Blast injures 50 at wedding for nephew of Fatah leader

Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan, the uncle of the groom, did not attend the wedding, according to witnesses. The cause of the explosion, which occurred at 11:10 p.m. in Khan Younis, was not known. Dahlan is the Palestinian Authority's national security adviser.

Details of Tuesday's explosion were not immediately clear. Dahlan's associates in recent years have been targeted by Hamas as tensions between the militant group and rival Fatah -- the Palestine Liberation Organization's largest faction -- escalated.

In January 2007, Hamas gunmen tried to kill Dahlan's bodyguard. Dahlan was not present at the time of the attack. In that month alone, Fatah and Hamas militants abducted more than 50 members of their rival groups -- most of them in the West Bank town of Nablus -- according to Palestinian security sources.

Dahlan is particularly disliked by Hamas because during his leadership of the Preventive Security Forces in the 1990s, Hamas members were apprehended and tortured. After a series of suicide bombings in Israel in 1996, Dahlan took a major part in the Palestinian Authority's effort to crack down on Hamas.

Solar eclipse excitement sweeps Asia

"This eclipse has the potential to be observed by more people than any eclipse in all of history," said MIT astronomer Richard Binzel, who will be in Shanghai leading an expedition of observers and a group of eclipse chasers.
Skywatchers are gathering from parking lots in western India to music festivals on remote Japanese islands to witness what NASA describes as an "exceptionally long" total solar eclipse that will cross half the planet on Wednesday.
"Essentially, every inhabitant of all of India and China will be able to see at least part of the sun covered throughout the day," he said. The path of the total eclipse will stretch across the heart of Asia -- from India's Bay of Cambay, over the Himalayas and across China and the southern islands of Japan.

Total eclipses happen about once a year or a little less often somewhere on the Earth's surface and are visible in a narrow band, Benzil said.

"This band starts at sunrise in India and ends at sunset over the Pacific, just east of Hawaii about four hours later. The shadow path of the moon is sweeping across the surface of the Earth at about 3,000 kilometers per hour," he said. "The partial eclipse is also visible throughout Thailand and Vietnam, as far south at the top tip of Australia and as far north as Siberia."

44 hurt after rail cars collide in San Francisco

The cars are part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, commonly called Muni.

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Initial reports indicated a one-car train traveling at low speed collided with a stopped one-car train, Muni spokesman Judson True said in a written statement. The accident occurred on the outbound platform of West Portal Station, he said.

As of 2:57 p.m. (5:57 p.m. ET), all Muni Metro light rail service that travels through West Portal Station in either direction was halted, he said
As of 2:57 p.m. (5:57 p.m. ET), all Muni Metro light rail service that travels through West Portal Station in either direction was halted.
Two light rail transit cars collided Saturday in San Francisco, causing multiple injuries, but none appeared life-threatening, a rail system spokesman said.

"Apparently the conductor for one of the trains miscalculated a turn. It's still under investigation right now," a police officer told CNN. He would not provide his name.

At least 44 people were injured, a fire official said.

None of the injuries was extremely serious, said Leslie Dubbin, administrator for operations at San Francisco General Hospital.

"There were no fatalities and everybody looks good."

Suspect arrested after six slayings in two states

Some of the five victims are related, and the people were killed either Friday night or early Saturday, said Kristin Helm of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Authorities have arrested a 30-year-old Tennessee man in connection with the killing of six people -- five in Tennessee and one in neighboring Alabama.

Jacob Shaffer of Fayetteville was arrested Saturday after three people were found dead at a house in the town, 90 miles south of Nashville. Two other victims were found in another residence on the same street, South Lincoln Road, officials said.

About 30 miles away in Huntsville, Alabama, a sixth person was found dead at a business, authorities said.

Shaffer was in one of the Fayetteville residences when Lincoln County sheriff's deputies arrived.

Among the victims were two juveniles, authorities said. Investigators have not released the names of any of the victims and are working to first notify family members.

Without naming Shaffer, Allen said Tennessee authorities told him a man confessed to a slaying in his town and to five other killings in Fayetteville.

4 Baghdad churches bombed in 24 hours

Three bombs exploded outside churches Sunday afternoon, wounding the civilians, an Interior Ministry official said. The bombs detonated within a 15-minute span, between 4:30 and 4:45 p.m.

Four Baghdad churches were bombed in less than 24 hours and eight civilians were wounded, officials said Sunday.
Two of the churches are in central Baghdad's al-Karrada district, and the third is in al-Ghadeer in eastern Baghdad.

The churches were damaged in the bombings, the official said.Saturday night, a church in western Baghdad sustained damage in a double bombing, the official said. The two bombs placed inside St. Joseph's church detonated at around 10 p.m. local time. There was no one in the church at the time of the attack.

Using guns with silencers, the assailants opened fire on Rizko Aziz Nissan outside his home in central Kirkuk at 8:15 a.m.

Nissan was an Iraqi Christian, but the motives behind his killing were not immediately clear. Kirkuk is 150 miles (240 kilometers) north of Baghdad

Senator: Cheney and alleged secret CIA program 'a problem'

CIA Director Leon Panetta testified to a congressional committee that he was told former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered the intelligence agency to withhold information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Sunday.

"I think this is a problem, obviously," Feinstein said, adding that the law requires full disclosure of such operations to Congress.

"It's not agency practice to discuss what may or may not have been said in a classified briefing," Gimigliano said. "When a CIA unit brought this matter to Director Panetta's attention, it was with the recommendation that it be shared with Congress. That was also his view, and he took swift, decisive action to put it into effect."

The disclosures follow a May spat between the spy agency and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who accused the CIA of misleading Congress during a secret 2002 briefing on harsh interrogation techniques being used on terrorism suspects. The CIA responded that Pelosi was told about the harsh techniques, including waterboarding, at the briefing.

Women die as boat capsizes in western India

At least 13 women died and 18 were missing after two boats capsized in western India, police said Sunday.

They were returning home from the fields when their vessels overturned Saturday evening in a river at Maharashtra state's Bhandara district, said Chandrashekhar Bahadur, assistant police inspector.

The two boats were carrying 35 women, mostly farm laborers, he said. Four were able to swim ashore.

Rescuers have found 13 bodies so far and the search for others is on, said Bahadur. He said possible flooding in the river could have led to the capsizing.

