POLITICS & ELECTIONS

National, Ohio and local political news, blogs & election results

BAGHDAD -- The music store owner had too many mouths to feed to consider joining other Iraqi Christians fleeing violence in Mosul. The decision cost him his life as he became at least the 10th Christian slaughtered by suspected Sunni extremists in the northern city so far this month.

Gunmen stormed into Farques Batool's store late Sunday in an eastern part of the city, killing him and wounding his teenage nephew, according to police and a neighbor.

Batool, an Armenian Christian, was supporting his mother, his wife, a daughter, as well as the family of his dead brother, according to his neighbor.

"He was a very kind man who refused to leave Mosul and insisted on staying to take care of his family," Raid Bahnam said. The family fled the city after his death, leaving his wounded nephew in the hospital.

They joined thousands of other Christians who have abandoned their homes in Mosul to seek refuge in churches and with relatives in neighboring villages or in relatively safe Kurdish-controlled areas nearby.

Continue reading "Stay-put Christian businessman killed in Mosul" »

PARIS -- Europe put $2.3 trillion on the line Monday to protect the continent's banks, a figure that dwarfs the Bush administration's $700 billion rescue program, in its most unified response yet to the global financial crisis after a stumbling start.

The pledges by Britain and the six countries that use the euro helped soothe stock markets, along with a promise by top central banks to provide unlimited short term dollar credits.

The action by Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Austria and Britain came after weeks in which the governments often acted at cross purposes and sniped at each other -- a piecemeal approach that failed to stop steep and frightening slides on financial markets.

"The time of each one for itself is fortunately over," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, following a Cabinet meeting that approved France's spending in the framework of the plan.

"United Europe has pledged more than the United States," added Sarkozy, who has taken a lead in getting the cooperation.

The pledged money will not go into a collective pot. Instead, governments were deciding individually how much to commit to supporting their own banks under broad guidelines agreed at a summit Sunday. The sums are considered a maximum, and might not all be spent if the financial crisis eases.

Continue reading "Europe puts more on the line for banks than U.S." »

LONDON -- Britain's House of Lords rejected a controversial plan to extend the amount of time police can hold terror suspects without charge from 28 to 42 days and the government said it would abandon the proposal.

The 309-118 vote came after an impassioned debate Monday, dealing the government a significant defeat. Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said hours after the vote that the government would drop the 42-day clause from the government's counterterrorism bill.

But Smith said a different version would be put into new legislation even though it wouldn't be automatic -- prosecutors would have to apply to a court each time they wanted a terror suspect held for that long and Parliament would then have to vote on each case if the court agreed to it.

The government had said the initial proposal -- endorsed by the House of Commons in June by a margin of only nine votes -- was needed to fight the complex international terrorist threats facing Britain.

The issue has divided Britons in the years since the Sept. 11 attacks raised fears of terrorism. At the time, there was a two-day limit on detention without charge, which could be increased to seven days with court permission.

Continue reading "UK House of Lords axes 42-day terror detention" »

PODGORICA, Montenegro -- Police fired tear gas Monday at thousands of angry pro-Serb Montenegrins who pelted state buildings with rocks and flares to protest their government's recognition of Kosovo's independence. At least 34 were injured.

The protesters chanted "Treason! Treason!" and "Kosovo is Serbia!" to condemn the government's decision last week to recognize Kosovo, the former Serbian province that declared independence in February.

Eleven protesters and 23 police officers were injured during the running clashes in downtown Podgorica, Montenegro's capital, hospital officials said. Police said 28 demonstrators were arrested.

Earlier, around 10,000 protesters gave the country's pro-Western government until Wednesday to withdraw its recognition of Kosovo, or they would try to topple it "by unparliamentary means."

"This is the biggest shame in Montenegrin history," Andrija Mandic, a leader of the pro-Serbian opposition in the parliament, told a rally in downtown Podgorica.

Continue reading "Police fight anti-Kosovo protesters in Montenegro" »

OTTAWA -- Canada's Conservative prime minister and his Liberal rival crisscrossed the country Monday in a final day of campaigning, with voters concerned the ruling party is out of touch but also that the opposition's leader has trouble communicating in English.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has had a tenuous hold on power since the 2006 election and is forced to rely on the opposition to pass legislation, called Tuesday's vote in hopes of winning the 155 seats needed for a majority in the 308-seat Parliament.

But Harper, the first G-7 leader to face election since the global credit crisis worsened, has been hurt by his slow reaction to the market meltdown, and that -- among other missteps -- may have cost him his bid for the majority.

Harper's rival, Liberal leader Stephane Dion, hopped from the Atlantic coast province of New Brunswick inland to Quebec and then toward the city of Vancouver on the Pacific coast in a last minute blitz of campaign stops. He urged the divided left to vote for his party and dismissed talk he would step down as party leader if he loses.

Dion is a former professor from the French-speaking province of Quebec whose struggles to communicate in English have become an issue. Dion's English is heavily accented and awkward. He stumbles over words during speeches and his grammar is often mangled.

