World News | Latest News: 09/15/10

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

No deal: Mideast round ends amid fresh violence (AP)

JERUSALEM ï¿½ A mortar attack by Palestinian militants and airstrikes by Israel formed the grim backdrop as Mideast leaders ended their latest round of peace talks Wednesday, still divided on major issues. There was no word on when they would meet again.

The inconclusive U.S.-brokered talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas left in doubt the prospects for their new effort to end generations of hostilities in the region and create a sovereign Palestine alongside a secure Israel.

George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy for Mideast peace efforts, emerged from an evening session to say the talks had been encouraging but had fallen short of agreement.

"A serious and substantive discussion is well under way," Mitchell told a news conference.

Abbas and Netanyahu met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for about two hours at the Israeli leader's official residence here and agreed to continue the search for a peace deal, he said.

But the leaders face a looming crisis with the expiration this month of Israel's partial moratorium on West Bank settlement construction, and it was not clear when they would reconvene. Lower-level officials will meet next week to work out a plan for the next meeting between Netanyahu and Abbas, Mitchell said.

Clinton planned to meet with Abbas on Thursday at his West Bank offices in Ramallah, and then travel to Amman for a working lunch with Jordan's King Abdullah II, who has been a forceful supporter of the peace talks.

Militants opposed to any deal with Israel have threatened to derail the negotiations, and the Israeli military said eight mortars and one rocket hit Israel Wednesday ï¿½ the highest daily total since March 2009. There were no injuries.

Israeli warplanes responded by bombing a smuggling tunnel along the Gaza-Egypt border, the military said. Hamas officials said one person was killed and four wounded.

Mitchell said no one should expect an easy road ahead, but he contended important progress was being made.

"The two leaders are not leaving the tough issues to the end of their discussions; they are tackling upfront ï¿½ and did so this evening ï¿½ the issues that are at the center of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he said. "We take this as a strong indicator of their belief that peace is possible and of their desire to conclude an agreement."

The aim is to reach a final peace deal within one year, with the first step being what Mitchell calls a "framework" agreement that would lay out the main compromises each side would need to make in order to complete a full peace treaty.

But the most immediate obstacle is the approaching expiration of a 10-month Israeli government curb on construction of housing in areas that the Palestinians expect will form the bulk of their sovereign state.

Abbas has threatened to walk out of the talks if Israel resumes construction when the slowdown expires at the end of this month. Clinton and President Barack Obama have called on Netanyahu to extend it.

Netanyahu has signaled he is looking for a compromise. Earlier this week, he said the current curbs won't remain in place after the end of this month, though he will continue to restrict building activity to some extent. It's not clear if that would be enough to satisfy Abbas.

Achieving at least a tacit understanding on West Bank settlements that allows the peace talks to continue is crucial for the Obama administration, which has made an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians a foreign policy priority.

But it would be only a first step toward what Obama hopes will eventually be a comprehensive peace for the region ï¿½ an Israeli accommodation with Syria and Lebanon as well as the Palestinians.

Jordan and Egypt, which already have peace treaties with Israel, are co-sponsors of this week's talks. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hosted Tuesday's negotiations in Sharm el-Sheikh, and Clinton is going to Amman on Thursday to consult with Jordan's King Abdullah.

Mitchell said he will visit Syria on Thursday and Lebanon on Friday in search of a broader Mideast peace, although there is no apparent movement toward direct negotiations between Israel and either country.

The U.S. view is that even tentative steps toward such talks would bolster the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations by raising hopes for success.

Mitchell made no mention of the mortar shells fired into Israel by Palestinian militants in Gaza or of Israel's retaliatory air strike on Gaza ï¿½ violence that erupted just as the leaders were sitting down for a second day of talks. Clinton and the two leaders had met on Tuesday in Egypt to begin their first substantive negotiations in nearly two years.

Abbas did not comment publicly and Netanyahu's only remark was that the peace negotiations were difficult but necessary work.

At his news conference, Mitchell refused to say what sort of compromises were under discussion on the divisive issue of Jewish settlements. He said it was necessary to keep the details confidential to keep the talks on track.

Private U.S. analysts are split on the prospects.

Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and now director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution, told The Associated Press that he was cautiously optimistic. The test, he said, will come in two weeks when Netanyahu is due to decide whether to extend the partial moratorium on settlement construction.

"I have reason to be hopeful," Indyk said, pointing out that Netanyahu has called Abbas his partner and has said that the Palestinians need sovereignty ï¿½ "which is very new and critical to a deal."

Jim Phillips, Middle East specialist at the Heritage Foundation, took a pessimistic stance. He focused his concern on Iran and Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that controls Gaza.

"It is politically incorrect to say so, but I believe there can be no genuine peace so long as Hamas remains a spoiler backed by Iran," Phillips said.

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New Western concerns over Iran's nuclear program (AP)

UNITED NATIONS ï¿½ The United States, Britain and France expressed growing concern Wednesday that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons program and developing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

The three Western powers were joined by Russia and China, which have close ties to Iran, in calling on the government in Tehran to return to negotiations on its nuclear program. China's deputy U.N. ambassador Wang Ming said, without elaborating, that "at present new opportunities have emerged for restarting dialogue."

The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council spoke after a briefing by the head of the committee monitoring sanctions against Iran. The council imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran in June for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment and start negotiations with the five permanent members and Germany.

The council briefing took place ahead of a meeting next week of foreign ministers from the six countries on the sidelines of the annual ministerial session of the U.N. General Assembly. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is among some 140 world leaders scheduled to attend the annual meeting and a summit to promote the achievement of U.N. anti-poverty goals that precedes it.

Ambassadors from the three Western countries highlighted a recent report by the International Atomic Energy Agency and comments Monday by its chief, Yukiya Amano, who said he cannot confirm that all of Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, as Tehran claims, because the country has offered only selective cooperation to the U.N. nuclear watchdog and has rejected several inspectors.

In Tehran, Ahmadinejad on Wednesday criticized the threat of new sanctions, saying Iran can survive without the United States and its allies. He told NBC News in an interview that Iran was justified in barring further visits by inspectors.

"We in Iran are in a position to meet our own requirements," he said.

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice pointed to "clear evidence that Iran is refusing to take any step to begin resolving concerns that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons ï¿½ and continues actions that in fact deepen these concerns."

"The IAEA's report is the clearest evidence yet that Iran is refusing to address our proliferation concerns and appears determined to acquire a nuclear weapons capability," she said.

Rice also expressed concern that Iran is pursuing ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons in violation of U.N. sanctions ï¿½ a concern echoed by Britain's U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant and France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud.

Tehran says its nuclear program is peaceful and aimed solely at producing nuclear energy, but Araud said "Iran's nuclear program has no credible civilian application."

The Western envoys said despite deep concerns about Iran's nuclear intentions, the offer of negotiations remains on the table.

But Lyall Grant also warned that they remain "determined to continue to respond robustly to Iran's refusal to comply with its international obligations."

The Western ambassadors urged the sanctions committee to quickly appoint a panel of experts to help monitor what countries are doing to implement the measures. The committee called on all countries to submit reports on actions they have taken, noting that only 36 countries did so within the 60-day requirement.

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Fiesta! Mexico wants violence-free 200th birthday (AP)

MEXICO CITY ï¿½ Just one day without massacres, beheadings or shootouts.

On its 200th birthday Wednesday, Mexico wanted its citizens ï¿½ and the world ï¿½ to forget its vicious drug war and remember the country's epic history, music, whimsical folk art and continuing crusade for wider prosperity and democracy.

All were on display with a $40 million fiesta, two years in the making. About 60,000 revelers ï¿½ many wearing sombreros and face paint with the red, white and green of the Mexican flag ï¿½ crowded along Reforma Avenue, the capital's main promenade, cheering and yelling "Bravo!" at the start of the 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) parade of floats and dances designed by the country's top artists.

