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Show e655 5555555555 8S et meee ee oe eve eee eee Sassaez ' DAILY Friday, March 10, 2006 HERALD MORNING BRIEFING | Compiled from Daily Herald wire services VE 7 FAST FACT ‘When he retired from boxing in 1956, heavy-weight champion Rocky Marciano had a professionalrecord of 49victories and no defeats or draws. He had held the world championshipfor four years. He was the only heavyweight boxing champion to endhis career undefeated. Source: The Book of 1,001 Trivia Questions The NATION The WORLD Homeof IRA's alleged chief raided HACKBALLSCROSS,Ire- land — Police, soldiers and customs officials from both partsof Ireland launched a dawnraid Thursday focused on the border homeofthe Irish Republican Army'salleged chief astaff, Thomas “Slab” Backed by British and Irish troops, more than 300 officers from the Garda Siochana,the RepublicofIreland's national police, and the Police Service of NorthernIreland raided nine propertiesin therolling borderland of South Armagh and North Louth, an area nicknamed “bandit country” because ofits history as the IRA’s rural power base. Superintendent Kevin Donohoe, spokesmanfor the Garda Siochana,said police had seized about $250,000 in cash, 30,000 cigarettes, 2,000 gallons of vehicle fuel, two shotguns, computersandfinancialrecords. Donohoe refused to an- swerany questions specifically about Murphy. ANKARA, Turkey — A bombsetoff by a suspected Thursday killed two people 4 veneparliament March 19, one week past the constitutional deadline, marking an apparent compromisein the battle over South Dakotans rally Yor, against abortion ban SIOUX FALLS,S.D. — Dem- onstrators on bothsides of the abortion debaterallied in two South Dakotacities Thursday, respon to their state’s enact- mentofa law that would ban nearly all abortions. Protests against the law also took place in several otherstates, organized by Planned Parenthood. In Sioux Falls, where Planned Parenthood operates South Dakota's only abortionclinic, more than 200 abortion-rights _ supporters gathered in front of the federal courthouse. The speechesat times were hard to hear,in part because of motor- ists respondingto signs that urged, “Honk for Choice.” FBI: Moussaoui’s lies hamperedinvestigation ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The FBIagent who arrested Zacarjas Moussaoui in August 2001 testified Thursday he suspected the studentpilot from France Cartoonists draw strip for colleague with cancer A cartoonist whosevisionis threatened by a tumoris getting some help from his fellow comicstrip artists. Rob Harrell, whose “Big Top” strip about an eccentric cast of circus animals appearsin about 40 newspapers,is recovering from surgery to removethe tumor. He hated the thought of running old cartoons,so artists such bee oe Davis of “Garfield” and “Ziggy” creator tomWilson stepped in to draw “Big Top” for him. “It's one of the nicest things that people|have ever donefor me,” said the 37-year-old Harrell, Syndicate. Harrell’s operation came up so fast he was unable to create a stockof strips to run while was terrorist, but that Moussaoui’slies sent agents on “wild goose chases” awayfrom his links to al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden. Harry Samittestified thelies sent aca futilely searching London — the hamelisted on Moussaoui’s passport — for associates he claimed had given him money, but that Moussaoui never mentioned the alias used by RamziBinalshibh, an al-Qaida operative, to wire him cash from Germany. Remains of frozen airman identified A 22-year-old aviation cadet from Minnesota has been identified as the one whose body was found entombed in a glacier in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in October. Military representatives said Thursdaythat the remains discovered by hikers belonged to Leo MustonenofBrainard, Minn. Hewas oneof four crewman aboardan ill-fated training flight in an AT-7 Navigator that took off from Mather Field in Sacramentoin November 1942 and neverreturned. The plane wreckage was foundbyhikersin 1947 in the mountain range in Fresno ‘ Count te modern technology, including DNA,the military was able to identify the new remains,still garbed in a wool sweater. One dead in fire; storms tear off roofs in South LITTLE ROCK,Ark. — Storms moving across the southern Plains on Thursday ‘ought winds sti enough torpor nowet ee ireneGale ningsparked fire killed a man. Southern Oklahoma had baseball-sized hail and surrounding states saw heavy rain as the front movedeast across the MississippiRiver. AroundLittle Rock,the high windrolled over a mobile home and damaged about a dozen other homes, andtrees and powerlines were down around the state. Road signs werereported bent in Johnson County, in northwestern Arkansas. A 78-mpli gust was reported in the northeastern part ofthestate. : Military contractor defrauded cae ALEXANDRIA, Va. — federal jury Thursday Sxdered military contractor Custer Battles to pay nearly $10 million in damagesand penalties for defrauding the government onits workin Iraq. “Americans arefighting and dyingin Iraq,” said Alan Gray- son,the lead attorney for two whistleblowers who brought the'civil suit on behalf of the government.