Cuba News Blog @newzblogz.com

MIAMI - Don't underestimate the grocery store deli worker, the security alarm salesman or the 34-year-old computer science student who anchor the Miami Dade College chess team.

The community college undergrads have already faced Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Northwestern and Virginia at the Pan American Intercollegiate Chess Tournament - and beaten them all.

By finishing fourth in that tournament, Miami Dade qualified for this weekend's finals of collegiate chess, facing powerhouses University of Texas-Dallas, Duke University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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WASHINGTON - Stepping back from previous assertions that Fidel Castro was near death, U.S. officials say that the image of an increasingly revitalized Castro is impeding the island's day-to-day leadership from making major changes.

Thomas Shannon, the assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere, told McClatchy Newspapers in an interview that Cuba was in a period of "suspended animation" as Castro exerted a "controlling political presence" on the island.

While Shannon did not directly contradict previous statements from U.S. officials that suggested Castro was close to death, his comments suggest that the Bush administration is more cautious in its assessment of whether Castro will return, and in what capacity.

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MIAMI (Reuters) - Amnesty International urged the United States on Thursday to abandon plans to try Guantanamo prisoners before military tribunals and asked other nations not to contribute any evidence for use at the trials.

The London-based human rights group said the trials do not meet international standards of fairness and should be moved to the U.S. federal courts.

"These trials threaten to cut corners in pursuit of a few convictions and add to the injustice that the Guantanamo detention facility has come to symbolize," said Susan Lee, Amnesty's Americas Program Director.

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Authorities: Toddler found high on cocaine at church preschool

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- A toddler was being treated for having cocaine in her system after workers at her church preschool noticed the girl acting unusual, authorities said Wednesday.

The unidentified girl, who is between 18 and 24 months old, was taken to the hospital by her parents after workers at Promise Land Preschool at First Baptist Church of Mandarin noticed she would not eat and was unsteady on her feet Monday, according to a report from the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office. The girl was expected to be fine.

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Bush, Congress skid toward showdown on questioning of aides in prosecutor firings

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush and the Democratic-controlled Congress careened closer to a full-blown legal showdown over the firing of federal prosecutors Wednesday as a House subcommittee voted subpoenas for top administration officials in defiance of the White House.

"After two months of stonewalling, shifting stories and misleading testimony, it is clear that we are still not getting the truth about the decision to fire these prosecutors and its cover-up," said Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif.

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Chicago police officer accused of beating up female bartender while off duty

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Edwards schedules press conference after visiting the doctor with his wife

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards accompanied his wife, Elizabeth, who has been treated for breast cancer, on a doctor's visit Wednesday. His campaign said they would hold a news conference in their hometown Thursday to discuss her health.

Campaign officials refused to answer any questions about what the Edwardses learned at the doctor's appointment or how it might affect his candidacy. Edwards had cut short a trip to Iowa Tuesday night to be with his wife Wednesday but still attended a ba

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Many VA health clinics beset with mold, leaky roofs

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* Department of Veterans Affairs

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Mystery creator of anti-Clinton ad identified, linked to Obama camp

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* Clinton

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ATLANTA (AP) -- Jason Williams had 21 points and eight assists, and the Miami Heat beat the Atlanta Hawks 91-83 Wednesday night for their 10th victory in 11 games.

Josh Smith scored 27 points for Atlanta, which had its five-game home winning streak snapped.

Williams had eight of Miami's last 12 points, including a 19-footer he banked in against Josh Childress that pushed the lead to 85-80 with 1:03 remaining.

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TAMPA - The investigators of Operation Panama Express broke their record with the Coast Guard's seizure of more than 21 tons of cocaine aboard a Panamanian freighter, authorities announced Wednesday.

Sunday's interdiction of the freighter Gatun off the coast of Panama came 17 days after the Coast Guard stopped another vessel, the Ocean Song, carrying about 11 tons of cocaine south of Guatemala. In addition to being a record individual bust, the seizure made March a record month in international maritime cocaine seizures.

So far this year, the Tampa-based international cocaine trafficking investigation has been responsible for six maritime interdictions, with more than 40 tons of cocaine seized or scuttled at sea, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph K. Ruddy, who oversees the task force from his office in Tampa.

