State
Navajo Nation chapter to get casino near I-40
SANTA FE (AP) - Gov. Bill Richardson on Thursday signed a gambling agreement between the state and the Navajo Nation for a long-sought casino at the To'hajiilee chapter, near Albuquerque.
"They have struggled a long time to get this passed," said state Sen. John Pinto, D-Tohatchi.
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr., who did not attend the signing ceremony, signed the compact in September. It's identical to those signed by 11 other tribes since 2001.
The To'hajiilee chapter, which is located about 25 miles west of Albuquerque and is separated from the rest of the sprawling Navajo Nation, plans to build a casino complex along Interstate 40.
National
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Bush says Middle East needs democratic facelift
WASHINGTON (AP) - Repudiating decades of U.S. policy, President Bush said Thursday the United States and its allies have been wrong in "excusing and accommodating" a lack of freedom in the Middle East. He prodded Saudi Arabia and Egypt to lead Arab nations toward democracy. Mindful of widespread anger and mistrust in the Muslim world toward the United States, Bush also said that as democratic governments emerge in the Middle East, they should reflect their own cultures and "will not and should not look like us."
Federal judges block late term abortion law
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The legal attack against a new ban on certain late-term abortions rapidly escalated Thursday as federal judges in New York and California blocked the law, delivering a serious setback to President Bush only a day after he signed the law. The ruling by the San Francisco judge affects doctors who work at 900 Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide. The decision combined with a similar one hours earlier in New York will cover a majority of the abortion providers in the United States.
Schwarzenegger hires private investigator
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger will hire a private investigator to look into allegations that he groped women, but he may keep the results from the state attorney general, a spokesman said Thursday. Schwarzenegger's reluctance to turn over the results of the investigation stem from remarks Attorney General Bill Lockyer made earlier Thursday. The Democrat said he advised Schwarzenegger that the misconduct allegations "are not going to go away" and he should cooperate with an independent investigation.
International
Soldiers commemorate soldiers who tied attack
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Hundreds of soldiers at a desert base northwest of Baghdad, some wearing ceremonial spurs and black regimental hats, remembered the comrades killed last weekend when their helicopter was shot down in the deadliest single attack against U.S. forces since the Iraq war began March 20. Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced that one of the soldiers injured in the attack died Thursday at a medical facility in Germany, raising the death toll to 16. Twenty-four others were injured.
Marijuana pill may offer MS patients relief
LONDON (AP) - A marijuana pill appeared to relieve some of the symptoms of multiple sclerosis in the first scientifically rigorous study of the strongly debated drug.
The research, published this week in The Lancet medical journal, found that even though improvements could not be detected by doctors' tests, a greater proportion of patients taking the drug reported reduced pain and muscle stiffness than those taking fake capsules.
Experts said the mixed results make them tricky to interpret. Some said they were encouraged any improvement was noted, while others said if there had been a major effect, it would have shown up in the doctors' tests.
