UPI NewsTrack TopNews - February 2, 2008
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Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:09:42 GMT |
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 1
Iraq bombers allegedly mentally disabled
BAGHDAD, Feb. 1 The two explosives-packed women who killed nearly 100 people at two Baghdad markets Friday were mentally disabled, a top Iraqi government official said.
Authorities said the blasts killed at least 98 people and wounded more than 200 at two popular pet markets, CNN reported.
In both instances, the bombers were mentally disabled women whose explosive belts were remotely detonated by cell phones, said Gen. Qasim Atta, spokesman for Baghdad's security plan. Atta said bomb squad members reported the women were strapped with dynamite and ball bearings.
An aide to Atta said authorities thought the women didn't know of the detonation plans. The aide said people called the bomber at Baghdad's al-Ghazl market the "crazy woman" and the bomber at the second location had an unspecified birth disability.
U.S. military officials called the two attacks suicide bombings, saying both women detonated the explosive devices. U.S. officials reported lower casualty figures of 27 dead and 53 wounded.
The Pentagon blamed the attacks on al-Qaida in Iraq.
"By targeting innocent Iraqis, they show their true demonic character," said Lt. Col. Steve Stover, spokesman for the Multi-National Division-Baghdad.
MoveOn endorses Obama
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 The liberal group MoveOn has backed U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois for the Democratic nomination for president.
The group said Obama was the choice of 70.4 percent of its members who cast votes online, Politico.com reported. About 300,000 people, roughly 10 percent of the membership, participated.
"In just a few years, the members of MoveOn have once again demonstrated that real change comes not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up," Obama said as he accepted the endorsement. "From their principled opposition to the Iraq war -- a war I also opposed from the start -- to their strong support for a number of progressive causes, MoveOn shows what Americans can achieve when we come together in a grassroots movement for change."
MoveOn was started 10 years ago by two computer entrepreneurs with an online petition that urged Congress to censure President Bill Clinton "and move on" as an alternative to impeachment.
The endorsement gives Obama access to the MoveOn e-mail list, which includes millions of names.
Powerful winter storm socks U.S., Canada
TORONTO, Feb. 1 A strong winter storm that roared across the U.S. Midwest and northern states Friday slammed into Canada, closing schools and snarling traffic.
High winds and blowing snow prompted all major colleges and universities in the Toronto area to close for the day and racing was canceled Friday evening at Woodbine race track, The Toronto Star reported.
The storm was expected to drop up to 8 inches of blowing snow before the precipitation turned to freezing rain and ice pellets around midnight. About 150 flights were canceled at Toronto's airport and more than 500 flights never got off the ground at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
Environment Canada predicted "great quantities of snow" with reduced "visibilities to nearly zero," The Montreal Gazette said.
However, Montreal's cleanliness and maintenance director told the newspaper cleaning up a snowfall of less than a foot wouldn't cause any unusual problems for city crews.
Snipes acquitted of some tax fraud charges
OCALA, Fla., Feb. 1 A Florida jury Friday acquitted U.S. movie star Wesley Snipes of felony tax fraud and conspiracy charges.
However, in a split verdict, Snipes was found guilty on three misdemeanor charges of failing to file tax returns and faces a maximum one-year sentence on each, CNN reported.
He would have faced up to 16 years in jail if he had been convicted of the more serious charges. Co-defendants, Douglas Rosile, Snipes' accountant, and anti-tax advocate Eddie Ray Kahn, each face up to 10 years in prison on fraud and conspiracy convictions, the Orlando Sentinel said.
Snipes, 45, the star of the "Blade" trilogy, "White Men Can't Jump" and "New Jack City," is expected to be sentenced to less than the maximum on the misdemeanor charges, CNN said.
He was charged with evading taxes on $38 million he earned from films and investments from 1999 to 2004.
Copyright 2008 by UPI
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