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Show Saturday, April 8, 2006 DAILY Mori HERALD mmlEFINli AS FAST FACT In the three waves of the 1918-1- 9 Flu Epidemic, at least 20 million people succumbed. Many estimates run as high as 30 million dead. Coming on the heals of World War I, where only 1 0 million died, the pandemic spread more quickly and widely because of soorce TheBookofi.ooounvBQuesiioos the large troop movements of the time. Compiled from Daily Herald wire services The Nation The WORLD Ambassador's car petted by eggs in Venezuela 41 IAEA head CARACAS, Venezuela Supporters of President Hugo Chavez threw eggs and fruit at the U.S. ambassador's car Friday and motorcyclists chased his convoy for miles, at times pounding on the vehicles. The U.S. State Department swiftly accused Caracas city officials of complicity. Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez was summoned to the State Depart- ment in Washington and told that Venezuela was in violation of an international convention that requires host countries to ensure the safety of foreign diplomats, department spokesman Sean McCor-mac- to visit Iran to seek nuke concessions VIENNA, Austria Shrugging off U.S. opposition, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency will . k said. Brian Perm, spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, said Venezuelan police escorts did not intervene as a car carrying Ambassador William U .55S - -- ... -- , -- Brownfield was pounded and pelted. No one was hurt. " Hamas-le- d Cabinet says it will work with Abbas . JAE S. LEEThe Tennessean that collapsed after a tornado ripped through the area along highway 49 in Dickson County, Tenn., is shown Friday. At least seven people were killed Friday when severe thunderstorms and tornadoes swept across central Tennessee, tearing off roofs, knocking down power lines, flipping cars and causing critical injuries, authorities said. A store GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip Israeli aircraft fired missiles into a car carrying Palestinian militants Friday, killing six people including a bombmaker and his daughter, in the deadliest Israeli attack Palestinsince the Hamas-leian government took office. The air strike in the southern Gaza town of Rafah came as the Palestinian prime minister, Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, d and moderate President Abbas met to try to settle some of their growing differences. Earlier this week, Abbas' seized more powers from the Islamic militants, including control over security forces. Abbas and Haniyeh agreed to set up a liaison committee and to work together to resolve the looming Palestinian financial crisis, the men said after the meeting. d Tornadoes sweep through Tennessee Bush, GOP hit new TorNASHVILLE, Tenn. nadoes and severe thunderstorms struck Tennessee on Friday afternoon, killing at least seven people, peeling away roofs and flipping cars over, officials said. All seven deaths were in Sumner County northeast of t, Nashville, said Eddie spokesman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. Fire Chief Joe Womack said three bodies were pulled from the wreckage of homes in a subdivision of Gallatin, about 24 miles northeast of Nashville. Tornadoes were also reported in the Nashville suburbs of Goodlettsville, Hendersonville and Ashland City, and in about 90 miles west of Nashville. The storms flattened trees, knocked down power lines and damaged homes and other buildings. lows in public opinion PresiWASHINGTON dent Bush has hit new lows in public opinion for his handling of Iraq and the war on terror and for his overall job performance. Polling also shows the Republican Party surrendering its advantage on national security. The survey is loaded with grim election: year news for a party struggling to stay in power. Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe the nation is headed in the wrong direction the 1 largest percentage during the AP GERALD HERBERT Bush presidency and up 13 President Bush has hit new points from a year ago. "These numbers are scary. lows in public opinion for his handling of Iraq and Wejve lost every advantage we've ever had," GOP pollthe war on terror. ster Tony Fabrizio said. "The good news is Democrats don't have much of a plan. The bad news is they may not need one." Democratic leaders predicted they will seize control of one or both chambers of Congress inNovember. Republicans said they feared the worst unless the political landscape quickly changes. AP-Ips- Hol-lada- r Mom found not guilty by reason of insanity , Mah-mou- Denver transit workers Boat-wrigh- A McKINNEY, Texas mother charged with murder for cutting off her baby daughter's arms in what her lawyers portrayed as a religious frenzy was found not guilty by reason of insanity Friday by a judge. Dena Schlosser, 38, will be sent to a state mental hospital and held until she is no longer deemed a threat to herself or others. "My own expectation is that she will remain at the hospital for many, many years," defense attorney. David Haynes ' said. Police arrested Schlosser in 2004 after she told a 911 operator she had severed her baby's arms. Officers found the baby, Margaret, near death in her crib and Schlosser covered in blood, holding a knife and listening to a hymn. In issuing the verdict, Judge Chris Oldner said Schlosser had met the legal standard for insanity, but did not elaborate. an hour before authorities arrived, but he said he did not have details. By that time, the boy's mother had died, he said. ' Police investigate response to boy's 911 call DETROIT A v boy called 911 to report that his mother had collapsed in their apartment, but an operator told him he should not be playing on the phone, and she died before help arrived. The family of Sherrill Turner, 46, does not know whether a swifter response could have saved her life, but relatives want to know why the operator apparently treated the call as if it were a prank. Police said the 911 response was under investigation. Turner's son, Robert, placed two calls to 911 after his . Jjk mother collapsed Feb. 20 on the kitchen floor. During one of the calls, an operator said: "You shouldn't be playing on the phone." In a tape of the call, parts of which were broadcast by Detroit-are- a television stations, the operator said: "Now put her on the phone before I send the police out there to knock on the door and you gonna be in trouble." Delaina Patterson, the eldest of Turner's 10 children, said police did not arrive until three hours later. She said only Robert and his mother were home at the time. Detroit police spokesman James Tate said it was at least