"It rained heavily here on Saturday,

Investigators: Strong winds probable cause of Fossett crash

Nearly two years after the disappearance of adventurer Steve Fossett, investigators on Thursday determined that strong winds probably downed his plane.
The board's findings are in line with witness testimony revealed in the agency's March report: Fossett's single-engine craft was fighting headwinds.

Fossett took off from the airport of the Flying M Ranch outside Minden, Nevada, on September 3, 2007, for what his wife described as "a Sunday drive," according to the report.

Fossett, a daring adventurer, in 2002 became the first person to circle the globe solo in a balloon, and three years later was the first to fly a plane around the world solo without refueling. He also set world records in round-the-world sailing and cross-country skiing.

Bone fragments recovered at the crash site could not be "definitively identified as human," the report said, but authorities confirmed through DNA tests that skeletal fragments were those of Fossett.

L.A. braces for massive Michael Jackson memorial

They poured in to Los Angeles from places far-flung, an army of Michael Jackson fans hoping to collectively mourn their idol in a massive ceremony at the Staples Center downtown Tuesday.
Parking lots in the area raised their prices, some as high as $30. Airports in Southern California saw a spike in bookings. And several movie theaters in the area announced special screenings of the event, which will also be carried live by some television networks and Web sites.
Several carloads of people, Michael Jackson's sister La Toya among them, came and went from the heavily secured cemetery after sunset Monday. But it was not immediately clear whether they were there for a private viewing.

Executors of Jackson's will get control of his assets

Also Monday, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted control of Jackson's assets to the executors of his will.

The executors -- John Branca, Jackson's longtime personal attorney, and John McClain, a music industry executive and longtime friend -- had sought immediate control of the entertainer's assets at a hearing before Judge Mitchell Beckloff.

Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey set for Jackson memorial

The Michael Jackson memorial service at the Staples Center on Tuesday will be a star-studded affair, with singers Mariah Carey, Usher and Stevie Wonder among the participants, according to an announcement released on behalf of the Jackson family.

"I'm honored to have been asked to play at MJ's memorial service. I will be representing all of us who can't be there," Mayer tweeted. "Going to say goodbye from all us kids."

Ken Ehrlich, known for producing the Grammy Awards, is producing the memorial show, his company said. Kenny Ortega, who was to have co-directed Jackson's series of concerts in London, England, this summer, will direct it.

Mayer posted on Twitter on Monday afternoon saying "I'm going not to 'perform' but to contribute."

"Although Debbie had originally planned to attend tomorrow's Staples Center memorial service, we have concluded with Debbie that she will not be attending," a statement from Almli said. "The onslaught of media attention has made it clear her attendance would be an unnecessary distraction to an event that should focus exclusively on Michael's legacy. Debbie will continue to celebrate Michael's memory privately."

Ayatollah: Western 'lies' depict Iranians as 'rioters'

Iran's supreme leader blamed enemies and outsiders on Monday for the turmoil that followed last month's presidential elections, according to an Iranian news agency.

He warned that meddling from presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers would hurt those nations' relations with Iran, according to Fars.

He said Iranians would see through the "lies" of Western governments and "know that your objective is to create doubt amongst them and propagate hate against the system of the Islamic Republic.

Despite any internal differences, Iranians would come together against their "enemy," he said, referring to outsiders.

"When it comes to confronting the enemy, even with various differences and viewpoints, [Iranians] will become united and be as one punch against them,"

Oldest known Bible goes online

The world's oldest known Christian Bible goes online Monday -- but the 1,600-year-old text doesn't match the one you'll find in churches today.

The New Testament books are in a different order, and include numerous handwritten corrections -- some made as much as 800 years after the texts were written, according to scholars who worked on the project of putting the Bible online. The changes range from the alteration of a single letter to the insertion of whole sentences.

Discovered in a monastery in the Sinai desert in Egypt more than 160 years ago, the handwritten Codex Sinaiticus includes two books that are not part of the official New Testament and at least seven books that are not in the Old Testament.

"There are certainly theological questions linked to this," he said. "Everybody should be encouraged to investigate for themselves."

That portion includes books not found in the Hebrew Bible and regarded in the Protestant tradition as apocryphal, such as 2 Esdras, Tobit, Judith, 1 & 4 Maccabees, Wisdom and Sirach.

The New Testament portion includes the Epistle of Barnabas and The Shepherd of Hermas.

As it survives today, Codex Sinaiticus comprises just over 400 large leaves of parchment -- prepared animal skin -- each of which measures 15 inches by 13.6 inches

Palin takes to Web for hints of political future

After staying out of the public eye for most of Saturday, a day after abruptly announcing she would soon give up her job as governor, Palin indicated on a social networking site that she would take on a larger, national role, citing a "higher calling" to unite the country along conservative lines.

Palin instead cast herself as a victim and blasted the media, calling the response to her announcement "predictable" and out of touch.
"How sad that Washington and the media will never understand; it's about country," the statement said. "And though it's honorable for countless others to leave their positions for a higher calling and without finishing a term, of course we know by now, for some reason a different standard applies for the decisions I make."

Palin shocked even her closest friends on Friday when she announced she would resign July 26, more than a year before her first term ends. But the controversial hockey mom has not revealed many details of bigger plans and national agenda.

Iraqis want educational, scientific assistance, says VP Biden

Iraqis "want us want us to be engaged with them in helping them realize their potential," said Vice President Joe Biden after leaving Baghdad on Saturday.

"If the Iraqi government needs any assistance from the U.S. government, the American government is ready to provide the support and assistance. But the prime minister said these are internal issues that Iraqis will handle," he said. "Involvement of non-Iraqi parties in these issues will complicate things and create problems we can live without."
"They're very concerned, very anxious that we pursue a strategic agreement with them, which has nothing to do with the military. They want scientific knowledge, they want educational assistance, they want economic assistance in terms of advice and connecting them, giving them advice on how to deal with the international business community," Biden said Saturday in an interview aboard Air Force Two before flying out of Iraq, according to pool reports.

2 killed in fireworks truck blast in North Carolina

Two people were killed and three others were in critical condition Saturday when a truck carrying fireworks on North Carolina's Outer Banks exploded, officials said.
Jamie Tunnell, Hyde County spokeswoman, said the fireworks were to be used for the annual Fourth of July show on Ocracoke Island, and the five people were members of the crew setting up the display.