Another 25,000 gathered early at the main Zocalo plaza, where President Felipe Calderon was later set to deliver the traditional "Grito" ï¿½ three shouts of "Viva Mexico" ï¿½ to celebrate the 1810 uprising that resulted a decade later in independence from Spain.

Some traveled to the capital from all over Mexico to celebrate on the streets, despite the country's escalating drug violence that increasingly has claimed innocent lives.

"This one is special," said Iris Mari Rodriguez Montiel, a small business owner who had traveled from the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz and waited since morning for the festivities to start. "It gives me chills just to think about it. I love Mexico. There's only one Mexico."

Little girls wearing ribbons of the Mexican flag watched from the shoulders of their fathers, and other children blew trumpets as the air filled with confetti. Marchers with green, red and white cacti sprouting from their heads formed a sea around an enormous newspaper boat sporting phrases from the independence era.

"It's like a Carnival of Rio, plus an Olympic ceremony, plus Woodstock all put together in the same day," said artistic director Marco Balich, who produced the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. "For the cost of a warplane, you can celebrate the birthday of a country."

Several neighboring heads of state and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis were attending.

Still, anxiety hovered over the festivities with a heavy presence of law enforcement, some with police dogs.

In the back of many people's minds was the violence of the past year: The assassination of a gubernatorial candidate. The slaughter of 19 people at a drug rehabilitation center. The massacre of 72 migrants who refused to smuggle drugs for a brutal gang.

Military helicopters buzzed overhead, heavily armed federal agents and metal detectors greeted revelers. In some of Mexico's most violent cities, the festivities were canceled for fear of a drug cartel attack.

"We should be proud of all we've achieved," said Daniel Mendiola, a 64-year-old retiree who eyes were glued to a giant screen in front of the Angel of Independence monument on Reforma. But he said he would leave as soon as the parade, skipping a concert of big-name acts planned afterward.

"We have this doubt," he said. "The idea that there will be problems later on."

While drug violence during a grand festival would have been unheard of just a few years ago ï¿½ even cartel capos celebrate religion and family in Mexico ï¿½ that changed during independence celebrations in 2008. A grenade attack blamed on a cartel killed eight revelers, including a 14-year-old boy, in Calderon's home state of Michoacan.

Prosecutors in the Caribbean coast resort of Cancun said they were investigating whether six men detained Wednesday with assault rifles and hand grenades had planned an attack during the bicentennial festivities.

There was still hope, though, that the drug war would take a holiday.

"In Mexico, we all live in fear. And the worst part is that we are starting to get used to it," said Eric Limon, 33, a professional dancer who volunteered to wear a jaguar mask and swing a colorful Aztec club and spear for the parade.

"I want to be part of something important," said Limon, who was part of the parade. "I know this won't solve our problems, but this is my grain of sand to create a sense of unity. This is what Mexico needs."

The parade also featured a battalion of 13-foot-tall (4-meter-tall) marionettes ï¿½ soldiers of the 1810 Independence war and the 1910 Mexico Revolution controlled by several operators ï¿½ marching thunderously as women, children and even dogs run to join the fight, and replicas of the giant Olmec heads and Mayan pyramids, celebrating ancient peoples whose language, dress, food and customs endure in modern Mexico.

Many people were staying home to watch the festivities broadcast on TV and the Internet.

"It's not clear what we have to celebrate. It's 200 years of independence, but there is as much insecurity as freedom in Mexico," said Anita Guerrero, 20.

Guerrero planned to be at the main plaza in the Pacific resort of Acapulco for that city's Grito ï¿½ but only because she needed to make money selling enchiladas to the crowd.

"You never know if you will make it safely home," she said.

Still, it was hard to keep Mexicans away from a party.

"To celebrate the identity of a country, especially in this moment in Mexico, I think is really needed," Balich said. "Especially for the young to be proud of their identity, to make an optimistic statement at a difficult time."

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Associated Press Writers Sergio Flores in Acapulco, Mexico; and Gabriel Alcocer in Cancun, Mexico, contributed to this report.

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Arlington opens graves, finds 2 misplaced bodies (AP)

WASHINGTON ï¿½ Two people were buried in the wrong graves at Arlington National Cemetery, the Army said Wednesday, as it followed up an investigation into bookkeeping problems and burial mix-ups at one of the nation's most hallowed sites.

After a report issued in June found that the problems could potentially affect thousands of graves, defense officials received about 1,100 calls from worried families.

One of those calls, from the widow of an Army staff sergeant, led to the exhumation of her husband's casket late last month. The remains in it belonged to someone else, so officials opened a nearby grave and found the woman's husband, said Gary Tallman, an Army spokesman.

"The families are satisfied that the problem was fixed," Tallman said Wednesday.

Another grave was opened Wednesday in a different section of Arlington. At the request of his father, the grave and casket of Marine Pfc. Heath Warner of Canton, Ohio, were opened. The site was found to hold the remains of Warner, who was killed in Iraq in 2006, Tallman said.

"We're gratified that the outcome was positive and they were able to gain some closure," Tallman said of Warner's family members.

Tallman said he was not aware of any other requests for exhumation. The Defense Department initially said that three remains were found buried in the wrong graves at Arlington, but later corrected the figure to two.

The investigation into cemetery mismanagement marred the reputation of one of the nation's best-known burial grounds. Army Secretary John McHugh announced that the cemetery's two civilian leaders would be forced to step aside, and appointed a new chief to conduct a more thorough investigation to sort out the mix-ups.

Each year almost 4 million people visit Arlington, where more than 300,000 remains are buried, including those of troops from conflicts dating back to the Civil War, as well as U.S. presidents and their spouses and other U.S. officials.

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Online:

Arlington National Cemetery http://ping.fm/R6qkc

(This version corrects throughout that only 2 people in wrong graves, not 3.)

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Poll: Climate for GOP keeps getting better (AP)

WASHINGTON ï¿½ Tilted toward the GOP from the start of the year, the political environment has grown even more favorable for Republicans and rockier for President Barack Obama and his Democrats over the long primary season that just ended with a bang.

With November's matchups set and the general election campaign beginning in earnest Wednesday, an Associated Press-GfK poll found that more Americans say the country is headed in the wrong direction than did before the nomination contests got under way in February. Also, more now disapprove of the job Obama is doing. And more now want to see Republicans in control of Congress rather than the Democrats who now run the House and Senate.

The country's pessimism benefits the out-of-power GOP, which clearly has enthusiasm on its side. Far more people voted this year in Republicans primaries than in Democratic contests, and the antiestablishment tea party coalition has energized the GOP even as it has sprung a series of primary surprises.

"We're definitely in a stronger position than we've been in really at any point this year," Sen. John Cornyn, who leads the effort to elect Senate Republicans, said in an interview.

Said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: "Turnout and enthusiasm are off the charts."

Indeed, Republicans expected turnout of 30,000 to 40,000 in Delaware on Tuesday. Some 57,582 people showed up to vote as tea party-backed Christine O'Donnell upset moderate Rep. Mike Castle for the Senate GOP nomination. By most accounts, the outcome diminished Republican chances of winning former Vice President Joe Biden's seat. But Republicans got their preferred candidate in New Hampshire as former state Attorney General Kelly Ayotte fended off tea party-supported Ovide Lamontagne by a razor-thin margin.

Fueling voter anger is an unemployment rate that's hovered near 10 percent all year despite efforts by Obama and fellow Democrats to accelerate the economic recovery.

"I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that they're out of office," said independent voter Robbin Payton of Newport News, Va., reflecting just how toxic the environment is for the party in power.

Overall, it's an extraordinarily dreary backdrop for Obama's beleaguered party. And with just seven weeks until Election Day, Democrats are running out of options to mitigate widespread expected losses of House, Senate and governor's seats from coast to coast on Nov. 2.

