American hostage freed

American hostage freed
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The U.S. military, acting on a tip, raided an isolated farmhouse outside the capital Wednesday and rescued an American businessman held hostage for 10 months. The kidnappers, who had kept their captive bound and gagged, escaped without a gunbattle. The rescue came on a day that saw two deadly bombings around the southern city of Basra, fueling fears the bloody insurgency was taking deeper root outside Sunni-dominated territory. A roadside bomb killed four American security agents. And an Interior Ministry official said 16 people were killed and 21 were injured in a car bombing at a restaurant in a central market. Roy Hallums, 57, was "in good condition and is receiving medical care," a military statement said after U.S. forces freed him and an unidentified Iraqi from the farmhouse 15 miles south of Baghdad.
Militant group claims responsibility for killing
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas vowed to hunt down the killers of a powerful former security chief whose gangland-style slaying Wednesday laid bare Gaza's raging power struggles just days before Israel hands over control of the coastal territory. In a brazen challenge to Abbas, a shadowy militant group claimed responsibility for killing Moussa Arafat, cousin of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, in a burst of gunfire. Adding to the tension, the Israeli military said the vital Rafah crossing point between Gaza and Egypt would be closed Thursday until further notice as part of Israel's Gaza pullout, which could be completed as early as Monday.
Space garbage dumped
MOSCOW -- The crew aboard the international space station put out the garbage Wednesday, loading a Russian cargo ship with more than a ton of trash and jettisoning the spacecraft, which fell into the Pacific Ocean, officials said. Fragments of the Progress M-53 splashed in the Pacific at 10:13 a.m. EDT, Mission Control said. Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev and U.S. astronaut John Phillips on board the station had loaded the ship with 1.12 tons of waste and used equipment. The routine move freed up a docking port on the station for the arrival of the next cargo ship, the Progress M-54, which is due to lift off from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan today.
Schwarzenegger to vetosame-sex marriage bill
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Wednesday that he will veto a bill that would allow gay marriages in California. Schwarzenegger said the legislation, given final approval Tuesday by lawmakers, would conflict with the intent of voters when they approved a ballot initiative five years ago. Proposition 22 prevents California from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states or countries. "We cannot have a system where the people vote and the Legislature derails that vote," the governor's press secretary, Margita Thompson, said in a statement. "Out of respect for the will of the people, the governor will veto [the bill]."
Yearning for the urn
LONDON -- It's billed as the biggest moment in England's sports history since 1966 when the national soccer team won the World Cup. Work absenteeism and school truancy are expected to soar. Trafalgar Square already is booked for a victory celebration. It's even upstaging David Beckham and Premier League soccer. It's the battle for the Ashes, a tiny Victorian urn dating from 1882, which symbolizes cricket superiority between England and Australia. England is on the verge of winning it for the first time in almost 19 years.
Associated Press