Iraq's new parliament is sworn in
Thursday, March 16, 2006
AP's Qassim Abdul-Zahra - - Charlotte Observer
| Iraq's new parliament was sworn in Thursday with parties still deadlocked over the next government, vehicles banned from Baghdad's streets to prevent car bombings and the country under the shadow of a feared civil war.
| Discuss
'Yes' vote on CAFTA is a winner for Hayes
Sunday, March 12, 2006 TIM FUNK - - Charlotte Observer
| For the Bush administration and for much of corporate America, nothing was higher on last year's "to-do" list than getting Congress to pass CAFTA -- a controversial free trade agreement with six Central American countries.
That's why, ever since then, they've been showering Rep. Robin Hayes with gratitude.
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Bush confident bin Laden will be captured
Wednesday, March 1, 2006
AP's TERENCE HUNT - - Charlotte Observer
| President Bush, on an unannounced visit to Afghanistan, vowed Wednesday to stand by this emerging democracy despite a resurgence of violence, promising the United States will "not cut and run."
| Discuss
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McCrory to senators: Think small
Wednesday, March 1, 2006 TIM FUNK and RICHARD RUBIN - - Charlotte Observer
| Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory told a Senate panel on Tuesday that President Bush's proposed 2007 budget would spend far too little on the kind of small transit projects -- such as streetcars in Charlotte -- that cities are eager for.
| Discuss
Dole says he won't lobby Congress
Friday, February 24, 2006 TIM FUNK - - Charlotte Observer
| With his wife under fire from Democrats, and lobbying spouses under increased scrutiny, former Sen. Bob Dole pledged Thursday not to pitch members of Congress -- including Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C. -- on the controversial ports deal involving a Persian Gulf-based company.
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Analysts: Health care costs to keep rising
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
AP's KEVIN FREKING - - Charlotte Observer
| Within a decade, an aging America will spend one of every five dollars on health care, according to government analysts who see no end to increases in the cost of going to the doctor and taking medicine.
| Discuss
Judge to speed Moussaoui jury selection
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
AP's Michael J. Sniffen - - Charlotte Observer
| With more than half the pool of potential jurors selected, a federal judge will again speed up selection as unresolved side issues multiply in the case of confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.
| Discuss
Protesters rampage in 2 Pakistani cities
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
AP's Asif Shahzad - - Charlotte Observer
| Thousands of protesters rampaged through two cities Tuesday, storming into a diplomatic district and torching Western businesses and a provincial assembly in Pakistan's worst violence against the Prophet Muhammad drawings, officials said. At least two people were killed and 11 injured.
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Are extremists fanning cartoon outrage?
Thursday, February 9, 2006
AP's Lara Sukhtian - - Charlotte Observer
| An Iranian state TV announcer depicts cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad as a direct insult to Islam by the Danish government, not a private newspaper. Crowds in Syria - where state control is absolute - set fire to Danish and Norwegian embassies. The U.S. military sees the hand of extremist groups in riots in Afghanistan.
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Jury selection to begin in Moussaoui trial
Monday, February 6, 2006
AP's Michael J. Sniffen - - Charlotte Observer
| Finally, new cast members are joining the long-running legal drama of confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.
U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema begins jury selection Monday that is expected to take a month - an extraordinarily long period but typical in this slow-motion case that has labored through the courts for more than four years.
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Political season starts in turmoil
Thursday, February 2, 2006 JIM MORRILL - - Charlotte Observer
| North Carolina's political season formally kicks off this month against a backdrop of scandals in Washington, criminal probes in Raleigh, and an intense focus on local politics.
| Discuss
Blair: Global warming is advancing
Monday, January 30, 2006
AP's Jill Lawless - - Charlotte Observer
| The threat posed by climate change may be greater than previously thought, and global warming is advancing at an unsustainable rate, Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a report published Monday.
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Enough senators to back Alito confirmation
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
AP's JESSE J. HOLLAND - - Charlotte Observer
| As the Senate begins its final debate on Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court, the conservative jurist already has won enough commitments from senators to become the nation's 110th justice and likely tilt the high court to the right.
| Discuss
Many in Congress hawkish on Iran
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
AP's LIZ SIDOTI - - Charlotte Observer
| As the Bush administration pushes to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council, many members of Congress are advocating get-tough approaches and say military force should remain an option to thwart Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
| Discuss
Democrats to press Bush on domestic spying
Monday, January 23, 2006
AP's HOPE YEN - - Charlotte Observer
| Several lawmakers said Sunday they will press President Bush to justify his decision to allow domestic eavesdropping, rebuffing GOP suggestions their criticism of broad executive authority puts the nation at risk.
