National
Calif. fires lead to the evacuation of thousands
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) - Entire towns were evacuated Sunday as wind-driven firestorms destroyed scores of homes, devastating neighborhoods scattered from San Diego County to the mountains east of Los Angeles.
Between 40,000 and 50,000 people were ordered to leave their homes over a mountainous 30-mile stretch from Crestline to Big Bear, just northeast of San Bernardino.
They were being evacuated north into the desert because flames were leaping over roads leading to the valley below.
White House accused of hurting 9/11 investigation
WASHINGTON (AP) - Members of both parties are accusing the White House of stonewalling the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks by blocking its demands for documents despite threats of a subpoena.
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"I call on the White House to turn over the documents they are withholding from the independent commission - and do it now," said Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., co-author of the legislation that created the independent commission.
Town celebrates Army Reserve homecoming
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A grateful hometown crowd of more than 1,000 turned out Sunday for the homecoming celebration of the Army Reserve's 281st Transportation Company after eight months in the Middle East. High school marching bands and patriotic townspeople waving flags and holding multi-colored balloons gave the community's collective thank-you to the 205 members of the 281st who served in Kuwait and Iraq.
International
Hamas ready to consider ceasing attacks on Israel
JERUSALEM (AP) - Hamas said Sunday it is ready to talk to the Palestinian prime minister about halting attacks on Israelis, even though the Islamic militant group participated in a deadly attack on a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip two days earlier. Israel on Sunday retaliated for the attack on the Netzarim settlement, blowing up three uninhabited high-rise buildings the army says were used as lookouts by the assailants, one from Hamas and the other from the smaller Islamic Jihad group, who killed three Israeli soldiers at the isolated, heavily guarded settlement southwest of Gaza City.
White House nixes North Korean weapons visit
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Republican congressman said Sunday that opposition from the White House caused him to scrub plans to lead a group of U.S. lawmakers to the site of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. "At the 11th hour, the White House withdrew its support for our bipartisan visit to North Korea," Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., said in a statement. It said Sunday's scheduled departure has been delayed temporarily.
