Business Integrity Must Be Restored, Bush Says
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WASHINGTON (AP) _ Restoring confidence in the integrity of business leaders is "perhaps the greatest need for our economy," President Bush said today and Democrats said Americans think it's Bush's job to clean up the mess. "Perhaps the greatest need for our economy at this moment is restoring confidence in the integrity of the American business leaders," Bush said in his weekly radio address. Responding in the Democrats address, Rep. David Phelps, D-Ill., said investors and workers look to Bush for "immediate action to clean up this wrongdoing." Phelps contended the opportunity for bipartisan reform "is being fought by special interests."
States Brace for Backlash to Cigarette Taxes
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NEW YORK (AP) _ As state after deficit-ridden state ratchets up cigarette taxes, authorities are bracing for some unwelcome consequences in the form of more aggressive smuggling and bolder use of the Internet as a tax-evading tobacco shop. Never before have so many states _ 17 this year alone _ approved cigarette-tax hikes in such a short time. Anti-smoking advocates call it a win-win situation, enabling states to reduce smoking and budget deficits simultaneously. In many legislatures, even tax-averse conservatives have supported the increases _ expected to generate $2.2 billion annually in new revenue.
Mayor of Inglewood, Calif. Appeals for Calm
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INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) _ Mayor Roosevelt Dorn on called for video cameras in police cars today in the wake of the nationally televised videotape of a white police officer punching a handcuffed black teenager in the face. Dorn also said he was confident Inglewood residents would not resort to violent protests of the July 6 incident. "People across the country keep asking, when is the riot going to happen? ... That is not part of the agenda," Dorn told members of the National Alliance for Positive Action, a nonprofit civil rights group based here. Meanwhile, elected officials praised Inglewood officials for their response. That has included reopening investigations into two previous complaints against Officer Jeremy Morse.
Ore. Wildfire Forces Hundreds to Evacuate
BEND, Ore. (AP) _ Residents of 200 homes were forced to evacuate today as a raging wildfire burned about 3 miles away, fire officials said. The fire grew from 6,000 acres to 10,000 acres in just hours and was burning on very steep terrain in prime wildfire conditions, said Marc Hollen, spokesman for the Northwest Fire Coordination Center. About 660 firefighters were battling the fire, started by lightning earlier this week, he said. The blaze, about 3 miles from Three Rivers in central Oregon, jumped containment lines last night. Earlier in the week, the fire jumped the Metolius River and began burning in a roadless area in the Deschutes National Forest, Hollen said.
Kashmir Grenade Attack Kills 25 Hindus
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JAMMU, India (AP) _ Suspected Islamic guerrillas threw grenades and engaged security forces in a gun battle Saturday, killing 25 Hindus _ mostly women and children _ in a shantytown outside the winter capital of Jammu-Kashmir state, police and hospital officials said. More than 30 people were wounded, according to officials at the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu. State police chief Ashok Suri said authorities suspect the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, the most feared of more than dozen Pakistan-based Islamic groups fighting to secure Kashmir's independence from India or merger with mostly Muslim Pakistan. He did not elaborate. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident.
Churchill, Hemingway Photographer Karsh Dies
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BOSTON (AP) _ Photographer Yousuf Karsh, who gained international prominence with his 1941 portrait of a defiant Winston Churchill and photos of public figures such as Albert Einstein and Ernest Hemingway, has died at the age of 93. Karsh died today at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Jacqui Fowler; his European agent, Roger Eldridge, said Karsh died of complications following surgery. Karsh's subjects included world leaders, including 12 U.S. presidents, plus artists and other celebrities. "My personal interest in ordinary people is unlimited, but I am fascinated by the challenge of portraying true greatness adequately with my camera," Karsh wrote in a 1996 essay.
German Intelligence: Bin Laden Alive
BERLIN (AP) _ The head of Germany's foreign intelligence agency said in an interview published Saturday that he believes Osama bin Laden is still alive and hiding along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. August Hanning, the head of the Federal Intelligence Service, also estimated that more than 5,000 supporters of al-Qaida and the ousted Taliban militia remain in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan, while many others have returned to their homelands. "They are preparing attacks from their new locations _ they will try everything to strike again," he was quoted as saying in the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
Pitching Leads Blue Jays Over Red Sox 4-1
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TORONTO (AP) _ Chris Carpenter pitched seven scoreless innings, and Eric Hinske went 4-for-4 to lead the Toronto Blue Jays over the Boston Red Sox 4-1 today. Rey Sanchez drove in Boston's only run with a pinch-hit single in the ninth as the Red Sox avoided being shut out in consecutive games. Roy Halladay and Kelvim Escobar combined on a three-hit shutout in a 5-0 victory Friday night. This time, Cliff Politte and Escobar finished the seven-hitter. Escobar struck out pinch-hitter Jason Varitek and Jose Offerman with runners at first and third to end it.
AP NewsBrief by ROB JAGODZINSKI
Image Caption: President Bush summoned top prosecutors and regulators to the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Friday, July 12, 2002, for the first meeting with his corporate fraud task force. Bush is seeking to reassure shaken investors and contain political fallout amid a string of business scandals. Joining the president from left to right are: FBI Director Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson, Bush, and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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