USA
President Bush soon will name Henry Kissinger's replacement as chairman of the independent commission set up to investigate the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, White House aides said. Kissinger resigned Friday over pressure to disclose the clients of his consulting firm. Two days earlier, ex-Senate majority leader George Mitchell (D) stepped down as the panel's vice-chairman, saying he didn't want to cut ties to his law firm. Former US Rep. Lee Hamilton (D) was appointed in his stead.
The Bush administration has authorized the CIA to kill some 25 terrorist leaders, among them Osama bin Laden, if capture is impractical, The New York Times reported. The administration does not regard the "hit list" as a violation of an existing ban on assassinations, the Times said, because it considers the Al Qaeda leaders to be enemy combatants waging a war against the US. A White House spokesman declined to comment on the report.
While critical of a controversial remark by Sen. Trent Lott (R) of Mississippi, some GOP colleagues say his series of apologies should be sufficient. Lott "knows he made a big mistake; it's time to forgive him and move on," said Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) of Kentucky Saturday. Lott is due to appear tonight on Black Entertainment Television to express regret, again, for praising retiring Sen. Strom Thurmond's 1948 presidential bid - in which he ran on a segregationist platform. Many Democrats and civil rights activists say they want Lott to resign as incoming Senate majority leader.
In his first public appearance as temporary head of Boston's Roman Catholic Archdiocese, Bishop Richard Lennon was to celebrate Mass Sunday at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Appointed by the Vatican after Cardinal Bernard Law resigned Friday over his handling of the clergy sex-abuse scandal, Lennon earlier pledged "to work toward healing as a church." Among those mentioned as candidates for the permanent post are Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput, Minnesota Archbishop Harry Flynn, and Bishop Wilton Gregory of Belleville, Ill.
A powerful storm brought flooding and power outages to northern California, with waves up to 30 feet high forecast through tomorrow. One person was hurt when winds knocked scaffolding from a six-story building in San Francisco. In Reno, Nev., gusts up to 82 m.p.h. damaged buildings and toppled three tractor-trailers, with minor injuries reported.
Carson Palmer was awarded the Heisman Trophy, college football's top honor, Saturday night. The University of Southern California quarterback led the Trojans to a 10-2 record. He is USC's fifth Heisman winner, but the first in 21 years.