“Companieslike Custer Battles go there with the idea of stuffing their pockets with cash. This jury ofeight people heard the evidence and were repelled byit.” The jury's decision followed a contentious three-weektrial eae chargesthat Custer Battles fakeinvoices, forgery and shell companies in the Cayman Islands to run up millions of dollarsin profits. Kurdish suicide bomber and injured 19 in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast, local officials said. Police Chief Tacettin Kurt said police officer, a civilian and an unidentified manwerekilled, and seven a second term for Shiite Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari. Shiite legislators Khaled al-Attiyah and KhudayeralKhuzai told The Associated Pressthat the request had been delivered to Talabani, who on Sunday had soughtto issue a decree that would havecalled the parliamentinto session on ous condition. Mustafa Yavuz, the deputy governorof Van, where the attack took place, said the bodyof the unidentified man was torn apart,leadi police to suspect he was a suicide bomber. “It is 99 percentlikely to March 12,as spelled outin the be a suicide attack,” Yavuz cree as required by law. Vice Junichi Nakamura worksona tail of a mermaidin therealistic multi-block piece “Mysterious Pearl”at the Ice Alaska World Ice Art Championshipsin Fairbanks, Alaska. Injures 19 in Turkey BAGHDAD,Iraq — Shiite Muslim politicians said Thurs- constitution. Talabani's move was blocked whenoneoftwo vice presidents — a Shiite — initially refused to co-sign the de- Ice art Bombblastkills 2, Shiites want parliament to convene March 19 day they had askedPresident Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, to con- JOHN HAGEN/Fairanks Daily News-Miner ‘Anatolia News Agency Aman helpsaninjured person after an explosion in the southeastern dty of Van, Turkey, on Thursday, President Adil Abdul-Mahdi relented Wednesday,but the issuestill faced heated opposition from other Shiite political forces, especially in the powerful bloc loyal-to radical Genie Mugtada al-Sadr. Bird flu virus foundin marten in Germany BERLIN — A weasel-like animal called a stone marten was infected with the deadly bird flu virus, marking the disease’s spread to another mammal species, a German laboratory said Thursday. The sickly animal was found on the north German island of Ruegen,where three cats and dozens ofwild birds have beeninfected with the disease, the agriculture ministry of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomeraniasaid. little less than-twofeet in length, stone martens have long bushytails and prey on squirrels, birds and eggs. They have brownfur with a patch of white ontheir chest. Israel will draw border with West Bank by 2010 JERUSALEM Israel will drawits final borders by 2010, of the injured werein seri- said. ——S CNN-Turktelevision, quotingpolice, said secu- rity forces in Van hadreceivedintelligence reports a monthagothat three suicide bombers wereplan-, ning attacks in the city. Yavuz would not confirm that report, saying only that “security forces re- ceived several intelligence reports, all of which were assessed carefully.” The Anatolia news agency said police had beensearching for three suspected bombplotters, a Turkish woman and two Syrians.Investigators were trying to determine whether Thursday's bomber was oneof the Syrians, Anatolia said. neers | acting Prime Minister Ehud 21 students and twoaides published Thursday, for the first time setting a deadline for governmentofficial said Vilpail had made “paranoiac demands.” No one was injured. pullback. Muslim fundamentalist convicted in absentia turns himself in Olmert said in an interview whatis expected to be a unilateral large-scale West Bank Olmert, whose KadimaParty is the front-runnerin March 28 elections, has beenincreasingly forthcoming abouthis agenda in recentdays to stop a gradual slide in the polls. Olmert's agenda also includes a plan for an expanded Jerusalem thatalarms Palestinians, connecting the West Bank’slargest settlement to the disputed city with new Jewish housing — a plan the U.S. opposes. Former teacher who held hostagein France surrenders peacefully SABLE-SUR-SARTHE, France — A former teacher armed with a handgun that fires rubberbullets surrendered peacefully Thursday after taking nearly two dozen people — mostly students — hostagein a classroom at his former schoolin western France,officials said. Nicolas Vilpail, 33, was on medication and apparently underthe influenceofalcohol during the four hours he held captive, authorities said. A KUWAIT CITY — A Muslim fundamentalist convicted in absentia and sentenced to 10 yearsin prison for belonging toa terrorist group has turned himself in to an appeals court hearing the case. Mishaal al-Shimmiri was sitting among spectatorsin the courtroom Wednesday whenhis lawyer approached the bench andtold the judge thathis client wouldlike to turn himself in. Judge Ibrahim: al-Obaid asked the bearded al-Shimmiriif he accepted the jail term handed downby the lowercourt andif he wanted to appeal. Al-Shimmirisaid he would appeal and returned to his seat. Al-Obaid ruled that alShimmiri should be taken into custody. A criminal court convicted six Kuwaitis andstateless Arabs ofjoining the “Lions of the Peninsula” group and sentenced themto death in December. Another defendant was givena life sentence. Court: Berkeley can charge Scouts for boats SAN FRANCISCO — Ina unanimous decision against a division of the Boy Scouts, the California Supreme Court Thursdaythat recipients of government subsidies may be required to provide “written, unambiguous assurances” of compliance with nondiscrimination policies. The case pitted Berkeley, Calif., against the Sea Scouts in a dispute over Scout memberees lay that bar gays and iving the Boy Scouts DAVID MERCADO/Reuters the group ‘was out of compares with city policies. Plane crash dahaane Bolivian rescue personnel gather near plane crash site in Keluyo, some 22 miles in the outskirts tine military officials were killed when their plane crashed as was oj airport near La Paz, when the plane disintegrated soonafter leaving the runway. There were sixpeople on * |