"The reality is if you take the 30,000-foot view, it doesn't probably look that inviting," Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, who leads the committee charged with electing Senate Democrats, said in an interview. "If you take the state-by-state view ... it's far more beneficial to us" because in places like Delaware "Republicans have chosen extremists to be their nominees."

In the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi predicted that the Democrats would keep control. But, underscoring the woes facing Democrats, she stopped short of the kind of confidence she's shown in past campaigns when her party had a political tail wind.

"I am not yielding one grain of sand. I want to have the same big, strong majority that we have," said Pelosi, D-Calif.

As Illinois kicked off the primary season Feb. 2, there was little talk even among Republicans that power in the House was in reach, much less in the Senate. But the national landscape has only has worsened for Democrats.

Back then:

_The unemployment rate was 9.7 percent; it's 9.6 now.

_Half of the country said in January that the country was on the wrong track; 57 percent say that now in the new AP-GfK poll.

_About 42 percent of the country disapproved of Obama's job performance; half does now.

_Democrats had a 49 percent to 37 percent advantage over Republicans on the party that voters want to see control Congress; the GOP now enjoys a 55-39 lead among likely voters.

Republicans have steadily gained ground on economic issues and now have a slight advantage on handling the economy, the federal deficit and taxes. They improved their standing in the past month even as Obama stepped up his efforts to persuade the public to give Democratic solutions more time to work.

At the same time, 40 percent of likely voters call themselves tea party supporters, and most of them lean toward Republicans while nearly two-thirds have a deeply negative impression of Democrats. That means the GOP could be in strong shape on Nov. 2 if tea party backers turn out and vote Republican. That's what they've been doing so far this year: The grass-roots, antiestablishment movement can claim wins in at least seven GOP Senate races, a handful of Republican gubernatorial contests and dozens of House primary campaigns.

Also, Obama's job-performance standing on the economy is at a low point, and a majority of people now say they will consider their feelings about him when they vote for Congress this fall.

"I don't care for what the man is doing. I think he's leaving a lot of Americans behind," said independent Larry Schmidt, 61, of Shingletown, Calif. He says he'll back a Republican, if he even votes.

The House is most at risk of changing hands.

Upward of 75 races are competitive, most held by Democrats. Republicans need to gain 40 seats to seize control.

Most vulnerable are conservative-to-moderate Democrats in districts John McCain won in the 2008 presidential campaign, and other Democrats who rode Obama's coattails, benefiting from participation spikes among young and minority voters.

The GOP needs a 10-seat gain for Senate control, a tall order.

Republicans and Democrats alike say that quest got even more difficult Tuesday in Delaware when O'Donnell won the GOP nomination. Democrats had all but written off that Senate seat when it was assumed that Castle would be the nominee, but now they say they're favored, and many Republicans agree.

Nonetheless, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is sending O'Donnell's campaign the maximum possible donation, $42,000, and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a potential presidential candidate in 2012, is kicking in $5,000 from his political action committee.

The GOP still is virtually assured to pick up a North Dakota seat. Republicans also could overtake vulnerable incumbent Sens. Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas and Michael Bennett in Colorado, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada. Among other Democratic-held seats: GOP candidates are leading comfortably in Indiana and Pennsylvania, and Republicans are competitive in Illinois, Connecticut, California, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

Republicans also have an advantage in states where they are defending seats they now hold that are coming open: Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri and New Hampshire.

With less than two months to go, Democrats are focused on slowing a GOP wave that could give Republicans control of Congress and on trying to fire up their deeply dispirited Democratic base while stemming the flood of independents who now are leaning strongly toward the GOP.

They haven't gained traction with warnings that electing Republicans would mean a return to George W. Bush's policies. Now, Democrats are trying a different tack by elevating ï¿½ and subsequently tearing down ï¿½ House GOP leader John Boehner, the likely House speaker should Republicans win control. They're also pouring millions of dollars into advertising designed mostly to make GOP candidates unacceptable instead of highlighting their own accomplishments.

But there's no certainty any of those tactics will work.

For now at least, Republicans are simply selling themselves as something other than the status quo. And, if the antiestablishment results of the primary season are any measure, it may just work.

The AP-GfK Poll was conducted Sept. 8 to 13, 2010 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1, 000 adults nationwide, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points for all adults, 4.5 for registered voters and 5.7 for likely voters.

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Associated Press Polling Director Trevor Tompson, AP Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta, AP News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius and AP Writers Jennifer C. Kerr, Laurie Kellman and Natasha Metzler contributed to this report.

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Online: http://ping.fm/8bCt2

(This version CORRECTS the start date of poll to Sept. 8.)

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France hits back at criticism on Gypsy roundups (AP)

PARIS ï¿½ President Nicolas Sarkozy's government fired back Wednesday at European Commission criticism of France's crackdown on Gypsies, or Roma, saying some of the complaints are unacceptable.

A day earlier, EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding had called France's expulsions of Roma to Eastern Europe "a disgrace" ï¿½ as well as something she "thought that Europe would not have to witness again after the second World War."

The exchange heightened tensions between France and the European Union a day before a summit of EU leaders Thursday in Brussels and forced the European Commission president to go into damage control, saying Reding had not meant to compare World War II and today.

French authorities have recently dismantled more than 100 illegal camps and sent home more than 1,000 Roma, mainly back to Romania, in a crackdown that has drawn international condemnation. Sarkozy has called Roma camps sources of crime such as illegal trafficking and child exploitation.

France could ultimately be slapped with a fine by the European Court of Justice if its expulsions are found to have breached EU law.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called Reding's comments "scandalous."

A senior official at the presidential palace said France doesn't want an argument with the commission, but "some of the comments are simply unacceptable." He declined to be named, in line with office policy.

After a Cabinet meeting, government spokesman Luc Chatel also objected to Reding's remarks, saying, "It is unacceptable to compare the situation today with a tragic period in our history."

The French government has objected to any comparisons between its plane flights of Gypsies ï¿½ many of whom return home voluntarily with a small stipend ï¿½ and World War II, when Europe's Gypsy populations were decimated in the Holocaust.

Sarkozy spoke with Reding on Wednesday night, while his prime minister defended the French position on the Roma before heads of government and lawmakers of the conservative Popular European Party in Brussels.

"France has generous social welfare and is a defender of liberty, but we cannot accept that flow of people without any means to support themselves and their scandalous trafficking coming into our country," Fillon said after the meeting.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said he had offered Reding his full support. But he added that "expressions used in the heat of the moment may have given rise to misunderstandings."

Reding "did not want to establish any parallels between what happened in World War II and the present," he said.

The leaders of Germany and Italy said the issue should be on the summit agenda.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in Brussels on Wednesday evening that while the European Commission has the right to monitor member states, "I found the tone and especially the historical comparisons unsuitable, and I hope we can find a better way."

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi said Reding "should have treated the issue in private before speaking publicly as she did," in an interview in Thursday's French daily Le Figaro. "This problem of the Roma is not specifically French," he said. "It concerns all European nations."

Meanwhile, in an act of solidarity with the Roma, an umbrella group of black associations in France, CRAN, said it would file a complaint against the Interior Ministry for "inciting racial hatred."

The complaint is based on a French Interior Ministry letter sent this summer to regional officials and telling them that Roma camps were the priority in a nationwide sweep to dismantle illegal squatters' quarters.

The blunt letter, made public in recent days, shocked many people in France, where officials are supposed to be blind to race, religion and ethnicity.

Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux's office said he had issued a new letter on the subject to the regional officials Monday ï¿½ one that did not include any reference to Roma.

Roma face discrimination in housing, jobs and education across Europe. As EU citizens, they have a right to travel to France, but must get papers to work or live there in the long term.