Emergency crews and firefighters arrived. Tunnell said two volunteer firefighters were being treated for smoke inhalation and exhaustion.

Joseph Chestnut, 16, was working at the Ride the Wind kayak-rental stand in Ocracoke when he heard the explosion across the harbor. He thought a home under construction had collapsed

The truck exploded at the Ocracoke Island docks.

Obama's Housing Rescue Expands: 6 Things to Know

In a move that suggests its initial rescue plan was insufficient, the Obama administration yesterday announced plans to widen the eligibility parameters of a key housing initiative.
he mortgage refinancing program is part of the president's two-pronged plan to pull the nation out of its worst housing slump since the Great Depression.

1. Fannie/Freddie only: Despite the higher loan-to-value ceiling, the original framework of the program remains in tact. For example, only borrowers with loans owned or guaranteed by government-controlled housing finance giants Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac can participate. At the same time, borrowers need 2. Falling prices, less equity: The expansion of the qualification parameters comes as the real estate market continues to erode. Home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas fell by more than 18 percent in April from a year earlier, according the Case-Shiller home price index. Among other things, sliding home prices suck equity out of homes. Because of plunging values, more than a fifth of American homeowners were considered "underwater"--meaning they owe more on their mortgages than the property is worth--in the first quarter of this year, according to Zillow.to be current on their mortgage to zillow.

SC serial killer conjures memory of 60s murderer

GAFFNEY, S.C. – A terrified rural South Carolina community hunkered down over the Fourth of July after the sheriff said a serial killer was on the loose, and longtime residents were reminded of a murderer who terrorized the town in the 1960s.

The town of Gaffney, about 50 miles south of Charlotte, N.C., is located in a county that had just six homicides in all of 2008, and half that the year before. The last time the town was this threatened like this was when the "Gaffney Strangler" killed four women over 10 days in 1968 and vowed to kill more. The town banded together, despite racial prejudice, to find the man who was killing both white and black women.

Memories of the "Gaffney Strangler" were reignited this week after authorities said a new serial killer gunned down four people during three separate incidents over several days.
The strangler, Lee Roy Martin, called the editor of a local newspaper on Feb. 8, 1968, and told him where to find the bodies of two women he'd dumped in the woods. He threatened to kill even more women until he was "shot down like the dog I am."

"If he killed once, he'll kill again," she said sitting on the front porch with her friends. "Tonight, I'm going to stay inside and pray, pray a little harder that he gets caught."

The latest shootings happened less than a half-mile from the sheriff's office, where at least 30 investigators were already working on the case. Blanton said a profiler has suggested Tyler and his daughter might have been shot to taunt investigators, but he said his only concern is solving the case.

"We had a 15-year-old girl shot; he killed an 83-year-old woman," Blanton said. "The good people of this community don't deserve that."

Myanmar denies U.N. chief a visit with Suu Kyi

United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon was denied permission to see Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, reporters traveling with the secretary-general said Saturday.

Officials in Myanmar delayed the resumption of the trial of Suu Kyi Friday. The delay is the latest in a string of postponements and came as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrived in the Asian nation for talks with government officials.

Suu Kyi -- the face of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement -- is on trial on allegations of subversion. The Nobel Peace Prize winner and two of her maids have been charged in a May 3 incident in which an American, John William Yettaw, 53, swam across a lake to her house and stayed for at least a night.

It was during her house arrest that she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

Suu Kyi married a British man, who died in 1999, and they have two sons. Myanmar's government now says citizens who have borne children with foreigners cannot run for office.

Ban's visit to Myanmar is his first since May 2008. That followed Cyclone Nargis, which killed an estimated 150,000 people

Ex-Iranian president seeks to free detainees

Iranians worried about their loved ones detained in the protests that followed the presidential election got the ear of a former president, who wants the detainees released, an Iranian reformist party newspaper reported on Thursday.

The government crackdown on protests came after a hotly contested June 12 election. Thousands flooded the streets of Tehran for weeks after incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner by a margin of about 2-to-1 over his nearest rival, Mir Hossein Moussavi, who said the results were rigged.

Former reformist President Mohammad Khatami met with families of some of the people detained and said that if the courts uphold the civil rights of the detainees, the court would order them freed, reported presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi's party newspaper.

Families of the imprisoned plan to later meet with another former president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Rafsanjani, a key cleric, is chairman of Iran's Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for appointing or removing the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Rafsanjani's daughter was briefly detained in the chaos that followed the elections

Fans face long odds for Jackson memorial tickets

Fans continued to register by the thousands early Saturday, hoping to be among the 8,750 people who will be randomly picked to attend the memorial service for singer Michael Jackson next week.

The overwhelming response prompted organizers to open up the lottery to non-U.S. residents as well, he said.

"When you grow up with Michael Jackson's music pretty much your whole life, you feel like you lost a family member and you have to go to the funeral," said Add Seymour of Atlanta, Georgia
Ken Ehrlich, known for producing the Grammy Awards, is producing the memorial show, his company said. Kenny Ortega, who was to have co-directed Jackson's series of concerts in London, England, this summer, will direct it.

"We are treating all unnamed sources as rumors. And, as we have stated before, we will not be responding to rumors or innuendo," said lawyers for Jackson's cardiologist, Dr. Conrad Murray, on Friday. "We are awaiting the facts to come out and we will respond at that time."

"You know for anything that has to do with drugs, the DEA are the experts on that," said Jim McDonnell, assistant police chief. "And if you're looking at the prescription issues, where else would you go?"

Thrown pig leads to religious riots in India

NEW DELHI, India
Widespread violence broke out in Mysore Thursday after somebody threw a dead pig into the compound of an under-construction mosque, city police commissioner Sunil Agarwal.

Three people have been killed in religious rioting in southern India between Muslims and Hindus, police said Friday.

More than a dozen people were injured in the clashes, he said.

Police fired tear gas and used bamboo sticks to break up the rioting, according to Agarwal.

Authorities have, for now, banned assembly of five or more people on the streets of the troubled area, according to the police.

Mysore is a city in Karnataka, India's only southern state governed by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party

Jackson's chimp Bubbles enjoys life out of public eye

Bubbles gained fame over two decades ago as Michael Jackson's simian companion. Now at age 26, Bubbles has retired to the Center for Great Apes outside Wauchula, Florida.