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The Venezuelan leader drops off a $100-million assistance plan.

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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has opened a new front in his anti-American offensive: Haiti.

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HAVANA - Five Cuban spies imprisoned in the United States for being unregistered foreign agents are vilified in Miami as dangerous conspirators. But in Cuba, they're considered "Heroic Prisoners of the Empire" who only sought to protect Cuba from anticommunist terrorists.

And Fidel Castro is closely watching their federal appeals.

Castro's government sent Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Rene Gonzalez, Antonio Guerrero and Fernando Gonzalez to South Florida to gather information about anticommunist exile groups.

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HAVANA — Their faces smile down from billboards along major highways, their poetry and humor are bound into books, and minor developments in their lives are meticulously recorded by Cuba's state media. Five Cuban spies imprisoned in the U.S. for being unregistered foreign agents are vilified in Miami as dangerous conspirators. But here they're considered "Heroic Prisoners of the Empire" who only sought to protect Cuba from anti-communist terrorists. During Cuba's annual May 1 workers parade, hundreds of thousands of people will focus on their plight.

And Fidel Castro is closely watching their federal appeals.

(enlarge photo)

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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declassified the American crocodile as an endangered species Tuesday, saying the animal has rebounded from the edge of extinction.

The reptile remains protected under the federal Endangered Species Act even though it was downgraded to a "threatened" species, making it illegal to harass, poach or kill the reptiles.

"It's just one step closer to recovery, but it still has many, many threats," Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Tom MacKenzie said. "It's still protected with the full force of federal law."

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Southwest Shakespeare Company artistic director Jared Sakren likes to set his productions of the Bard's works in different times and places. In The Two Gentlemen of Verona, the move is to Cuba in 1949. But Sakren does little in such productions to make the plays comfortable in their new surroundings. Fine acting and raucous comedy here isn't aided by the new locale, as his actors seem stuck back in 1594, when the play premiered.

Sakren could easily justify the resetting, because the conflicts of love and friendship between the lead characters, Valentine and Proteus, are universal. But when Shakespeare is relocated, changes are required to have dialogue, action and characters work with the director's concept. Sakren does nothing here except to use lots of cigars as the action unfolds. The characters act like they're in Elizabethan times.

There are more minor problems as well. Why servants are costumed as finely as their masters doesn't make sense, and Sakren's staging doesn't use the theater's thrust stage well; more backs than faces were visible fromwhere I sat.

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday recovery efforts are making it possible to reclassify the American crocodile in Florida from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

"Crocodiles were a part of Florida's history for hundreds of years until human activities such as urban development, agricultural conversion, and over-hunting decimated their populations," said Sam D. Hamilton, the service's Southeast Regional Director. "However, in the past 30 years, we have made great strides in protecting this species and conserving its habitat."

The service's final reclassification decision comes after the completion of its five-year review required under the ESA for all endangered and threatened species.

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HAVANA (AP) -- Work to restore Ernest Hemingway's Cuban hideaway probably won't be finished until the end of 2009, held up in part by efforts to build a garage to house the author's long-lost Chevy convertible, museum officials say. Hemingway lived at Finca Vigia, or Lookout Farm, on Havana's southeastern outskirts from 1939 to 1960. He wrote "The Old Man and the Sea" and children's fables at the home, which he shared with nearly 60 cats and at least 10 dogs. Following his suicide in 1961, H...

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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign has snagged one of New Hampshire's top political operatives.

Bill Shaheen, husband of former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, will serve as co-chairman of Clinton's New Hampshire campaign.

"I am supporting Hillary because I trust her, because she's honest and intelligent," Shaheen said in an e-mail sent to Clinton supporters. "She has the experience, wisdom and courage we desperately need in our next president. She has faced the toughest tests time and time again, and she has always remained true to herself, emerging stronger and more prepared to handle the challenges that come her way."

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In response to Bill Rexford (Letters to the Editor, The Nugget, January 31):

Please see the front-page news article of January 30 in the Bend Bulletin. It seems that the Dean of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and the Oregon Department of Justice agree with this person you call a cultural vandal.