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Sensenbrenner leads delegation in privately funded travel
Monday, January 23, 2006
AP's FREDERIC J. FROMMER - - Charlotte Observer
| Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, who has been one of the most active congressional travelers for years, took five privately funded trips last year totaling $39,000, an Associated Press review has found.
Soon, Sensenbrenner may be forced to scale back as Congress considers banning such trips.
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Two W.Va. miners missing after fire
Friday, January 20, 2006
AP's LAWRENCE MESSINA - - Charlotte Observer
| Rescue teams searched Friday for two miners who were unable to escape after a fire broke out in an underground coal mine. Nineteen miners were able to flee the blaze, state officials said.
| Discuss
Sharon better, out of immediate danger
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
AP's Ramit Plushnick-Masti - - Charlotte Observer
| Ariel Sharon's doctors on Wednesday hoped to remove the prime minister from all remaining sedatives after he moved his left hand for the first time, but hospital officials cautioned against being overly optimistic about his chances for recovery from a massive stroke.
| Discuss
Miners tried to escape, family says
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
AP's DAVID DISHNEAU - - Charlotte Observer
| Footprints inside the Sago Mine indicate the trapped miners tried to use a mechanized mine car to force their way out after the explosion, family members of the sole survivor said.
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Washington calls on Carolinas
Monday, January 9, 2006 TIM FUNK - - Charlotte Observer
| Look for senators and representatives from the Carolinas to play big roles in an election year session that also will deal with immigration, Iraq, budget cuts, leadership changes in the House, the president's approval of eavesdropping and a mushrooming ethics scandal that House and Senate leaders now say will lead to some lobbying reform.
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Miners' notes reveal their final moments
Friday, January 6, 2006
AP's ALLEN G. BREED - - Charlotte Observer
| Some of the 12 coal miners who died in the Sago Mine disaster scrawled farewell notes assuring their loved ones that their final hours trapped underground amid toxic gases were not spent in agony.
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Heavy bloodshed wracks Iraq again
Friday, January 6, 2006
AP's JASON STRAZIUSO - - Charlotte Observer
| Suicide bombers infiltrated a line of police recruits and a crowd of Shiite pilgrims Thursday as insurgents killed 125 civilians and five U.S. soldiers, escalating attacks while political factions worked to forge a coalition government.
| Discuss
Bush recess appointments meet with protest
Friday, January 6, 2006
AP's DEB RIECHMANN - - Charlotte Observer
| President Bush's decision to bypass the Senate in filling posts at the State Department, Federal Election Commission and National Labor Relations Board drew protests Thursday from lawmakers and advocacy groups.
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Families are told body found in W.Va. mine
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
AP's VICKI SMITH - - Charlotte Observer
| Rescue crews found one body late Tuesday in a West Virginia mine where 13 miners were trapped after an explosion, but they held out hope that the others were still alive, even as precious time continued to slip away.
| Discuss
Analysis: Abramoff plea may rock GOP boat
Wednesday, January 4, 2006
AP's TOM RAUM - - Charlotte Observer
| The plea deal worked out by Jack Abramoff could send seismic waves across the political landscape in this congressional election year. The Republicans, who control Congress and the White House, are likely to take the biggest hits.
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Crews rush to reach trapped W.Va. miners
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
AP's VICKI SMITH - - Charlotte Observer
| A coal mine explosion that may have been sparked by lightning trapped 13 miners 260 feet below ground Monday, and rescuers went in to find them after waiting almost 12 agonizing hours for dangerous gases to clear.
| Discuss
N. Korea says sanctions tabling nuke talks
Tuesday, January 3, 2006
AP's JAE-SOON CHANG - - Charlotte Observer
| North Korea said Tuesday it cannot return to international nuclear disarmament talks unless the United States lifts sanctions imposed for its alleged currency counterfeiting and other illegal activities.
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International team to review Iraq results
Friday, December 30, 2005
AP's PATRICK QUINN - - Charlotte Observer
| An international team agreed Thursday to review Iraq's parliamentary elections, a decision lauded by Sunni Arab and secular Shiite groups who have staged repeated protests around Iraq complaining of widespread fraud and intimidation.
| Discuss
Group claims rocket strike on Israel
Friday, December 30, 2005
AP's OMAR SINAN - - Charlotte Observer
| Al-Qaida in Iraq said Thursday that it fired a barrage of rockets from Lebanon into northern Israel this week, in a rare claim by the group of a direct attack against the Jewish state.
