h Schwarzenegger says he'll seek re-election

h Schwarzenegger sayshe'll seek re-election
SAN DIEGO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger confirmed an open secret Friday, telling supporters that he's running for re-election next year -- an early announcement designed to re-energize his sagging political momentum. "Yes, I will run for governor," he told an enthusiastic crowd of about 200 invited guests. Schwarzenegger had hinted as much for weeks, saying Wednesday he wanted to stay to fix the "broken system" of state government. Privately, advisers have urged the Republican governor to declare for months, though the election isn't until November 2006, three years after he arrived in Sacramento in triumph after the historic recall of Gray Davis. The announcement was timed to coincide with the state Republican convention in Anaheim, which Schwarzenegger will address this afternoon.
Bush to renew searchfor O'Connor's successor
WASHINGTON -- President Bush has invited key lawmakers to a White House meeting next week to begin consultations on a replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, officials said Friday. The meeting, to be held Wednesday, signals the White House is moving to find a successor to O'Connor as Judge John Roberts awaits confirmation as chief justice. Bush invited Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., and Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., as well as Sen. Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the panel's senior Democrat, the officials said.
Guilty of killing 6 hunters
HAYWARD, Wis. -- A jury convicted an immigrant truck driver Friday of first-degree murder in the deaths of six deer hunters during a confrontation over trespassing, rejecting his contentions that he fired in self-defense after one hunter used racial slurs and another fired at him. Chai Soua Vang, 36, faces mandatory life in prison. Wisconsin does not have a death penalty.
Testimony in Vioxx trial
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- Fighting back tears, a heart expert told jurors Friday that Vioxx manufacturer Merck & amp; Co. ignored evidence the painkiller posed safety risks before it hit the market in 1999. Dr. Benedict Lucchesi, testifying on behalf of a man who blames Vioxx for his heart attack, was shown a series of internal Merck e-mails. Lucchesi, an expert on the heart and the effects of medications, appeared to fight back tears after plaintiff's attorney Chris Seeger referred to a 1997 message sent by Merck researcher Briggs Morrison to fellow company scientists. In it, Morrison advocated letting the patients in the study take aspirin at the same time as Vioxx.
Gov. Bush's son arrested
AUSTIN, Texas -- The youngest son of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush was arrested early Friday and charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest, law enforcement officials said. John Ellis Bush, 21, was arrested by agents of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission at 2:30 a.m. on a corner of Austin's Sixth Street bar district, said commission spokesman Roger Wade. Noelle Bush, the governor's daughter, was arrested in January 2002 and accused of trying to pass a fraudulent prescription at a pharmacy to obtain the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.
Ophelia heads north
HATTERAS, N.C. -- Ophelia finally took leave of North Carolina on Friday, downgraded to a tropical storm but picking up speed for a possible run-in with the New England coast. The storm left extensive damage in eastern North Carolina, including beach erosion and ravaged homes and businesses, but overall the region was spared the devastating blow that some feared when Ophelia first brushed the coast Tuesday. Ophelia is the 15th named storm and seventh named hurricane of this year's Atlantic season, which ends Nov. 30.
Volcano spews ash, gas
MEXICO CITY -- The Volcano of Fire in western Mexico blasted ash and gas three miles high Friday, with an explosion that was heard in villages 10 miles from the crater, local officials said. No injuries were reported. The 12,533-foot volcano on the border of Jalisco and Colima states -- 420 miles west of Mexico City -- is among the country's most active and most dangerous. It has erupted repeatedly in recent years.
Associated Press