As many as 15,000 Roma live in France, according to the advocacy group Romeurope. French authorities have no official estimate.

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Associated Press writers Raf Casert in Brussels and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

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AP-GfK Poll: Climate for GOP keeps getting better (AP)

"We're definitely in a stronger position than we've been in really at any point this year," Sen. John Cornyn, who leads the effort to elect Senate Republicans, said in an interview.

Said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: "Turnout and enthusiasm are off the charts."

Fueling voter anger is an unemployment rate that's hovered near 10 percent all year despite efforts by Obama and fellow Democrats to accelerate the economic recovery.

"I am not yielding one grain of sand. I want to have the same big, strong majority that we have," said Pelosi, D-Calif.

Back then:

_The unemployment rate was 9.7 percent; it's 9.6 now.

_Half of the country said in January that the country was on the wrong track; 57 percent say that now in the new AP-GfK poll.

_About 42 percent of the country disapproved of Obama's job performance; half does now.

_Democrats had a 49 percent to 37 percent advantage over Republicans on the party that voters want to see control Congress; the GOP now enjoys a 55-39 lead among likely voters.

Also, Obama's job-performance standing on the economy is at a low point, and a majority of people now say they will consider their feelings about him when they vote for Congress this fall.

"I don't care for what the man is doing. I think he's leaving a lot of Americans behind," said independent Larry Schmidt, 61, of Shingletown, Calif. He says he'll back a Republican, if he even votes.

The House is most at risk of changing hands.

Upward of 75 races are competitive, most held by Democrats. Republicans need to gain 40 seats to seize control.

The GOP needs a 10-seat gain for Senate control, a tall order.

Republicans also have an advantage in states where they are defending seats they now hold that are coming open: Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri and New Hampshire.

But there's no certainty any of those tactics will work.

For now at least, Republicans are simply selling themselves as something other than the status quo. And, if the antiestablishment results of the primary season are any measure, it may just work.

The AP-GfK Poll was conducted September 9 to 13, 2010 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1, 000 adults nationwide, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.2 percentage points for all adults, 4.5 for registered voters and 5.7 for likely voters.

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Online: http://ping.fm/S9rWV

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More House Democrats call for tax cuts for all (AP)

WASHINGTON ï¿½ More Democrats joined Republicans on Wednesday in calling for the preservation of tax breaks for Americans of every income level, bolting this election season from President Barack Obama's plan to preserve cuts for those who earn less than $200,000 and let taxes for the wealthy rise.

"We should not be raising taxes in the middle of a recession," Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., who's facing tough odds in his bid for a fourth term, wrote in a terse letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"It is essential that we keep things as they are in the short term," said Rep. Travis W. Childers, D-Miss., another conservative incumbent in a tight race, whose district, like Marshall's, voted for Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential race.

For this pair, one press release announcing their opposition to Obama's plan was not enough. They and other jittery moderate Democrats have signed a letter being circulated by Utah Rep. Jim Matheson urging Pelosi, D-Calif., and other House leaders to abandon the Obama plan and extend to everyone the Bush-era tax cuts due to expire at the end of the year.

House and Senate leaders aren't saying which plan they'll propose, or whether they'll even bother with the debate in the charged political atmosphere leading up to the Nov. 2 midterm elections. All 435 House seats, 37 in the Senate and the Democratic majorities in both houses are on the line.

The divisions extended well into Democratic ranks on Capitol Hill. Moderates and conservatives in tight races were skittish about the prospect of being branded tax hikers at the height of election season if a bill to let taxes rise for the wealthy is brought up for debate. Other Democrats said they relish the idea of holding a vote to extend only the middle class tax cuts and daring Republicans to vote against it.

"I want to smoke some people out," said Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., a supporter of the Obama plan who nonetheless said he was open to compromise.

Common ground was less the issue than whether punting the matter until the end of the year might be politically helpful.

Democratic leaders would not commit to a full debate or a vote in the handful of weeks before Congress leaves town for the campaign trail. Asked directly Wednesday whether Congress should take up the tax cut issue before or after Election Day, Pelosi did not answer. Her lieutenant, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland, sounded open to discussing compromises but did not say when those talks might happen.

Republicans, meanwhile, stayed together on their tax-cuts-for-all message and pressed for action before leaving town in October to go home to campaign. House Republican leader John Boehner, who over the weekend had suggested he would vote for Obama's plan if that were the only option offered him, stuck to the party's message Wednesday.

"If we're serious about helping our economy this month we need to stop the tax hikes, and we need to cut spending," Boehner said.

The expiring tax cuts are the most sweeping in a generation, affecting taxpayers at every income level. Obama wants to make the tax cuts permanent for individuals making less than $200,000 and married couples making less than $250,000.

Republicans support a full renewal of all tax cuts, regardless of income, despite a 10-year cost to the government of about $700 billion above Obama's plan.

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Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

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Arlington opens graves, finds 3 misplaced bodies (AP)

WASHINGTON ï¿½ Three people were buried in the wrong graves at Arlington National Cemetery, the Army said Wednesday as it followed up an investigation into bookkeeping problems and burial mix-ups at one of the nation's most hallowed sites.

After a report issued in June found that the problems could potentially affect thousands of graves, defense officials received about 1,100 calls from worried families.

One of those callers, the widow of an Army staff sergeant, led to the exhumation of three graves late last month. The three remains in those graves, all former members of the armed forces, were found to be in the wrong place, said Gary Tallman, an Army spokesman.

"The families are satisfied that the problem was fixed," Tallman said Wednesday.

A fourth grave was opened Wednesday in a different section of Arlington. At the request of his father, the grave and casket of Marine Pfc. Heath Warner of Canton, Ohio, were opened. The site was found to hold the remains of Warner, who was killed in Iraq in 2006, Tallman said.

"We're gratified that the outcome was positive and they were able to gain some closure," Tallman said of Warner's family members.

Tallman said he was not aware of any other requests for exhumation.

____

Online:

Arlington National Cemetery http://ping.fm/9lKYc

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Mideast peace talks round concludes with no deal (AP)

JERUSALEM ï¿½ Palestinian militants and Israeli forces attacked each other Wednesday, forming a grim backdrop for the latest round of U.S.-driven peace negotiations. The talks ended with no agreement on the most pressing issue: Jewish settlements.

Former Sen. George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy for Mideast peace efforts, emerged from an evening session between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to say the talks had been encouraging but fell short of a breakthrough.

"A serious and substantive discussion is well under way," Mitchell told a news conference.

The leaders met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for about two hours and agreed to continue the search for a peace deal, he said. But it was not clear when they would reconvene. Lower-level officials will meet next week to work out a plan for the next meeting between Netanyahu and Abbas, Mitchell said.

Mitchell said no one should expect an easy road ahead, but he contended important progress was being made.

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White House sends spending wish list to Congress (AP)

WASHINGTON ï¿½ The Obama administration is pushing a pre-election shopping list on its Democratic allies in Congress as they prepare must-pass legislation to prevent a government shutdown next month.

Republicans are protesting the spending requests, which include $1.9 billion for school grants, financial help for the Postal Service and more than $4 billion requested by the administration to finance settlements of long-standing lawsuits against the government.

A back-of-the-envelope tally by Republicans puts the price tag of the Obama requests at more than $25 billion, including $5.7 billion to prevent shortfalls in the popular Pell Grant program and $5.5 billion the cash-strapped Postal Service.

The White House is targeting a bill to continue funding the government past the Sept. 30 end of the fiscal year to carry its spending requests. The measure is needed because Congress is failing to pass the annual spending bills that fund the day-to-day operations of the government.

Such stopgap funding bills typically don't carry controversial legislation or large spending initiatives. But the stopgap measure is the last measure that Congress absolutely has to pass before the elections, and so it is a tempting target on which to add unfinished business.

