Rice praises Miers as having 'probing intellect'

Rice praises Miers ashaving 'probing intellect'
WASHINGTON -- Criticism of Harriet Miers as an unqualified crony of the president is unfounded, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday, praising the Supreme Court nominee for a "probing intellect" that will make her a great justice. President Bush earlier this month chose Miers, a longtime confidante who has never been a judge, to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Since then, Miers' nomination has divided conservatives who support the president and those who say it was a risky choice because she was a blank slate on issues such as abortion and gay rights. Three Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is expected to hold confirmation hearings next month, criticized what they called vicious attacks by the Republican right. They said Bush had made Miers' confirmation more difficult by highlighting her conservative religious beliefs, which was seen as an effort to close a growing split among the GOP. Rice said she has worked closely with Miers, the White House counsel and a former deputy chief of staff, on international legal issues such as a president's wartime powers. "She's got a very probing mind and a probing intellect," Rice said on "Fox News Sunday."
Defense attorney's wifefound slain at home
LAFAYETTE, Calif. -- The wife of prominent defense attorney and TV legal analyst Daniel Horowitz was found slain in the entryway of the couple's San Francisco Bay area home, authorities said Sunday. Horowitz, currently leading the defense in a sensational murder trial, called 911 Saturday evening to report that he found his wife, Pamela Vitale, dead in their home, police said. Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies said Sunday that the death was being investigated as a homicide. An autopsy was planned today to determine how she was killed. "We talked to a number of people last night, but there's nobody in custody. We're still trying to establish a motive," said sheriff's spokesman Jimmy Lee.
5 killed in bus accident,including 11-year-old girl
OSSEO, Wis. -- A bus carrying high school students home from a band competition crashed into a tractor-trailer that had jackknifed on the interstate early Sunday, killing four adults and an 11-year-old girl, officials said. Twenty-nine others were injured, some seriously, troopers said. "It's a terrific tragedy and loss to our school and community," said Chippewa Falls schools superintendent Mike Schoch. "Our community is stunned by it." The semi had gone off the shoulder of Interstate 94 and jackknifed, and was blocking the westbound lane, Wisconsin State Patrol Capt. Douglas Notbohm said. "I don't know how much opportunity there was for braking action," he said. The bus slammed into the overturned truck, but it didn't roll or catch fire, patrol spokesman Brent Pickard said. It was the first of four buses carrying about 200 students and 40 adult chaperones, Schoch said.
DeLay raised record fundsmonths before indictments
WASHINGTON -- Cash in the campaign coffers of Rep. Tom DeLay rose to $1.2 million over the past three months, although much of the money came before the former majority leader was indicted in Texas. DeLay raised about $920,000 in the three months that began July 1 and ended Sept. 30 in anticipation of a March primary race. His Democratic challenger in the November election is expected to be former Rep. Nick Lampson, who lost his seat in 2004 after he was forced to run in a new district under a redistricting plan pushed by DeLay. Aide Shannon Flaherty said Sunday that the fund raising set a new record for DeLay. His previous three-month top haul was $800,000, she said. DeLay, R-Texas, was required to step aside as House majority leader when a grand jury in Texas charged him with conspiracy Sept. 28. A charge of money laundering came Oct. 3. DeLay has denied wrongdoing. He is scheduled to appear in court Friday in Austin, Texas.
Iran blasts London, U.S.over nuclear program
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran launched a double-barreled diplomatic assault on Britain and America on Sunday, accusing London of possible involvement in weekend bombings that killed five people and charging that Washington was bent on hauling Tehran before the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program. Iranian Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi said he believed the Saturday blasts that tore into a shopping center in Ahvaz near the Iraqi border were "a continuation of previous explosions that were guided from abroad," state-run radio reported. Britain's embassy in Tehran released a statement condemning the attacks -- and the accusations. "Any linkage between the British government and these terrorist outrages is completely without foundation," the embassy said.
Associated Press