Rockets hit U.S. base in Afghanistan, 2 troops dead

Rockets hit U.S. base in Afghanistan, 2 troops dead

KABUL — A rare rocket attack on the main U.S. base in Afghanistan early Sunday killed two U.S. troops and wounded six other Americans, including two civilians, officials said.

Bagram Air Base, which is 25 miles northeast of Kabul, is surrounded by high mountains and long stretches of desert from which militants could fire rockets. But such attacks, particularly lethal ones, are relatively rare.

Two U.S. troops died and six Americans were wounded, including four military personnel and two civilians, said Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, a U.S. military spokeswoman.

New detector a little better at catching nuclear matter

WASHINGTON — Federal investigators say the government’s next generation radiation detectors are only marginally better at detecting hidden nuclear material than monitors already at U.S. ports, but would cost more than twice as much.

The machines are intended to prevent terrorists or criminals from smuggling into the U.S. a nuclear bomb or its explosive components hidden in a cargo container.

The monitors now in use can detect the presence of radiation, but they cannot distinguish between threatening and nonthreatening material.

Palin, critics spar over ethics complaints

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says her political enemies are abusing state law with a flurry of frivolous ethics complaints against her, putting her more than $500,000 in legal debt.

Those filing the grievances — there have been at least 18 cases so far — say it’s their legal right to hold the Republican governor accountable for what they see as abuses of power. The truth is probably somewhere in between.

Most of the complaints have been filed since last August, when GOP presidential candidate John McCain picked Palin as his running mate. And most have been denied.

NOW elects new president

INDIANAPOLIS — The National Organization for Women has elected a 56-year-old Maryland woman as its next president in a close win over a rival who had been endorsed by the group’s current president.

NOW said Terry O’Neill, who is white, defeated Latifa Lyles, a 33-year-old black woman from Washington, D.C., during the organization’s three-day national conference in Indianapolis. The group did not release totals from Saturday’s vote.

Lyles had been enthusiastically endorsed by current NOW President Kim Gandy, who retires from NOW on July 20 after eight years as the group’s president.

‘Vanilla’ home loans could benefit borrowers

WASHINGTON — If President Barack Obama gets his way, consumers who take out mortgages would automatically get a “plain vanilla” loan — such as a traditional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage — unless they opted for a riskier variety.

Obama’s plan to revamp financial regulation aims to protect borrowers from the confusing and high-risk mortgages that fed a pandemic of delinquencies and foreclosures, led to the worst financial crisis in decades and thrust the nation into a deep recession.

Obama is expecting opposition to the plan, and cautioned Saturday in his radio address, “While I’m not spoiling for a fight, I’m ready for one.”

Government officials want to make the process of getting a mortgage as simple and abuse-free as signing up for a retirement savings plan.

North Korea threatens to harm U.S. if attacked

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea boasted that it has become a “proud nuclear power” and threatened today to harm the U.S. if attacked, as tensions mounted over a possible crackdown on exports of suspected missile parts from the North.

President Barack Obama said the U.S. is ready to cope with “any contingencies” involving North Korea and vowed not to “reward belligerence and provocation.”

McCain praises Obama

WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain says his opponent in last year’s presidential campaign, Barack Obama, has “done well” in his first five months in the White House.

The Arizona Republican says that using a legislative scorecard to judge the presidency so far, Obama has achieved all his legislative goals.

On the down side, McCain says that Obama’s successes in Congress have come with little or no Republican support.

Associated Press