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Updated at 4:43 p.m., Thursday, March 8, 2007

National and world news highlights

Associated Press

Congressional Democrats unveil plan to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq by fall of 2008

WASHINGTON — In a direct challenge to President Bush, House Democrats unveiled legislation Thursday requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year. The White House said Bush would veto it.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the deadline would be added to legislation providing nearly $100 billion the Bush administration has requested for fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

She told reporters the measure would mark the first time the new Democratic-controlled Congress has established a "date certain" for the end of U.S. combat in the four-year-old war that has claimed the lives of more than 3,100 U.S. troops.

Senior White House adviser Dan Bartlett, accompanying Bush on a flight to Latin America, told reporters, "It's safe to say it's a nonstarter fot the president."

Within an hour of Pelosi's news conference, House Republican Leader John Boehner attacked the measure. He said Democrats were proposing legislation that amounted to "establishing and telegraphing to our enemy a timetable" that would result in failure of the U.S. military mission in Iraq.

U.S., Iraqi forces capture 8 suspected insurgents in raids north of Baghdad

BAGHDAD — U.S. and Iraqi troops captured eight suspected insurgents Thursday in raids north of Baghdad as part of a campaign to prevent insurgents from regrouping outside the city during the ongoing security crackdown.

The operation took place in Duluiyah and the Jabouri peninsula — a bend in the Tigris River about 55 miles north of Baghdad — part of the Sunni areas around Baghdad where insurgents have fled since the crackdown in the capital began last month.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, said the security operation would be extended beyond the city limits to target these areas, which he referred to as "the Baghdad belt."

"The priority clearly is Baghdad, (but) anyone who knows about security in Baghdad knows you must also secure the 'Baghdad belts' — in other words the areas that surround Baghdad," Petraeus told reporters at his first news conference since taking command last month.

Petraeus declined to specify how long the security operation would last but said it would continue as long as necessary "to achieve its desired effect."

Bush seeks to improve relations in Latin America during 6-day tour

SAO PAULO, Brazil — President Bush sought to reverse an impression of U.S. neglect as he opened a six-day tour of Latin America on Thursday. Street protests awaited him.

Bush's trip was intended to promote democracy, increased trade and cooperation on alternative fuels. The president and his advisers also hoped his visit would offset the growing influence of leftist leaders, such as Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

As he flew here on Air Force One, Bush's national security adviser brushed aside Chavez's provocations. "The president is going to do what he's been doing for a long time: talk about a positive agenda," said Stephen Hadley.

Thousands of students, environmentalists and other protesters, some waving communist flags, gathered in the business district of South America's largest city ahead of Bush's arrival. And in the southern city of Porto Alegre, more than 500 people yelled "Get Out, Imperialist!" as they burned an effigy of Bush outside a Citigroup Inc. bank branch.

Meanwhile, the police commander of Colombia, which Bush will visit on Sunday, said authorities had thwarted leftist rebel plans to disrupt Bush's visit to Bogota. "We have taken measures to neutralize them," said Gen. Jorge Daniel Castro, Colombia's highest-ranking police officer.

N.Y. mosque leaders sentenced to 15 years for role in money laundering scheme

ALBANY, N.Y. — Two leaders of an Albany mosque who were snared in an FBI sting involving a fictional terror strike were sentenced Thursday to 15 years in federal prison. The former imam, Yassin Aref, professed innocence before his sentencing and criticized the government's treatment of Muslims.

"I never had any intention to harm anyone in this country," said Aref, a 36-year-old Kurdish refugee. "And I don't know why I'm guilty."

Pizzeria owner Mohammed Hossain, a founder of the Masjid As-Salam mosque, said in a voice choked with emotion that he knew nothing about bombs and terrorism.

"I do not know why it was me who was chosen. I was not a criminal," he said. "I was not even thinking of committing a crime."

The two were convicted in October for their roles in a money laundering scheme involving an FBI informant who posed as an illegal arms dealer.

AP Enterprise: Military rescue could kill U.S. hostages in Colombia, families fear

WASHINGTON — The Bush administration appears increasingly focused on undertaking a risky military rescue of three Americans held hostage more than four years by drug-trafficking leftist rebels in Colombia.

Current and former U.S. officials say the U.S. government has failed to engage in routine negotiations or take other diplomatic steps of the kind used in similar hostage situations.

Additionally, the Justice Department refuses to consider exchanging the Americans for two Colombian guerrillas held by the United States.

The Bush administration denies neglecting to pursue all avenues to safely free the three men — contract workers Marc Gonsalves, Tom Howes and Keith Stansell, who were captured in February 2003 by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"I'm deeply concerned about their fate," President Bush said in an interview with RCN TV of Colombia on Wednesday, before he left on a five-nation trip to Latin America. Bush visits Bogota, Colombia's capital, on Sunday.

Fire at N.Y. building kills eight children and adult; Blaze city's deadliest since 1990

NEW YORK — Screams poured from the burning building along with smoke and flames: "Help me! Help me! Please! Please!" Bystanders looked up to see a woman toss her children out the window one at a time to those below. The scene unfolded early Thursday during New York's deadliest fire in nearly two decades — a blaze that killed eight children and one adult, part of an extended family led by African immigrants who shared a row house near Yankee Stadium.