Patti Ragan, director for the Center for Great Apes, explained how Bubbles and 41 other chimpanzees and orangutans spend their day:
"They relax. They take naps together. They might go up in the top of the cupola," she said. "They go out in the chutes and lie under a tree in the tunnel system.
When Bubbles was 5 years old, he and Jackson toured Japan, where the chimp moonwalked for the media. Bubbles' new home has many places for him to hide from the limelight. The nonprofit's tropical forest setting covers more than 100 acres.
The public might not recognize Bubbles. He's aged since his moonwalking days. But he is alive and well, feasting on cucumbers and bananas at the sanctuary, where the care for each animal costs about $17,000. Bubbles might be out of the public eye, but Ragan doesn't want his fans to forget him.
Those days of appearing before the camera were long gone, until today. Bubbles still likes making faces for the camera, faces that Jackson might have recognized, had he visited the sanctuary. Bubbles might have recognized Jackson, too.

'Miracle' plane crash survivor back in France

The teenage girl who is the only known survivor of this week's airliner crash in the Comoros Islands arrived back in France on Thursday.
The Airbus A310 went down early Tuesday with 142 passengers and 11 crew members on board a flight that originated in Yemen's capital, Sanaa.

Bahia Bakari arrived at Paris' Le Bourget airport early on Thursday morning on a French government plane and was met by her father.

Bahia, said by her father to be 13 despite different ages being reported by other outlets, was transferred to an unnamed hospital suffering from shock and a broken collar bone.

Another rescuer told France's Europe 1 radio the girl was spotted in the rough sea among bodies and plane debris in darkness about two hours after the crash.

Bahia's father Kassim Bakari said he did not believe he would see his wife or daughter again after learning of the crash. He described how his daughter was ejected from the plane into the Indian Ocean.

U.S. soldier sold to Afghan militant clan, official says

The Haqqanis -- who operate on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and are well known to the U.S. military -- are assembling shuras, or local councils of leaders, to talk and try to "legitimize" what they have done, the official said.
U.S., Afghan and Pakistani troops are sealing off the area and also are talking to tribal chiefs, village elders and leaders.
The American soldier abducted in southeastern Afghanistan is now being held by a notorious militant clan, a senior U.S. military official said.
This soldier and three Afghan soldiers were captured by low-level militants and then quickly "sold" to the clan and network led by warlord Siraj Haqqani -- believed to be deeply involved in the action.

The soldier, missing since Tuesday, did apparently leave his small outpost on his own with no apparent means of defending himself, and the U.S. military believes a video of him is forthcoming.

The U.S. soldier visited a military post in the Yousaf Khel district in the Paktika province and got drunk, Sangeen said. He was ambushed while returning to his car and was taken to a safe place, Sangeen said.

CNN could not independently verify Sangeen's claims.

NKorea test-fires 2 short-range missiles

The missiles were fired from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan on Thursday afternoon, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity citing department policy. He did not say what types of missiles were launched, but Yonhap news agency said they were ground-to-ship missiles.

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea test-fired two short-range missiles Thursday, South Korea's Defense Ministry said, a move that aggravates the already high tensions following Pyongyang's recent nuclear test and U.N. sanctions imposed as punishment.

"We had expected that they will fire short-range missiles at any time," South Korea's Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told The Associated Press at a reception held at the US ambassador's residence to mark the US Independence Day, which falls this weekend. "It's not a good sign because they are demonstrating their military power."

The North has also threatened to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile. Last month, a Japanese newspaper reported that the North could test-fire a long-range missile toward Hawaii as early as around July 4. The U.S. has increased defenses around Hawaii.

But Seoul's YTN television news network said Thursday there are no signs of an imminent long-range missile launch.

Family: Michael Jackson viewing won't happen at Neverland

Michael Jackson's family will not hold a public or private viewing of his body at the Neverland Ranch, a spokesman for the family said Wednesday.

Jackson placed his entire estate, which he estimated to be worth at least $500 million, in the Michael Jackson Family Trust, which was described in another document not filed in court.

"Plans are under way regarding a public memorial for Michael Jackson, and we will announce those plans shortly," Ken Sunshine said in a written statement.

Jackson's will, which was filed in court Wednesday and dated July 7, 2002, did not specify where he wished to be buried.

The pop star died Thursday at age 50. While it will be up to a court to decide who gets custody of Jackson's three children, the singer chose his mother, Katherine Jackson, as their guardian. If Katherine Jackson, 79, is not living, Jackson said, "I nominate Diana Ross as guardian."

The children -- ages 7, 11 and 12 -- have been placed under his mother's temporary guardianship.

Michael Jackson purchased Neverland Ranch -- named for the fictional world in J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan" -- in 1987 and filled it with animals and amusement rides.

Teen plane crash survivor 'didn't feel a thing'

(CNN) -- The father of a teenage girl who remarkably survived a plane crash off the Comoros has described how his daughter was ejected from the plane into the Indian Ocean.
"She said she was ejected from the plane," Bakari said, according to Agence France-Presse.
"She didn't feel a thing. She found herself in water," Paris-based Kassim Bakari told French radio RTL after speaking to his 13-year-old daughter Bahia who was recovering Wednesday in hospital in Moroni.

A local surgeon said Bahia was doing well in hospital. "Her health is not in danger. She is very calm given the shock she suffered," Ben Imani told Reuters.com at Moroni's El Marouf hospital. The girl is expected to be flown home to France on a ministerial plane, AFP reports.

The head of the rescue team in the Comoros also told RTL the teenager survived astonishing odds. "It is truly, truly, miraculous," said Ibrahim Abdoulazeb. "The young girl can barely swim."

BlackBerry Tour lands at Verizon on July 12; $199.99

RIM’s BlackBerry Tour, the world phone that looks and feels equal parts BlackBerry Bold and Storm, is officially landing at Verizon Wireless stores on July 12.

The Tour (pictured above, right) is being released later this summer, and will be offered through Verizon and Sprint. The Curve 8900 (pictured above, left) was recently released for T-Mobile. The Tour is a tiny bit larger than the 8900, with only a 20 gram difference in weight.

The Tour and Curve 8900 do differ in the keyboard. It’s really a matter of preference which type of keyboard you find easiest to type on, but I thought the Tour was a little more fluid. The typing was smooth and natural. The Tour has the same keyboard as the BlackBerry Bold. As you can see in the above photo, the Tour’s keys aren’t separated like they are on the 8900. They have a little groove on each key, which makes it so your finger doesn’t slip off onto the adjacent key.
You can expect it towards the end of the summer, although there’s no official release date right now.

