USA
Calling the Patriot Act vital in tracking and disrupting terrorists, President Bush urged Congress to reauthorize the controversial legislation that has come under fire from civil liberties groups and privacy advocates. The act, passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, bolsters FBI surveillance and law-enforcement powers in terrorist cases. Bush used the swearing-in of Alberto Gonzales, as attorney general, to call for the Patriot Act's renewal.
Residents of La Conchita, Calif., whose homes were destroyed or damaged in last month's mudslide will be offered a package of federal loans and grants intended to help them relocate. Ten people died in the slide, which was caused by heavy rains. A community meeting was scheduled Monday to discuss the assistance offer. Although the town is still threatened by another major bluff collapse, only one household accepted a similar offer for relocation help in 1995.
A Saugerties, N.Y., man was arraigned for a shooting rampage at a mall in nearby Kingston Sunday. Two people were wounded, neither critically, before suspect Robert Bonelli's assault rifle ran out of ammunition as he neared the Hudson Valley Mall's center court. No information was immediately available on a possible motive.
Jose Canseco, a muscular hitter whose 17-year Major League Baseball career ended in 2001, admitted to using steroids and introducing other stars to them during an interview Sunday on CBS's "60 Minutes." The interview aired the day before Canseco's new book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big," was due in stores. Mark McGwire, a former teammate who is implicated in the book, flatly denied Canseco's assertions in a statement submitted to the program.
Reggie Fowler, a businessman with real estate holdings in Arizona and Colorado, was poised Monday to buy pro football's Minnesota Vikings for $625 million. If approved by the National Football League, he will become its first African-American team owner.
The late Ray Charles, who'd never won an "album of the year" Grammy, posthumously was the big winner at Sunday night's 47th Annual awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The blind artist figured in eight awards, six for his "Genius Loves Company" recording, in which he performs duets with other stars. One of them, Norah Jones, accepted the Record of the Year award for their "Here We Go Again." R&B singer Alicia Keys was the most honored female by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, with four Grammys.
