Bush backs Annan for second U.N. term

Bush backs Annanfor second U.N. term
WASHINGTON -- President Bush endorsed Kofi Annan's bid Friday for a second term as U.N. secretary-general, saying the Ghanian diplomat would help "keep the peace" if given another five years in office.
Bush's endorsement provided a boost to a campaign that was already off to a good start.
In their first meeting of Bush's presidency, the pair discussed tensions in Macedonia, AIDS, global poverty, the Middle East and Iraq, according to Annan. But his candidacy was the first order of business.
"We heartedly endorse his second term as the secretary-general," Bush told reporters in a brief photo session outside the Oval Office.
Annan, who announced his candidacy Thursday, needs the approval of the United Nations' 189 member nations to keep his job.
After meeting with Bush, Annan told reporters that U.S.-U.N. relations would benefit from Congress' willingness to pay back dues owed to the global organization. Mary Ellen Countryman, spokeswoman for Bush, said the president told Annan he would work with Congress to approve payments of $582 million to the world body.
Tailhook Associationfaces harassment suit
SAN FRANCISCO -- A husband and wife have sued the Tailhook Association and a Nevada hotel on allegations of sexual harassment during the naval aviators' convention last August.
Navy investigators have said they found no basis for the allegations, but the couple's lawyer said that would not hinder the suit filed Thursday in San Francisco Superior Court.
"The Navy's interested in performing an investigation that clears all their personnel," attorney Martin Glickfeld said.
The association had not been served Friday with the suit, executive director J.R. Davis said.
"We kind of thought this was all over and done with because of the investigations," he said.
Cynthia and Kenneth Ridenour say they were verbally harassed and she was groped by convention participants when they returned to their Nugget Hotel room, which was on the same floor as the convention.
They said conventioneers pounded on their door and made countless phone calls to the room throughout the night. The couple said they reported the disturbances to the hotel, located in Sparks, but employees did nothing.
The couple is seeking $10 million in punitive damages.
Disease kills 2 patients
DENVER -- Two patients died at a Colorado hospital this year from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, an illness similar to mad cow disease, and there is concern other patients may have been exposed, a hospital spokeswoman said Friday.
It wasn't immediately known when the patients died at Exempla St. Joseph Hospital, spokeswoman Kathleen Ferguson said. But she said at least six other patients may have been exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob through surgical instruments used while treating the two patients who died.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, or CJD, attacks the brain, killing cells and creating gaps in tissue. The brain takes on a sponge-like appearance.
Early symptoms include memory problems, mood changes and lack of coordination. The disease progresses to shakiness and dementia. Victims are eventually unable to move or speak.
A separate form of the disease has been linked directly to eating meat from cattle infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. Nearly 100 people in Europe have died of the disease since 1995.
Motto to go on displayin Miss. classrooms
JACKSON, Miss. -- Gov. Ronnie Musgrove signed a law Friday mandating that public schools display "In God We Trust" in classrooms, cafeterias and auditoriums.
"Our nation was founded as a godly nation, and we put it on our money, 'In God We Trust,"' said Musgrove, who signed the bill despite the threat of a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The ACLU maintains that requiring a reference to God in public classrooms violates the constitutional guarantee of separation of church and state.
"Contrary to popular belief, the ACLU is a strong advocate of religious liberty," said Jane Hicks, an ACLU board member. "Like the U.S. Supreme Court, we believe the best way to protect religious freedom is by keeping religion and government separate."
The law, which takes effect July 1, says the slogan must be displayed on a framed background of at least 11-by-14 inches. Supporters say they believe the slogan will withstand a court challenge because it was adopted as the national motto in 1956 and appears on U.S. money.