Bank failure list tops 45

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Local banks in Georgia, Minnesota and California were closed Friday by state regulators, bringing the total number of failed banks this year to 45, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporat

The FDIC will mail checks to insured depositors of the failed bank on Monday morning. Direct deposits from the federal government, such as Social Security and Veterans' payments, will be transferred to United Community Bank of Blairsville, Ga.

Georgia regulators also shuttered the four branches of Neighborhood Community Bank, which is based in Newnan.

The financial crisis has taken a heavy toll on small banks across the nation as losses in the housing market mount and unemployment dents household wealth. Analysts expect the trend to continue even as larger banks stabilize and the overall economy begins to recover.

The FDIC said it entered a loss-share agreement with the acquiring banks for a portion of the failed banks' assets. The agreement is intended to maximize returns on the assets and minimize disruptions for loan customers, the FDIC said.

The total cost of Friday's bank failures to the FDIC is $264.2 million, bringing the total for this year to $11.94 billion. That compares with $17.6 billion in all of 2008.

The number of bank failures so far this year has already exceeded last year's total of 25, with an average of 7 failures per month.

Michael Jackson, pop music legend, dead at 50

"The sudden death of Michael Jackson quickly opened a window of opportunity for cybercriminals to capitalize on.
Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color," the Rev. Al Sharpton said. "To say an 'icon' would only give these young people in Harlem a fraction of what he was. He was a historic figure that people will measure music and the industry by."

Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albums -- including "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" -- and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time, died Thursday, CNN has confirmed

" Jackson's blazing rise to stardom -- and later fall from grace -- is among the most startling of show business tales. The son of a steelworker, he rose to fame as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a band he formed with his brothers in the late 1960s. By the late '70s, as a solo artist, he was topping the charts with cuts from "Off the Wall," including "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."
The pop music landscape was changing, however, opening up for rap, hip-hop and what came to be called "alternative" -- and Jackson was seen as out of step.

Windows 7 versus Snow Leopard: How much do upgrades really cost?

According to Microsoft, roughly 90% of Windows users purchase the operating system preinstalled with a new PC. And if you ignore the Hackintosh crowd, 100% of Mac owners purchase OS X with a new Mac. Any PC purchased with Windows XP or Windows Vista since October 2001 qualifies for a discounted upgrade to Windows 7, for a price as low as $50. But only a select group of Mac owners qualify for those $29 upgrades. A large number will have to pay $169 for the privilege of installing Snow Leopard, and another large group of Apple customers won’t be able to install Snow Leopard at all.

In one of its brilliant “I’m a Mac” ads recently, Apple lampooned the complexity of Microsoft Windows with a dizzying display of fine print that eventually filled up the screen and covered up both characters.

I thought of that ad when I saw Apple’s recent announcement that it was going to make its next Mac OS X upgrade, Snow Leopard, available as a $29 upgrade. That sounds so much better than the broad range of prices that Microsoft is going to charge its customers for Windows 7 upgrades. Too bad the $29 upgrade is not that simple. In fact, according to my analysis of Apple’s own sales figures, 57% of Apple’s customers who bought and paid for new Macs in the past five years are ineligible for those cheap upgrades.

Hospital confirms Steve Jobs transplant

It was widely reported that Jobs returned to work at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif. headquarters this week.

James D. Eason, M.D., program director at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute and chief of transplantation confirmed today, with the patient’s permission, that Steve Jobs received a liver transplant at Methodist University Hospital Transplant Institute in partnership with the University of Tennessee in Memphis.

Mr. Jobs underwent a complete transplant evaluation and was listed for transplantation for an approved indication in accordance with the Transplant Institute policies and United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) policies.

The hospital where Steve Jobs received a liver transplant issued a press release tonight, confirming - with Jobs permission - the transplant. The hospital said Jobs received the transplant because was the sickest patient on the waiting list at the time a donor organ became available. But more importantly, the statement noted that Jobs is “recovering well and has an excellent prognosis.”

A Nokia, Intel partnership makes sense, but they need to focus on smartphones

This Intel and Nokia collaboration unites and focuses many of the brightest computing and communications minds in the world, and will ultimately deliver open and standards-based technologies, which history shows drive rapid innovation, adoption and consumer choice. With the convergence of the Internet and mobility as the team’s only barrier, I can only imagine the innovation that will come out of our unique relationship with Nokia. The possibilities are endless.

Intel deperately needs to get into the mobile phone market, which is expected to grow far more rapidly than the PC market over the next decade. Nokia, while still technically the leader in global smartphone market share, badly needs to generate some smartphone buzz to help fight off growing challenges from Apple, BlackBerry, Palm, and Google Android.

Nokia also knows something about failed MIDs. Earlier this year, the company discontinued its MID line of the devices, the Nokia N800/N810 Internet Tablet

'Crazy Turtle Woman' transforms graveyard into maternity ward

MATURA, Trinidad
Saddened and frustrated, Baptiste launched a crusade to help end the slaughter of the gentle giants. Today, she and her group are succeeding: What was once a turtle graveyard is now a maternity ward -- one of the largest leatherback nesting colonies in the world.

With its white sand and clear, blue water, Trinidad's Matura Beach looks like a postcard. It's a far cry from its recent past, when leatherback sea turtle carcasses littered the ground and kept tourists away.
"Twenty years ago, this was a graveyard," Suzan Lakhan Baptiste said of the six-mile stretch of beach near her home.

'Crazy Turtle Woman'

For years, Baptiste and her group patrolled the beaches every night of turtle nesting season. She often walked alone until sunrise.

Locals mocked her efforts, calling her the "Turtle Police" or "Crazy Turtle Woman," yet her dedication to the unpaid work was fierce; when it conflicted with her day job, she quit and found a new job.

Leatherbacks were a vital source of income for some members of her village, and the poachers who prowled the beaches with machetes could be threatening. When Baptiste's then-husband was injured during a patrol, she became more determined to stand her ground.

"I was very vigilant," she said, adding that at times, she even got into physical fights.