"The Obama administration, Speaker Pelosi and Democrat leaders are going to try and use this (stopgap bill) as a 'Hail Mary' pass for more government spending and policy items in a frantic last dash before the election," said Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif.

The administration also wants to renew parts of last year's economic stimulus measure, including $800 million for child care grants to states.

Some of the proposals, including $1.2 billion to remedy discrimination by the Agriculture Department against black farmers and $3.4 billion for mismanaging Indian trust funds, passed the House and Senate earlier this year as part of larger legislation but were stripped out due to cost concerns.

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US forces advance in Taliban green belt stronghold (AP)

ASHOQEH, Afghanistan ï¿½ U.S. Army Capt. Brant Auge swept his hand across a satellite map of southern Afghanistan and pointed to a dark band of river-fed vineyards, pomegranate groves and marijuana fields arcing through an otherwise barren valley.

The band is what U.S. troops in this Taliban stronghold call "The Green Zone" ï¿½ a fertile belt of vegetation crawling with insurgents targeted in a U.S.-led operation. The operation, which began slowly on Wednesday, could mark one of the most critical stages of the nearly nine-year war.

American commanders are hoping to clear the region of guerrillas and destroy their main fighting positions in the weeks and months ahead before President Barack Obama makes a critical assessment in December of the effectiveness of the 30,000-man surge. Success or failure here could determine the course of the war.

Many villages in the Green Zone ï¿½ not to be confused with the far better known protected area in Baghdad, Iraq, that takes the same name ï¿½ have been "largely abandoned and are only being held by Taliban fighters," said Auge, a 30-year-old company commander from Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

In others, Taliban militants operate so freely that aerial drones have spotted them at checkpoints searching and interrogating passers-by to find out "who is supporting the Americans," Auge said.

Coalition forces, he said, had not traveled down one road near his outpost since April. When they did, they lost five vehicles to roadside bombs.

Troops from the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division began flooding the region in May in a bid to disrupt the guerrillas' operations and block them from staging attacks into Kandahar city. Kandahar's security is considered a linchpin of American strategy to win the war. But the militants, some from neighboring Pakistan, have brought in hundreds of fighters of their own and stepped up attacks, U.S. officers say.

The fight will be tough. Sympathy and support from the Taliban runs high here in Zhari district, where Taliban leader Mullah Omar's radical Islamic movement was born 16 years ago.

Auge said the Taliban have set up "shadow courts and shadow governments" throughout the area, and "if people have a problem, that's who they turn to because they don't have anybody else."

American commanders are hoping to weaken the Taliban by establishing ties between residents and their nascent district government ï¿½ with which most have little or no contact for years. "We have to give them that other option, show that the Afghan government can provide for their needs," he said.

But even that task has been difficult. Many residents don't want to talk to U.S. forces ï¿½ either because they're afraid of heavily armed American troops moving through their villages, afraid Taliban fighters who threaten to kill them, or because they genuinely sympathize with the insurgency.

Zhari's local government is largely a one-man show, and the chief, Kareem Jan, is a marked man. He has survived at least three assassination attempts since taking on the job in late May ï¿½ the latest last week when gunmen ambushed his convoy on the main tarmac highway that crosses the region, killing one of his guards before escaping with one of his vehicles.

In recent months, American commanders say they've reduced ambushes along Highway 1 by cutting down trees and destroying insurgent fighting positions.

North of the road is wide open desert where insurgents have difficulty hiding. To the south lies the Green Zone, and "most villages in the south are Taliban-controlled," Auge said.

The lush belt's abundant undergrowth, which straddles the Arghandab River in an arc west and northwest of Kandahar, can conceal guerrilla fighters so well that U.S. troops often see only muzzle flashes in the shadows. Grape fields are strung over 4-foot-high mud walls that substitute as highly effective fighting positions.

Army engineers will use chain saws to cut down more trees the guerrillas use as cover, Auge said. Bulldozers and explosive charges may also be used, according to other officers.

Taliban fighters have dug small defensive berms in some spots and planted defensive pressure-plate bombs around their compounds. They have used tunnels in neighboring mountains. And troops have discovered hidden "shelves" inside water wells they believe have been used to store weapons and people.

"That's their terrain," said another company commander, Capt. Nick Stout, standing atop a nearby hilltop outpost overlooking the strategic valley.

"It's single canopy jungle in there," said the 27-year-old native of Lake Orion, Michigan. "That's where their bed-down locations are, that's where their weapons are being cached at, that's the ground they're using to traffic personnel."

Pointing to one main thoroughfare in his area of operations, Stout said grimly: "That road is straight-up owned by the Taliban."

Many U.S. outposts, including Auge's, are scattered across the green band; but patrols around them have been limited and they come under frequent attack.

On Saturday, U.S. troops south of the town of Senjeray spotted insurgents holed up in a series of compounds. As gunbattles echoed across the valley, troops called in air support. A-10 fighter jets, Kiowa choppers and Apache helicopter gunships circled the skies, repeatedly diving down to strafe targets.

The fighting stopped after jets dropped two bombs ï¿½ one 500 pounds, the other 1,000 ï¿½ which left giant columns of dark brown dust clouds mushrooming above the battle zone. As many as 14 insurgents were killed, Auge said.

Clearing insurgents from the valley, however, has proven difficult.

NATO forces have launched major clearing operations in Zhari before ï¿½ in 2006 and again in 2007. Despite initial successes, Taliban fighters trickled back in.

Auge said the latest operation will be different because the coalition finally has the manpower to get the job done and deploy in areas where "nobody's been able to get in" so far.

"We're starting to push into the zones now because we have the combat power we need," Auge said. "We're not going to occupy villages. But we have enough to maintain a presence and keep soldiers in the area so Taliban do not come back in."

British Maj. Gen. Nick Carter, who oversees NATO forces in the south, said one of the targets in Zhari on Wednesday was the village of Makuan, which U.S. commanders expect to clear within days. Carter said troops had "breached some IED belts" adjacent to the village, referring to bombs coalition forces often call improvised explosive devices.

But progress was clearly slow.

U.S. forces, he said, had gone only "slightly farther than we've gone before."

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Bahamas Jaws Beach boater likely found in shark (AP)

NASSAU, Bahamas ï¿½ A boater who disappeared off Jaws Beach ï¿½ on an island where one of the "Jaws" movies was filmed ï¿½ is probably the person whose remains were found in the belly of a shark, police say.

Authorities used fingerprints to identify Judson Newton, although they are still waiting for DNA test results, Assistant Police Commissioner Hulan Hanna said late Tuesday.

It is unclear if Newton was alive when he was eaten.

Newton went on a boating trip with friends off Jaws Beach on New Providence Island on Aug. 29 and encountered engine trouble. Rescuers who responded to a call for help found three men aboard who said that Newton and a friend jumped into the water to try to swim back to shore. Officials launched a search for them, but neither was found.

On Sept. 4, a local investment banker caught the 12-foot (3.6-meter) tiger shark while on a deep-sea fishing trip and he said a left leg popped out of its mouth as they hauled it in.

When officers with the island's defense force cut the shark open, they found the right leg, two severed arms and a severed torso.

The beach is located on the small island where the 1987 shark-terror sequel film "Jaws: The Revenge" was partially filmed. The capital, Nassau, is also on the island.

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Feds probe time it took to shut down gas pipe (AP)

SAN BRUNO, Calif. ï¿½ Federal investigators are examining whether Pacific Gas & Electric workers followed proper emergency procedures after a gas transmission line exploded into an inferno that killed at least four people and destroyed nearly 40 homes in a San Francisco suburb.

National Transportation Safety Board vice chairman Christopher Hart said that constructing a timeline of how PG&E crews reacted would be important to determining why it took the utility nearly two hours to turn off the gas that fueled last week's devastating blaze.

"We will be looking at how quickly and effectively they responded, and that's one of the reasons the timeline is so important to us," Hart said.

