The America's Intelligence Wire articles from December 2004

The America's Intelligence Wire archives from December 2004

Anthem, WellPoint complete merger to create largest U.S. health insurance company.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: CHARLES WILSON Anthem Inc. and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. completed their $16.5 billion (A12.41 billion) merger Tuesday, overcoming insurance regulators' misgivings to create the largest U.S. health...

WORLD SPORTS at 0000 GMT.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: CHARLES WILSON CRICKET: INDIA-SOUTH AFRICA: India lead Proteas by 54 runs CALCUTTA, India _ Dinesh Karthik, 35 not out, and Irfan Pathan, on 21, resume their brazen 51-run seventh-wicket...

Fierce and deadly hurricane season ends in Caribbean.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: MICHAEL BASCOMBE The 2004 Atlantic hurricane season officially ended Tuesday, but many people who took a battering from powerful Hurricane Ivan in Grenada say life is still a far cry from back to normal....

Tom Ridge steps down as homeland security secretary.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: KATHERINE PFLEGER SHRADER Tom Ridge, named the nation's first homeland security secretary after the Sept. 11 attacks, announced he is resigning after three years of reworking American security and...

U.S. investigators examine explosives aboard ship at Honduran port.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: KATHERINE PFLEGER SHRADER U.S. experts were examining 900 metric tons (990 tons) of explosives aboard a Libyan-flag cargo ship that arrived last week at Puerto Cortes, 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of...

Ridge sought to strike balance between warnings, assurance.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: TED BRIDIS Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned terrorists might strike again even as he sought to reassure Americans their government was working to protect them during a sometimes bumpy...

NAACP President Kweisi Mfume Steps Down.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: WILEY HALL NAACP President Kweisi Mfume announced Tuesday that he is stepping down after a nearly nine-year tenure in which he helped rescue the nation's oldest and largest civil rights group from debt and...

Ukraine Opposition Breaks Off Talks.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV Ukraine's shivering but determined political opposition dug in its heels in Kiev's frigid central square Tuesday, rejecting an offer of the prime minister's job from the declared winner of...

Relatives Mourn Army Copter Crash Victims.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: ANGELA K. BROWN When Mark W. Evans Jr. was in Iraq, he would call or send text messages to his wife every day from the war zone. On Christmas morning he called just to hear his children open their presents. On...

Netherlands Hospital Euthanizes Babies.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: TOBY STERLING A hospital in the Netherlands _ the first nation to permit euthanasia _ recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has...

Part of New N.D. Bridge Collapses; 1 Dead.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: CURT WOODWARD A section of a huge bridge under construction over a Missouri River reservoir collapsed Tuesday, killing one worker and injuring three others, officials said. Fire Chief Duane Estvold said...

Peterson Trial Enters Penalty Phase.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: BRIAN SKOLOFF The penalty phase of Scott Peterson's murder trial opened Tuesday with prosecutors saying the slaying of his pregnant wife left the family with "a hole in their hearts that can never be...

Laci Peterson's Mother Takes the Stand.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: BRIAN SKOLOFF A heartbroken Sharon Rocha took the witness stand Tuesday in the penalty phase of Scott Peterson's murder trial, rising out of her seat and screaming at her former son-in-law that he should not...

European mediators try to restart search for compromise in Ukraine.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV With Ukraine's opposition and the government locked in a tense standoff, European mediators renewed efforts to broker a solution to the disputed presidential election. European...

Human Rights Watch says curbs on condoms undermine global right against HIV/AIDS.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: DAVID CRARY Criticism of condoms and restrictions on access to them are undercutting the fight against HIV/AIDS in countries ranging from Nigeria to Peru to the United States, Human Rights Watch said in a...

Laci Peterson's Mother Takes the Stand.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: BRIAN SKOLOFF Laci Peterson's mother took the stand Tuesday in the penalty phase of Scott Peterson's murder trial, rising out of her seat and screaming at her former son-in-law: "She wanted to be a mother....

Portugal's president to dissolve parliament, call early election.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: BARRY HATTON Reacting to four months of political and administrative turmoil for the conservative government, Portugal's president decided to dissolve parliament and hold a new election. Prime...

