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08-07-2004

Iraq Fighting Eases After 2 Violent Days

A fighter loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr holds his Kalashnikov as he takes cover behind a car during clashes with U.S. forces and Iraqi National guards in the holy Muslim city of Najaf, 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday Aug. 7, 2004. Sporadic explosions and gunfire echoed through the holy Shiite city of Najaf on Saturday after two days of intense clashes between U.S. forces and Shiite Muslim insurgents that marked some of the bloodiest fighting in Iraq in months. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

NAJAF, Iraq (AP) _ Sporadic explosions and gunfire echoed through this holy Shiite city on Saturday after two days of intense clashes between U.S. forces and Shiite Muslim insurgents that marked some of the bloodiest fighting in Iraq in months and killed up to 300 people. A 24-hour government deadline for the militants to leave Najaf expired Saturday without any sign of a pullout _ or any major attack. The city was the quietest it's been since fighting erupted Thursday between American troops and militants loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and spread to several cities across Iraq including the capital.

S.F. Man Says Beheading Video Is a Hoax

Benjamin Vanderford, 22, is interviewed at his home in San Francisco, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2004, after a video aired that purportedly showed an American being decapitated in Iraq. .Vanderford, reached by The Associated Press in San Francisco, said he videotaped the staged beheading at his friend's house using fake blood and began distributing the video on the Internet months ago in hopes of drawing attention to his one-time campaign for city supervisor. When his political aspirations waned, he thought thevideo would serve as social commentary. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ A video aired Saturday that purportedly showed an American being decapitated in Iraq was a hoax. The man shown in the video, reached by The Associated Press in San Francisco, said he videotaped the staged beheading at his friend's house using fake blood.

Bush Stresses Anti-Terror Drive in Address

President Bush, left, waves as his father, former President George H.W. Bush, second left, drives their boat while fishing off Kennebunkport, Maine, Friday, Aug. 6, 2004. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (AP) _ The heightened state of alert in New York, Newark, N.J. and Washington is "a grim reminder" of terrorist threats that still face the United States, President Bush said Saturday. He defended the elevated warnings in the face of criticism they were based on old intelligence.

Palestinian Justice Minister Resigns

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat is seen with Israeli peace activist Uri Avnery, left, prior to talks at his headquarters in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2004. Two Palestinian Cabinet ministers announced their resignation Saturday, part of a growing government crisis over Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's refusal to carry out internal reform and share power. (AP Photo/Nasser Shiyoukhi)

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) _ The Palestinian justice minister announced his resignation Saturday, part of a growing government crisis over Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's refusal to carry out internal reform and share power. The minister, Nahed Arreyes, said he stepped down because key powers had been taken from him. He did not mention Arafat by name. However, several months ago, Arafat created a rival agency to the justice ministry and continues to control the judiciary.

AP Poll: Kerry Gains Ground on Defense

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. makes a point while his running mate Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C. looks on during an appearance at a farm near Smithville, Mo. Friday, Aug. 6, 2004. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Democrat John Kerry is putting the pressure on President Bush on his strongest issue, national defense, but the incumbent retains an advantage there, an Associated Press poll found. The Democratic National Convention in late July focused heavily on Kerry's war service and on national security, a strategy that appears to be paying dividends for the White House challenger.

Iraqi Government Shuts Al-Jazeera Station

Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi speaks at a press conference in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Aug. 7, 2004. Allawi discussed why the Iraqi government had closed the Iraqi offices of Al-Jazeera for 30 days, accusing the pan-Arab television station of inciting violence. Government ministers have grown increasingly critical of the television station in recent weeks. (AP Photo/Jim MacMillan)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ The Iraqi government closed the Iraqi offices of the Arab television station Al-Jazeera for 30 days, accusing it Saturday of inciting violence. A spokesman for Al-Jazeera called the closure "unwise" and said it restrained freedom of the press.

'Super Freak' Made James a Funk Legend

Rick James pauses during an interview in this Oct. 23, 2002 file photo, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. James died Friday, Aug. 6, 2004, at his home in Los Angeles of natural causes. (AP Photo/Rene Macura, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Funk legend Rick James peaked in 1981 with "Super Freak," a song so enduring that a strain of its infectious bass line powered the MC Hammer hit "U Can't Touch This" nearly a decade later. But James' career never had the staying power of his signature hit, and the singer's life and music languished through cocaine addiction and a prison term. In his final days, James made a comeback bid that included playing along with routines by comedian Dave Chappelle that parodied his history of erratic behavior.

Company Said to Be Ready to Clone Pets

Baba Ganoush stares at her reflection in a mirror as her sibling Tabouli crouches below her, Thursday, Aug. 5, 2004, in San Francisco. These two kittens are the first cats cloned by chromatin transfer, a new cloning technology developed by Genetic Savings & Clone, a pet gene banking and cloning company, who produced the kittens as a precursor to production of the first batch of cat clones for the public. It will cost $50,000 to have your cat cloned. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ A company that unveiled the world's first cloned cat nearly three years ago now says it is ready to start filling orders for cloned pets, a newspaper reported Thursday. Genetic Savings and Clone, a firm that wants to make a business out of cloned pets, now has Tabouli and Baba Ganoush, 8-week-old Bengal kittens who are the world's second and third cat clones.

Walker Traded to Power-Packed Cardinals

Outfielder Larry Walker bids goodbye to teammates in the dugout during the second inning of the Rockies' game against the Cincinnati Reds in Denver on Friday, Aug. 6, 2004, after Walker was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for a minor leaguer and two players to be named later. Walker, who in his nine years has played in more games than any other player in the history of the Rockies, leaves Colorado holding almost every offensive mark in the franchise's record book. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

The St. Louis Cardinals had a power-packed lineup and the best record in baseball before they added Larry Walker. Good luck getting them out now. Walker was traded from Colorado to the Cardinals on Friday night for minor league pitcher Jason Burch and two players to be named. The five-time All-Star and 1997 NL MVP joins a team that features sluggers Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds.

AP: Arrests Damage al-Qaida Network

A Pakistani boy looks at the home of Pakistani computer expert Mohammed Naeem Noor Khan who was allegedly working for al-Qaida suspects, Thursday, Aug 5, 2004, in Karachi, Pakistan. Pakistan gave British authorities images of London's Heathrow Airport and other sites that were found on the computers of two arrested al-Qaida fugitives- Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian indicted for his role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa, and Khan, intelligence officials said Thursday. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) _ The trail began with a hunt for the people who ambushed a Pakistani commander as his motorcade tried to cross Karachi's Clifton Bridge in June. It led to a torrent of intelligence and ended with dozens of arrests in Pakistan and Britain and a terror warning in the United States. Along the way, investigators passed through Karachi's teeming streets, to the dusty tribal village of Shakai along the Pakistan-Afghan border, to seemingly placid suburban London, to the world's financial headquarters in New York and to Washington, D.C.

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