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Posted at 2:48 p.m., Friday, May 11, 2007

National & world news highlights

Associated Press

BAGHDAD OFFICIALS LOBBY CONGRESS TO PREVENT TROOP PULLOUT

WASHINGTON — Worried Congress' support for Iraq is deteriorating rapidly, Baghdad dispatched senior officials to Capitol Hill this week to warn members one-on-one that pulling out U.S. troops would have disastrous consequences.

The lobbying push targeted Republicans and Democrats alike, but focused primarily on those considered influential on the war debate. On Thursday, hours before the House voted to limit funds for the war, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh met with more than 30 House Republicans and more than a half-dozen senators, including Sens. Harry Reid, D-Nev., John Warner, R-Va., and Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

"He understands that American patience is waning," said Sen. Norm Coleman, after eating lunch with Saleh, Iraqi Ambassador Samir Shakir al-Sumaidaie and Sen. Saxby Chambliss.

But the lobbying by the Iraqis isn't the only pressure-point being applied in Washington.

Clinton said Friday she considered it "promising" that several Republican House members went to the White House and told President Bush they believe the continuing war is adversely affecting the party.

CHENEY WARNS IRAN U.S., ALLIES WILL KEEP SEA LANES OPEN

ABOARD USS JOHN C. STENNIS — From an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, Vice President Dick Cheney warned Iran on Friday the U.S. and its allies will keep it from restricting sea traffic as well as from developing nuclear weapons.

"We'll keep the sea lanes open," Cheney said from the hangar deck of the USS John C. Stennis as it steamed about 150 miles from the Iranian coast.

Cheney is touring the Middle East asking Arab allies to do more to help Iraq and to curb Iran's growing power in the region. With Iraq in turmoil, both Iran and Saudi Arabia are maneuvering to see who can help fill the leadership vacuum.

The vice president made clear the United States' intentions on the rivalry. "We'll stand with others to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region," he said.

On Saturday, Cheney will make a fence-mending visit to Saudi Arabia.

ROMNEY TO REPORT ASSETS BETWEEN $190M-$250M

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who made his fortune as a management consultant, is expected to report financial assets between $190 million and $250 million, an adviser said Friday.

Aides to the former Massachusetts governor said his assets have been held in a blind trust that he and his wife set up when he took office in 2002. The adviser who provided the estimate of his assets cautioned that the number is based on 2005 and 2006 financial activity and could amount to a bigger total once the disclosure report is filed later this year.

The adviser spoke on condition of anonymity because the totals have not been officially released. The deadline for filing financial disclosures is Tuesday but Romney obtained an extension on Friday.

Romney also has a blind trust for his children and grandchildren that is estimated to hold assets between $70 million and $100 million, the adviser said. Those assets do not benefit Romney or his wife and are not required to be reported in federal financial disclosures.

Romney has five sons, five daughters-in-law and 10 grandchildren.

GIULIANI REAFFIRMS SUPPORT FOR ABORTION RIGHTS

HOUSTON — Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani forcefully reaffirmed his support for abortion rights on Friday and argued that his divergence from conservatives on the issue should not disqualify him from being the eventual GOP nominee.

"This is a matter of deep and profound judgment," he said in a speech at Houston Baptist University. "It's a matter of morals. It's a matter of your interpretation of how laws should operate, your interpretation of how respect for the rights of others should operate. But in a country like ours ... I believe you have to respect their viewpoint and give them a level of choice. I would grant women the right to make that choice."

The former New York City mayor has struggled in the last week to explain his personal opposition to abortion with his long public record of favoring a woman's right to choose. He has defended his positions — and some say contradictory comments — on late-term abortion, public funding for abortions and the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.

But Giuliani left few questions about his position Friday, telling about 500 students and faculty at the small conservative school that — despite his belief that abortion was "morally wrong" — he believes the decision should ultimately be left to individuals and their decisions should be respected.

Opposition to abortion has been a litmus test for conservatives within the Republican Party, who hold considerable sway in the primaries. Giuliani has drawn criticism from some in the GOP for his abortion rights support. One of his rivals, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, has switched from supporting abortion rights to opposing the procedure — a shift that also has drawn complaints.

MEN APOLOGIZE FOR STUNT THAT PROMPTED BOMB SCARE

BOSTON — Prosecutors said they would not pursue charges against two men who planted electronic devices around the city as part of a botched advertising campaign after the pair apologized Friday for causing a bomb scare.

Peter Berdovsky, 27, and Sean Stevens, 28, also performed community service at a rehabilitation center in a deal with prosecutors.

In contrast to their first court appearance in January, when they mugged for the camera and waved to friends in the courtroom, the men offered contrite apologies and said they never expected the stunt to cause any turmoil.

"I deeply regret that this incident caused such anguish and disruption to so many people," Berdovsky told the Charlestown District Court.

Stevens said he saw the devices simply as "harmless entertainment."

MICHAEL MOORE BLASTS BUSH OVER FEDERAL PROBE

LOS ANGELES — Filmmaker Michael Moore has asked the Bush administration to call off an investigation of his trip to Cuba to get treatment for ailing Sept. 11 rescue workers for a segment in his upcoming healthcare expose, "Sicko."

Moore, who made the hit documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" assailing President Bush's handling of Sept. 11, said in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Friday that the White House may have opened the investigation for political reasons.

"For five-and-a-half years, the Bush administration has ignored and neglected the heroes of the 9/11 community," Moore said in the letter, which he posted on the liberal Web site Daily Kos. "These heroic first responders have been left to fend for themselves, without coverage and without care.

"I understand why the Bush administration is coming after me — I have tried to help the very people they refuse to help, but until George W. Bush outlaws helping your fellow man, I have broken no laws and I have nothing to hide."

Harvey Weinstein, whose Weinstein Co. is releasing "Sicko," said the movie is a "healing film" that could bring opponents together over the ills of America's healthcare system.

FARMER FINDS NEW CALF HAS TWO NOSES

MERRILL, Wis. — Mark Krombholz had to look twice at his new calf, Lucy — one time for each nose. "I didn't notice anything too different about her until I got her in the barn," Krombholz said, "and all of a sudden I went to feed her a bottle of milk, and I thought maybe she'd been kicked in the nose and there were two noses there."

The second, smaller nose sits on top of the first.

"It's a functioning nose because the middle of her second nose, the flap would go in and out when she drank out of the bottle like that," Krombholz said. "It was kind of funny."

Breeder Scott Grund said Lucy's noses seem to be working fine.

"It looked like she was comfortable laying there in her bedding and breathing and spunky just like you want to see," Grund said. "It's just that she's got two noses."