Telecommunications giant Telstra announces departure of chief executive.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: BARRY HATTON Australia's largest listed company, telecommunications giant Telstra Corp., announced Wednesday that its chief executive will stand down by July 2005 _ two years before his contract ends. ...

Mozambicans go to the polls in presidential election.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: TERRY LEONARD Mozambique's ragged poor will give their own verdict on the country's blessings, failures and promise Wednesday and Thursday when they vote for a new president. President Joaquim...

Congo officials claim Rwanda troops attacking; UN says no incursion verified.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: EDDY ISANGO Senior Congolese officials charged that Rwandan President Paul Kagame had made good on his threat to invade, claiming Rwandan troops had crossed into eastern Congo and were clashing with...

Sunoco settles discrimination suit for $5.5 million.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: EDDY ISANGO Sunoco Inc. has agreed to pay $5.5 million (A4.14 million) to settle a discrimination suit filed by current and former employees who said they were denied promotions because they were black....

Another North Korean bargaining chip in the nuclear crisis: equipment and vehicles are blockaded at idled construction site.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PETER JAMES SPIELMANN North Korea is holding South Korean construction cranes, bulldozers, road graders, dump trucks and almost 200 cars hostage at the site of a suspended power plant project as a...

Pumas and Springboks below strength for weekend rugby test.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PETER JAMES SPIELMANN European clubs prevented Argentina choosing nine starters from last weekend's last-minute loss to Ireland in the 22-man squad to meet South Africa at Velez Sarsfield on Saturday. ...

Opposition asks for results of Romanian election results to be annulled, claims fraud.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ALISON MUTLER The leader of Romania's main opposition party, claiming fraud, has called for the annulment of national election results and for a new vote to be held. International and Romanian...

HP touts software as slowing computer worms.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: RACHEL KONRAD Engineers at Hewlett-Packard Co. are working on "virus-throttling" software that they say could slow the spread of Internet-borne viruses and worms. Researchers for the Palo Alto,...

November ties the mark for the cruelest month for U.S. troops in Iraq.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: STEPHEN MANNING The Pentagon reported at least 135 U.S. troops killed in November as of Tuesday morning, matching April of this year for the deadliest month since fighting began in March 2003. Some of the...

Stern says NBA to set new security guidelines in arenas.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: CHARLES ODUM The NBA will set new security guidelines for its arenas, exerting more authority over a matter previously left to individual teams, commissioner David Stern said on Tuesday. Stern said...

Telecommunications giant Telstra announces departure of chief executive.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: MIKE CORDER Australia's largest listed company, telecommunications giant Telstra Corp., announced Wednesday that its chief executive will stand down by July 2005 _ two years before his contract ends. ...

Opening statements held in first trial related to smuggling deaths.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JUAN A. LOZANO Three people involved in the America's deadliest smuggling attempt were part of a scheme that treated immigrants "worse than cattle on the way to the slaughterhouse," a prosecutor said...

Christ's town hopes lull in violence means a Christmas present: tourists.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: DANICA KIRKA Bethlehem knows what it wants for Christmas: tourists. All over Manger Square and the rest of town, shopkeepers, hotel owners and just plain folks are hoping that visitors come and stay _...

Microsoft to open research facility in India.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ALLISON LINN Microsoft Corp. is further expanding its presence in India with plans to open a research center in Bangalore. The latest Microsoft Research campus will open in January 2005, the Redmond,...

Nearly 340 people killed as second storm in a week slams eastern Philippines.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PAT ROQUE A typhoon was threatening to hit the Philippines Wednesday as rescuers continued to search for survivors after a powerful storm hit the country's east, killing nearly 340 people. The storm...

Lucent inks deal with Cingular to supply new wireless network.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PAT ROQUE Lucent Technologies Inc. signed a four-year agreement to supply equipment for Cingular Wireless' rollout of its nationwide 3G high-speed wireless data system. Financial terms of the deal...

Communist Vietnam launches massive corruption crackdown, Party members no longer safe.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: MARGIE MASON They would have once been untouchable _ a father and son duo with influential jobs in the Trade Ministry. But their alleged involvement in a multimillion dollar corruption scam has put them at...

