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Posted at 3:29 p.m., Tuesday, July 3, 2007

National & world news highlights

Associated Press

Experts say evidence points to multinational terror group hatching car bomb plot in Britain

LONDON — They had diverse backgrounds, coming from countries around the globe, but all shared youth and worked in medicine. They also had a common goal, authorities suspect: to bring havoc and death to the heart of Britain.

The eight people held Tuesday in the failed car bombing plot include one doctor from Iraq and two from India. There is a physician from Lebanon and a Jordanian doctor and his medical assistant wife. Another doctor and a medical student are thought to be from the Middle East.

All employees of the United Kingdom's National Health Service, some worked together as colleagues at hospitals in England and Scotland, and experts and officials say the evidence points to the plot being hatched after they met in Britain, rather than overseas.

"To think that these guys were a sleeper cell and somehow were able to plan this operation from the different places they were, and then orchestrate being hired by the NHS so they could get to the UK, then get jobs in the same area — I think that's a planning impossibility," said Bob Ayres, a former U.S. intelligence officer now at London's Chatham House think tank.

"A much more likely scenario is they were here together, they discovered that they shared some common ideology, and then they decided to act on this while here in the UK," he said.

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Bush won't rule out eventual pardon for Libby, defends sentence commutation

WASHINGTON — President Bush on Tuesday refused to rule out an eventual pardon for I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, leaving open the chance he may wipe away the former White House aide's criminal record after already erasing his prison sentence.

"I rule nothing in or nothing out," Bush said when asked about whether he might pardon Libby before leaving office in January 2009.

The president's stance, on one level, was merely practical. When he commuted Libby's 2 1/2-year prison term in the CIA leak case on Monday, a court ruling had made jail time imminent. Bush has plenty of time to consider a pardon, depending on how Libby's appeals go.

Bush's words had political significance, too. By keeping his options open, he offered hope to the conservative members of his own party who believe he should go further in pardoning Libby. He also kept alive a controversy that could follow him to the last day of his presidency.

Libby, who once wielded enormous influence as chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted of lying and obstructing justice in a probe into the leak of a CIA operative's identity. The long-running case meant the end of Libby's government career and dovetailed with the broader troubles of Bush's second term in office.

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AP Interview: Clinton sees differences between Libby, husband's pardons

KEOKUK, Iowa — Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton drew a distinction between President Bush's decision to commute the sentence of White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby — which she has harshly criticized — and her husband's 140 pardons in his closing hours in office.

"I believe that presidential pardon authority is available to any president, and almost all presidents have exercised it," Clinton said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "This (the Libby decision) was clearly an effort to protect the White House. ... There isn't any doubt now, what we know is that Libby was carrying out the implicit or explicit wishes of the vice president, or maybe the president as well, in the further effort to stifle dissent."

Libby, a former chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney, had been sentenced to 30 months in prison as well as two years' probation and a $250,000 fine for perjury in connection with the leaking of CIA agent Valerie Plane's name to reporters.

Just hours after a federal appeals court rejected Libby's appeal, Bush announced his decision to commute the prison term portion of the sentence, which he labeled excessive.

As she campaigns with her husband for Iowa's leadoff precinct caucuses, Clinton has joined other Democrats in ripping Bush's decision. In the interview, she said it was "one more example" of the Bush administration thinking "it is above the rule of law."

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Giuliani raises $15 million, Romney collects $14 million in second quarter

WASHINGTON — Republican Rudy Giuliani's presidential campaign reported an estimated $15 million in primary election contributions from April through June and Mitt Romney trailed closely behind with $14 million raised.

Romney, the wealthiest candidate in the presidential field, also tapped his personal bank account for an extra $6.5 million.

Giuliani raised more than $17 million during the quarter, the campaign said, but about $2 million was for the general election — money he can only use if he wins the GOP nomination.

The campaign had an estimated $15 million cash on hand for the primary and about $3 million set aside for the general election.

Overall, Giuliani saw an increase in his fundraising over the first quarter, when he reported nearly $16 million in contributions. About $1 million of that sum was for the general election.

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Official: Man has less severe form of TB than previously thought

DENVER — New tests show the globe-trotting American lawyer who caused an international health scare by traveling with a dangerous form of tuberculosis has a less severe form of the disease, doctors said Tuesday.

The dramatic announcement from the doctors treating Andrew Speaker raised immediate questions about the accuracy of the diagnosis by U.S. government health officials who had ordered Speaker quarantined in May.

But the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stood by its earlier test and its action to isolate Speaker. And both Speaker's doctor in Denver and an official with the CDC who appeared at a news conference here said the public health response should be the same to both forms of drug-resistant TB.

"The public health actions that CDC took in this case, and are continuing to take, are sound and appropriate," said Dr. Mitchell Cohen.

For the patient himself, the news that he apparently has a more treatable form of TB means he may avoid surgery and has a much better chance for a cure.

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Methane gas accident kills 5 on Virginia dairy farm; noxious fumes accumulated in manure pit

BRIDGEWATER, Va. — Deadly methane gas emanating from a dairy farm's manure pit killed five people — a Mennonite farmer who climbed into the pit to unclog a pipe, and then in frantic rescue attempt that failed, his wife, two young daughters and a farmhand who tried to help.

