Bush picks ex-governor to head Republicans

Bush picks ex-governorto head Republicans
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has settled on former Montana Gov. Marc Racicot to chair the Republican National Committee, picking a staunch ally as the GOP heads into midterm elections next year.
GOP officials disclosed Bush's selection Tuesday. Party leaders are expected to endorse the selection next month.
Racicot would replace Gov. Jim Gilmore of Virginia, who resigned Friday amid friction with the White House.
Bush turned to Racicot as part of a broader overhaul of RNC operations to prepare for the 2002 elections, with control of Congress and three dozen statehouses at stake.
The president gave his blessing to Racicot's selection during a meeting Tuesday with staff. Republican leaders were notified of the decision late Tuesday, according to two senior Republican officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Racicot, 53, a two-term Montana governor, was one of Bush's earliest supporters. He helped the Texan gain the backing of a majority of GOP governors in the late 1990s, creating a launching pad for the Bush presidential campaign.
Striking teachersspend night in jail
FREEHOLD, N.J. -- Forty-three striking teachers were spending their first night in jail early today for defying a judge's back-to-work order, while their negotiators continued contract talks with the school board.
"I don't know how long, but talks will continue," union spokeswoman Karen Joseph said.
A judge has now sent 47 Middletown Township teachers to jail for defying his order; four were jailed Monday, the rest on Tuesday.
"You are holding the keys to the jail," Superior Court Judge Clarkson S. Fisher Jr. told one group of teachers before sentencing them to one-week jail terms Tuesday. "Any time you want to come out, let me know and you are out."
Fisher and a second judge were scheduled to hear additional cases this morning, when more teachers were expected to be locked up if a contract agreement is not reached by then.
The teachers, members of the Middletown Township Education Association, are being brought into the courtroom in alphabetical order based on their last names. On Tuesday, Fisher had reached the C's.
Police delay resumptionof tours of Capitol
WASHINGTON -- Citing security concerns, police on Tuesday delayed the scheduled resumption of guided tours of the Capitol, which have been suspended since mid-October.
The tours, which were to resume today, will remain suspended "in the interest of the security of the Capitol and the safety of visitors," the Capitol Police said in a statement
Lt. Dan Nichols, a Capitol Police spokesman, said a terrorist alert issued by the government Monday was a factor in the decision, but he would not say whether the Capitol had received specific threats.
"Our goal is to resume tours as soon as possible," Nichols said.
The House and Senate will remain open for legislative business, and the public galleries will also be open.
Tours were halted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They resumed briefly but were suspended again Oct. 15 until a new screening process for visitors could be worked out.
Ex-wife was strangled
CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- An autopsy on the body of Marike de Klerk, the ex-wife of apartheid South Africa's last president, F.W. de Klerk, revealed that she had been strangled, police said today.
De Klerk's body was discovered at her Cape Town home Tuesday afternoon, about 30 hours after coroners estimated she had died.
The autopsy also revealed that she had a shallow stab wound in her back, police spokesman Wikus Holtzhauzen said.
"The stab wound ... was not the cause of death," he said.
There were no immediate arrests and police did not have any suspects.
De Klerk's body was found when her hairdresser became concerned that she had missed an appointment and went to her apartment to look for her. When de Klerk did not answer her door, the hairdresser summoned neighborhood security guards who found the body.
Nothing was missing from de Klerk's house and the motive for her killing was unknown, Holtzhauzen said. The de Klerks divorced in 1998 after 39 years of marriage, and F.W. de Klerk announced he was in love with Elita Giorgiades, the former wife of Greek shipping magnate Tony Giorgiades.
Associated Press