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03-08-2005

Syrian Troops Begin Pullback in Lebanon

Syrian soldiers ride on top of an army truck as they move during a redeployment of troops near the village of Stur, in the central mountains east of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, March 7, 2005. Lebanese officials said Syrian troops will begin pulling back toward the Syrian border on Monday, as the leader of the Hezbollah militant group called for a demonstration in Beirut to counter weeks of anti-Syrian protests . (AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)

MDEIREJ, Lebanon (AP) _ Syrian soldiers loaded trucks with furniture and other supplies and drove east from the Lebanese mountain posts they have held for decades, the first signs of a redeployment to Lebanon's Bekaa Valley announced Monday. But no deadline was set for their complete withdrawal, and Washington rejected the pullback as insufficient. Lacking a timeline, the plan also was unlikely to satisfy the Lebanese opposition and the international community, which have demanded that all 14,000 Syrian soldiers leave the country.

Insurgent Attacks in Iraq Leave 33 Dead

An injured man is stretchered into hospital after insurgents launched a series of apparently coordinated attacks in and around the city of Baqouba that killed seven soldiers and five police according to a medic at Baqouba's main hospital, 60 kilometers (35 miles) northeast of Baghdad in Iraq Monday, March 7, 2005. The assaults included a car bomb, three roadside bombs and small arms attacks at three checkpoints, a police official said. (AP Photo/Mohammed Adnan)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ Iraqi insurgents set off bombs and fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at military convoys, checkpoints and police patrols in a spate of violence Monday that killed 33 people and wounded dozens. The terror group Al-Qaida in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for much of the bloodshed.

Bolton Tapped to Be Next U.N. Ambassador

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, rear, applauds after introducing John R. Bolton, President Bush's nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, at the State Department Monday, March 7, 2005 in Washington. Bolton, a tough-talking arms control official who rarely muffles his views in diplomatic niceties, was chosen Monday by Bush to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ John R. Bolton, a tough-talking arms control official who rarely muffles his views in diplomatic niceties, was chosen Monday by President Bush to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Senate Democrats immediately assailed the nomination, arguing that it didn't make sense for the president to pick a diplomat who has sometimes been critical of the world body at a time when mending fences with the international community was imperative. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Bolton's selection sent "all the wrong signals."

Dominican Republic Prison Fire Kills 134

Aracelis De La Cruz cries after to identified his body's son at the Higuey's Hospital in Higuey 103 miles to the east of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Monday, March 7, 2005. At least 134 prisoners died in Higuey's Public Jail. (AP Photo/Miguel Gomez)

HIGUEY, Dominican Republic (AP) _ Rival gangs battling over the drug trade in an overcrowded, vermin-infested prison set their bedding ablaze and blocked the entrance to their cellblock, killing at least 134 inmates in one of Latin America's worst jailhouse blazes. Some died in a stampede to escape the flames after guards forced open the jammed door in the cellblock known as Vietnam, one survivor said, while others were killed by smoke inhalation.

Accuser's Brother: Jackson Groped Him

Michael Jackson and his father Joe Jackson leave the Santa Barbara County courthouse Monday, March 7, 2005, in Santa Maria, Calif., as Jackson's child molestation trial continues. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) _ The younger brother of Michael Jackson's accuser described for jurors in graphic detail Monday how he twice saw the pop star fondle the child while the young boy lay sleeping in Jackson's bed at his Neverland Ranch. The brother also testified that Jackson showed them Internet sex sites, gave them wine, slept in bed with them and appeared before them naked and sexually aroused at the pop star's Neverland ranch.

McCain Group Got Big Cable Donation

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., meets reporters on Capitol Hill in this Jan. 13, 2005 file photo. McCain, who champions ridding politics of big money, pressed a cable company's case for pricing changes with regulators at the same time a tax-exempt group that he co-founded solicited $200,000 in contributions from the company. McCain's help to Cablevision Systems Corp. included giving the CEO the opportunity to testify before his Senate committee, writing a letter of support to the Federal Communication Commission and asking other cable companies to support so-called a la carte pricing. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, Files)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Sen. John McCain pressed a cable company's case for pricing changes with regulators at the same time a tax-exempt group that he has worked with since its founding solicited $200,000 in contributions from the company. Help from McCain, who argues for ridding politics of big money, included giving the CEO of Cablevision Systems Corp. the opportunity to testify before his Senate committee, writing a letter of support to the Federal Communication Commission and asking other cable companies to support so-called a la carte pricing.

Study: Aspirin Prevents Strokes in Women

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) _ In a stunning example of gender differences in medicine, a major new study found that aspirin helps healthy women avoid strokes but makes no difference in their risk of heart attacks unless they're 65 or older _ the polar opposite of how the drug affects men. Aspirin is recommended now for both men and women at high risk of heart disease. Many doctors have assumed it also prevented heart problems in healthy women because of research showing it helped healthy men.

Senate Defeats Minimum Wage Increase

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Senate defeated dueling proposals Monday to raise the $5.15-an-hour minimum wage _ one backed by organized labor, the other salted with pro-business provisions _ in a day of skirmishing that reflected Republican gains in last fall's elections. Both plans fell well short of the 60 votes needed to advance, and signaled that prospects for raising the federal wage floor, unchanged since 1996, are remote during the current two-year Congress.

Boeing Fires CEO for Affair With Exec

Boeing Co. CEO Harry Stonecipher, right, is hugged by Alan Mulally, CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, left, in this Dec. 16, 2003 file photo in Seattle after Stonecipher announced that Boeing Co. will build the proposed new fuel-efficient 7E7 Dreamliner airplane in nearby Everett, Wash. Mulally is being mentioned by industry analysts as a possible successor to replace Boeing Co. former CEO Harry Stonecipher, who resigned Sunday, March 6, 2005 due to an ethics scandal involving an affair he had this year with a female company executive. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, file)

CHICAGO (AP) _ Boeing Co. CEO Harry Stonecipher, brought back from retirement 15 months ago to boost the aerospace manufacturer's tainted image, has been forced out because of a new ethics scandal involving an affair he had this year with a female company executive. In a stunning announcement that left the exact circumstances behind the ouster unclear, Boeing said Monday the 68-year-old president and chief executive officer had resigned at the board's request a day earlier for improper behavior while carrying out the consensual relationship.

Giambi Homers As Yankees Beat Red Sox 9-2

New York Yankees designated hitter Jason Giambi hits a home run in the fifth inning of an exhibition game against the Boston Red Sox, Monday, March 7, 2005 in Fort Myers, Fla.( AP Photo/Brita Meng Outzen)

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) _ Jason Giambi provided most of the juice when the Red Sox played the Yankees on Monday night in the first reunion of the rivals since Boston's epic triumph last fall. New York's designated hitter, the symbol of baseball's steroids problem, arrived at the second annual hugely overhyped exhibition game, gave a mass interview, got a hug from Kevin Millar, took batting practice and signed autographs for 25 minutes. Then, as two men behind the plate screamed "Steroids! Steroids! Steroids!" in the fifth inning, he sent a pitch from left-hander John Halama over the fence in right-center field for his first home run of the spring. Giambi went 2-for-5 in New York's 9-2 win, leaving him with a .250 average (3-for-12) with two RBIs.

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