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CIA probes renditions of terror suspects
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
AP's KATHERINE SHRADER - - Charlotte Observer
| The CIA's independent watchdog is investigating fewer than 10 cases where terror suspects may have been mistakenly swept away to foreign countries by the spy agency, a figure lower than published reports but enough to raise some concerns.
| Discuss
Rumsfeld warns against hasty withdrawals
Thursday, December 22, 2005
AP's ROBERT BURNS - - Charlotte Observer
| While the United States is planning troop reductions in Afghanistan, removing forces too quickly would impede the long-term hunt for terrorists, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld says.
| Discuss
U.S. troops in Iraq: What Democrats say
Saturday, December 17, 2005 TIM FUNK - - Charlotte Observer
| U.S. troops in Iraq: What Democrats say "I was against (going to war). One of the reasons was because there was no exit strategy articulated. And still there has been no exit strategy articulated."
Rep. Mel Watt, D-N.C., of Charlotte, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus
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House GOP bill rejects Iraq withdrawal
Friday, December 16, 2005
AP's LIZ SIDOTI - - Charlotte Observer
| House Republican leaders drafted legislation on Thursday that rejects calls for withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq as "fundamentally inconsistent with achieving victory" and said they would force a vote on Friday.
| Discuss
White House defends Bush comments on DeLay
Friday, December 16, 2005
AP's JENNIFER LOVEN - - Charlotte Observer
| The White House on Thursday defended President Bush's decision to insert himself into Tom DeLay's legal case, saying Bush was employing "presidential prerogative" when he declared the former House majority leader was innocent of criminal charges in Texas.
| Discuss
Iraqis begin voting for new parliament
Monday, December 12, 2005
AP's BASSEM MROUE - - Charlotte Observer
| Voting began Monday in hospitals, military camps and even prisons across Iraq, launching the process to choose a new parliament that the United States hopes can help quell the insurgency so U.S. forces can begin heading home.
| Discuss
Explosions rock fuel depot near London
Monday, December 12, 2005
AP's Thomas Wagner - - Charlotte Observer
| Explosions ripped through a major fuel depot north of London on Sunday, injuring dozens of people, blowing doors off nearby homes and sending fireballs and massive clouds of black smoke into the sky.
| Discuss
Air marshal kills passenger, citing threat
Thursday, December 8, 2005
AP's JOHN PAIN - - Charlotte Observer
| An agitated passenger who claimed to have a bomb in his backpack was shot and killed by a federal air marshal Wednesday after he bolted frantically from a jetliner that was boarding for takeoff, officials said. No bomb was found.
| Discuss
Suicide car bomber kills 21 people in Iraq
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
AP's ROBERT H. REID - - Charlotte Observer
| A suicide car bomber killed 21 people in northern Iraq on Tuesday after insurgents lured police to the scene by shooting an officer, officials said. One more U.S. soldier was killed, pushing the American death toll for the conflict to 2,100, the U.S. military said.
| Discuss
Israeli warplanes hit targets in Lebanon
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
AP's Laurie Copans - - Charlotte Observer
| Israeli said its warplanes struck in Lebanon on Tuesday in what Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz described as the largest-scale Israeli response to cross-border attacks by Lebanese guerrillas since 2000.
| Discuss
McMahan calls donation an error
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 MARK JOHNSON - - Charlotte Observer
| Rep. Ed McMahan, a Charlotte lawmaker, gave $1,000 to Democratic State Treasurer Richard Moore's campaign last year. That would be unremarkable except that McMahan is a Republican National Committeeman and has criticized the GOP's highest-ranking House member for his alliance with Democrats.
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Cheney slams war critics, praises Murtha
Monday, November 21, 2005
AP's TOM RAUM - - Charlotte Observer
| Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday accused critics of "corrupt and shameless" revisionism in suggesting the White House misled the nation in a rush to war, the latest salvo in an increasingly acrimonious debate over prewar intelligence.
| Discuss
Iran raises stakes on U.N. inspections
Monday, November 21, 2005
AP's ALI AKBAR DAREINI - - Charlotte Observer
| Raising the stakes before a key vote by the U.N. nuclear agency, lawmakers approved a bill Sunday requiring the government to block inspections of atomic facilities if the agency refers Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions.
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China edging out U.S. for APEC leadership
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
AP's ALEXA OLESEN - - Charlotte Observer
| It's bigger, faster and ready to throw its weight around.
When China joined the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum 14 years ago, it was the lone communist behemoth among a field of nimble market economies. Today, it's a leading actor in the annual forum that represents about 60 percent of the global economy and nearly half of world trade.
| Discuss
Senate urges Bush to outline Iraq plan
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
AP's LIZ SIDOTI - - Charlotte Observer
| The GOP-controlled Senate rejected a Democratic call Tuesday for a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq but urged President Bush to outline his plan for "the successful completion of the mission" in a bill reflecting a growing bipartisan unease with his Iraq policies.