approve new contract DENVER Striking bus drivers, train operators and mechanics overwhelmingly approved a new contract with the mass transit system's operator Friday, setting the stage to end the Denver area's first transit strike in 24 years. Union Local 1001 President Yvette Salazar said the revised offer was approved by 82 percent of the workers who voted. If the contract is finalized as expected by the Regional Transportation District's executive board Saturday, the workers will be back on the job Monday to ease transportation woes for thousands of commuters. "We think there may be a bit of a healing period, but we know that our workers have shown time and time again that they are very committed to their passengers and the public," transit agency spokesman Scott Reed said. "We believe this chapter will close soon." Study: 911 survivors have psychological, respiratory problems NEW YORK A majority of survivors of the 2001 attacks that destroyed the World Trade Center suffered from respiratory ailments and depression, anxiety and other psychological problems up to three years later, federal health officials said Friday. The people who escaped from collapsed or damaged buildings on Sept. 11, 2001, were several times as likely to suffer from breathing problems or psychological trauma if they were caught in the cloud of trade center dust and debris that covered lower Manhattan, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. "The trauma of being caught in the cloud itself, the whole experience had an impact on their ... psychological health later on," said Dr. Robert M. Brack-bil- l, a CDC doctor working with the World Trade Center Health Registry, which has been tracking the health of more than 71,000 people who worked at ground zero or were in the area on Sept. 11. ' Spain's Supreme Court throws out convictions MADRID, Spain Spain's" Supreme Court on Friday threw out the convictions of three men found guilty last year of being part of an group after prosecutors agreed there was not sufficient evidence to jail them, a court official said. Driss Chebli, The men Sadik Merizak and Abdelaziz Benyaich had received sentences of between six and Chebli for coleight years laboration with an linked terror group, and the others for belonging to a terror organization. They were among 18 people convicted in trial last vear a linked to the Sept. 11.2001. attacks. Prosecutors this week acknowledged there was not sufficient evidence to jail the three and the Supreme Court agreed, said the court official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because his office's ground rules prohibit him from being identified. high-profi- Lawyer argues to let suspect represent self GUANTANAMOBAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba An alleged bodyguard of Osama bin Laden, who says his U.S. military counsel is the enemy, should be allowed to represent himself at his trial here, the lawyer argued Friday. The judge has said commis-- ' sion rules require defendants to have a military lawyer. But Army Maj. Tom Fleener said go to Tehran next week in hopes of securing nuclear concessions from the Iranian leadership, diplomats and officials said Friday. While the trip was meant to defuse tensions generated by fears Iran could be seeking atomic weapons, a partial success by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei could exacer- bate differences among the five permanent members of the U.N. . Security Council and derail U.S. hopes of f irm action against Tehran. Iran could commit to meet some Security Council requests while falling short of demands to freeze uranium; enrichment, a possible pathway to nuclear arms. That could placate Russia and China, which oppose tough anti-Ira- n moves, but fall.short of full compliance sought by the United States. France and Britain. The five countries wield veto power as permanent Security Council members. the judge has the power to grant Ali Hamza Ahmad S1" the autl jrity layman to represent himself because it is a fundamental rij;K.. this week Pretrial h . and three other for Guantanamo Bay detainees captured in the Bush administration's war on terror have been encumbered by procedural ambiguities, foreshadowing lengthy trials when they finally get under way. was absent from the courtroom during the ex- change. Gypsies still most discriminated-agains- people, EU t center says VIENNA. Austria Gypsies remain among Europe's most discriminated-agains- t people, the European Union's racism watchdog agency said Friday on the international remembrance day for Gypsies. Gypsies, who prefer to be known as Roma, are routinely denied jobs, housing, education and health care, said the Vienna-base- d EU Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia. The center's director. Beats Winkler, said Gypsies living in many of the EL "s 25 mem- ber states suffer "systematic discrimination.'' and she called for a more intensive effort and greater political will to eliminate the bias and help lift Europe's Gypsy communities out of poverty. An estimated 6.2 mil- lion Gypsies live in Europe about 4.6 million of them in central and eastern Europe according to estimates by the International Organization for Migration. Golden retriever caught after 2 years of hunts SatelSTRATHAM, N.H. lite tracking, helicopter surveillance and dart guns failed. In the end, it was a ham dinner d net and a that brought a golden retriever named Sam in from the cold after two years on the run. Until this week, "he was winning 200 to 1," said Steve SprowL one of the experts who took part in hunt for the dog who earned the nickname "Golden Ghost." Raiding garbages and winning handouts from neighbors, the dog survived two winters, deer hunting season and a blow from a car. Peg and Dennis Sklarski got Sam in 2004, after he was rescued from a life inside a chain-lin- k fence. They had him only three weeks when Sam got loose. remote-controlle- DAVE Triker pit stop ' WATSONThe Daily Times 4 make-believ- e fuel station during the Quintano Charley "gasses up' his bike at a n at the San Juan College Child and Family Development Center in second annual in Farmington, N.M., on Friday. Children participating the event received pledges for riding laps to raise money for the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Three-year-o- ld Trike-A-Tho- MARCO VASINI, Associated Press Toddler's vigil A young boy holds a candle during a vigil in memory old boy who was of Tommaso Onofrio, the 1 killed shortly after being kidnapped from his home in Casalbaroncolo last March, in Tizzano Vol Parma, near Parma, northern Italy, on Friday. The funefal of Tommaso is scheduled for today. |