Majority of Iraqi lawmakers call for timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops, lawmaker says
BAGHDAD — Radical Shiite politicians pressed Thursday for legislation demanding a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops and a freeze on the number of foreign forces already in the country — even as the U.S. Congress debates the fate of the troubled mission.
Japanese hospital starts nation’s only drop box for unwanted babies
TOKYO — A Japanese hospital opened the country’s only anonymous drop box for unwanted infants Thursday despite government admonitions against abandoning babies.
Milanese amused, bewildered by enormous naked balloon sculpture in park
MILAN, Italy — It would take one very large fig leaf to restore modesty to Milan’s main park after the installation of a 70-foot floating sculpture of a naked man.
Around the globe: Iraq funding on the installment plan
WASHINGTON — The Democratic-controlled House voted Thursday to pay for military operations in Iraq on an installment plan, defying President Bush’s threat of a second straight veto in a test of wills over the unpopular war.
Jump in Idaho’s skin cancers come from California transplants
COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho — Northern Idaho’s rate of a potentially deadly skin cancer is twice that of the rest of the state, and medical experts say that’s because the region is so attractive to Californians and residents of other sunny southwestern states.
Helicopters play critical role in fighting Griffith Park fire
LOS ANGELES — The four firefighters had dug in beneath a pedestrian bridge and trained their hoses on a wildfire chewing through canyon brush when the winds picked up and the fire suddenly roared closer.
Business leaders support health reform effort in Sacramento
SACRAMENTO — A coalition of California business leaders said Thursday they would like to see health care reform accomplished this year, essentially signing onto Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s universal coverage proposal.
Jehovah’s Witnesses urged to change policy on sex abuse cases
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A victims’ rights group released documents Thursday that showed the Jehovah’s Witnesses recently settled civil suits with 16 people who claimed they were sexually abused by church elders or that church officials failed to act on abuse allegations.
State Assembly approves hemp farming bill
SACRAMENTO — The state Assembly on Thursday approved legislation that would allow farmers to grow hemp, narrowly overcoming objections that it violates federal drug laws and could put growers behind bars.
Tony Blair sets June 27 for his final day as Britain’s prime minister
LONDON — Tony Blair announced his resignation Thursday in a poignant — almost apologetic — speech to the nation, thanking his compatriots for his successes during more than a decade as prime minister, and seeking understanding for leading Britain into an unpopular war in Iraq.
Engineer convicted of conspiring to steal U.S. military secrets
SANTA ANA — Jurors convicted a Chinese-born engineer Thursday of conspiring to export U.S. defense technology to China, including data on an electronic propulsion system that could make submarines virtually undetectable.
NASA predicts Eastern U.S. summers to be 10 degrees hotter in just 75 years
WASHINGTON — Future eastern United States summers look much hotter than originally predicted with daily highs about 10 degrees warmer than in recent years by the mid-2080s, a new NASA study says.
Thin people may be fat on the inside, doctors warn
LONDON — If it really is what’s on the inside that counts, then a lot of thin people might be in trouble.
Wildfire forces evacuations by ferry off Catalina Island
AVALON — A 500-acre wildfire erupted on Santa Catalina Island on Thursday and churned toward Avalon, the major city on the resort isle more than 20 miles off Southern California. Evacuations were under way.
Tony Blair’s likely successor as British prime minister gives few clues on Iraq direction
LONDON — There was a long pause when Gordon Brown was asked once whether he, like Tony Blair, would have joined the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
