Length of Kennedy’s stay in hospital raises questions

Length of Kennedy’s stay in hospital raises questions

BOSTON — Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s hospitalization after a seizure stretched to a third day Monday, raising questions about the severity of his illness.

The senator’s office announced that he is not expected to return to Washington this week, and a spokeswoman said the Massachusetts Democrat had not been available to take a call from President Bush earlier in the day.

“Take care of my friend,” the president told Vicki Kennedy, who answered the call from the White House to Massachusetts General Hospital, according to Kennedy spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter.

There was no word on how long Kennedy would remain hospitalized.

Iraqi police recruits killed

BAGHDAD — Suspected Sunni insurgents ambushed a minibus carrying Iraqi police recruits near the Syrian border Monday, killing all 11 passengers, Iraqi officials said — the first deadly attack since Iraqi forces launched a major sweep against al-Qaida fighters in the region.

The hail of gunfire came hours after Iraqi officials said they arrested a man suspected of being al-Qaida in Iraq’s chief leader in the northern city of Mosul, the terror network’s most prominent urban stronghold.

The attack, the bloodiest in months against police, left the minibus riddled with bullets in the desert west of Mosul, where the crackdown has been centered. Some al-Qaida fighters are believed to have fled the city toward neighboring Syria.

Warning of aftershock causes panic in China

CHENGDU, China — A government warning of a major aftershock sent thousands of panicked survivors running into the darkened streets Monday night following an unprecedented display of mourning for more than 34,000 people killed in a powerful earthquake one week ago.

In shattered Sichuan province, quake-weary residents carried pillows, blankets and chairs from homes into the open or slept in cars after a statement from the National Seismology Bureau was read on television warning that there was a “rather great” chance of an aftershock measuring magnitude 6 to 7. Such jolts could cause major damage.

Police officers to be fired

PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia’s police commissioner said Monday that four officers will be fired and four others disciplined for their roles in the beatings of three shooting suspects, an encounter that was captured on videotape and drew widespread outrage.

Another eight officers who had physical contact with the suspects will undergo additional training on the department’s policies concerning the use of force, Commissioner Charles Ramsey said. He said the police department made the disciplinary decisions after reviewing frames from enhanced tape of a video shot by a television news helicopter May 5.

Blast damages hotel under construction

SAN DIEGO — An apparently accidental explosion rocked a Hilton hotel under construction Monday, injuring 14 workers, five of them critically, authorities said.

Three of the five in critical condition were in a hospital burn unit and eight other victims had serious to minor injuries, fire department spokesman Maurice Luque said.

Some workers were burned and others were injured by flying debris, Luque said. The building did not burn after the explosion, which Luque said appeared to be accidental.

San Diego Deputy Fire-Rescue Chief Perry Peake said the blast occurred in an area of the building containing gas, electric and other utilities and that it appears to have been caused by a mechanical failure.

Associated Press