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04-26-2006

Iraq Terror Chief Rejects New Government

This is an image made from video originally posted Tuesday, April 25, 2006 on the Internet showing al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, center right, unmasked. In the rare video, al-Zarqawi accused the West and the United States of waging a "crusader" war against Islam but said Muslim holy warriors were standing firm. This image was provided via the IntelCenter, which is a private contractor working for intelligence agencies. (AP Photo/via IntelCenter)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ Terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi revealed his face for the first time Tuesday in a dramatic video in which he dismissed Iraq's new government as an American "stooge" and called it a "poisoned dagger" in the heart of the Muslim world. The video, in which he also warned of more attacks to come, was posted on the Internet only days after a breakthrough in Iraq's political process allowing its Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders to start assembling a government.

Bush Eases Environmental Rules on Gasoline

President Bush delivers remarks on energy, Tuesday, April 25, 2006, in Washington. President Bush, under pressure to do something about gasoline prices that are expected to stay high through the summer, has ordered an investigation into possible cheating in the markets. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Under election-year pressure to reduce surging gasoline prices, President Bush on Tuesday halted filling of the nation's emergency oil reserve, urged the waiver of clean air rules to ease local gas shortages and called for the repeal of $2 billion in tax breaks for profit-heavy oil companies. Still, experts said Bush's actions wouldn't have much impact on prices at the pump. The president warned that motorists would have to dig deep into their pockets all summer long.

Port Workers to Undergo Background Checks

Trucks exit the Port of Long Beach, Calif., Monday, April 17, 2006. Cargo industry officials are worried that a federal ID system aimed at boosting security could cost many port workers their jobs, something that would bottle up the flow of goods destined for virtually every U.S. community.(AP Photo/Ric Francis)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Seaport workers will undergo background checks for links to terrorism and to ensure they are legal U.S. residents, the Bush administration said Tuesday. The announcement came after months of scathing criticism about security gaps at the nation's ports.

30 Arrests Made in Egypt Resort Attack

Candles burn near the site of Monday's bomb attack in Dahab, Egypt Tuesday, April 25, 2006 . Three nearly simultaneous bombings hit this Egyptian beach resort popular with foreigners Monday, killing at least 24 people on streets filled with tourists and Egyptians enjoying a long weekend marking a national holiday. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

DAHAB, Egypt (AP) _ Egyptian authorities, already struggling with elusive terror cells in the rugged Sinai Peninsula, moved quickly Tuesday _ arresting 30 men in the triple bombings that ripped apart a resort town on a tranquil holiday evening. Radical Muslim groups moved just as rapidly to distance themselves from the Dahab attacks, which killed 24 people. The leader of Egypt's banned Muslim brotherhood condemned them as "aggression on human souls created by God."

Fox Host to Be Named White House Spokesman

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Conservative pundit Tony Snow will be named White House press secretary, Republican officials said Tuesday night, in the latest move in President Bush's effort to remake his troubled White House. Snow is expected to be named on Wednesday.

Jury Convicts Calif. Man in Terrorism Case

The family members of terror probe suspect Umer Hayat; wife, Salma Hayat, right; and daughter, Raheela, 11; and son, Arslan Hayat, 17, background; smile as they leave the federal courthouse in Sacramento, Calif., after a mistrial was declared, Tuesday, April 25, 2006. U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell declared the mistrial after the jury told the judge that it was hopelessly deadlocked. Umer Hayat faced up to 16 years in prison if he had been convicted of the two counts against him, both related to making false statements to federal agents about his son, Hamid Hayat's attending an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) _ A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a 23-year-old man of supporting terrorists by attending an al-Qaida training camp in Pakistan three years ago. Hamid Hayat, a seasonal farm worker in Lodi, an agricultural town south of Sacramento, was convicted of one count of providing material support to terrorists and three counts of lying to the FBI.

NASA Chief Eyes 2011 for New Spacecraft

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin fields questions during a news conference at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Friday, May 20, 2005. (AP Photo/Peter Cosgrove, FILE)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ A new spaceship could be ready to replace the nation's aging shuttle fleet by 2011 _ three years ahead of schedule _ if lawmakers added money to NASA's proposed budget, the head of the space agency told a congressional panel on Tuesday. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said that date is the earliest the new spaceship, or crew exploration vehicle, could be developed no matter how much money the agency received.

'Lost' Actress Chooses Jail Over Service

This photo provided by the Honolulu Police Department shows actress Michelle Rodriguez after being arrested for suspicion of drunk driving on Dec. 1, 2005. Rodriguez, of the hit ABC series "Lost," pleaded guilty on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 to a single count of driving under the influence, choosing to pay a $500 fine and spend five days in jail rather than do 240 hours of community service. (AP Photo/Honolulu Police Department via The Honolulu Advertiser, File)

HONOLULU (AP) _ "Lost" actress Michelle Rodriguez pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a single count of driving under the influence, choosing to pay a $500 fine and spend five days in jail rather than do 240 hours of community service. Rodriguez, who portrays police officer Ana Lucia, and cast member Cynthia Watros were both charged with drunken driving after they were pulled over Dec. 1 in separate cars within 15 minutes of each other.

Amazon.com 1Q Earnings Slide 35 Percent

Amazon.com worker David Brendoff, left, moves boxes with merchandise for shipment in a file photo from Dec. 13, 2005, at the Amazon.com fulfillment center in Fernley, Nevada. Amazon.com Inc. reports first quarter earnings after the bell, with analysts expecting the online retailer to earn 12 cents per share on revenue of $2.22 billion. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)

SEATTLE (AP) _ Amazon.com Inc. said Tuesday that earnings fell nearly 35 percent in the first quarter, compared to the same period last year in which the online retailer had a big one-time gain. But the earnings results met analysts' expectations, and sales were slightly higher than Wall Street had anticipated.

NFL Suspends Ricky Williams for 2006

Miami Dolphins' Ricky Williams smiles in the final seconds of Miami's 33-21 win over the Oakland Raiders in this Nov. 27, 2005,file photo in Oakland, Calif. Ricky Williams was suspended for the 2006 season by the NFL on Tuesday, April 25, 2006 for violating the league's substance abuse policy for the fourth time. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

MIAMI (AP) _ Ricky Williams will sit out another season. The NFL suspended the troubled Miami Dolphins running back for one year Tuesday after he violated the league's substance abuse policy for the fourth time. Williams met April 10 with NFL counsel Jeff Pash in an attempt to have the league overturn the test. He had been participating in the offseason training program at the Dolphins' complex, and he was there working out shortly before league announced that his appeal had been rejected.

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