To be honest with you, I have no idea what a cultural vandal is, nor do I care to debate with a social studies teacher the rights and duties of the public to participate and provide oversight in a democracy. You should have better communication skills and be familiar with democratic processes before stepping into a classroom as a social studies teacher.

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The Associated PressLONG BEACH - Levi Leipheimer won the Amgen Tour of California on Sunday, having never trailed in the eight-day race.Leipheimer, a three-time top-10 Tour de France finisher, completed the 639.2-mile race with a 21-second advantage over Jens Voigt of Germany.The Discovery Channel rider took the lead with a 1-second win in the prologue Feb. 18 in San Francisco. He maintained a lead of no more than 3 seconds until he dominated the individual time trial fifth stage Friday in ...

His teammate, Jason McCartney, was third overall, 54 seconds back.Cuba's Ivan Dominguez won the final stage, surging in the final 25 yards to edge Australia's Graeme Brown by less than a foot in the 77.5-mile, seventh-stage circuit race in 2 hours, 39 minutes and 28 seconds.Gerald Ciolek of Germany was third in the same time as the top two finishers.“When we were on the podium, I thanked Jens for such a great race,” Leipheimer said. “The race was more aggressive this ye...

Individual results:1. Levi Leipheimer 25:57.242. Jens Voigt 21 seconds behind;3. Jason McCartney, 54 seconds behind;4. Bobby Julich, 1:06 behind;5. Stuart O'Grady, 1:16 behind;6. Christian Vande Velde, 1:24 behind;7. Michael Rogers, 1:32 behind;8. Ben Day, 1:38 behind;9. Franco Pellizotti, 1:41 behind;

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WASHINGTON - Terror detainees once held in the CIA's secret prisons were kept and questioned under highly abusive conditions, the International Committee of the Red Cross says in a confidential report based on interviews with high-value terror suspects.

The Red Cross said techniques reported by 14 prisoners, including sleep deprivation and use of forced standing and other "stress positions," were particularly harsh when used together. The prisoners were transferred from CIA custody to a military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in September.

The CIA's detention methods were designed to soften detainees and make them more likely to talk during interrogation. Human rights organizations say the CIA's extreme conditions of detention and the coercive questioning techniques constitute torture.

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For someone who took office puzzled at America's "inordinate fear of Communism," President Jimmy Carter soon became a convert, and when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979, that was the last straw for Carter, who promptly canceled a large grain shipment to the U.S.S.R., suspended the export of high-tech equipment, downgraded diplomatic relations, and finally — this week (March 21) in 1980 — announced that the U.S. would boycott the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.

To his credit, Carter courageously announced the boycott before a gathering of U.S. athletes, most of whom were bitterly disappointed at the decision. Besides the years of intense training that would now go for naught, most athletes believed that the Olympic Games should be immune from politics, or at least should not be used as a political weapon, which a boycott unarguably was.

Carter defended his decision, claiming, "What we are doing is preserving the principles and the quality of the Olympics, not destroying it (sic)." That said, while the U.S. boycott certainly diminished the appeal of the 1980 games, it had no discernable effect on the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, which lasted another nine years and ended chiefly because of military defeats and anti-war sentiment back in the U.S.S.R.

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Today is Tuesday, March 20, the 79th day of 2007. There are 286 days left in the year. Spring arrives at 8:07 p.m. EDT. Today?s Highlight in History:

On March 20, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris after escaping his exile on Elba, beginning his ?Hundred Days? rule.

On this date:

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en el torneo de b?isbol de los Juegos Panamericanos de R?o de

Janeiro, s?lo si el Ministerio de Deportes de este pa?s aporta los

recursos para ello, afirmaron hoy fuentes del sector.

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West Palm Beach, Fla. ?- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declassified the American crocodile as an endangered species Tuesday, saying the animal has rebounded from the edge of extinction.

The reptile remains protected under the federal Endangered Species Act even though it was downgraded to a "threatened" species, making it illegal to harass, poach or kill the reptiles.

"It's just one step closer to recovery, but it still has many, many threats," Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman Tom MacKenzie said. "It's still protected with the full force of federal law."