Three men hanged in Iran for mosque bombing

TEHRAN, Iran

The Thursday evening blast occurred in the southeastern Sistan-Balochistan province at a mosque in during prayers to commemorate the seventh century death of Fatima, the daughter of the prophet Mohammed.
"The U.S. strongly condemns all forms of terrorism. We do not sponsor any form of terrorism in Iran. And we continue to work with the international community to try to prevent any attacks against innocent civilians anywhere," State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters in a Friday afternoon briefing.
Sistan-Balochistan province -- which shares a border with Pakistan -- is the site of frequent clashes involving Iranian police, drug dealers and armed groups. The province is located on a major narcotics-smuggling route between Afghanistan and Pakistan

Iranian authorities hanged three men convicted for their involvement in a bombing of a Shia mosque, Iran's IRNA news agency reported Saturday.

Reports on the number of casualties varied in Iranian reports. Some local agencies said more than 20 people were killed and 125 were wounded in the bombing.

The suspects were arrested and being questioned on Friday.

Royal chauffeur suspended after alleged palace security breach

"Our investigator is sitting where the queen sits in the royal limo," Jobson said, referring to the video. "And the fact is, we've been told that security has been tightened up, that these things wouldn't happen again, new rules and regulations were brought in -- they simply haven't worked."
A royal chauffeur was suspended Sunday after he allegedly allowed undercover reporters from a British tabloid to enter Buckingham Palace in exchange for cash.
Mazher Mahmood, of the London-based News of the World, claimed he was allowed to enter the London residence of Queen Elizabeth II without security checks after paying a man identified as a Buckingham chauffeur £1,000

A palace spokesperson told CNN that the chauffeur "has been suspended pending further investigation."

Buckingham Palace has experienced a number of high-profile security lapses in the past. In 2003 an investigation was launched after "comedy terrorist" Aaron Barschak gatecrashed Prince William's 21st birthday party at Windsor Castle, PA reported.

Wearing a dress, beard and sunglasses, Barschak climbed on stage as the prince addressed the crowd, and kissed him on both cheeks.

Britain's Press Association named the chauffeur as Brian Sirjusingh and added that he had been suspended following reports that two reporters, posing as wealthy Middle-Eastern businessmen, were allowed into the palace

11 killed at music festival stampede in Morocco

Among the victims of the stampede at the Mawazine festival in the capital city of Rabat were five women, four men and two children, the Maghreb Arab Press said.

They were among thousands who had packed the Hay Nahda stadium on Saturday night.

At least 11 people were killed and 30 wounded after a stampede ensued at the close of an eight-day music festival in Morocco on Saturday night.

It was the last night of the festival that took place in several locations and featured, among others, Australian singer Kylie Minogue, Algerian pop star Khaled and American R&B artists Alicia Keyes and Stevie Wonder

Pakistan intensifies offensive against militants in northwest

About 15,000 to 20,000 civilians remain in the city, but the fighting has not led to civilian casualties, said military spokesman Maj. General Athar Abbas. Tens of thousands of others have fled.
Pakistan intensified its military operation to regain control of the country's northwest from Taliban militants, with fighting focused on the largest city in the Swat Valley on Sunday.
Security forces cleared and secured two important areas in Mingora, he said. One of them is the power station and authorities hope to restore power to the town soon, he added.

Swat Valley, which is close to the border with Afghanistan, was once one of Pakistan's biggest tourist destinations. However the central government has long exerted little control in the area.

As retaliation for the government's military presence, the Taliban carried out a series of deadly attacks, beheadings and destruction of girls' schools.

Earlier this year, Islamabad struck a peace deal with the Taliban. As part of the pact the Taliban was allowed to impose sharia, or Islamic law, in the valley, which among other restrictions, prevents women from being seen in public without their husbands or fathers.

Church of Scotland endorses gay minister's appointment

The 37-year-old's appointment at Queen's Cross Church in Aberdeen, on Scotland's northeast coast, provoked opposition from traditionalist members of the church and has led to fears it could cause a damaging split.
A gay minister at the center of a row about his appointment to a church in a Scottish city said he was "humbled" after the Church of Scotland upheld his appointment.
In a ground-breaking move, the Church's ruling body voted by 326 to 267 in support of the Reverend Scott Rennie, the British Press Association reported Sunday.

In a statement released after Saturday night's vote in the Scottish capital, Rennie said: "I am humbled that the General Assembly has recognized God's call upon my life."

Ewen Gilchrist, interim moderator at Queen's Cross Church, was quoted by PA as saying: "It's a good decision for the General Assembly to have made because it sends out a message that we desire to be welcoming, accepting and inclusive.

Man who spent 22 years on death row is cleared

WASHINGTON (CNN)

House had been scheduled to be executed next month for the 1985 murder of Carolyn Muncey. He had been on death row for 22 years but was released on bail last year. He has multiple sclerosis and must use a wheelchair.

A former death row inmate in Tennessee has been cleared of murder, three years after the Supreme Court raised repeated questions about his conviction.
State prosecutors on Tuesday asked a judge to drop all charges against Paul House, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to die in 1986. Special Judge Jon Blackwood accepted the request.

House, who was on parole at the time as a sex offender, was questioned by police. He denied any involvement in the crime. He was a friend of Muncey's husband, but claimed he was in his own house several miles away the evening of the murder. But prosecutors found a hole in his alibi, discovering that he had left his home the night of the murder and returned about an hour later with unexplained cuts and bruises.

But Phillips noted the "substantial sentence" House has served as another reason for the charges being dropped now.

Joan Rivers: I stand behind Hitler comment

Comedian Joan Rivers and real estate mogul Donald Trump -- that's a twosome never known for mincing their words.
Among the topics covered: Rivers' long-running war of words with runner-up Annie Duke, her dust-up and make-up with Clint Black and the "reason" she is against same-sex marriage. And the Donald explains why Rivers had what it took to emerge the winner.

King: Joan, in last night's finale, you beat poker champion Annie Duke. You and Annie were still at each other up until the final moments. Let's take a look.

[King shows a video clip from "The Celebrity Apprentice"]

Annie Duke: I do not know a boardroom in this country where someone would be allowed to say that someone would spit on the ground and drown their mother in it, where someone would be allowed to call their friends Mafia, where someone would be allowed to say that someone is worse than Hitler. If that happened in a real office...

King: Joanny, where did you come up with that 'worse than Hitler' crack?

Rivers: Oh, I don't know. You know, you're always saying things. Hitler is the worst villain in the world. So when you really get furious at someone, you say, 'Oh, you're a female Hitler' or something, you know? It's just an expression. But I stand behind it.

