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Updated at 2:20 p.m., Tuesday, March 20, 2007

National & world news highlights

Associated Press

WHITE HOUSE OFFERS INTERVIEWS WITH AIDES IN PRIVATE

White House offers to let Congress interview aides on firings; Democrats call it 'meaningless'

WASHINGTON — President Bush warned Democrats Tuesday to accept his offer to allow top aides to testify about the firings of federal prosecutors only privately and not under oath, or risk a constitutional showdown from which he would not back down.

"We will not go along with a partisan fishing expedition aimed at honorable public servants," Bush said in a statement from the White House. "I proposed a reasonable way to avoid an impasse."

He added: "There's no indication ... that anybody did anything improper."

Democrats' response to Bush's offer was swift and firm. "Testimony should be on the record and under oath. That's the formula for true accountability," said Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee:

Bush gave his embattled attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, a boost during an early-morning call to his longtime friend and ended the day with a public statement repeating it. "He's got support with me," the president said.

FBI WARNED OVER LOSS OF SPYING POWER

WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats alike sternly warned the FBI on Tuesday that it risks losing its broad power to collect telephone, e-mail and financial records to hunt terrorists because of rampant abuses of the authority.

The threats were the latest blow to the embattled Justice Department and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who is already on the defensive and fighting to keep his job over the firings of federal prosecutors.

The warnings came as the department's chief watchdog, inspector general Glenn A. Fine, told the House Judiciary Committee that the FBI engaged in widespread and serious misuse of its authority to issue national security letters, which resulted in illegally collecting data from Americans and foreigners.

If the FBI doesn't move swiftly to correct the mistakes and problems revealed last week in Fine's 130-page report, "you probably won't have NSL authority," said Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Calif., a supporter of the power, referring to the data requests by their initials.

RUSSIA PULLING EXPERTS FROM IRAN NUCLEAR REACTOR

VIENNA, Austria — Russia is bringing home its technicians and engineers from Iran's unfinished nuclear reactor site at a time of growing international pressure on Tehran to curb its atomic ambitions, U.S. and European representatives said Tuesday.

Although both Russia and Iran officially say their differences are financial, the dispute has a strong political component that the West hopes could result in Moscow lining up closer behind U.S.-led efforts to slap harsher U.N. sanctions on Tehran for refusing to freeze uranium enrichment.

The representatives — a European diplomat and a U.S. official — said a large number of Russian technicians, engineers and other specialists were flown to Moscow within the last week, around the time senior Russian and Iranian officials tried but failed to resolve differences over the nuclear reactor outside the southern city of Bushehr.

Russian officials deny links between the dispute over Bushehr and Iran's nuclear defiance. But two senior European officials, speaking separately, said Moscow recently dropped all pretexts and bluntly told Iran that Russia would not make good on pledges to deliver nuclear fuel for Bushehr unless Tehran complies with the U.N. demand for an enrichment freeze.

Asked about the approximately 2,000 Russian workers at Bushehr, the U.S. official said: "A good number of them have left recently."

EXTRADITION SOUGHT OF 8 CHIQUITA WORKERS

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombia's chief prosecutor said Tuesday he will demand the extradition of eight people employed by Chiquita allegedly involved with the company's payments to right-wing paramilitaries and leftist rebels to protect its banana-growing operation.

The prosecutor also said his office had opened a formal investigation into allegations that Alabama-based coal producer Drummond Co. Inc. collaborated with paramilitaries to kill union members. A civil lawsuit in the U.S. makes similar allegations, which the company has denied.

Chiquita Brands International pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. federal court to one count of doing business with a terrorist organization. The plea is part of a deal with prosecutors that calls for a $25 million fine and does not identify the several senior executives who approved the illegal protection payments.

The agreement ended a lengthy Justice Department investigation into the company's financial dealings with right-wing paramilitaries and leftist rebels the U.S. government deems terrorist groups.

Prosecutors say the Cincinnati-based company agreed to pay about $1.7 million between 1997 and 2004 to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known as AUC for its Spanish initials.

'MAGNIFICENT FIRST WALK' ABOVE GRAND CANYON FLOOR

HUALAPAI INDIAN RESERVATION, Ariz. — Indian leaders and a former astronaut stepped gingerly beyond the Grand Canyon's rim Tuesday, staring through the glass floor and into the 4,000-foot chasm below during the opening ceremony for a new observation deck.

A few members of the Hualapai Indian Tribe, which allowed the Grand Canyon Skywalk to be built, hopped up and down on the horseshoe-shaped structure. At its edge — 70 feet beyond the rim — the group peeked over the glass wall.

"I can hear the glass cracking!" Hualapai Chairman Charlie Vaughn said playfully.

Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin declared it a "magnificent first walk."

The Hualapai, whose reservation is about 90 miles west of Grand Canyon National Park, allowed Las Vegas developer David Jin to build the $30 million Skywalk in hopes of creating a unique attraction on their side of the canyon.

PRACTICE OF DUMPING OLD FLU SHOTS DEBATED

Millions of doses of flu vaccine will expire at midnight June 30, unsold during this year's mild flu season and written off as trash. Still perfectly good, and possibly useful for a few more years, the vaccine will wind up being destroyed. This annual ritual is supposed to ensure that Americans get the most up-to-date vaccine, but the leftovers — more than 10 million of a record 110 million doses produced — will be destroyed before a new supply is guaranteed.

An Associated Press examination of this long-standing practice raises questions about its consequences. For years, policymakers have talked about letting doctors keep unused vaccine until new doses are in hand, donating leftover supplies to poor countries, or pushing back the expiration date. Wasted vaccine means lost money for drug companies and one stopped making flu shots because of it — setting the stage for a flu shot shortage in 2004.

"All of those issues have come up in the past," but there is a strong reluctance to change policy, said Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University, a government vaccine adviser. "These ideas clearly have merit and at the very least ought to be discussed."

The June 30 expiration date is set by the federal Food and Drug Administration and has less to do with the vaccine's shelf life than with the desire to tweak the recipe each year to include the three strains causing the most cases.

'IDOL' CONTESTANT'S FAITH QUESTIONED

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Chris Sligh, the "American Idol" contestant who has won fans thanks to his curly mop of hair and soulful voice, has a few people concerned with his departure from strictly Christian music. But for most others in this city of 56,000 about 100 miles southwest of Charlotte, N.C., Sligh has become a hometown hero.

Jonathan Pait, a spokesman for fundamentalist Bob Jones University where Sligh attended for several years, said: "We really are somewhat disappointed with the direction he has gone musically."

He nonetheless tunes in each week to monitor Sligh's progress.

Local fans — some wearing fake glasses and curly wigs and calling themselves the "Fro Patro" — gather each week at restaurants and bars to cheer Sligh on. The local newspaper has been tracking his progress on its Web site.

Sligh, a 28-year-old son of missionaries who spent much of his childhood overseas, kept his spot among the 11 remaining finalists last week with a rendition of "Endless Love." He'll try to improve on that performance, deemed "unemotional" and "uninspiring" by judge Simon Cowell, this week. The show will announce results Wednesday evening.