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Cuba is just about the worst place in the world to be a journalist.

That is, someone not controlled as a stooge of the repressive government.

"Four years after a March 2003 crackdown, Cuba still has 270 prisoners of conscience including 25 journalists, which makes the island the world's second biggest prisoner for the press after China," Reporters Without Borders reported.

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German Wine Dinner: 6:30 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. dinner Thur., the Pepper Mill Restaurant, 1575 S Fort Harrison Ave., Clearwater. German-inspired courses including potato cake with spicy mint applesauce, pork sauerbraten, almond tuile with wild berries, paired with German red and white wines; $49. Call (727) 449-2988 to register or view menu at www. peppermillofclearwater.com.

Mise en Place Wine Dinner: 6:30 p.m. Thur., Mise en Place, 442 W Kennedy Blvd., Tampa. California winemaker August Briggs presents varieties to pair with five courses; $150. Call (813) 254-5373.

Vintage Wine Dinner: 7 p.m. Thur., NoHo Bistro, 1714 N Armenia Ave., Tampa. Sea scallops, hangar steak and apple tart pair with wine choices from experts at Vintage Wine Cellars; $75. Call (813) 879-2931 to register.

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I am very disappointed in the public comments of the Sisters School Board members regarding the resignation of Superintendent Ted Thonstad.

It is obvious that Mr. Thonstad was asked to resign, yet all comments regarding his performance were positive. The board is an elected body, and we don't know who supported him and who didn't.

We don't know why certain members were willing to renew his contract and others weren't. How can the public evaluate the thinking and decision making of these board members when they are unwilling to tell us why they made this very important decision?

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Havana – Bolivian President Evo Morales has added his voice to a chorus of speculative references to Fidel Castro's future, hinting the ailing Cuban leader could return to power within weeks.

Speaking during a meeting of potato farmers in Cochabamba on Sunday, Morales said Castro could make his return during an April 28 summit in Havana to commemorate the third anniversary of the alternative trade bloc known as the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas.

"It will be the opportunity to see the return of Fidel Castro to the presidency of Cuba," Morales was quoted as saying in published reports.

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CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) -- In his first trip to this violence-wracked country, Bill Gates said Microsoft Corp. was helping set up computer learning centers in areas where demobilized paramilitary fighters are in dire need of job training. Given the low Internet penetration in Latin America, he said, the software company's focus for getting people online in the region is to promote computer centers in libraries. The company said it was donating $1 million over three years to set up nine trai...

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WASHINGTON - Two top officers on the State Department's Cuba desk are moving to Iraq, adding to a government reshuffle involving a total of six key Cuba posts.

Stephen McFarland, who heads the Cuba desk, and his number two, Timothy Zuniga-Brown, will join the Iraqi provincial reconstruction teams, which operate outside Baghdad's Green Zone and are considered dangerous for U.S. personnel.

The changes come as Cuban leader Fidel Castro remains largely out of public view after having temporarily handed power to his younger brother Raul due to health troubles.

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Today is Tuesday, March 20, the 79th day of 2007. There are 286 days left in the year. Spring arrives at 8:07 p-m Eastern Daylight Time.

Todays Highlight in History:

On March 20th, 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte returned to Paris after escaping his exile on Elba, beginning his Hundred Days rule.

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Petagon officials believe they have the man who planned the bombing of the USS Cole as well as several U.S. embassy bombings.? Waleed Mohammed Bin Attash confessed to the attacks during a hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Posted: Monday, March 19, 2007 at 12:25 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) --

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WASHINGTON ? A Yemeni portrayed as an al-Qaida operative and a member of a terrorist family confessed to plotting the bombings of the USS Cole and two U.S. embassies in Africa, killing hundreds, according to a Pentagon transcript of a Guantanamo Bay hearing.

The transcript released Monday was the fourth from the hearings the military is holding in private for 14 "high-value" terror suspects who were kept in secret CIA prisons before they were sent to the U.S. facility in Cuba last fall.

Last week, Waleed bin Attash said he helped plan the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania that killed more than 200, according to the transcript. He also said he helped organize the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in which suicide bombers steered an explosives-laden boat into the guided-missile destroyer, killing 17 sailors.

