Local
State Senate elects president pro tempore
SANTA FE - Veteran state Sen. Ben Altamirano, a Democrat from Silver City, was elected president pro tempore of the Senate on Tuesday.
Majority Democrats backed Altamirano to give him a 23-18 win over the Republican caucus's nominee, Sen. Joseph Carraro of Albuquerque.
Altamirano is the Senate's longest-serving member. He has been in the chamber since 1971.
The pro tem job was open because of the departure of Richard Romero, D-Albuquerque, who didn't seek re-election to the Senate because he ran for Congress.
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National
Feds admit error in 2004 obesity study
ATLANTA (AP) - Blaming a computer software error, the government Wednesday admitted overstating the nation's weight problem in a widely reported study last year that said obesity was about to overtake smoking as the No. 1 cause of death in the United States.
The study, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and published last March in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said that obesity-related deaths climbed between 1990 and 2000 to 400,000 a year.
In the journal's latest issue, the government ran a correction, saying the increase was more modest, at about 65,000 deaths.
International
Iraqi officials announce election security plans
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Gunmen shot and killed three candidates running in Iraq's Jan. 30 elections, officials said Tuesday, as a suicide bombing killed two people outside the offices of a leading Shiite political party.
With insurgents trying to ruin the election, officials announced that Iraq will seal its borders, extend a curfew and restrict movement to protect voters during the balloting.
President Bush spoke Tuesday morning with Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi.
Airbus unveils world's largest passenger plane unveiled
TOULOUSE, France (AP) - Airbus showed off its giant A380, a double-decked behemoth that could revolutionize long-haul flying, at a lavish ceremony Tuesday with European leaders gathered for the first official look at the world's largest passenger plane.
Airbus SAS is betting its newfound status as the world's leading jet maker on the "superjumbo" that cost $13 billion to develop and has a 262-foot wingspan and a tail as tall as a seven-story building.
High court sidesteps Guantanamo Bay case
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Tuesday dodged a dispute over the government's plans to conduct military trials for Osama bin Laden's former driver and other foreign terror suspects, avoiding another clash over the president's powers.
Justices were asked to decide if the Bush administration is trying to shortcut the rights of non-Americans facing trials at the Guantanamo Bay Navy base in Cuba. They declined without comment.
Gaza suicide bombing
kills one, wounds seven
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - In the biggest test of his brief tenure, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas came to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, hoping to persuade militants to halt attacks on Israel.
But in a show of defiance, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up on a settler road in Gaza, killing an Israeli security agent and wounding seven other Israelis. The Islamic militant group Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack - the first suicide bombing against an Israeli target since Nov. 1.
