Rice on Mideast approach

Rice on Mideast approach
RAMALLAH, West Bank -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday she is taking it slow and steady as she assembles the elements for what might be a new Mideast peace plan. "My approach has been, I admit, careful," Rice said, because too many past efforts have failed despite what seemed to be clear objectives. Rice is midway through a shuttle diplomacy mission that evokes previous failed attempts to pull together Israelis and the Palestinians.
Iran remains defiant
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran announced Sunday that it was partially suspending cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog while hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the latest U.N. sanctions would not halt the country's uranium enrichment "even for a second." Iranian state television quoted Ahmadinejad as saying the additional Security Council sanctions imposed Saturday "stem from the hostility by some powers against Iran." "It is not a new issue for the Iranian nation. Enemies of the Iranian nation have made a mistake this time too," Ahmadinejad said.
Blair calls seizure 'wrong'
LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday called the Iranian seizure of 15 British sailors and marines "unjustified and wrong," saying in his first remarks on the escalating confrontation that London saw it as a "very serious situation." Iran said the issue was being "considered legally," suggesting the possibility that the group may be tried for illegally entering Iranian waters off the coast of Iraq. Blair disputed Tehran's claim that the 15 were in Iranian territorial waters at the time they were seized Friday.
Heart-healthy diet
NEW ORLEANS -- A Mediterranean-style diet high in olive oil and other "healthy" fats is just as good as the classic American Heart Association low-fat diet for the 8 million Americans who have suffered a heart attack and want to prevent a repeat, new research suggests. People on either diet had one-third the risk of suffering another heart attack, a stroke, death or other heart problem compared with heart patients eating in the usual way, the study found. The results of the study were presented Sunday at an American College of Cardiology conference.
Japan feels aftershocks
KANAZAWA, Japan -- Aftershocks shook a rural area of coastal central Japan today, a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least one person and injured 170 others as it toppled buildings, triggered landslides and generated a small tsunami along the coast. One of the aftershocks had a preliminary magnitude of 5.3 and struck at 7:19 a.m. today. Japan's Meteorological Agency said there was no tsunami danger. Sunday's magnitude-6.9 quake struck off the north coast of Ishikawa, the agency said.
Gonzales support eroding
WASHINGTON -- Republican support for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales eroded Sunday as three key senators -- Sen. Arlen Specter, R.-Pa., Sen. Lindsey Graham, R.-S.C., and Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb. -- sharply questioned his honesty over last fall's firings of eight federal prosecutors. Additionally, two Democrats joined the list of lawmakers calling for Gonzales' ouster. Several Republicans also urged President Bush to allow sworn testimony from his top aides about their role in dismissing the U.S. attorneys -- a standoff threatening to result in Capitol Hill subpoenas of White House officials. The embattled attorney general was facing the toughest test of his two-year tenure at the Justice Department with the release of documents suggesting he was more involved with the firings than he indicated earlier.
6 cops accused of assault
CHICAGO -- Authorities are investigating claims that six off-duty Chicago police officers were captured on video assaulting four men in a bar, the second report of police involved in an assault to surface in a week. Adam Mastrucci, Scott Lowrance and brothers Aaron and Barry Gilfand were playing pool at the Jefferson Tap and Grille on Dec. 15 when the off-duty officers attacked them, their attorney Steven Fine said. Patrol officers responded to a 911 call but left after speaking to one of the off-duty officers, Fine said. One of the four men required reconstructive surgery for a broken nose and another had broken ribs, Fine said.
Sweet news on chocolate
NEW ORLEANS -- Researchers found that six weeks of daily consumption of a dark chocolate cocoa mix significantly improved the blood vessel health of those who participated in a study. The study is the latest in a growing number that link reduced heart disease risk to flavonoids in dark chocolate and other food and beverages. The study, which was funded by Hershey and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was presented this weekend at the American College of Cardiology meeting in New Orleans.
Combined dispatches