Continue reading "Canadian PM, rival go coast to coast before vote" »

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Democrat Barack Obama is the only presidential candidate who "gets it" when it comes to the nation's economic problems, his wife Michelle Obama told supporters Monday.

Michelle Obama told a crowd of 2,200 gathered at the Mayo Civic Center that she and her husband both understand the difficulties people face because their families have experienced the same struggles.

"It's not just about politics. These issues are personal. I know that's true for everyone here," Obama said.

In southern Minnesota and again in St. Paul later in the day, Obama spoke about how her father had multiple sclerosis but still got up to go to work without complaining. She also told the story of Barack Obama's mother, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer. Obama used the story to explain why she and her husband support a health care system that doesn't deny coverage for preexisting conditions.

Continue reading "Michelle Obama speaks about family struggles, economic crisis, in Minnesota campaign stop" »

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration plans to spend as much as $250 billion of the $700 billion bailout buying stock in private banks, greatly expanding protections for the U.S. financial system out of deep concern for the faltering economy, industry and government officials said Monday night. President Bush planned to announce the details Tuesday morning.

Agreement on the plan came after a remarkable Treasury Department meeting between top government economic officials and executives of the nation's largest banks to revamp the most costly financial rescue in the nation's history.

The plan also would provide a way for the government to insure loans that banks make to each other, a critical part of the credit system that has become frozen and put many businesses in peril.

Earlier Monday, stocks soared around the world in response to dramatic government economic relief efforts in the U.S. and overseas -- and the possibility of the even bolder American action.

Continue reading "Bush to unveil expanded bank bailout details" »

WASHINGTON -- The plans of presidential candidates are never set in stone, if only because circumstances and the makeup of Congress change after the election. The uncertainty is even deeper in this election because Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain laid out most of their agenda before the government committed up to $700 billion to address the financial crisis.

Obama acknowledges what is true for both: "The next president will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals." Yet neither candidate has spelled out what promises might have to be postponed or changed.

With that caution, here's a look at where McCain and Obama stand on a selection of issues:

ABORTION

McCain: Opposes abortion rights. Has voted for abortion restrictions permissible under Roe v. Wade, and now says he would seek to overturn that guarantee of abortion rights. Would not seek constitutional amendment to ban abortion.

Obama: Favors abortion rights.

Continue reading "Where McCain, Obama stand on the issues:" »

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- South Africa's new health minister broke dramatically on Monday from a decade of discredited government policies on AIDS, declaring that the disease was unquestionably caused by HIV and must be treated with conventional medicine.

Health Minister Barbara Hogan's pronouncement marked the official end to 10 years of denial about the link between HIV and AIDS by former President Thabo Mbeki and his health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

Activists also accused Tshabalala-Msimang of spreading confusion about AIDS through her public mistrust of antiretroviral medicines and promotion of nutritional remedies such as garlic, beetroot, lemon, olive oil and the African potato.

"We know that HIV causes AIDS," Hogan told an international AIDS vaccine conference. Monday's speech was her highest-profile public appearance since she became health minister two weeks ago after Mbeki was turned out of office by his party.

"It was imperative to get ahead of the curve of this epidemic 10 years ago," she said. "We all have lost ground. It's even more imperative now that we make HIV prevention work; we desperately need an effective HIV vaccine."

Continue reading "New S.African health minister: HIV causes AIDS" »

WASHINGTON -- Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives pushed dueling economic aid plans Monday as they jockeyed for political advantage on addressing a crisis that is shaping the last weeks of a high-stakes election.

Democrats scheduled hearings to consider a postelection stimulus package that could cost as much as $150 billion. Republicans, spooked by an issue that has damaged their presidential nominee John McCain as well as Republican House and Senate candidates, searched for traction in the debate, calling for more tax cuts and energy exploration to stabilize the economy.

Leaders of both parties appeared eager to pivot, three weeks from Election Day, from backing a $700 billion bailout for Wall Street firms, to advocating more economic aid for their constituents.

"We're at a time where we have to tighten our belt, take ourselves into survival mode," said the leader of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, after a meeting with economic experts. "We plan to go forward expeditiously, but not hastily" after being "steamrolled" on the financial industry rescue.

Continue reading "Parties jockey for advantage on economic aid" »

WASILLA, Alaska -- Levi Johnston, who's having a baby with Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter, can't believe all the things he's hearing.

No, he wasn't held against his will on the campaign trail. No, he's not being forced into a shotgun wedding with 17-year-old Bristol Palin.

"None of that's true," Johnston, 18, said in a rare interview with The Associated Press. "We both love each other. We both want to marry each other. And that's what we are going to do."

Standing in the driveway of his family home in this small Alaska town, Johnston spoke about the rumors swirling around him.

The soft-spoken teenager discussed his relationship with Palin and how life has changed with fatherhood fast approaching. He agreed to talk despite the presidential campaign's advice in the days following Gov. Sarah Palin's nomination to avoid the media.

"They're not telling me anything right now," Johnston said as he checked his Blackberry. "It's pretty chill."

Continue reading "Boyfriend discusses Bristol Palin, Obama, baby" »