Gary Hart considers running for president

Gary Hart considersrunning for president
DENVER -- Former Democratic Sen. Gary Hart, whose 1988 presidential campaign collapsed amid questions about his relationship with a young model, said he is considering a bid for the White House in 2004.
"If you love the country and are motivated by public service as I am, it's very hard to sit on the sidelines," Hart, 65, told The Denver Post in today's editions.
He said the nation needs leadership and ideas, and friends are urging him to seek the Democratic nomination again.
Hart, a senator from Colorado from 1974 to 1986, unsuccessfully challenged Walter Mondale for the 1984 Democratic nomination. He campaigned again for the 1988 nomination but withdrew after reporters spotted him at a Washington town house with model Donna Rice, then 29.
"That was an issue between me and the press, not me and the American people," Hart said Monday.
Rice, now an anti-pornography activist, did not respond to requests to comment.
Hart practices international law in Denver and is still married to Lee Hart, his wife of 44 years. He lives in the community of Troublesome Gulch in the foothills west of the city.
Militant group's leaderdeclared brain dead
LOS ANGELES -- Irv Rubin, the Jewish Defense League leader who was jailed on charges of plotting to bomb a mosque and the office of an Arab-American congressman, has been declared brain dead after what federal authorities called a suicide attempt.
Rubin used a razor to slash his neck and throat and then fell or jumped from a prison balcony about 5:30 a.m. Monday as he and other inmates lined up for breakfast, said U.S. Marshal's spokesman Bill Woolsey.
"We're told that he is brain dead and on life support," said Rubin attorney Peter Morris. Rubin's wife and two sons were called to his bedside, he said.
Rubin fell as far as 18 feet at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center, said Mark Werksman, an attorney representing Rubin's co-defendant.
The apparent suicide attempt occurred hours before Rubin had been scheduled to appear in court for a hearing in his case. He and a second member of the militant group were arrested last year and were awaiting trial.
Thousands pay tributeto slain hip-hop legend
NEW YORK -- Thousands of fans lined up beneath the watchful eyes of police Monday night to pay their last respects to hip-hop legend Jam Master Jay.
The line stretched for three long blocks outside the funeral home where the slain Run-DMC founder lay in his signature black leather, gold jewelry and white Adidas sneakers.
"I grew up listening to them," Brooklyn social worker Sharon Kline said Monday. "I felt like it was important to pay respects."
Detectives investigating the DJ's unsolved, execution-style shooting scanned a crowd of tearful friends and family and onlookers who were hoping to spot celebrities.
Traffic stalled for blocks along Linden Boulevard in New York's Queens borough, where members of the group grew up. Low-slung, chrome-fitted sport-utility vehicles crawled by, honking their horns in short bursts and blasting Run-DMC songs.
Spectators toting video cameras and homemade signs screamed as celebrities such as Busta Rhymes left the funeral home.
Jay, whose real name was Jason Mizell, was to be buried today after a funeral.
Booted from the Scouts
SEATTLE -- An Eagle Scout who has earned 37 merit badges said Monday he has been kicked out of the Boy Scouts for refusing to declare a belief in a higher power.
Darrell Lambert said he was told of the decision earlier in the day by the Chief Seattle Council, the Scouts' regional governing body.
"Am I bitter? No. Disappointed? Yeah," he said. "We're in the 21st century. Our country was founded on religious freedom, and the Boy Scouts of America are still discriminating."
Lambert said he plans to appeal the decision within the Scouting council within the required 60 days.
On membership applications, Boy Scouts and adult leaders must say they recognize a higher power, although not necessarily a religious one.
As a private organization, the Boy Scouts can bar anyone it chooses from membership. The organization's ban on gay leaders was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2000.
Associated Press