The woman who tossed her children jumped from the building. Her fate and that of her children were not immediately known.

Investigators believe the fire started overnight with a faulty space heater or overloaded power strip, ignited a mattress in the basement and quickly raced up the stairs of the four-story structure. Most of the 22 residents — 17 of them children — were stranded on the upper floors as the blaze raged out of control.

Neighbor Edward Soto ran toward the fire, then stared in disbelief as an infant was tossed from the building.

"All I see is just a big cloud of white dust, and out of nowhere comes the first baby," said Soto, who caught the child while with another neighbor. Moments later, he caught a second child. At least one of the children was not breathing.

Thailand claims first elephant birth in Asia using artificial insemination

BANGKOK, Thailand — Thai veterinarians announced Thursday that an artificially inseminated elephant has given birth to a bouncing baby boy — a first in Asia that could be a crucial step in conserving the endangered species.

The baby Asian elephant was born late Wednesday at the Elephant Hospital at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre in the northern Thai town of Lampang, said Sitthidej Mahasawangkul, head of the hospital. The 220-pound male calf was healthy and could walk immediately, he said.

The mother was also doing well, Sitthidej said.

"This is the first time that artificial insemination is successfully carried out in Thailand and in Asia," he said. "We hope that this will help increase the elephant population in Thailand which have been declining for the past several decades."

An Asian elephant impregnated through a similar method by German veterinarians gave birth in Israel in December to what was the 11th Asian elephant to be born using this method, according to Israeli news reports at the time.

'Prison Break' actor Lane Garrison charged with manslaughter in Dec. 2 car crash

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Lane Garrison was charged Thursday with manslaughter and drunken driving in a car crash that killed a 17-year-old boy last year. The 26-year-old "Prison Break" actor was charged with felony vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, felony driving under the influence causing injury to multiple victims, felony driving with a blood-alcohol level above the .08 percent legal limit causing injury, and a misdemeanor count of furnishing alcohol to a minor.

If convicted, Garrison could face up to six years and eight months in prison.

He was expected to surrender Thursday afternoon for arraignment at Beverly Hills Superior Court. Prosecutors will recommend that Garrison be held on $200,000 bail, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.

Garrison, a Dallas native, was behind the wheel of a Land Rover that jumped a curb and struck a tree Dec. 2. The crash killed Beverly Hills High School student Vahaghn Setian and injured two 15-year-old girls who were also in the car.

Robison said Garrison is accused of supplying Setian with vodka.

Stocks climb as signs of stability cross global markets; Dow rises 100 points before pullback

NEW YORK — Wall Street extended its recovery from last week's big plunge, rising Thursday after several stable sessions helped buttress investor sentiment and allay some concerns about the economy.

The Dow Jones industrials were up more than 100 points in afternoon trading before pulling back amid rumors a subprime lender would declare bankruptcy. According to preliminary calculations, the Dow closed up 68.25, or 0.56 percent, at 12,260.70.

Thursday's advance helped investors speed past lackluster retail sales figures and focus on more promising comments about March sales. Investors also grew more confident following gains in markets in Europe and Asia. The dollar was mixed against major currencies and fought its way higher against the yen, easing some concern about whether global liquidity would tighten.

Investors eager for signals about the health of the economy bet on rising fortunes for U.S. businesses a day ahead of the Labor Department's much-anticipated February employment report. Strong employment is seen as crucial on Wall Street because robust consumer spending has kept the economy charging ahead in recent years. Larger concerns about the economy figured heavily in last week's selloff.

"I think we got a little bit too negative too fast," said Brian Levitt, corporate economist at OppenheimerFunds Inc., referring to the Feb. 27 global selloff that sent the major U.S. indexes down more than 3 percent. "They failed to see the broader picture that there still is fairly good underlying strength in the economy."

No. 9 Georgetown holds on to beat Villanova 62-57 in quarterfinals of Big East tournament

NEW YORK — After breezing through the first half, the Georgetown Hoyas weren't expecting to sweat it out against Villanova in the last few minutes. "I'm glad our guys held on," Georgetown coach John Thompson III said. "It was coming too easily. We just had to refocus."

Roy Hibbert scored eight of his 14 points in No. 9 Georgetown's opening 26-2 run, and the Hoyas held on for a 62-57 victory Thursday over ninth-seeded Villanova in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament.

A rested Georgetown (24-6), the tournament's top seed, came out shooting, and a weary-looking Villanova couldn't find the basket early. The Wildcats (22-10) made a game of it in the closing minutes, but the huge first-half deficit was too much to overcome.

"I don't think we did anything wrong at the start of the game or throughout the game, really," Villanova forward Curtis Sumpter said. "We just had a couple of bad possessions and Georgetown just took advantage of them."

DaJuan Summers got things started with a 3-pointer 2:22 in and the Hoyas kept going from there. Georgetown was up 14-0 before Sumpter finally got Villanova on the scoreboard with a jumper 7:20 into the game.