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08-03-2004

Police Secure Businesses on Terror Alert

Armed policemen stand guard outside the New York Stock Exchange, Monday, Aug. 2, 2004. The US Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge announced on Aug. 1 that the US was raising the color-coded terror threat level to "high" (orange) from "elevated" (yellow) for financial institutions because of the threat that al-Qaeda may attack symbols of international finance in Washington D.C., New York City and northern New Jersey. (AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhao Peng)

NEW YORK (AP) _ Police searched trucks, blocked streets and posted machine-gun toting officers outside financial landmarks Monday, a day after the government's chilling warning that terrorists might target the buildings with bombs. Thousands of employees at some of the largest financial institutions in the country stood in line to get to work, patiently showing identification tags.

Bush Calls for New Intelligence Director

President Bush walks past the presidential flag as he arrives to make remarks in the Rose Garden of the White House, Monday, Aug. 2, 2004, about his plans to implement the Sept. 11. Commission's recommendation to create a national intelligence director. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Bush urged creation of a national intelligence director Monday to coordinate the war on terrorism but without the sweeping powers for hiring, firing and spending at the CIA, FBI and other agencies as recommended by the Sept. 11 commission. "We're a nation in danger," Bush said in a White House Rose Garden appearance where he announced his support for a national intelligence chief and the establishment of a national center to plan counterterror operations in the United States and abroad. "We're doing everything we can in our power to confront the danger."

Police Nab Husband of Missing Utah Woman

This is an undated photo of Mark and Lori Hacking released by their family during a news conference July 23, 2004, in Salt Lake City. Lori Hacking was reported missing Monday, July 19, 2004. Police arrested Mark Hacking Monday, Aug. 2, 2004, on a charge of aggravated murder of Lori Hacking, saying they had enough evidence even though her body has not been found. (AP Photo/Soares and Hacking Family)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ A man whose credibility began crumbling the day he first reported his pregnant wife missing was arrested Monday in her death, just before his scheduled release from a psychiatric ward. Investigators believe Lori Hacking, 27, was killed in the couple's apartment and that her body is buried somewhere below 3,000 tons of trash at the county landfill. The landfill was expected to be searched again Wednesday.

Polls Mixed on Kerry Post-Convention Gain

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., arrives at a rally in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Monday, Aug. 2, 2004. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch)

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The jury is out on whether presidential nominee John Kerry got a 'bounce' in the polls after the Democratic National Convention. Some surveys suggest he did; in others, he did not. An ABC-Washington Post poll showed Kerry and running mate John Edwards slightly ahead among registered voters, with 50 percent to 44 percent for President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Independent Ralph Nader and Peter Camejo were at 2 percent. Among likely voters, they were tied with Bush-Cheney in a three-way matchup.

Turkish Hostage Shot to Death in Iraq

This image made from television aired by Associated Press Television News on Monday Aug.2, 2004 shows a frame from a video posted on an Islamic Web site. The video claims to show militants, standing over a blindfolded man identified as Turkish hostage Murat Yuce, who was kidnapped in Iraq. In later video footage the man at center holding a pistol apparently shot dead Murat Yuce. It was not clear when the shooting took place. EDS NOTE: AP HAS NO WAY OF VERIFYING THE AUTHENTICITY OF THIS IMAGE. (AP Photo via APTN)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ Masked gunmen shot a blindfolded Turkish hostage three times in the head on a gruesome Internet video meant to warn Muslim workers to stay out of Iraq. Soon after the video was discovered Monday, Turkish truckers announced they would stop hauling goods for U.S. forces in hopes of saving two other Turkish captives. The truckers' decision was the latest concession to militants who have taken more than 70 foreigners hostage as leverage to drive coalition forces and anyone supporting them out of the country. Between 200 and 300 trucks cross Turkey's southern border into Iraq every day to bring fuel, food and other supplies to U.S. forces.

U.S. Defends Uribe Over Alleged Drug Ties

FOR USE AS DESIRED** Colombian President Alvaro Uribe speaks after being sworn-in as the country's new leader at the parliament building in Bogota, Colombia Iin this Aug. 7, 2002 file photo. August 7, 2004 will mark the second anniversary and the halfway point in President Alvaro Uribe's four-year term. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, file)

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) _ The United States rushed to the defense of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe Monday after a recently declassified 1991 U.S. military intelligence report linked him to powerful drug traffickers more than a decade ago. Both the State Department and the Pentagon delivered unusually strong statements in support of Uribe, who is a strong ally of Washington in the war on drugs.

Paraguay Fire Survivors Say Doors Locked

Survivors of the Ycua Bolanos Supermarket fire on Sunday rest in the "Emergencias Medicas" Hospital in Asuncion, Paraguay on Monday, August 2, 2004.Interior Minister Orlando Fiorotto raised the death toll to 311 after a search Monday morning at the charred supermarket. The Health Ministry said 276 people were injured, including 70 with critical burns or breathing problems. (AP Photo)

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) _ Locked doors prevented or slowed the escape of supermarket shoppers from a fast-spreading fire that killed well over 300 people and injured hundreds more, survivors said Monday. The market's two owners were detained for questioning. The confirmed death toll stood at 318 Monday but Independent Channel 4 television said 364 were killed, citing unidentified Interior Ministry officials.

Tropical Storm Alex Nears Outer Banks

Tropical Storm Alex is shown off the eastern coast of the United States in this NOAA satellite image taken on Monday, Aug. 2, 2004, at 10:15 a.m. EDT. Alex, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, strengthened Monday off the coast of South Carolina but was on a course that was expected to take it out to sea. Alex's maximum sustained wind speed increased to 60 mph and the National Hurricane Center predicted it could become a minimal hurricane, with wind of at least 74 mph, on Tuesday. (AP Photo/NOAA)

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) _ A hurricane warning was issued for the North Carolina coast Monday as Tropical Storm Alex, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, made its way closer to the Outer Banks. Alex had maximum sustained winds near 65 mph as of 8 p.m. and was expected to grow into a hurricane in the next 24 hours. The warning was issued for the North Carolina coast from Cape Lookout to Oregon Inlet.

'The Village' Debuts at No. 1 With $50.7M

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ "The Village" has pillaged the weekend box office. M. Night Shyamalan's thriller about creatures in the woods that isolate a small town earned $50.7 million to debut in first place, according to final studio figures released Monday. "The Bourne Supremacy" fell to No. 2, while "The Manchurian Candidate," a remake of the 1962 classic, opened in third place.

Harrison Ineligible for Athens Olympics

Calvin Harrison in action during the men's 400 meter qualifying dash at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Sacramento, Calif., in this July 11, 2004 file photo. Harrison was suspended Monday, Aug. 2, 2004 for two years for a second doping violation, making him ineligible for the Athens Olympics. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Harrison tested positive for the prohibited stimulant modafinil at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Stanford, Calif. on June 21, 2003. (AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) _ Calvin Harrison has been suspended for two years for a second doping violation, knocking the sprinter off the U.S. team for the Athens Olympics and likely forcing the United States to forfeit a relay gold medal from last year's world championships. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Monday that Harrison was found guilty of using the stimulant modafinil at the U.S. track and field championships in June 2003.

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