Bush says he wants better relations with Canada but stands by his policies.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: SCOTT LINDLAW U.S. President George W. Bush tried to repair U.S.-Canada relations strained by years of bickering over trade and Iraq, although he stood by policies that have irritated Canadians. He did...

Rush to feed China's industrial boom makes killer coal mines even more deadly.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ELAINE KURTENBACH A pair of accidents that have killed more than 200 miners in the past month are driving home the human price of China's ravenous appetite for coal to fuel its booming economy. In the...

Passenger plane skids off runway in central Indonesia, killing at least 31 people.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: MICHAEL CASEY Authorities were trying to determine what caused a Lion Air passenger plane to skid off a runway in central Indonesia and split into two, killing at least 31 people, officials said. ...

Tokyo stocks fall at open, dollar lower against yen.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: TOBY STERLING Tokyo stocks opened down Wednesday as Wall Street's overnight slide prompted concerns about the U.S. economy and the effect on Japan's fragile recovery. U.S. dollar slipped down against the...

Environmentalists see trouble for air, wildlife in Bush's second term.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: TOBY STERLING EDITOR'S NOTE _ President George W. Bush has outlined an ambitious agenda for his second term, from bringing stability to Iraq to simplifying the tax code at home. This is one of a series of...

Spain captain will bet almost anything on winning Davis Cup final.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: STEPHEN WADE Jordi Arrese will bet almost anything on Spain beating the Americans in the Davis Cup final. "Anything except my wife," Spain's captain said, drawing laughter from his team of Carlos...

Preparations for Iraq's January vote on track despite violence, intimidation.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: HAMZA HENDAWI Preparations for the Jan. 30 national election are on track despite continuing violence, intimidation and calls for delaying or boycotting the vote, the U.N. election chief in Iraq says. ...

FDA to review P&G drug for female sexual dysfunction.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: THERESA AGOVINO A hysterectomy 11 years ago zapped Colleen Christensen's sexual desire. Now 55 years old and married for 33 years, Christensen said she used to worry that a lack of intimacy was draining...

Players lining up for Father & Son event.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: DOUG FERGUSON The most serious competition in the Father-Son Challenge golf tournament just might be an invitation to it. "This event will never be pressed to get a field," said David Charles, son of...

AP Interview: U.S. forces to launch winter offensive against Afghan insurgents.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: STEPHEN GRAHAM Thousands of U.S. soldiers are preparing an operation against Taliban insurgents to preempt an expected spring offensive which could upset plans for Afghan parliamentary elections, a senior...

AP News Pronunciation Guide.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: STEPHEN GRAHAM A Abakan -- ah-bah-KAHN' Feroz Abbasi -- feh-ROOZ' ah-BAH'-see Abayas -- ah-BY'-ahz Abul Abbas -- AH'-bool ah-BAHS' Mahmoud Abbas -- mahk-MOOD' ah-BAHS' Mahmoud...

AP News Pronunciation Guide.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: STEPHEN GRAHAM K Ahmed Tejan Kabbah -- AH'-mehd TEH'-jahn KAH'-bah Kabbalah -- kah-BAH'-lah Kabul -- kah-BOOL' (though the pronunciation KAH'-bool is also common) Farouk Kaddoumi --...

Texas Board Recommends Death Row Reprieve.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: MICHAEL GRACZYK The Texas parole board Tuesday recommended delaying the state's first execution of a black woman to give her lawyers more time to investigate her claims of innocence. Gov. Rick Perry can...

Bahraini Royal Ends Made-For-TV Marriage.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: MICHAEL GRACZYK The five-year marriage is over between a former Marine and a young Bahraini royal whose story provided the basis for a made-for-television movie, "The Princess and the Marine." "It was...

Prosecutor: Immigrants Treated Like Cattle.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: JUAN A. LOZANO Three people involved in the nation's deadliest smuggling attempt were part of a scheme that treated immigrants "worse than cattle on the way to the slaughterhouse," a prosecutor said Tuesday...

Pvt. England Prepares for Court-Martial.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: JUAN A. LOZANO Pfc. Lynndie England is due back in a military court Wednesday to prepare for her court-martial on charges of abusing prisoners at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. The Army Reservist from Fort...