The utility has said the pipeline, built in 1956, had to be shut down manually because it was not equipped with automatic shut-off valves that newer lines have. At a Monday night town hall meeting, PG&E vice president Geisha Williams told residents there was a delay in stopping the flow of gas to the San Bruno neighborhood because it wasn't safe for workers to get near the explosion site.

Hart said Tuesday that the two shut-off valves for the ruptured section of pipe were located one and 1 1/2 miles away from the blast.

A preliminary report including elements of this key timeline could be publicly released within a month, Hart said. Investigators planned to gather evidence in the area through the end of the week before returning to Washington.

The NTSB made recommendations to PG&E for improving its emergency procedures following a 1981 gas line rupture in downtown San Francisco and would determine if workers observed the protocols, Hart said.

Hart noted that it is common to have manual shut-off valves for pipes of that size, rather than automatic shut-offs.

Meanwhile, state and federal lawmakers have called on PG&E to upgrade any other pipelines in heavily populated areas that now can only be closed down by hand.

California Assemblyman Jerry Hill, a Democrat whose district includes San Bruno, said Tuesday he was drafting a bill that would require the utility to install automatic and remote shut-off valves to minimize future damage.

"Since only seven percent of the nation's gas lines are classified as a 'high consequence area' like the San Bruno line that exploded, the least we can do is focus resources on these gas lines within California," Hill said.

Investigators shipped a 28-foot-long section of 30-inch pipe that blew out of the ground to a Washington lab for forensic tests that could reveal if the explosion was caused by a small leak or a "catastrophic failure."

So far, investigators have not received any reports from residents who complained about gas smells in the week leading up to the blast, Hart said.

On Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood introduced legislation seeking tighter oversight of the nation's pipelines and stronger penalties for safety violations.

LaHood previously announced the allocation of $5.9 million for 17 research projects to improve pipeline safety. The awards will pay for the development of research projects that address the detection, prevention and characterization of pipeline leaks and pipeline construction quality, as well as alternative fuels transportation.

Also Tuesday, police officers, firefighters and paramedics who were among the first to reach the blast recounted the horrifying scene they encountered. Rushing against the fleeing crowds, they initially believed a jetliner from nearby San Francisco International Airport had gone down in the neighborhood or that terrorists had struck - or both.

"I was concerned about a secondary explosion. I didn't know what we had," San Bruno Fire Capt. Bill Forester recalled. "I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was not an airplane - there would have been more victims."

It took almost a half-hour to determine that the massive fireball consuming a San Francisco suburb wasn't a plane crash.

What turned out to be a gas line rupture last Thursday fueled a roaring blaze so intense it cracked windshields of the closest fire engines and sent four firefighters to the hospital for smoke inhalation. The blast also broke a water main, leaving all hydrants in the area dry.

"It was a sinking feeling," Forester said. "We needed massive water for this thing - and we discovered there was no water."

While residents helped crews drag hoses from nearly 4,000 feet away to supply water, other first-responders, including South San Francisco police Lt. Ron Carlino, pushed into smoke-filled homes to check for survivors. Searing heat prevented them from getting too close to the heart of the fire.

"We were left helpless," Carlino said. "The wall of fire was incredibly, intensely hot. We were helpless knowing there were people we couldn't get to."

Many of the 400 police officers and firefighters who responded to the explosion acted despite the dangers: Some were fighting for a neighborhood they grew up in, the homes of friends and streets where children played.

"I saw smoke and flames, and I knew I had to go," said South San Francisco police Detective Ken Chetcuti, who grew up in the area. "I was thinking to myself that I knew a lot of people in that neighborhood."

Authorities said Tuesday that three people remained missing, all of whom lived at the same address. About 10 investigators were working to locate them, said San Bruno police Chief Neil Talford.

The San Mateo County coroner identified Elizabeth Torres, 81, who lived just yards from the source of the explosion, as one of the people killed. Her two daughters and son-in-law were seriously injured and remained hospitalized with burn injuries, according to the woman's grandson, Frank Torres.

Also killed were Jessica Morales, 20, Jacqueline Greig, 44, and her daughter, Janessa, 13.

___

Dearen reported from San Francisco. Associated Press writer Joan Lowy in Washington contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS time it took for crews to shut off gas.)

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US-led troops advance in Taliban stronghold (AP)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan ï¿½ U.S. and Afghan forces began advancing slowly Wednesday through the insurgent-filled district in southern Afghanistan that gave birth to the Taliban movement, treading ground where guerrilla fighters have operated freely for years, the British general in charge of NATO troops here said.

Maj. Gen. Nick Carter said the latest push in Zhari district is part of a crucial strategy aimed at reducing violence in the provincial capital Kandahar by stemming the flow of fighters and weapons there and connecting civilians estranged from their government.

But he downplayed the extent of the latest troop movements headed by the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division, which mans outposts with Afghan troops throughout the district. He said they were part of military operations that have been going on in Zhari for at least four months. U.S. and Afghan forces on Wednesday, he said, had only gone "slightly further than we've gone before."

The movements were significant, though, because the locations were areas where coalition forces had never been ï¿½ at least not in force.

One of the targets in Zhari was the village of Makuan, which U.S. commanders expect to clear within days. Carter said troops had "breached some IED belts" adjacent to the village, referring to bombs coalition forces often call improvised explosive devices.

He said troops encountered "some resistance," but gave no details.

Also on Wednesday, NATO said 25 Afghan civilians had been killed and 60 injured so far in September as the result of the Taliban insurgency.

"While the Taliban talk of protecting the people and issue disingenuous directives claiming to shield Afghans from harm, instead they have increased their use of indiscriminate violence, killing scores of innocent Afghans," NATO spokesman Rear Admiral Greg Smith said in a statement. "Their rhetoric does not match reality."

Civilian deaths in NATO military operations are a major source of contention between the alliance and Afghanistan's government, even though the United Nations says the insurgents are responsible for most civilian deaths and injuries.

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Pakistani leader offers more intel to Afghans (AP)

ISLAMABAD ï¿½ Pakistan's president said Wednesday that his nation's intelligence services are willing to cooperate closer with Afghanistan to fight Taliban militants.

President Asif Ali Zardari told reporters after meeting the Afghan leader that the two nations' cooperation had improved since Zardari took office and "we intend to enhance it further."

"We need more security cooperation between our intelligence and their intelligence, which Pakistan is willing to offer," he said.

It was not clear, however, if the offer was endorsed by Pakistan's military and intelligence establishment, which historically wields more power than its civilian rulers.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai described the men's meeting as wide-ranging and productive.

"This openness in dialogue in fact is a step forward in our relations," he said, saying the discussion was focused partly on Taliban bases in Pakistan's tribal areas.

"These are issues that we should discuss and these are issues that we should fight together," Karzai said.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have a long history of tense and complicated relations, marred in recent years by Afghan allegations that Pakistan is not moving against Taliban militants on its territory, and has even backed some of their attacks.

The United States has also urged Pakistan to do more against militants in its territory, and for the last 2 1/2 years has fired missiles from unmanned drones against insurgent targets in the northwest of the country. There were two such attacks Wednesday in the North Waziristan tribal area, intelligence officials said.

The first attack killed 12 people outside the main town of Miran Shah, the officials said. Hours later, four people were killed in a second attack in the region, the officials said, without giving their names in line with the policy of their agency.

There has been at least 13 missile strikes this month, the most intense barrage yet since they began in 2004.

Karzai publicly criticized Pakistan during his first years in office but has been sending conciliatory messages as he pushes ahead with efforts to strike a peace deal with members of the Taliban. He recently set up a council tasked with pursuing peace talks with rebels willing to break with al-Qaida, renounce violence and recognize the Afghan government in Kabul.

Pakistan has offered to help negotiate with the militants, but many Afghan officials remain wary of Pakistan's intentions.

