Augusta Chronicle, The

Washington in Brief

DeLay fundraising group fined, closing WASHINGTON - The fundraising organization that helped vault former Rep. Tom DeLay to Republican leadership ranks in the House and distributed election money to numerous Republicans has been fined for violations and is shutting down.

Attacks On U.S., Iraqi Forces Rise in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Bombings and shootings soared by 40 percent in the Baghdad area in the past week, the U.S. military said Thursday. An American general said extremists were preparing "an all-out assault" on the capital in a decisive battle for the future of Iraq. Iraq's most influential Shiite cleric issued his strongest call yet for an end to Shiite-Sunni bloodletting, urging all Iraqis to wake up to the "danger threatening the future of the country" and stand "side-by-side against it."

Washington in Brief

Senate OKs national sex offender database WASHINGTON - Convicted child molesters would be listed on a national Internet database and would face a felony charge for failing to update their whereabouts under a bill the Senate approved Thursday.

Iran Will Respond Aug. 22 On Nukes

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran said Thursday it would reply Aug. 22 to the Western incentive package to stop enriching uranium, but italso issued a veiled threat, indicating Tehran will not accept any deal that dilutes its nuclear program. The statement by the Supreme National Security Council was Iran's first mention of a precise date after weeks of being accused of stalling. It said Iran "has made plans to produce part of its nuclear fuel needs inside the country and is making efforts to meet its requ...

Guard Called to Evacuate Residents Who Lost Power

ST. LOUIS - The governor sent in the National Guard to evacuate people from their sweltering homes Thursday after storms knocked out power to nearly half a million St. Louis-area households and businesses in the middle of a searing heat wave that has killed at least 17 people across the country. With forecasters expecting another day of 100-degree heat, utility crews raced to restore electricity, and Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency, granting the mayor's request to send in nea...

Bush Says Racism Lingers in Country

WASHINGTON - President Bush, addressing the NAACP after skipping its convention for five years, said Thursday he knows racism exists in America and that many black voters distrust his Republican Party. Mr. Bush lamented the GOP's rocky relations with blacks. He pledged to improve that relationship and work with the NAACP's new leader to achieve common goals.

Today in History

1831 Belgium became independent as Leopold I was proclaimed King of the Belgians.

Tsunami Warning System Rushed As Indonesia Holds Mass Burial

PANGANDARAN, Indonesia - Rescue workers dug decomposed corpses from ruined homes and hotels in this tsunami-devastated town Thursday, and a mass burial was held for some of the 531 people killed by the waves. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono vowed to have a nationwide tsunami warning system in place by mid-2008, months ahead of schedule, after criticism that the government failed to tell residents about the impending disaster.

Drug Errors Common, Report Says

PHILADELPHIA - From simple mix-ups to fatal overdoses, hos-pital patients on average fall victim to a medication mistake every single day, according to a new report. Nationwide, 1.5 million people are harmed from drug errors, more than half of them in nursing homes, said the Institute of Medicine report, released Wednesday.

In the Spotlight

Tabloid to pay Hudson over weight remarks LONDON - Kate Hudson has accepted libel damages from a supermarket tabloid that claimed she was dangerously thin.

3 Palestinians Die in Gaza Strip Offensive Israel Tells Residents to Destroy Weapons

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israel's army dropped leaflets Thursday warning residents of attacks on homes believed to be hiding militant weapons as air and ground forces raided a Gaza refugee camp for a second day, killing three Palestinians. The army has adopted a new policy of attacking homes in civilian areas where weapons, such as homemade rockets routinely fired into Israel, are secretly stored, military officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Price for Big Show Hinders Bookings

An Augusta performance by country music star Kenny Rogers this summer was all set. He wanted to come. The venue was taken care of. But still the opportunity slipped through a local promoter's fingers. Rufus Van, a partner in R&T Entertainment, said almost everything was worked out for Mr. Rogers to play the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center - everything except money. Ultimately, he said, the show fell through because it would not have been financially feasible for him to promote it.

Tax Digest Up, but Not Enough ; 1.2 Percent Increase Won't Fix Augusta's $5 Million Deficit

Richmond County's 2006 tax digest increased 1.2 percent this year, slightly above the estimated growth but still too low to remedy the city's $5 million budget deficit. "Every little bit counts, but it's not the salvation to the budget," City Administrator Fred Russell said.

The Nation

Judge lets challenge to spying go forward SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge on Thursday refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Bush administration's domestic spying program, rejecting government claims that allowing the case to go forward could expose state secrets and jeopardize the war on terrorism.

The Nation

Judge lets challenge to spying go forward SAN FRANCISCO - A federal judge on Thursday refused to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Bush administration's domestic spying program, rejecting government claims that allowing the case to go forward could expose state secrets and jeopardize the war on terrorism.

Senate Renews Voting Rights Act

WASHINGTON - The Senate voted 98-0 to renew the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act for another quarter-century Thursday, with Democrats joined in praising the once-controversial law by Republicans hoping to improve their party's election-year standing with minority voters. The legislation, which goes to President Bush for his signature, opened voting booths to millions of minorities after its passage at the height of the nation's civil rights struggle.

Genome Leader Advocates Faith, Science Compatibility

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - He opened the session by improvising on hymns at the piano and concluded it by accompanying a sing-along on the guitar. In between, he delivered a compelling account of his unlikely conversion from atheism to evangelical Christianity. The lanky, amiable platform personality wasn't some traveling revivalist but one of the world's leading biologists.

3 Palestinians Die in Gaza Strip Offensive Israel Tells Residents to Destroy Weapons

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israel's army dropped leaflets Thursday warning residents of attacks on homes believed to be hiding militant weapons as air and ground forces raided a Gaza refugee camp for a second day, killing three Palestinians. The army has adopted a new policy of attacking homes in civilian areas where weapons, such as homemade rockets routinely fired into Israel, are secretly stored, military officials told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Judge Rules in Favor of Woodpecker

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - A federal judge temporarily stopped construction on a $320 million irrigation project Thursday, ruling the changes could disturb the habitat of a woodpecker that might or might not be extinct. The first purported sighting of the ivory-billed woodpecker in the area was in 2004, but more than 100 volunteers and researchers who spent weeks last winter trying to find conclusive evidence of its existence came back empty-handed.

Americans Move Into Israel As Rockets Fall

JERUSALEM - Americans Zvi and Toby Klein and their four children left Baltimore to move to a new home in the mountains of northern Israel, well within range of the rocket barrages launched from Lebanon. The Kleins and many of the 230 Americans and Canadians who arrived in Israel on Thursday said they do not fear the deadly rockets - that violence is part of living in Israel.