King: What did she do to you?

Rivers: She was very duplicitous ... there was so much mud-slinging, which I'm not going to go into. I was told she said she wished I would die; she said I was a cancer.

King: What did you make of that squabble

Michael Landon's oldest son found dead

LOS ANGELES, California
The son of actor Michael Landon was found dead in his West Hollywood, California, home Monday afternoon, according to investigators.

There was "no indication of foul play" in the death of Mark Landon, 60, according to the report from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Mark Landon was the son of Dodie Frasier, who married Michael Landon in 1956. The actor adopted the child and his younger brother.

Mark Landon had a few acting credits, playing small roles in three movies, according to the Internet Movie Database.

He played a cab driver in "Us," a film his father directed and starred in just before his death from cancer in 1991.

Michael Landon was once one of Hollywood's biggest TV stars. He is best known for his 14 years as "Little Joe" Cartwright in TV's long-running "Bonanza," and later as Charles Ingalls in nine seasons of "Little House on the Prairie."

Researchers develop printable rubber-like OLED displays

The rubbery display, pictured here on the left, can be stretched to 50% of its normal size, folded in half or crumpled up without incurring any damage, and can also cover complex three-dimensional objects.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have given new meaning to the term flexibility in the context of displays. They’ve developed of a stretchable display connected by organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and organic transistors with a new highly-elastic conductor.

Takao Someya, professor of engineering at the University of Tokyo, and his colleagues created the stretchy electronic circuits using a cheap industrial printing process by spraying carbon nanotubes with a fluoro-rubber compound. Unlike their previous conductor, the new version is significantly more conductive, can stretch to more than twice its original size, and can be printed, according to an article from Nature Materials cited in the Technology Review article. Plus, the printing is cheap, allowing for the organic transistors to cover a large-area and still operate efficiently

Medieval secrets behind Microsoft research

At a Microsoft Research's open day at Cambridge recently, this line was promoted heavily in the keynote speech: fundamental research helps generate brand new technologies that give companies competitive advantages. In some cases, that's unarguable. If Intel shut down its research, it would die overnight. But what would happen if Microsoft stopped doing research? Based on the researchers' demonstrations, the answer is 'not very much'.

The ideas on show in Cambridge, while good and interesting, did not address Microsoft's core problems, nor even any of their minor ones. There was research into ecological systems, into displaying networks of influence, into low-power network hardware, into capturing people's lives as a time line. Try matching those with any known Microsoft strategy — or any conceivable one — in a way that makes compelling sense.

With Intel, you can see the research up on the screen. I've had a briefing from a solid-state physicist on a new transistor design and seen it emerge as a major strand of processor strategy three years later. With Microsoft, it's hard to trace such developments – easier now than it has been, but the link between bright idea and bottom line is very weak.

Military beefs up cyberwar capabilities with games, Linux

A team of cadets spent four days struggling around the clock to establish a computer network and keep it operating while hackers from the National Security Agency in Maryland tried to infiltrate it with methods that an enemy might use. The N.S.A. made the cadets’ task more difficult by planting viruses on some of the equipment, just as real-world hackers have done on millions of computers around the world.
The Defense Dept. is beefing up its cyberwarfare capabilities, as evidenced by the cyberwar games at West Point last month, as the Times reports, but it’s a slow slog.

While the military has embraced offensive cyberwar, the emphasis is still clearly on defense. The cadets in last month’s war games are headed for Afghanistan where they’ll need to set up secure Internet connections in a hurry. And one of the key technologies for doing so is Linux, explained Cadet Brian McCord:

Even so, the military has a long way to go to truly integrate cyberwar consciousness throughout operations. Only 80 students a year graduate from cyberwar schools.

Secretary Robert Gates complained the Pentagon is “desperately short of people who have capabilities in this area in all the services, and we have to address it.”

Will Motorola make T-Mobile's next Google Android phone?

Those of us in the gadget biz feel a little bad for Motorola.

After a huge hit with the Razr, the company just hasn’t seemed to grasp the attention of the fickle U.S. consumer. No matter how many zany handsets the company produces, it remains (along with Nokia) as the has-beens of the U.S. mobile world. The growing popularity of the smartphone only served to underline this.

At this point I’m not willing to guess as to which design cues on this image indicate Motorola influence (rather than HTC, Apple, RIM or Palm), but I am willing to say this: if Motorola hops on the rapidly accelerating Google Android train with gusto, the battle for smartphone glory will become a full-scale war.

But a possible rebirth may be coming. BuyGeniusReport is saying that the successor to the HTC-manufactured T-Mobile G1 smartphone — still the only mobile handset in the wild running Google Android, though not for long — may actually be made by Motorola.

DOJ signals newly vigorous antitrust enforcement

Now, with Google in ascendance, it appears the search boys will receive more attention than they’ve been used to. Reports say Microsoft is prodding the government to look into Google’s dominance of search, advertising and many other area. Microsoft aside, I’d say more scrutiny would be a very good thing.
Sounds like Google — and the rest of the tech industry - can expect a whole lot more antitrust enforcement from the Obama Administration. The New York Times reported that Christine Varney, head of the Justice Department’s Antitrust division, gave a speech today (prepared remarks here) signaling a new, aggressive approach to antitrust.

That’s a drastic change from the policy under the Bush Administration, which Varney said, “lost sight of an ultimate goal of antitrust laws — the protection of consumer welfare.”

Furthermore, the idea that the government should go easy on monopolistic companies is flat-out wrong, Varney said.

There is no adequate substitute for a competitive market, particularly during times of economic distress. Vigorous antitrust enforcement must play a significant role in the government’s response to economic crises to ensure that markets remain competitive.

She didn’t mention any industries specifically, but observers clealy expect more attention to be paid to technology, telecom, energy and health care. Her senior aides include a who’s who of antitrust litigators, many of whom worked in the case against Microsoft during the Clinton Administration

Another racy Prejean photo emerges; site promises more

LOS ANGELES, California
The 21-year-old Miss USA contestant has been the center of controversy since she declared her opposition to same-sex marriage in a response to a question on the national pageant stage last month. She finished as runner-up to Miss USA.

After the appearance of the first photo, the possibility that racier images could emerge prompted "closed-door meetings" Tuesday to consider stripping Prejean of her beauty queen title, pageant spokesman Ron Neal said.