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A Yemeni captive being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has confessed to recruiting the suicide bombers and buying the speedboat that blasted a hole in the side of the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, in 2000, killing 17 U.S. sailors, according to a hearing transcript that the Pentagon released on Monday.

The transcript also quotes Waleed Mohammed bin Attash as admitting that he helped plan the Aug. 7, 1998, bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, which killed more than 200 people, most of them Africans.

Together, the two episodes were among the worst anti-American attacks blamed on al-Qaida before Sept. 11, 2001.

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Most of us listen to the radio every day, either in the car or around the house. But what if it's being used for more than just news and music? Some say if you find the right frequency you may be listening to secret coded messages.

Shortwave radios can send and receive signals from around the world. With a shortwave radio you can listen to stations in Cuba, Japan or even Australia. And some say it's the perfect way for governments to get their messages to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

Spooky radio transmissions. John Lloyd said, "It's all in code." Strings of repeated numbers. They play for minutes, sometimes for hours. Short wave radio transmissions coming from the unknown. John Lloyd said, "Nobody really knows where they're coming from."

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WASHINGTON - A veteran al-Qaida operative has acknowledged being the mastermind of the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, as well as a key conduit between Osama bin Laden and a terrorist cell in East Africa, according to a transcript of a military tribunal hearing released Monday by the Pentagon.

Waleed Mohammed bin Attash long has been suspected of playing a key role in the bombing of the Cole as it refueled in Yemen. The attack killed 17 U.S. sailors and nearly sank the $1 billion destroyer.

His brief disclosures during a March 12 hearing at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, added insight into his role in the group's overall operations.

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WASHINGTON (AP) - Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's claims that he was responsible for dozens of successful, foiled and imagined attacks in the past 15 years relies on a loose definition of the word 'responsible.' Officials say the 9/11 mastermind was key to some plots but a bit player in others.

The 31 on his list range from the stunningly vicious suicide hijackings of Sept. 11, 2001, to others that current and former government officials say were just talk rather than concrete plans, such as a plot to kill Jimmy Carter and other former U.S. presidents.

The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity, noting Mohammed's activities are likely to be the subject of an upcoming military tribunal.

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Waleed Mohammed Bin Attash, long suspected of plotting the bombing of the USS Cole, confessed to planning the attack during a hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a Pentagon transcript released today.

He also said he helped plan the bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 that killed 213, the transcript said. Seventeen sailors were killed and 37 injured when suicide bombers steered an explosives-laden boat into the guided missile destroyer on Oct. 12, 2000.

A federal judge in Virginia on Wednesday found the government of Sudan liable for the attack on the Cole in a lawsuit in which the sailors relatives argued that al-Qaida could not have succeeded without the African nation providing a safe haven for bin Laden and financial support. No damage amount has yet been awarded.

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A Yemeni captive being held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, confessed to recruiting the suicide bombers and buying the speedboat that blasted a hole in the USS Cole in Aden, Yemen, in 2000, killing 17 U.S. sailors, according to a transcript of a hearing released Monday by the Pentagon.

The captive, Waleed Mohammed bin Attash, also admitted in the document that he helped plan the 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Kenya that killed more than 200 people, mostly Africans.

Together, the two episodes were among the worst anti-American attacks blamed on al Qaeda before Sept. 11, 2001.

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CUBA -- Cass-Putman Rescue Squad is selling whole hickory-smoked hams to raise funds to help purchase new equipment.Contact any rescue squad member or call (309) 785-8131 to order. The hams weigh 18 to 22 pounds. Orders must be made by March 22.Hams may be picked up March 29, 30 and 31 at the rescue building. Rescue squad members will call when the orders are ready.

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CARTAGENA, Colombia — In his first trip to this violence-wracked country, Bill Gates said Microsoft Corp. was helping set up computer learning centers in areas where demobilized paramilitary fighters are in dire need of job training.

Given the low Internet penetration in Latin America, he said, the software company's focus for getting people online in the region is to promote computer centers in libraries.

The company said it was donating $1 million over three years to set up nine training centers in some of the Colombia's most conflictive regions.