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Official: Al-Qaida boosts Afghan activity
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
AP's DANIEL COONEY - - Charlotte Observer
| Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network has increased its activities in Afghanistan, smuggling in explosives, high-tech weapons and millions of dollars in cash for a resurgent terror campaign, the defense minister said Wednesday.
| Discuss
Bush hails Taiwan as democratic model
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
AP's JENNIFER LOVEN - - Charlotte Observer
| Challenging China just days before meetings with its leaders, President Bush on Wednesday held up the self-governing island of Taiwan that Beijing claims as its own as a model of freedom "at all levels" that the communist giant should emulate.
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Sunnis demand probe of torture allegations
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
AP's CHRIS TOMLINSON - - Charlotte Observer
| Iraq's main Sunni Arab political party on Wednesday demanded an international investigation into allegations that security forces illegally detained and tortured suspected insurgents at secret jails in Baghdad.
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WHO experts study bird flu in China
Monday, November 14, 2005
AP's AUDRA ANG - - Charlotte Observer
| World Health Organization experts left Beijing on Monday to investigate the site of a bird flu outbreak in poultry in central China, while Indonesia's president said his country could not afford to slaughter all poultry in bird flu-infected areas.
| Discuss
Edwards on Iraq: 'I was wrong'
Monday, November 14, 2005 TIM FUNK - - Charlotte Observer
| In what could be the opening shot in the race for the Democrats' 2008 presidential nomination, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina said Sunday that he made a mistake when he voted in 2002 to authorize the war in Iraq.
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Edwards' remarks may nudge others
Monday, November 14, 2005 TIM FUNK - - Charlotte Observer
| Former Sen. John Edwards' decision Sunday to so publicly repudiate his past vote authorizing the war in Iraq could help shape a Democratic race for president that's just beginning.
The reason?
If 2004 is any guide, liberals and interest groups opposed to the Iraq war will exert a powerful influence on the 2008 battle for the Democratic nomination -- especially in the crucial year or so leading up to the first caucuses and primaries.
| Discuss
Envoy urges deal on Gaza crossing
Monday, November 14, 2005
AP's IBRAHIM BARZAK - - Charlotte Observer
| A top Mideast envoy warned Sunday that time is running out for Israel and the Palestinians to wrap up a deal on opening the Gaza Strip's border crossings, saying it would be a "tragedy" if an agreement was not reached soon.
| Discuss
Blair suffers major defeat on terror bill
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
AP's ED JOHNSON - - Charlotte Observer
| In a political blow to Prime Minister Tony Blair, British lawmakers on Wednesday rejected tough anti-terrorism legislation that would have allowed suspects to be detained for 90 days without charge.
| Discuss
Chalabi offers to be questioned by Senate
Wednesday, November 9, 2005
AP's BARRY SCHWEID - - Charlotte Observer
| Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Chalabi offered Wednesday to be questioned by the Senate on his role in prewar Iraq but refused to apologize for fueling allegations that Saddam Hussein had hidden caches of weapons of mass destruction.
| Discuss
Move to expand child tax credits hits snag
Monday, November 7, 2005
AP's Mary Dalrymple - - Charlotte Observer
| An effort to keep inflation from eating away at poor families' child tax credits has run into obstacles, even though supporters had hoped poverty revealed by Hurricane Katrina might give new urgency to fixing the problem.
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Questions about Chalabi pose dilemma for Bush administration
Monday, November 7, 2005 John Walcott - - Charlotte Observer (Knight Ridder Newspapers)
| When Iraq's controversial deputy prime minister, Ahmad Chalabi, arrives in Washington on Tuesday for an eight-day visit, he'll bring a lot of baggage and a tough question for the Bush administration: Is Chalabi with us or against us?
| Discuss
China reports 3 suspected bird flu cases
Sunday, November 6, 2005
AP's ALEXA OLESEN - - Charlotte Observer
| China said Sunday it had asked for outside help to test three possible cases of bird flu in people, while scientists and government representatives prepared for a strategy session in Geneva amid fears of a possible worldwide flu pandemic among humans.
| Discuss
House blocks Democrats' Iraq resolution
Friday, November 4, 2005
AP's LIZ SIDOTI - - Charlotte Observer
| Democrats tried unsuccessfully Thursday to force the House to take up a measure condemning Republicans for "their refusal to conduct oversight" of the Bush administration's Iraq war policy and to order investigations into it.