The Pakistani government arrested the Taliban's No. 2 leader in February in a joint raid with the CIA ï¿½ a move that some analysts believe was driven by Pakistan's desire to guarantee itself a seat at the negotiating table because Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was considered a likely channel in any talks with the top Taliban leadership.

Karzai proclaimed after a meeting with Zardari in March that Pakistan would be key to any talks with the Taliban.

In June, Karzai pushed out Intelligence Chief Amrullah Saleh, who had publicly accused Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency of links to attacks inside Afghanistan.

____

Associated Press correspondent Rasool Dawar contributed to this report from Mir Ali.

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American freed by Iran plans medical exam in Oman (AP)

MUSCAT, Oman ï¿½ American Sarah Shourd planned a medical exam Wednesday for the first appraisal of her health after more than 13 months in an Iranian prison, said Omani officials after the country's rulers mediated a deal for $500,000 bail to win her release.

Shourd has stayed out of the public eye since arriving late Tuesday aboard a private Omani jet. Her mother ï¿½ who was waiting at a special royal airfield ï¿½ says her 32-year-old daughter has serious medical problems, including a breast lump and precancerous cervical cells.

The Omani officials gave no further details of the planned medical attention. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not cleared to brief media.

In the United States, a person familiar with Shourd's case confirmed the plans for a medical exam, but did not elaborate.

Shourd and two other Americans ï¿½ her fiance Shane Bauer and their friend Josh Fattal ï¿½ were detained along Iran's border with Iraq in July 2009 and later accused of spying. The two men remain in a Tehran prison under indictment on espionage-related charges and could face trial ï¿½ with proceedings for Shourd in absentia.

Their families say they were innocent hikers in the scenic mountains of Iraq's Kurdish region and if they did stray across the border into Iran, they did so unwittingly.

The status of Shourd's health has been a centerpiece of the negotiations for her release since last week when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said she should be freed on humanitarian grounds.

She was eventually released Tuesday after Oman ï¿½ a key ally of both Iran and the West ï¿½ played intermediary for a bail deal that satisfied Iranian authorities and apparently did not violate U.S. economic sanctions.

The source of the bail payment has not been disclosed.

But Tehran's chief prosecutor, Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi, was quoted by the semiofficial ISNA news agency say saying amount would arrive in Iran later this week after the holiday period in Oman to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan. He gave no other details, but his comments suggested the bail was in currency and not a possible barter deal to bypass U.S. sanctions.

He added that the bail "will be confiscated" if Shourd does not return for possible trial on spy charges.

Shourd's attorney, Masoud Shafiei , told The Associated Press that a "foreign individual paid the bail in Muscat" and insisted it was "neither a government nor an embassy that paid the bail."

But he said he did not know the identity.

Shourd thanked Oman for its role after arriving aboard a jet chartered by the sultanate.

Oman shares the strategic Strait of Hormuz with Iran at the mouth of the Gulf. Nearly 40 percent of the world's oil passes through the narrow channel. Next month, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki will visit Oman as part of economic development meetings between the two countries.

Oman also maintains close U.S. ties, including arms purchases, and is a regular stop for high-level Pentagon officials.

"I'm grateful and I'm very humbled by this moment," Shourd said before boarding the plane in Tehran for the two-hour flight to Oman.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he welcomed Shourd's release and "the flexibility of Iranian government." But he also called for the release of the "remaining two American hikers so that they could join their families as soon as possible."

President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton both thanked Oman for its assistance.

Oman "in recent days and weeks became a key interlocutor to help us work this case with the Iranian government," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Tuesday. "And we are very grateful to the role that Oman has played."

He could not say whether any money had changed hands in winning Shourd's release, but noted that "arrangements were made that satisfied Iranian requirements under their judicial system."

At the same time, Crowley said the U.S. government had no information to suggest any U.S. or international sanctions on Iran had been violated. The sanctions were imposed over Iran's disputed nuclear program.

Later, in a message posted on Twitter, Crowley challenged Ahmadinejad to bring the two other detained Americans back home when he attends the U.N. General Assembly next week.

Tehran prosecutor Dowlatabadi fired back that Washington is "not serious about supporting its citizens" because the U.S. government would not consider helping pay the bail.

Shourd smiled and looked relaxed during her whirlwind trip from prison to the arms of her mother in Oman in just a few hours. But the full picture of her health has not been made public.

The plans for her release on health grounds touched off days of mixed signals in Iran and exposed deep political rifts between Ahmadinejad's allies and the powerful judiciary, which demanded the high bail.

Ahmadinejad is scheduled to travel to New York later this month to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Some analysts say Shourd's release could have been timed to deflect the international outcry over a stoning sentence for a woman convicted of adultery and the continued crackdown on opposition groups ï¿½ which led two Iranian ambassadors in Europe to quit this week and seek asylum.

Shourd, who grew up in Los Angeles, Bauer, who grew up in Onamia, Minnesota, and Fattal, who grew up in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, were detained on July 31, 2009, and accused of illegally crossing into Iran and spying. Convictions could bring sentences of up to 10 years in prison.

___

Associated Press writers Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee, Matthew Lee in Washington and Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

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Stocks open lower after weak manufacturing report (AP)

NEW YORK ï¿½ Stocks are opening on a down note as a rally that drove the market sharply higher in September seems to be running out of gas.

Economic news out Wednesday darkened the mood on the stock market. Manufacturing activity in New York slowed this month and came in below analysts' expectations. That disappointed investors who had become accustomed to seeing steady increases in activity at U.S. factories.

In the opening minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 22, or 0.2 percent, to 10,503. The Dow is still up 4.7 percent so far in September, an unusually strong showing for the month.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4, or 0.4 percent, to 1,116 and the Nasdaq composite was down 6, or 0.3 percent, at 2,283.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) ï¿½ Stock futures slipped Wednesday as investor enthusiasm that drove stocks sharply higher earlier this month appears to be waning.

A new report indicated growth in manufacturing activity in New York slowed this month. Investors disappointed in the report sent futures lower after the report failed to meet economists' expectations for a modest increase in activity.

The market's rally during the first half of September was built largely on the economy showing modestly stronger growth than was anticipated, even though the reports suggested the recovery remains sluggish. Slow, but steady growth was enough to propel stocks higher.

Major indexes fell late in trading Tuesday to snap a four-day winning streak because of renewed worries about the strength of Europe's economy. Major European indexes fell modestly Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve is expected to report industrial production inched higher last month as a slowdown in auto manufacturing offset growth elsewhere. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expect production at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose 0.2 percent in August after rising 1 percent in July.

The Empire State Manufacturing Survey Index fell to 4.1, well below the 8.0 forecast by economists. A reading above zero indicates growth.

An unexpected jump in the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index two weeks ago helped kick off the recent rally.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 44, or 0.4 percent, to 10,419. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 5.10, or 0.5 percent, to 1,110.70, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 7.75, or 0.4 percent, to 1,914.75.

In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.5 percent, while Germany's DAX index dropped 0.7 percent. France's CAC-40 fell 0.9 percent.

Japan's Nikkei stock average surged 2.3 percent after the country's government stepped in to weaken the yen. The currency had reached a 15-year high against the dollar, which endangered the health of manufacturers like Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Corp. that rely on exporting goods around the world. A stronger yen can make it prohibitively expensive for companies to export goods like cars and televisions, and that hurts profits.

Japan sold an undisclosed amount of yen to weaken the currency. The dollar rose 2.7 percent against the yen in morning trading.

The move by Japan could be short lived because the dollar has been weakening recently and could resume its slide. The dollar's struggles over the past few days are due, in part, to speculation the Federal Reserve might step in to start buying more Treasury bonds and mortgage securities in an effort to provide a lift to the struggling domestic economy.