Students Sue to Delay Admission of Men.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: JUAN A. LOZANO Claiming they were deceived about attending a women's school, two Wells College students are suing to prevent the school from admitting men until after this year's freshman class graduates. ...

Schwarzenegger Thanks Elder Bush for Award.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: PAM EASTON California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, accepting a public service award Tuesday, credited former President George Bush with helping to spark the former actor's political career. "George Bush...

Allawi in Jordan for meetings with influential Iraqis but rules out talks with Saddam loyalists, insurgents.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ROBERT H. REID Iraq's interim prime minister went to Jordan for meetings with tribal figures and other influential Iraqis in a bid to encourage Sunni Muslims to participate in the Jan. 30 elections, but...

Wendy's expects fourth quarter loss after writedown.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ROBERT H. REID Wendy's International Inc. said it expects a fourth-quarter loss because of a writedown of up to $195 million (A146.67 million) and a charge related to the closing of as many as 18 of its...

Sri Lanka mulls response to Tamil Tiger rebels' war warning.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: SHIMALI SENANAYAKE The Sri Lankan government is unlikely to accept a Tamil Tiger rebel demand that it resume peace talks immediately or risk the resumption of civil war, officials said Wednesday. The...

Rocket fuel chemical found in lettuce, organic milk.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: SHIMALI SENANAYAKE The U.S. government has found traces of a rocket fuel chemical in organic milk in Maryland, green leaf lettuce grown in Arizona and bottled spring water from Texas and California. ...

Whose woods are these? Shooting in North Woods highlights contrast between Hmong, local hunters.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: MATT CRENSON At the upper edge of the nation, in the thick woods of northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, there are rules. Rules about property. Rules about deer hunting and the generations-old traditions that...

Methodists' third trial testing church law against gay clergy opens in Pennsylvania.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: RICHARD N. OSTLING The latest clash in the struggle among mainline Protestant denominations over gay clergy hits a critical point Wednesday with the church trial of a United Methodist Church minister who...

Thirteen children die in Honduras sugar cane fire.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: FREDDY CUEVAS A group of children hunting rabbits as they fled a sugarcane fire in Honduras were caught in the blaze themselves, and 13 were killed. Two others _ a man and a child _ were hospitalized with...

Schwarzenegger credits former President Bush with aiding move into public service.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PAM EASTON California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, accepting a public service award Tuesday, credited former President George H. W. Bush with helping to spark the former actor's political career. ...

More than semester abroad: some students mull full degree overseas.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: JUSTIN POPE For some, it's about the adventure of an extended stay at a foreign university. For others, it's about saving money, or just getting farther away from home. Whatever the reason, as they...

Senator Calls on Annan to Step Down.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: FREDERIC J. FROMMER The senator leading an investigation into the United Nations' oil-for-food program in Iraq is calling on Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resign. Writing in Wednesday's Wall Street...

Holiday shopping season gets off to modest start, surveys show.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ANNE D'INNOCENZIO The first holiday shopping weekend of the year may have started with a bang, but it ended with a whimper, evidence from two groups that track sales showed. The International Council...

Manpower says French authorities investigating its practices.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ANNE D'INNOCENZIO French authorities are investigating the business practices of Manpower Inc., claiming the temporary staffing company may have violated French and European Union rules on competition. ...

Protesters in Canadian capital express anger at Bush, Iraq war.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: COLIN McCLELLAND Holding up signs calling U.S. President George W. Bush a "war criminal" and "liar," several thousand demonstrators marched on the Parliament buildings in the Canadian capital to protest...

Leading Cuban dissident writer freed from prison in wave of surprise releases.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: VANESSA ARRINGTON Internationally renowned dissident writer Raul Rivero was unexpectedly freed from prison on Tuesday, the latest in a wave of surprise releases following a new warming of relations with...

Senator calls on Annan to step down as U.N. chief.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: FREDERIC J. FROMMER The senator leading an investigation into the United Nations' oil-for-food program in Iraq is calling on Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resign. Writing in Wednesday's Wall Street...

Nanny accuses U.S. radio personality Don Imus of slander, wrongful firing in lawsuit.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: SAMUEL MAULL A former nanny who worked for Don Imus has sued the radio and television personality, claiming he wrongfully fired her, chased her off his New Mexico ranch in the middle of the night, and then...