| Discuss
House vote counters eminent domain measure
Friday, November 4, 2005
AP's JIM ABRAMS - - Charlotte Observer
| Contending that the Supreme Court has undermined a pillar of American society, the sanctity of the home, the House overwhelmingly approved a bill Thursday to block the court-approved seizure of private property for use by developers.
| Discuss
Six GIs killed in Iraq; 20 die in bombing
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
AP's ROBERT H. REID - - Charlotte Observer
| A suicide bomber detonated a minibus Wednesday in an outdoor market packed with shoppers ahead of a Muslim festival, killing about 20 people and wounding more than 60 in a Shiite town south of Baghdad. Six U.S. troops were killed, two in a helicopter crash west of the capital.
| Discuss
Senate emerges from closed session on Iraq
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
AP's LIZ SIDOTI - - Charlotte Observer
| Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday, questioning intelligence that President Bush used in the run-up to the war in Iraq and accusing Republicans of ignoring the issue.
| Discuss
Bush seeks to protect vaccine makers
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
AP's KEVIN FREKING - - Charlotte Observer
| President Bush said Tuesday that granting vaccine manufacturers protection from civil lawsuits would go a long way to spur the development of medicine needed to fight a potential pandemic.
| Discuss
NAACP leader voices concerns about Alito
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
AP's Will Lester - - Charlotte Observer
| Only minutes after Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman asked blacks to consider supporting the GOP, NAACP President Bruce Gordon talked about his deep concerns about the Bush administration's nominee to the Supreme Court, Samuel Alito.
| Discuss
Violence drives Iraq's brightest abroad
Sunday, October 30, 2005
AP's MARIAM FAM - - Charlotte Observer
| First, gunmen burst into Riyadh Tamimi's home, beat his guard, terrified his wife and three daughters and stole appliances. Later, kidnappers held his brother until the family paid $20,000. When gunfire blew out Tamimi's windows, that was the last straw.
| Discuss
Indictment doesn't clear up mystery at heart of CIA leak probe
Friday, October 28, 2005
AP's JONATHAN S. LANDAY and WARREN P. STROBEL - - Charlotte Observer
| At the heart of Friday's indictment of a top White House aide remain two unsolved mysteries.
Who forged the documents that claimed Saddam Hussein was seeking uranium for nuclear weapons in the African country of Niger?
How did a version of the tale get into President Bush's 2003 State of the Union address, even though U.S. intelligence agencies never confirmed it and some intelligence analysts doubted it?
| Discuss
U.S. seeks review of piracy enforcement
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
AP's MARTIN CRUTSINGER - - Charlotte Observer
| The Bush administration, unhappy with what it views as rampant copyright theft, said Wednesday it will seek a special review of China's efforts to crackdown on production of pirated music, movies and other U.S. products.
| Discuss
AFL-CIO leaders push for new members
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
AP's Will Lester - - Charlotte Observer
| Leaders of the AFL-CIO on Tuesday asked civil rights and religious groups and liberal think tanks to tell the public that organized labor is important to workers' quality of life and to defend the right to join unions.
| Discuss
Senate to take up immigration issues
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
AP's JIM ABRAMS - - Charlotte Observer
| The Senate will take up immigration legislation early next year that will go beyond improved border security to the contentious issue of including illegal immigrants in a guest worker program, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Tuesday.
| Discuss
Americans' anger may threaten GOP control of Congress
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 STEVEN THOMMA - - Charlotte Observer (Knight Ridder Newspapers)
| Americans have turned so sour about the state of the country and their lives that Republican strategists fear they could rise in a wave of anger and sweep Republicans out of power in Congress in next year's elections, much like they swept the Democrats out in 1994.
| Discuss
Journalists' hotel in Baghdad attacked
Monday, October 24, 2005
AP's ROBERT H. REID - - Charlotte Observer
| Three massive vehicle bombs exploded Monday near the Palestine Hotel, home to many Western journalists, killing at least 20 people. Dramatic TV pictures showed one of the bombers driving a cement truck through the concrete blast walls that guard the hotel, then blowing up his vehicle.
| Discuss
Black colleges turn to obesity fight
Sunday, October 23, 2005
AP's DIONNE WALKER - - Charlotte Observer
| Nationwide, health experts agree the obesity epidemic is striking hardest among Hispanics and blacks, with waistlines - and rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke - expanding at alarming rates.
| Discuss
FBI requests records on Black
Friday, October 21, 2005 MARK JOHNSON - - Charlotte Observer
| FBI agents subpoenaed House Speaker Jim Black's bills and records from a Charlotte country club within the past month, but Black said he does not know what the federal agents are investigating.
| Discuss
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