News

Catholic leader attacks "monstrous" embryo research

03.22.08 -- 2:14 PM

By Peter Griffiths - Reuters

Research using hybrid human-animal embryos for experiments is "monstrous" and should be banned, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland said on Friday.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien said a proposed new law -- the Human Fertilization and Embryology Bill -- should outlaw the practice.

The House of Lords rejected attempts earlier this year to include a ban on hybrid research in the draft legislation.

"This Bill represents a monstrous attack on human rights, human dignity and human life," O'Brien will say in his Easter Sunday sermon, according to extracts published in Friday's Daily Record newspaper. "In some other European countries, one could be jailed for doing what we intend to make legal."

Poll: Divisive Dem Contest Could Boost McCain

03.21.08 -- 9:00 PM

By Fred Lucas - CNSNews.com

The lengthy Democratic primary contest bodes well for Republican chances of holding the White House, a new poll suggests.

As Democratic Senators Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York slug it out for the nomination, many of their supporters -- at least in Pennsylvania, site of the next major primary -- aren't committed to the party's ticket in November, according to a Franklin & Marshall College Poll.

Among Obama supporters, 20 percent said they would vote for Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, if Clinton beats their candidate for the nomination. Among Clinton supporters, 19 percent said they would support McCain in November if Obama is the Democratic nominee. (See poll)

Attorney General would consider spy bill deal

03.21.08 -- 8:44 PM

By Richard Cowan - Reuters

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said on Friday he was open to compromise with Congress on renewing an anti-terrorism spy bill that has been deadlocked over whether telephone companies should be shielded from lawsuits.

"If somebody has some brilliantly creative compromise, I'm happy to hear that," Mukasey told reporters.

His remarks came one week after the Democratic-led House of Representatives ignored White House veto threats and passed a bill permitting lawsuits against phone companies that participated in President George W. Bush's warrantless domestic spying program that was secretly launched after the September 11 attacks.

Obama Has Clear Money Advantage

03.21.08 -- 7:57 PM

By Jim Kuhnhenn - Associated Press

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton lived hand to mouth during the rush of presidential primaries while Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama outspent her and put money in the bank.

New Federal Election Commission reports show Obama raised at a clip of nearly $2 million a day in February, an open spigot of money that left him with $30 million in the bank for March.

Clinton had her best fundraising month as well, at $34.5 million. But counting her debts to vendors she ended with a net $3 million. And that's not factoring the $5 million she lent her campaign and has not paid back.

The current respite between primaries - the next one is April 22 in Pennsylvania - may cut back on some of the spending. It also denies the two campaigns the head-to-head contests that drive fundraising.

Presidential Candidates' Passport Files Breached

03.21.08 -- 7:47 PM

By ANNE FLAHERTY and DESMOND BUTLER - AP

At least four State Department workers pried into the supposedly secure passport files of presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain, abashed officials admitted Friday in a revelation that had Condoleezza Rice promising a full investigation and telephoning the candidates to apologize personally.

The snooping incidents raised questions as to whether there was political motivation and why two contractors involved were fired before investigators had a chance to interview them. The State Department's inspector general was probing, with the Justice Department monitoring the effort, but Obama said that was not enough. He urged congressional involvement "so it's not simply an internal matter."

The unauthorized digging into electronic government files on politicians recalled a 1992 case in which a Republican political appointee at the State Department was demoted for searching Bill Clinton's passport records when Clinton was running against President George H.W. Bush.

McCain, the Republican nominee-in-waiting, said there should be an investigation of the new snooping as well as an apology.

For Democrats, Increased Fears of a Long Fight

03.16.08 -- 7:55 PM

By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JEFF ZELENY - New York Times

Lacking a clear route to the selection of a Democratic presidential nominee, the party’s uncommitted superdelegates say they are growing increasingly concerned about the risks of a prolonged fight between Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, and perplexed about how to resolve the conflict.

Interviews with dozens of undecided superdelegates — the elected officials and party leaders who could hold the balance of power for the nomination — found them uncertain about who, if anyone, would step in to fill a leadership vacuum and help guide the contest to a conclusion that would not weaken the Democratic ticket in the general election.

While many superdelegates said they intended to keep their options open as the race continued to play out over the next three months, the interviews suggested that the playing field was tilting slightly toward Mr. Obama in one potentially vital respect.

Obama, Clinton Teams Trade Barbs

03.16.08 -- 7:30 PM

By Tom Raum - AP

Strategists for the campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton exchanged calculated barbs Sunday over accountability and ethics and who is engaging in personal attacks.

Obama communications director Robert Gibbs called on Clinton to release full post-White House tax returns; disclose all congressional "earmarks," or pet projects she had inserted into spending bills; and release all documents on the Clinton Foundation and Clinton Library, including a list of donors.

"What is lurking in those documents?" Gibbs asked as the two campaigns had dueling phone conference calls with reporters. "There are gaps that need to be filled," said senior Obama strategist David Axelrod.

Texas Caucus Results Due March 29

03.11.08 -- 6:36 PM

By April Castro - AP

Curious whether Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton won Texas' Democratic caucuses March 4? The official results won't be available until March 29.

Until then, the last reported results - from 41 percent of the precinct caucuses - show Obama ahead with 56 percent to Clinton's 44 percent.

Obama has won at least 31 delegates from the caucuses and Clinton has won at least 27, according to The Associated Press count. The remaining nine delegates will be awarded after the official results are announced at the end of the month.

Whites Back Clinton, Blacks Obama in Mississipi

03.11.08 -- 6:26 PM

By Alan Fram - AP

Blacks gave Barack Obama overwhelming support while whites lined up strongly behind Hillary Rodham Clinton in Mississippi's Democratic presidential primary Tuesday, making it one of the most racially divided of all the party's contests this year.

Nine in 10 blacks were backing Obama while seven in 10 whites were voting for Clinton, according to interviews with voters leaving polling places. That gave Obama the edge because those voting were split about evenly between the two races.

While Obama, an Illinois senator, has typically received lopsided numbers of black votes and Clinton, a New York senator, generally has won among whites, Tuesday's racial polarization was stark.

Clinton Disagrees With Ferraro on Obama

03.11.08 -- 6:16 PM

By PETER JACKSON - AP

Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday she disagrees with Geraldine Ferraro, one of her fundraisers and the 1984 Democratic vice presidential candidate, for saying that Barack Obama "would not be in this position" if he were white instead of black.

In a brief interview with The Associated Press, Clinton said she regretted Ferraro's remarks. The Obama campaign has called on the New York senator to denounce the comments and remove Ferraro from her unpaid position with the campaign.

Last week, Ferraro told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, Calif.: "If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept."

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