WORLD at 0200 GMT.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: SAMUEL MAULL HIGHLIGHTS: New _ AFGHAN-US OPERATION: U.S. forces to launch winter drive against Afghan insurgents after closely guarded presidential inauguration. Update _ UKRAINE-ELECTION:...

France: Troops Killed 20 in Ivory Coast.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: SAMUEL MAULL France acknowledged Tuesday that its troops killed about 20 people, including civilians, during November clashes in Ivory Coast but insisted its soldiers had only acted in self-defense. ...

Traumatic Hurricane Season Draws to Close.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: BILL KACZOR One of the most traumatic hurricane seasons in Florida history officially ended Tuesday with Gov. Jeb Bush calling the occasion a time for "reflection and celebration." Florida was hit by four...

Man acquitted of stalking pop rocker Sheryl Crow.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: SAMUEL MAULL A love-struck fan who ardently pursued singer Sheryl Crow for 15 months was acquitted Tuesday of stalking her. A jury deliberated about three hours before finding Ambrose Kappos, 38, not...

Anthem, WellPoint complete merger to create largest U.S. health insurance company.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: CHARLES WILSON Anthem Inc. and WellPoint Health Networks Inc. completed their $16.5 billion (A12.41 billion) merger, overcoming insurance regulators' misgivings to create the largest U.S. health insurance...

Harvard reverts to military recruitment policy in wake of court ruling.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: COLIN McCLELLAND Harvard Law School will return to a policy that keeps the military from recruiting on campus in the wake of a federal court decision allowing colleges and universities to bar recruiters...

Nearly 340 killed as second storm in week slams Philippines.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PAT ROQUE A typhoon threatened to hit the Philippines Wednesday, even as rescuers battled rain and mud to reach survivors of an earlier storm that killed nearly 340 people. At least 150 people were...

Ohio House passes anti-spam bill.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: PAT ROQUE Ohio's House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that would establish criminal and civil penalties for people who abuse e-mail systems to send spam, with the worst offenders facing...

Coroner Confirms Ebersol's Son Killed.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: COLLEEN SLEVIN Investigators said Tuesday they were looking into whether ice on the wings or a mechanical problem contributed to the fiery crash of an executive jet that killed the 14-year-old son of NBC Sports...

Harvard Law to Bar Military Recruiters.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: COLLEEN SLEVIN Harvard Law School will return to a policy that keeps the military from recruiting on campus in the wake of a federal court decision allowing colleges and universities to bar recruiters without...

Australia's chief finance minister says China should widen trading band for the yuan.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: SCOTT LINDLAW The Chinese government should widen the trading band for its currency, the yuan, to take pressure off other currencies, Australia's chief finance minister said Wednesday. China tightly...

Pakistan's military president makes first visit to Argentina.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: DEBORA REY Pakistan's President Gen. Pervez Musharraf arrived in Argentina on an unprecedented Latin America tour as critics blasted him at home for legislation reaffirming his dual roles as his country's...

Investigators probe cause of Indonesian plane crash.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ACHMAD IBRAHIM Emergency workers retrieved the body of the pilot of an Indonesian low-cost airline that crashed after skidding off the runway, as officials blamed stormy weather for the county's worst air...

Bush administration criticizes Venezuela's reported purchase of Russian MiGs.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Worldstream) Byline: ACHMAD IBRAHIM The Bush administration has expressed displeasure over Venezuela's reported plans to purchase sophisticated MiG fighters from Russia. "Let me put it this way: We shoot down MiGs," a...

Federal Judge Bars Ariz. Immigration Law.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: ANANDA SHOREY A federal judge Tuesday temporarily barred the state from implementing a ballot initiative designed to prohibit illegal immigrants from getting public benefits. Judge David C. Bury's order...

HP Touts Software to Slow Computer Worms.
December 1, 2004... (From AP Online) Byline: RACHEL KONRAD Engineers at Hewlett-Packard Co. are working on "virus-throttling" software that they say could slow the spread of Internet-borne viruses and worms. Researchers for the Palo Alto,...