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Today is Monday, March 19, the 78th day of 2007. There are 287 days left in the year. This is the date the swallows traditionally return to the San Juan Capistrano Mission in California.

Todays Highlight in History:

On March 19th, 1945, during World War Two, 724 people were killed when a Japanese dive bomber attacked the U.S. carrier Franklin off Japan; the ship, however, was saved.

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Khalid Sheikh Mo-hammed ? ?KSM? to himself and his captors ? is either the world?s busiest terrorist or biggest windbag. He might be much of both.

If it?s true that al-Qaida operatives are taught how to game the American legal system, Mohammed must have been daydreaming about blowing something up the day the instructor taught about the right against self-incrimination.

Mohammed confessed to an astonishing range of murderous mayhem ? everything, one wag said, from kidnapping the Lindbergh baby to killing Anna Nicole Smith.

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WASHINGTON -- Anti-war demonstrations are being held in many cities across the nation and around the world as the Iraq conflict enters its fifth year.

Thousands marched today from the Lincoln Memorial to the Pentagon in the footsteps of an epic demonstration four decades ago against the Vietnam war.

Smaller protests were held in other US cities, stretching to Tuesday's four-year anniversary of the Iraq invasion. In Los Angeles, Vietnam veteran Ed Ellis says he hopes the demonstrations will be the "tipping point" against the war.

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PORTLAND, Ore. - Marking the fourth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, thousands of demonstrators crowded into a grassy stretch of downtown Portland on Sunday to call for an end to the war.

Raed Jarrar, an Iraqi-Palestinian writer, said the war has become one of the occupiers versus almost everyone else in the country, with only a small number of Iraqis collaborating with U.S. forces.

The war "is happening because of the occupation, not in spite of it," Jarrar said.

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We hope that alternative-fuel production in Florida yields more good-paying jobs than traditional agribusiness.

When Charles Bronson was running for re-election last year as Florida's commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, he pledged to help make sure the Sunshine State is well-positioned to be a leader in alternative fuels.

At the time, the veteran Republican politician's comments seemed logical and businesslike. Smart politics.

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The president with the fewest vetoes in more than a century, George W. Bush is poised to make up for lost time as congressional Democrats move legislation the White House says is unacceptable.

In the past week alone the White House threatened to veto House bills dealing with presidential records and protection for whistle-blowers, and a defeated Senate bill that would have set a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq.

The White House also warned that a war-spending bill the House will take up this coming week would face a veto because it contains Iraq withdrawal language.

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cubano, l?der del cuarteto que lleva su nombre, no hab?a pisado

antes del viernes un escenario hongkon?s, pero su trabajo no era

desconocido para una parte del p?blico de la ciudad china.

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ORLANDO, Florida --Yunel Escobar tiene dos grandes razones para esforzarse el máximo en el entrenamiento primaveral: primero lograr quedarse con los Bravos de Atlanta y segundo retribuir la ayuda que le ha brindado su compatriota Bryan Peña.

Escobar, un infielder cubano invitado fuera del roster al campamento de los Bravos, aún está en proceso de adaptación a la vida en Estados Unidos luego de desertar de Cuba hace poco más de dos años.

Resulta que Escobar y Peña crecieron juntos en La Habana y se criaron como hermanos. Peña abandonó su país en 1999 en busca de lograr su sueño de llegar a las Grandes Ligas. Escobar lo imitó cinco años después.

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He was born and raised in Cuba and it's a land Emilio Muller loves.

Never mind that he spent time there in a concentration camp, escaped, spent a year on the run and, eventually, ended up in a maximum-security prison.

Ask Muller, pastor of Kennydale United Methodist Church in Renton, about Cuba, and his eyes widen and his voice softens.

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TAVARES - In its fourth year, the Lake County Festival of Reading features an epicurean theme designed to tickle the mind and tantalize the tastebuds.

The festival continued Sunday with a "taste of reading" motif, and included two Hispanic cookbook authors who shared their expertise of Latin American cooking.

Miami-based Viviana Carballo talked about her book "Havana Salsa," which tells of her upbringing in Cuba before Fidel Castro came to power. Part memoir, par