U.S. Treasury prices fell Wednesday. Stocks and bonds often trade in opposite directions depending on how much risk investors are willing to take.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.72 percent from 2.67 percent late Tuesday. Its yield is often used to help set interest rates on mortgages and other consumer loans.

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Twitter unveils major redesign

15 September 2010 Last updated at 02:33 ET By Maggie Shiels Technology reporter, BBC News, Silicon Valley

Twitter has undergone its first major facelift which aims to provide a rich multi-media experience for its 160 million users.

The redesign aims to make it easier for users to check out photos and video.

As Twitter competes for advertising dollars, it is also seeking to ensure people stay on the website for longer and return more often.

Twitter.com now spreads information over two "panes" instead of over one page.

One pane or panel is devoted to the 90 million messages or tweets posted on the site every day.

The other features images within the text. Until now, most links to photos and video have been displayed on other websites or browser tabs.

The firm said deals had been made with 16 photo and video sites including YouTube and Flickr to have their visual content embedded on the site.

"You can now take a simple short tweet and get more context and information in less time," Evan Williams, Twitter's chief executive and co-founder, told BBC News.

"We liked the old Twitter but we thought we could make it better. There was a lot buried underneath Twitter and now we are bringing all of that to the surface."

Engagement

During the launch at Twitter's headquarters in San Francisco, Mr Williams revealed that 370,000 new users sign up every day.

The benefits to advertisers seem clear if users end up spending more time on the site and coming back more often.

The site recently introduced what are known as promoted tweets to allow advertisers such as Starbucks and Best Buy to sponsor tweets that show up when a user searches for certain key words on the service.

"What advertisers on Twitter are looking for is engagement, " said Mr Williams.

"This will improve that out of the box."

He gave as one example the possibility of a movie studio advertising a new film now being able to display a video trailer on Twitter.com.

As well as focusing on its own future growth, Twitter has developed a thriving eco-system for a number of start-ups that have built apps to make Twitter easier to use.

The fear is that if users spend more time on Twitter.com, it will hurt businesses like TweetDeck, Brizzly and Seesmic.

But Mr Williams disagrees.

"I don't think it sounds the death knell," he said. "We have made it pretty clear that third-party clients are important and add a lot of value to Twitter.

"That doesn't mean we are not going to improve the interfaces we own and control. Our goal is to make people more happy and engaged Twitter users."

'Significant evolution'

Analysts and industry watchers attending the launch were largely impressed by the new Twitter.com.

"It is one of the slickest web applications I have seen in a long time," said Ben Parr of social media blog Mashable.com.

"They have made a very complete product and clearly thought this through very well."

MG Siegler of news blog TechCrunch.com agreed.

"This is the single biggest change they've ever made to the site since its initial launch," he said. "That's going to rub some people up the wrong way, but overall, my initial impression is that this is definitely an upgrade in pretty much every way."

Forrester Research social media analyst Augie Ray called the announcement a "significant evolution".

"The long-term effects could be substantial as Twitter focuses on powering growth by improving Twitter consumption," he told the Los Angeles Times.

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Web pioneer urges free net access

15 September 2010 Last updated at 05:58 ET By Jonathan Fildes Technology reporter, BBC News

The inventor of the Web has called for everyone to have access to his creation for free.

Tim Berners-Lee said that he would like to see everybody given a low-bandwidth connection "by default".

He said the web could be instrumental in giving people access to critical services such as healthcare.

Currently, he said, just one-fifth of the world's population has access to the web.

"What about the other 80%?" he asked the audience at the Nokia World conference in London.

"I would like to see people enrolled in a cheap data plan by default. I would like them to get it for free."

Sir Tim said the rise in mobile networks around the world meant there was now an opportunity to connect everyone.

"What about these people who have a signal but are not part of the web, who are not part of the information society?" he said.

"I initially assumed you should get them water first, you should get them healthcare and then it is the luxury of getting the web," he said.

"But it is not actually like that. The web can be pretty instrumental in getting them access to healthcare."

He said that the resulting healthcare would be different to that experienced in western countries but would offer a step change in many regions of the world that had none.

"There is no Aids vaccine, so what are you going to do about it?" he asked.

"Getting that message across in their own tongue on the web is something that isn't happening now."

He said access to the web could allow people to "create their own communities and share their own information" about health, agriculture and business.

"Not being a part of the information society is a really important thing."

He said that he even a low-bandwidth connection offered for free via a mobile phone could make a difference.

At the moment, he said, connections were too expensive and were often taxed by governments.

He suggested that network providers could offer the free connections on the basis that people would become more affluent in the future and would then be wiling to pay for more expensive, higher-bandwidth mobile services.

"They will move up when they can," he said.

He admitted that when he first created the web, it would have been "hubris" to suggest that everyone had access to it. But, he said, there were now compelling arguments its benefits.

"I would like everyone to think about it," he said.

His comments about the value of universal access to communications and the web echo those of the head of the International Telecommunications Union, the UN body that oversees telecoms.

Dr Hamadoun Toure, secretary general of the body, recently told BBC News that access to information should be a "universal human right".

However, their views are at odds with many development agencies, which agree that the web can help accelerate development, but believe critical services such access to fresh water water should be a priority.

Tier fears

Sir Tim also used his speech to outline his stance on other concerns he has about the future of the including privacy and net neutrality, the principle that ensures that all web traffic is treated equally regardless of the type or origin.

"We assume that when you look up a [web page], that you can get any page because that is the way it has always been and that is why the web has flourished," he said.

"Of course a lot of companies would like to limit the pages you get."

For example, he said, a firm that sells streaming movies may "like to slow down access to other people's movies".

He said some governments also threatened the principle.

The issue has recently been the focus of intense debate, particularly in the US, where some network providers advocate "tiered" services in which certain traffic can be given priority over the net.

They argue at the rise in web traffic, particularly for bandwidth intensive services such as web video, has placed an expensive burden on their networks.

The discussions recently prompted Google and Verizon to publish a plan that would ensure the principles are upheld on fixed-line broadband but take a much lighter approach to the mobile net, where bandwidth is tight and data management issues are more acute.

"The moment you let that net neutrality go, think what you lose: you lose the web as it is, that you can click on a link and go anywhere."

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Aide: Nigerian president to run in Jan. election (AP)

ABUJA, Nigeria ï¿½ Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan will run in the January election to claim the office he took over after the death of the nation's elected leader, an aide said Wednesday.

Special Assistant Bolaji Adebiyi told The Associated Press that Jonathan will seek the nomination of the People's Democratic Party, the ruling party of Africa's most populous nation.

Adebiyi said a message attributed to Jonathan posted on the social networking website Facebook saying he would run was genuine.

"I make no pretense that I have a magic wand that will solve all of Nigeria's problems or that I am the most intelligent Nigerian ï¿½ far from it," Jonathan's Facebook message reads. "What I do promise is this ï¿½ If I am elected president in 2011, I will make a covenant with you, the Nigerian people, to always do right by you, to tell you the truth at all times, to carry you along and most importantly to listen to you, fellow citizens in our communities and also those of you on this page."

Jonathan, a Christian from the country's south, became president of the oil-rich nation after the May death of elected leader Umaru Yar'Adua, a Muslim from the north. An unwritten power-sharing agreement within Nigeria's ruling People's Democratic Party calls for the presidency to alternate between Nigeria's Christian-dominated south and its Muslim north. However, Yar'Adua was still in his first four-year term and leaders in the north had expected him to serve two terms.

Jonathan's candidacy in the 2011 election could split northern and southern leaders in the ruling party, which has the political muscle necessary to manipulate Nigeria's unruly and corrupt electoral system.

Former military dictator Ibrahim Babangida and former vice president Atiku Abubakar both have said they want to contest the election as the ruling party's candidate.

___

Associated Press Writer Jon Gambrell reported from Lagos, Nigeria.

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