"They all climbed into the pit to help," Sheriff Donald Farley said. "Before they hit the floor, they were probably all dead."

Farmers typically take pains to ventilate manure pits where methane often gathers. A family member questioned whether cattle feed could have trickled into the pit and accelerated the formation of the gas.

"You cannot smell it, you cannot see it, but it's an instant kill," explained Dan Brubaker, a family friend who oversaw the construction of the pit decades earlier.

Scott Showalter, 34, apparently was transferring manure from one small pit to a larger holding pond on Monday evening, the sheriff said.

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Study suggests small amount of dark chocolate seems to lower blood pressure

CHICAGO — Here's some good and bad news for chocoholics: Dark chocolate seems to lower blood pressure, but it requires an amount less than two Hershey's Kisses to do it, a small study suggests. The new research from Germany adds to mounting evidence linking dark chocolate with health benefits, but it's the first to suggest that just a tiny amount may suffice.

Volunteers for the study ate just over 6 grams of dark chocolate daily for almost five months — one square from a German chocolate bar called Ritter Sport, equal to about 1 1/2 Hershey's Kisses. People who ate that amount ended up with lower blood pressure readings than those who ate white chocolate.

University of Cologne researcher Dr. Dirk Taubert, the study's lead author, said the blood pressure reductions with dark chocolate were small but still substantial enough to potentially reduce cardiovascular disease risks, although study volunteers weren't followed long enough to measure that effect.

The research involved just 44 people aged 56 through 73, but the results echo other small studies of cocoa-containing foods. Cocoa contains flavanols, plant-based compounds that also are credited with giving red wine its heart-healthy benefits.

One problem is chocolate bars containing cocoa tend to have lots of calories, so Taubert and his colleagues tested small amounts containing just 30 calories each.

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Katie Holmes, Rosie O'Donnell among names on OK! magazine's list of most influential celebs

NEW YORK — Katie Holmes, Rosie O'Donnell and Anna Nicole Smith's baby daughter, Dannielynn, are among the boldface names on OK! magazine's list of "most influential" celebrities.

The list of 19 famous faces, which appears in the magazine's latest issue, on newsstands Friday, was separated by editors into six categories: beauty queens, style setters, entertainers, newsmakers, survivors and body shapers.

OK! named Holmes, the 28-year-old wife of Tom Cruise and mother of their 1-year-old daughter, Suri, a beauty queen because of her "refreshing girl-next-door look" and sporty cropped haircut. Beyonce and Jennifer Lopez also made the cut.

O'Donnell, who brought ratings and controversy during her tumultuous tenure on ABC's "The View," made the list of newsmakers, as did Hollywood supercouple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and "Grey's Anatomy" star T.R. Knight. Knight announced he was gay after it surfaced that Isaiah Washington had used an anti-gay slur against him during an on-set clash with a co-star.

The youngest celebrity on the list: 10-month-old Dannielynn Hope, who was recognized as a survivor because she has been "at the center of Hollywood's most controversial tragedies," the magazine said. Her mother, Anna Nicole Smith, died in Florida in February. A bitter paternity dispute between Howard K. Stern and Larry Birkhead was put to rest months later when Birkhead showed he was Dannielynn's father.

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Chestnut, Kobayashi prepare to gorge for hot-dog eating championship

NEW YORK — They stood toe to toe, eye to eye, and — most importantly — jaw to injured jaw. Six-time defending champion Takeru Kobayashi, still unable to open his mouth wide enough for a typical teeth cleaning, joined favorite Joey Chestnut at a Tuesday weigh-in before their Fourth of July hot-dog-eating showdown in Coney Island.

The Japanese title holder declared himself ready to gorge, dismissing suggestions by skeptics that his stiff jaw was nothing more than hot dog head games aimed at rattling world record holder Chestnut.

"I don't care what they think," the 29-year-old said through an interpreter. "I just want to battle tomorrow."

Since going public with his ailment last month, Kobayashi underwent treatment by a specialist and a chiropractor. Event organizers said he also had a wisdom tooth extracted June 26 to relieve what they described as "jaw-thritis."

The slender Kobayashi weighed in at 154 pounds. Chestnut, 23, came in at 215 pounds and added his voice to those unsure what to expect from the champion. "Kobayashi is the underdog," he said, "and he's claiming an illness."

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Rockies closer Brian Fuentes voted All-Star but loses job in same week

DENVER — Good thing for Brian Fuentes that the All-Star votes were already counted. After becoming the first closer in nearly 20 years to blow four straight save chances, the Colorado Rockies reliever was picked for the NL All-Star team.

The struggles also cost Fuentes his job, at least temporarily. Manager Clint Hurdle decided to go with a committee of closers and work in Fuentes when he can pitch in less stressful situations. "I've had 10 good weeks and one bad week," Fuentes said. "It's been a real bad week, but that's the way it goes. Everybody has down times."

Not since the New York Yankees' Dave Righetti in 1988 had a major league closer failed four times in a row. Fuentes lost half of the games on the Rockies' eight-game skid through Toronto, Chicago and Houston.

Before the trip, Fuentes had never blown consecutive chances at a save. He converted 20 of his first 22 chances before things fell apart.