Although Neal said Prejean "breached her contract" by keeping the semi-nude photo or photos a secret, the only pictures published so far appear about as revealing as the bikini Prejean wore in the pageant's swimsuit competition.

The first photo made public shows Prejean -- who said she was 17 at the time -- wearing pink panties and no top. She is turned away from the camera, with her arm hiding most of her breast. The second photo is essentially the same, but Prejean is looking over her opposite shoulder.

Prejean announced last week that she would star in a new $1.5 million ad campaign supporting "opposite marriage" (marriage between a man and a woman) funded by the National Organization for Marriage.

"Marriage is good," Prejean said at a news conference announcing the ad campaign. "There is something special about unions of husband and wife. Unless we bring men and women together, children will not have mothers and fathers."

White House: Obama wants to cut $17B from budget

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama asked Congress on Thursday to eliminate or trim 121 federal programs for a savings of $17 billion in the coming budget year. Many of the proposed cuts have already been rejected by Obama's allies in Congress, including some programs that his predecessor, President George W. Bush, repeatedly sought to end.

White House budget director Peter Orszag said the president's plan for program cuts is just a start and that a lot more needs to be done to dig the government out of its fiscal hole, especially curbing the growth of the Medicare and Medicaid health care programs for the elderly and the poor.
Answering criticism that his cuts were but a drop in a multi-trillion-dollar spending bucket, Obama said: "Some of the cuts we're putting forward today are more painful than others. Some are larger than others. In fact a few of the programs we eliminate will produce less than a million dollars in savings. Outside of Washington, that's still a lot of money."

In a preview, administration officials named a few examples Thursday which mostly represented easy-to-pluck targets, like ending the Education Department's attache in Paris, at a savings of $632,000 a year. Another example: the obsolete LORAN-C marine navigation system, which still gets $35 million a year despite being made obsolete by the satellite-based Global Positioning System.

Thousands flee as fire burns homes in Calif. city

SANTA BARBARA
Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department spokesman Drew Sugars said 5,430 homes were under mandatory evacuation. The estimated population of those homes was 13,575 people, he said. Another 13,000 were warned they may need to evacuate.

A wildfire that burned at least a dozen homes quieted at dawn Thursday, but it was still out of control, thousands of people remained out of their homes and another round of howling winds was expected later in the day.

More fire crews were called in from around the state to battle the blaze that had swelled to 500 acres and forced the evacuation of more than 13,000 people in this scenic coastal city.

At least a dozen homes, some of them mansions, were reduced to rubble but authorities had no precise figure. The flames hopscotched across the canyon homes, burning some while sparing.

Two of the firefighters suffered second- to third-degree burns and could receive skin grafts on Fridaythers.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency, and the National Weather Service issued a "Red Flag" warning for fire danger through Friday morning.

Why Cisco can't call a bottom: Customers are still reeling

Cisco’s third quarter earnings of 30 cents a share excluding items topped Wall Street estimates by 5 cents a share. Revenue of $8.2 billion was down 16.6 percent from a year ago. The takeaway: Cisco has been savvy about managing its costs. Chambers noted that the company is close to exceeding its “stress goal” of lowering its annual expenses by $1.5 billion.

Nevertheless, Cisco’s outlook for the fourth quarter was better than expected. JMP Securities analyst Samuel Wilson said that Cisco quarter was like putting air into a flat tire. When a rebound does eventually occur Cisco will be rolling.

Cisco’s third quarter earnings were solid courtesy of savvy expense management, but CEO John Chambers refrained from calling a bottom. A deep dive into Cisco’s customer trends reveal why: Most of the company’s growth markets—India, emerging markets and advanced technologies–are still reeling.

U.N. probe blames Israel for deaths during Gaza offensive

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The Israeli government is responsible for deaths and more than $10 million in damage to U.N. buildings during the recent military offensive in Gaza, a U.N. committee said in a report.

"The government of Israel has informed me that it has reservations and objections to elements of the summary," Moon said. "At the same time, I am pleased that the Israeli government has agreed to meet United Nations officials to address some of the board's recommendations."

"The board found that the government of Israel is responsible for the deaths and injuries that occurred within the United Nations premises and the physical damage that was done to United Nations' premises," the report stated. "The board found that the United Nations Relief Works Agency sustained losses and damage to property with a total estimated repair and replacement cost of over $10.4 million."

Israel has said that its military incursion into Gaza in December and January was aimed at Palestinian militants, primarily members of Hamas.

In April, Israeli officials said the military had conducted its own investigation of the fighting and concluded that its forces did not break international law. 

Source: No charges seen over interrogation memos

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration decided last month to make public legal memos authorizing the use of harsh interrogation methods but not to prosecute CIA interrogators who followed the advice outlined in the memos.

Justice Department investigators say Bush administration lawyers who approved harsh interrogation techniques of terror suspects should not face criminal charges, according to a draft report that also recommends two of the three attorneys face possible professional sanctions.

Officials conducting the internal Justice Department inquiry into the lawyers who wrote those memos have recommended referring two of the three lawyers — John Yoo and Jay Bybee — to state bar associations for possible disciplinary action, according to a person familiar with the inquiry. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity, was not authorized to discuss the inquiry.

The memos were written as the Bush administration grappled with the fear and uncertainty following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Over the years that followed, lawyers re-examined and rewrote much of the legal advice.

Investigators also shared a draft copy with the CIA to review whether the findings contained any classified information. According to the letter, the CIA then requested to comment on the report.

Obama to press Pakistan on fight against Taliban

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama wants Pakistan to step up its commitment to fighting Taliban militants who are growing in strength and compromising vital U.S. interests.

"The president is deeply concerned about the security situation," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday. "That's why we're sending additional troops to Afghanistan and that's why we'll talk with both the Afghans and the Pakistanis about our renewed commitment in helping them seek the aid that they need to address those extremists."

In meetings at the White House on Wednesday, Obama will press Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to do more against the Taliban, which recently has alarmed the U.S. and its allies by striking out from strongholds on the Pakistani-Afghan border to areas closer to the capital of Islamabad. Obama also will seek renewed commitment from Afghan President Hamid Karzai to better coordinate operations with Pakistan and the U.S., which will expand its military presence in Afghanistan under the president's revised war strategy against the Taliban.

On Thursday, other top Obama officials will meet separately with their counterparts from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Those include Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Attorney General Eric Holder and FBI Director Robert Mueller.