Obama would send troops
WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would send troops into Pakistan to hunt down terrorists even without local permission if warranted -- an attempt to show strength when his chief rival has described his foreign policy skills as naive. Story on Page 1.
Rumsfeld won't take blame:
WASHINGTON -- Ex-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other top former Pentagon brass denied any cover-up and rejected personal responsibility Wednesday for the military's bungled response to Army Ranger Pat Tillman's friendly-fire death in Afghanistan. "I would not engage in a cover-up," he said. Story on Page 9.
Syrians would cooperate:
WASHINGTON -- Most Syrians favor working with the U.S. to seek an end to the Iraq war, yet also support financing Iraqi fighters and other Middle East groups the U.S. considers terrorists, according to a rare poll of Syrians released Wednesday. The survey also found Syrians narrowly oppose closer ties to the U.S. Story on Page 9.
Romney blasts Homeland:
PELHAM, N.H. -- Republican hopeful Mitt Romney complained Wednesday the Department of Homeland Security is inefficient and requires major restructuring. He said the department does some things well but has challenges rooted in the fact it is made up of different agencies "stuck in one big bureaucracy." Story on Page 11.
Gonzales admits vagueness:
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales conceded Wednesday he used confusing language in describing national security efforts in recent Senate testimony. His letter to Senate Judiciary Committee leaders stopped short of an apology as the Bush administration pushed to expand eavesdropping on suspected terrorists.
Kids' health plan debated:
WASHINGTON -- House Democrats pushed through legislation Wednesday to add 6 million lower-income children to a health insurance program while making deep cuts in federal payments to Medicare HMOs, defying a veto threat from President Bush. In the Senate, a more limited program looked headed for bipartisan endorsement.
Bush blocks Rove testimony:
WASHINGTON -- President Bush is expected to claim executive privilege to prevent two more White House aides from testifying before Congress about the firings of federal prosecutors. Today is the deadline for Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser, to provide information under a Senate Judiciary Committee subpoena.
TVA plans new reactor:
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Valley Authority's board of directors voted unanimously Wednesday to begin a five-year plan to finish a second nuclear reactor at the Watts Bar Nuclear Plant on the Tennessee River. The plant was the last new nuclear plant to come on line in the United States, in 1996.
Report: U.S. sold F-14 parts:
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon accidentally sold to the public more than a thousand aircraft parts that could be used on the F-14 fighter jet, flown only by Iran, after saying it halted such sales, government investigators say. But the report said Defense Department has greatly improved security in its surplus sales program.