsed a proposal to spend at least $1 billion to expand the size and accelerate the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces.

AP - The Rev. Al Sharpton criticized the Christian right Tuesday for focusing too much political discussion on abortion and same-sex marriage and said black churches must talk about fighting poverty, equal access to education and other social justice issues.

AP - They got their championship rings, saw the postseason highlights played on giant video screens and watched a new banner swing from the arena’s rafters. Everything was perfect for the Miami Heat. And then the game began.

AP - R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. will acquire Banta Corp. in a $1.3 billion deal combining two Midwestern printing firms with histories dating back more than a century, the companies announced Tuesday.

Reuters - Three weeks after its nuclear test, North
Korea said on Wednesday it was returning to six-party talks
because Washington had agreed to discuss financial sanctions
Pyongyang says drove it from the negotiating table to start
with.

AP - A decorated Vietnam veteran convicted of rape 25 years ago became a free man Tuesday after a judge ruled he probably wouldn’t have been found guilty if DNA testing had been available.

AP - In the first comprehensive global study of sexual behavior, British researchers found that people aren’t losing their virginity at ever younger ages, married people have the most sex, and there is no firm link between promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases.