Sen. Barack Obama is expected to be endorsed Friday by the Service Employees International Union, one of the nation's most powerful, union officials have told The Associated Press.
The sought-after endorsement would be Obama's largest from organized labor, and give him a powerful boost against rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the March 4 presidential primaries in Ohio and Texas.
The 1.8 million-member union is likely to endorse Obama on Friday, the union officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
SEIU backing is one of the most important labor endorsements available. The organization has donated more than $25 million, mostly to Democratic candidates, since 1989. In addition, the union has a powerful get-out-the-vote structure and has been courted by all the Democratic candidates since the beginning of the race.
SEIU has delayed an endorsement since September, when it had Obama, Clinton and other Democratic candidates speak to its members in Washington. It eventually narrowed the field to Obama, Clinton and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, but could not make a decision.
The union allowed its state affiliates to make endorsements, and many backed Edwards.
Edwards dropped out of the race just before the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses on Feb. 5, leaving the field to Obama and Clinton.
Union leaders decided after a conference call Thursday night to go with Obama.
The officials who spoke anonymously cautioned that the union was still voting, but Obama was "99 percent" likely to get the endorsement, one of the insiders said.
The union had announced earlier Thursday that "President Andy Stern and Secretary-Treasurer Anna Burger will discuss a major political announcement with reporters" on Friday.
Separately Thursday, Obama also won the backing of the United Food and Commercial Workers, a politically active union with significant membership in the upcoming Democratic battlegrounds.
The 1.3-million member UFCW has 69,000 members in Ohio and another 26,000 in Texas.The food workers also have 19,000 members in Wisconsin, which holds a primary Tuesday.
The union is made up of supermarket workers and meatpackers, with 40 percent of the membership under 30 years old. Obama has been doing especially well among young voters.
With an SEIU endorsement and the United Food and Commercial Workers' backing, Obama would only need to pick up one more union endorsement to be eligible to collect the Change to Win labor federation's support. There are seven unions in the federation, and it would take endorsements from at least four of them to make the federation consider a joint endorsement.
Obama was endorsed in January by UNITE HERE, which along with SEIU and the United Food and Commercial Workers, would give him three of the seven member unions. The Teamsters, the Laborers' International Union of North America, and the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America have yet to endorse a candidate.
The seventh union, the United Farm Workers, endorsed Clinton in January.
Obama also was endorsed earlier this month by the Transport Workers Union and the National Weather Service Employees Organization.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Former Student KIlls 5 At Northern Illinois University
A gunman dressed in black stepped from behind a curtain at the front of a large lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday and shot 21 people, five of them fatally, then shot and killed himself, said university president John Peters.
"A lot of people were screaming. Everybody started running for the door," said student Zach Seward. "It was just complete chaos."
Four died at the scene, including the shooter, and two later died at a hospital, he said.
At least 22 people, including the gunman and a graduate student who was teaching an ocean sciences class, were shot, Peters said.
Late Thursday, dozens of students gathered on campus for a candlelight prayer vigil. Video footage showed students comforting one another and a young man playing guitar.
Official school events and classes were canceled until further notice, Peters said.
Seven counseling areas were set up throughout the campus, and hotlines were established.
NIU senior Daley Hamilton, 21, said most students were heading home to their parents. "My parking lot at my apartment is pretty sparse," she told CNN.
She said she and her roommate were planning to leave Friday. "We are really on edge and just kind of want to get out," she said.
Tributes were also surfacing online. A Facebook community called "Pray for Northern Illinois University Students and Families" had more than 14,000 members by late Thursday.
NIU student Amanda Hart Garner posted the school's fight song, including the lyrics: "Free, steadfast, devoted, true/We will always stand by you."
Seven of those wounded in the shooting were listed in critical condition.
Four of the fatalities were female, said Peters.
Most of the injuries are head and chest gunshot wounds, a hospital spokeswoman told CNN.
The gunman started shooting from a stage in the room shortly after 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) in Cole Hall, officials said.
Police Chief Donald Grady said authorities do not yet know of a motive.
They know the identity of the gunman but have not released his name, Grady added.
The shooter was a graduate student at NIU in the spring of 2007. Currently he was not enrolled there but, Grady said, "He may have been a student elsewhere."
A preliminary investigation has not uncovered a police record on the gunman, and records showed he had no contact with NIU police while a student there, Peters said.
Gunman 'just started shooting'
Kevin McEnery said he was in the classroom when the gunman, dressed in a black shirt, dark pants and black hat, burst in carrying a shotgun.
"He just kicked the door open, just started shooting," said McEnery, who was in the class at the time. "All I really heard was just people screaming, yelling 'get out.' ... Close to 30 shots were fired."
There are about 162 registered students in the class that met in the large lecture hall.
A student described the classroom as having four exits -- two at the front and two at the rear.
"Witnesses say someone dressed in black came out from behind a screen in the front of the classroom and opened fire with a shotgun," Peters said.
At 3:03 p.m., NIU police responded, and four minutes later, the campus was ordered into "a lockdown situation," Grady said.
At 3:20, an all-campus alert went out via the campus Web site, e-mail, voice mail, the campus crisis hotline, the news media and various alarm systems, he said.
"The message basically was: There's a gunman on campus, stay where you are; make yourself as safe as possible," he said.
Rosie Moroni, a student at the school, told CNN she was outside Cole Hall near the King Commons when she heard shots coming from the classroom she was heading to.
The shot was followed by "a lot of people screaming," then people ran out the doors yelling, "He's got a gun, call 911," she said.
"It was complete chaos. It's very scary here right now."
By 4 p.m., DeKalb police had swept the area "and determined there was only one gunman" and that he was dead.
Grady said the man used three guns: a shotgun, a Glock handgun and a small-caliber handgun, and was still on the stage when he turned one of the guns on himself. The small-caliber handgun had not yet been recovered, he said.
The gunman started shooting with a shotgun, then switched to a handgun, said Grady.
Security around campus was increased in December when police found threats scrawled on a campus bathroom wall that included racial slurs and references to last April's Virginia Tech shootings.
One of the threats said "things will change most hastily" in the final days of the semester.
Peters said there is no evidence that points to a link between the December incident and Thursday's shooting.
Grady said it was unlikely authorities could have prevented Thursday's tragedy.
"As much as we do, it's unlikely that anyone would ever have the ability to stop an incident like this from beginning," he said.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared a state of emergency, which will open the governor's disaster fund to reimburse local government entities for "extraordinary expenses related to the response in NIU DeKalb" and will allow the state Emergency Management Agency to provide assistance, the governor's office said in a statement.
Eighteen victims were taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital, its Web site said.
Of those, seven were in critical condition and were flown to other hospitals. One fatality, a male, was confirmed -- but was not the gunman, the hospital said. Two were admitted, and eight others were discharged.
The 113-year-old school is 65 miles west of downtown Chicago and has an enrollment of more than 25,000. The campus covers 755 acres.
"A lot of people were screaming. Everybody started running for the door," said student Zach Seward. "It was just complete chaos."
Four died at the scene, including the shooter, and two later died at a hospital, he said.
At least 22 people, including the gunman and a graduate student who was teaching an ocean sciences class, were shot, Peters said.
Late Thursday, dozens of students gathered on campus for a candlelight prayer vigil. Video footage showed students comforting one another and a young man playing guitar.
Official school events and classes were canceled until further notice, Peters said.
Seven counseling areas were set up throughout the campus, and hotlines were established.
NIU senior Daley Hamilton, 21, said most students were heading home to their parents. "My parking lot at my apartment is pretty sparse," she told CNN.
She said she and her roommate were planning to leave Friday. "We are really on edge and just kind of want to get out," she said.
Tributes were also surfacing online. A Facebook community called "Pray for Northern Illinois University Students and Families" had more than 14,000 members by late Thursday.
NIU student Amanda Hart Garner posted the school's fight song, including the lyrics: "Free, steadfast, devoted, true/We will always stand by you."
Seven of those wounded in the shooting were listed in critical condition.
Four of the fatalities were female, said Peters.
Most of the injuries are head and chest gunshot wounds, a hospital spokeswoman told CNN.
The gunman started shooting from a stage in the room shortly after 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) in Cole Hall, officials said.
Police Chief Donald Grady said authorities do not yet know of a motive.
They know the identity of the gunman but have not released his name, Grady added.
The shooter was a graduate student at NIU in the spring of 2007. Currently he was not enrolled there but, Grady said, "He may have been a student elsewhere."
A preliminary investigation has not uncovered a police record on the gunman, and records showed he had no contact with NIU police while a student there, Peters said.
Gunman 'just started shooting'
Kevin McEnery said he was in the classroom when the gunman, dressed in a black shirt, dark pants and black hat, burst in carrying a shotgun.
"He just kicked the door open, just started shooting," said McEnery, who was in the class at the time. "All I really heard was just people screaming, yelling 'get out.' ... Close to 30 shots were fired."
There are about 162 registered students in the class that met in the large lecture hall.
A student described the classroom as having four exits -- two at the front and two at the rear.
"Witnesses say someone dressed in black came out from behind a screen in the front of the classroom and opened fire with a shotgun," Peters said.
At 3:03 p.m., NIU police responded, and four minutes later, the campus was ordered into "a lockdown situation," Grady said.
At 3:20, an all-campus alert went out via the campus Web site, e-mail, voice mail, the campus crisis hotline, the news media and various alarm systems, he said.
"The message basically was: There's a gunman on campus, stay where you are; make yourself as safe as possible," he said.
Rosie Moroni, a student at the school, told CNN she was outside Cole Hall near the King Commons when she heard shots coming from the classroom she was heading to.
The shot was followed by "a lot of people screaming," then people ran out the doors yelling, "He's got a gun, call 911," she said.
"It was complete chaos. It's very scary here right now."
By 4 p.m., DeKalb police had swept the area "and determined there was only one gunman" and that he was dead.
Grady said the man used three guns: a shotgun, a Glock handgun and a small-caliber handgun, and was still on the stage when he turned one of the guns on himself. The small-caliber handgun had not yet been recovered, he said.
The gunman started shooting with a shotgun, then switched to a handgun, said Grady.
Security around campus was increased in December when police found threats scrawled on a campus bathroom wall that included racial slurs and references to last April's Virginia Tech shootings.
One of the threats said "things will change most hastily" in the final days of the semester.
Peters said there is no evidence that points to a link between the December incident and Thursday's shooting.
Grady said it was unlikely authorities could have prevented Thursday's tragedy.
"As much as we do, it's unlikely that anyone would ever have the ability to stop an incident like this from beginning," he said.
Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared a state of emergency, which will open the governor's disaster fund to reimburse local government entities for "extraordinary expenses related to the response in NIU DeKalb" and will allow the state Emergency Management Agency to provide assistance, the governor's office said in a statement.
Eighteen victims were taken to Kishwaukee Community Hospital, its Web site said.
Of those, seven were in critical condition and were flown to other hospitals. One fatality, a male, was confirmed -- but was not the gunman, the hospital said. Two were admitted, and eight others were discharged.
The 113-year-old school is 65 miles west of downtown Chicago and has an enrollment of more than 25,000. The campus covers 755 acres.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Australia To Support East Timor
Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says his government will do all it can to safeguard democracy in East Timor after attacks on its president and PM.
On his second visit to East Timor in only two months, Mr Rudd said his support was "absolutely rock solid".
President Jose Ramos-Horta was seriously hurt in Monday's shooting, and is being treated in Australia.
Canberra deployed an additional 350 peacekeepers to Dili in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
In a three-hour visit, Mr Rudd held talks with Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, who narrowly escaped injury when gunmen ambushed his car on Monday.
"The purpose of my visit today is to state in clear and loud terms that Australia will stand shoulder to shoulder into the future in the defence of East Timor's democratic system of government," Mr Rudd told a press conference.
"Australia is here for the good times, the bad times and the difficult times."
Australian troops - who now number about 1,000 - would remain in East Timor for as long as they were needed, he said.
The two leaders also discussed East Timor's long-term economic challenges - such as its weak infrastructure and soaring unemployment.
"Ensuring young people across Timor-Leste (East Timor) have a job is for business, but also this country's long-term stability," Mr Rudd said.
Mr Gusmao thanked Australia for its rapid response to Monday's events and its faith in the country's development.
"Our nation is a proud nation," he said. "A bullet can wound the president but can never penetrate the values of democracy."
Rebel leader
The situation in Dili has remained calm since Monday, despite fears of protests. A state of emergency declared by Mr Gusmao remains in place.
Several arrest warrants have been issued in connection with the attacks, which have been attributed to a group of rebels soldiers with grievances that date from a wave of violence in mid-2006.
Australian-led international forces are now combing the hills behind the capital for the remaining rebels.
Their leader, Alfredo Reinado, was killed in the attack on Mr Ramos-Horta's residence.
But in a BBC interview on Thursday, one of the rebels involved in the attacks, Gastao Salsinha, denied attempting to assassinate the two top leaders.
He said security personnel for President Ramos-Horta started the fire fight that killed Reinado.
Speaking from hiding, Mr Salsinha said he had now taken over as rebel leader.
East Timor won independence in 2002 after decades under Indonesian rule.
John McCain Needs More Funds
Raising money and thinking about a running mate are two of the big challenges facing likely Republican presidential nominee John McCain.
Both are on the agenda as the McCain team plans a transition to a campaign focused more on the Democrats and the general election. But one -- fundraising -- is being treated with considerably more urgency.
Sources involved in the effort say the McCain fundraising operation is reaching out to some 300 major Republican fundraisers, many of whom were supporting other GOP presidential candidates.
McCain is CNN's Larry King's guest for the entire hour tonight at 9 p.m. ET.
Also on the list are top fundraisers for President Bush's political organization. Top Bush fundraiser Mercer Reynolds, for example, endorsed McCain this past week, and campaign aides say he's actively helping to expand McCain's financial network.
The goal is to raise millions -- tens of millions -- by tapping these fundraising networks and finding donors who may have given the maximum amount to their first choice in the GOP field but have yet to give to McCain.
It's an effort proceeding on two tracks: raising millions for the "primary" campaign that continues up to the nominating convention this summer, while also beginning to amass millions more for the general election campaign.
Meanwhile, sources inside and close to the McCain camp acknowledge some casual conversations about a vice presidential search process. These sources stress emphatically that there have been no official meetings or discussions with McCain or even among his senior staff, though they expect the subject to come up in a series of transition meetings over the next several days and weeks.
"It is a top concern of the media and a relatively low concern of ours," one senior McCain adviser said. One reason for the lack of urgency: While McCain is the all-but-certain GOP nominee, the Democratic race is anything but clear -- and McCain is unlikely to make his pick until after the Democratic nominee chooses a running mate.
The Republican convention is a week after the Democrats', and while GOP sources don't rule out a McCain choice earlier, they say that under no circumstances would McCain pick a running mate without first knowing who would lead the Democratic ticket.
Still, there are informal conversations about how to begin a search process.
Again, the sources said no decisions have been made. But several McCain aides and advisers who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity suggest a logical choice to shepherd the process, at least at the beginning, is McCain adviser and veteran GOP strategist Charlie Black. In a brief conversation with CNN, Black said the subject has not come up in any of his conversations with McCain or campaign manager Rick Davis.
Others have suggested Davis would lead the process, though most in the campaign suggest he is too busy with day-to-day challenges, including expanding the staff to prepare for a national campaign, thinking ahead to the GOP convention and preparing for conversations with the Republican National Committee about installing a number of McCain operatives in the party's staff structure.
Those who discussed the running mate issue said that for now, the goal would be, as one put it, "to come up with a list of 20 or 25 people as your starting point and begin the basic research and early vetting."
So what does McCain need to do with his choice?
"Try back in June or July," one campaign official said with a laugh.
But GOP circles, of course, are full of such conversations. Some suggest former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's continued strong showing among social conservatives suggests McCain needs to shore up his right flank. Others say his choice will matter more than most vice presidential picks because McCain is 71 years old, so there will even more than the traditional scrutiny of whether the pick is up to being president.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
USA Election Update : Oba Gets Three
DAY IN A NUTSHELL
Barack Obama sweeps to victory in the three Democratic primaries in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC.
For the Republicans, presumptive nominee John McCain also wins all three contests, although his rival Mike Huckabee mounts a strong challenge in Virginia, taking more than 40% of the vote. Hillary Clinton unveils a stellar endorsement from former astronaut and Ohio Senator John Glenn.
KEY QUOTES
"My friends, I promise you, I am fired up and ready to go."
John McCain ends his victory speech with one of Barack Obama's signature lines
"With all of the challenges facing Ohio and America, we need a leader who can deliver real solutions on her first day in office."
Former senator and astronaut John Glenn endorses Hillary Clinton
"The nomination is not secured until one candidate has 1,191 delegates."
Mike Huckabee
"John McCain is an American hero. We honour his service to our nation... But his priorities don't address the real problems of the American people, because they are bound to the failed policies of the past."
Barack Obama turns his sights on the Republicans in his victory address
"In the dark days when Iraq's al-Anbar province was the bloodiest place on the planet - John McCain was one of the few in Congress brave enough to venture into that cauldron. I know, because I saw him there."
Col Oliver North
NUMBER NEWS
Because many pollsters assumed that the presidential races would be settled after Super Tuesday, little polling has been done in the states holding contests later on in the primary calendar.
So polls published today from Wisconsin and Ohio shed some much-needed light on the state of the races in those states.
A Public Policy Polling survey of Wisconsin voters suggests that Barack Obama and John McCain have the advantage there. The poll has Mr Obama leading Hillary Clinton by 50% to 39% and Mr McCain leading Mr Huckabee 53% to 32%.
Mr McCain also leads Mr Huckabee in the SurveyUSA poll of Ohio voters (50% to 36%), but for the Democrats in Ohio, Mrs Clinton has the lead - with 56% to Mr Obama's 39%
Barack Obama sweeps to victory in the three Democratic primaries in Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC.
For the Republicans, presumptive nominee John McCain also wins all three contests, although his rival Mike Huckabee mounts a strong challenge in Virginia, taking more than 40% of the vote. Hillary Clinton unveils a stellar endorsement from former astronaut and Ohio Senator John Glenn.
KEY QUOTES
"My friends, I promise you, I am fired up and ready to go."
John McCain ends his victory speech with one of Barack Obama's signature lines
"With all of the challenges facing Ohio and America, we need a leader who can deliver real solutions on her first day in office."
Former senator and astronaut John Glenn endorses Hillary Clinton
"The nomination is not secured until one candidate has 1,191 delegates."
Mike Huckabee
"John McCain is an American hero. We honour his service to our nation... But his priorities don't address the real problems of the American people, because they are bound to the failed policies of the past."
Barack Obama turns his sights on the Republicans in his victory address
"In the dark days when Iraq's al-Anbar province was the bloodiest place on the planet - John McCain was one of the few in Congress brave enough to venture into that cauldron. I know, because I saw him there."
Col Oliver North
NUMBER NEWS
Because many pollsters assumed that the presidential races would be settled after Super Tuesday, little polling has been done in the states holding contests later on in the primary calendar.
So polls published today from Wisconsin and Ohio shed some much-needed light on the state of the races in those states.
A Public Policy Polling survey of Wisconsin voters suggests that Barack Obama and John McCain have the advantage there. The poll has Mr Obama leading Hillary Clinton by 50% to 39% and Mr McCain leading Mr Huckabee 53% to 32%.
Mr McCain also leads Mr Huckabee in the SurveyUSA poll of Ohio voters (50% to 36%), but for the Democrats in Ohio, Mrs Clinton has the lead - with 56% to Mr Obama's 39%
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Obama's Chance ?????????
Democratic rivals Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton squared off Tuesday in primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, home to the White House, their long-sought prize
With 175 delegates at stake, Obama hoped to erode if not erase the lead Clinton has held since the campaign began.
The Illinois senator won a string of contests in all regions of the country over the weekend, routing Clinton in a Louisiana primary as well as caucuses in Nebraska, Washington state and Maine.
Early turnout in Virginia was reported high and city officials in the District of Columbia were hoping that a swath of new registered voters would show up at the polls. Maryland election officials were also projecting a strong turnout, particularly in the Democratic race.
The final Maine returns had not been tallied when Clinton's campaign manager announced she was stepping down. Coming several days after the former first lady loaned her own campaign $5 million, it was a fresh indication of the trouble the one-time front-runner is having fighting off Obama's strong challenge for the nomination.
Aides to the former first lady concede she is in the midst of a difficult period in which she could lose 10 straight contests. She is hoping to rebound on March 4, in primaries in Ohio and Texas, states where both candidates have already begun television advertising.
Clinton began the night with 1,147 delegates, to 1,124 for Obama. Both are far from the 2,025 needed to win the nomination at the Democratic National Convention this summer.
Among Republicans, Sen. John McCain, the faraway front-runner, hoped to rebound in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia from a poor weekend showing. There were 116 GOP delegates at stake.
McCain lost caucuses in Kansas and a primary in Louisiana on Saturday to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, his last remaining major rival. He won caucuses in Washington state.
The AP count showed McCain with 729 delegates. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who dropped out of the race last week, had 288. Huckabee had 241 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 14.
It takes 1,191 delegates to clinch the nomination, and McCain appears to be on track to reach the target by late April.
Obama has campaigned before huge crowds in recent days, and far outspent his rival on television advertising in the states participating in the regional primary in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
He began airing commercials in the region more than a week ago, and spent an estimated $1.4 million. Clinton began hers last Friday, at a cost estimated at $210,000.
With Clinton facing a series of possible defeats, and Obama riding a wave of momentum, the two camps debated which contender is more likely to defeat McCain in the general election.
An Associated Press-Ipsos poll found Obama with a narrow lead over the Arizona senator in a potential match-up, and Clinton running about even.
"We bring in voters who haven't given Democrats a chance" in the past, said Obama pollster Cornell Belcher, citing support from independents.
Mark Penn, Clinton's chief strategist, countered that she holds appeal for women voters and Hispanics. "Hillary Clinton has a coalition of voters well-suited to winning the general election," he said.
With 175 delegates at stake, Obama hoped to erode if not erase the lead Clinton has held since the campaign began.
The Illinois senator won a string of contests in all regions of the country over the weekend, routing Clinton in a Louisiana primary as well as caucuses in Nebraska, Washington state and Maine.
Early turnout in Virginia was reported high and city officials in the District of Columbia were hoping that a swath of new registered voters would show up at the polls. Maryland election officials were also projecting a strong turnout, particularly in the Democratic race.
The final Maine returns had not been tallied when Clinton's campaign manager announced she was stepping down. Coming several days after the former first lady loaned her own campaign $5 million, it was a fresh indication of the trouble the one-time front-runner is having fighting off Obama's strong challenge for the nomination.
Aides to the former first lady concede she is in the midst of a difficult period in which she could lose 10 straight contests. She is hoping to rebound on March 4, in primaries in Ohio and Texas, states where both candidates have already begun television advertising.
Clinton began the night with 1,147 delegates, to 1,124 for Obama. Both are far from the 2,025 needed to win the nomination at the Democratic National Convention this summer.
Among Republicans, Sen. John McCain, the faraway front-runner, hoped to rebound in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia from a poor weekend showing. There were 116 GOP delegates at stake.
McCain lost caucuses in Kansas and a primary in Louisiana on Saturday to former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, his last remaining major rival. He won caucuses in Washington state.
The AP count showed McCain with 729 delegates. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who dropped out of the race last week, had 288. Huckabee had 241 and Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 14.
It takes 1,191 delegates to clinch the nomination, and McCain appears to be on track to reach the target by late April.
Obama has campaigned before huge crowds in recent days, and far outspent his rival on television advertising in the states participating in the regional primary in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
He began airing commercials in the region more than a week ago, and spent an estimated $1.4 million. Clinton began hers last Friday, at a cost estimated at $210,000.
With Clinton facing a series of possible defeats, and Obama riding a wave of momentum, the two camps debated which contender is more likely to defeat McCain in the general election.
An Associated Press-Ipsos poll found Obama with a narrow lead over the Arizona senator in a potential match-up, and Clinton running about even.
"We bring in voters who haven't given Democrats a chance" in the past, said Obama pollster Cornell Belcher, citing support from independents.
Mark Penn, Clinton's chief strategist, countered that she holds appeal for women voters and Hispanics. "Hillary Clinton has a coalition of voters well-suited to winning the general election," he said.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Death Sentence
The Pentagon has announced charges against six Guantanamo Bay prisoners over their alleged involvement in the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the six, who include alleged plot mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
The charges, the first for Guantanamo inmates directly related to 9/11, are expected to be heard by a controversial military tribunal system.
About 3,000 people died in the hijacked plane attacks.
The Guantanamo Bay detention centre, in south-east Cuba, began to receive US military prisoners in January 2002. Hundreds have been released without charge but about 275 remain and the US hopes to try about 80.
Tribunal process
Brig Gen Thomas Hartmann, a legal adviser to the head of the Pentagon's Office of Military Commissions, said the charges alleged a "long-term, highly sophisticated plan by al-Qaeda to attack the US".
He said there would be "no secret trials" and that they would be "as completely open as possible".
"Relatively little amounts of evidence will be classified," Gen Hartmann said.
The other five defendants are Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni, Walid bin Attash, also from Yemen, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, who was born in Balochistan, Pakistan, and raised in Kuwait, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, a Saudi, and Mohammed al-Qahtani.
Gen Hartmann said the charges included conspiracy, murder in violation of the laws of war, attacking civilians, destruction of property and terrorism.
All but Mr Qahtani and Mr Hawsawi are also charged with hijacking or hazarding an aircraft.
The charges listed "169 overt acts allegedly committed by the defendants in furtherance of the September 11 events".
Gen Thomas Hartmann said: "The accused will have his opportunity to have his day in court.
It's our obligation to move the process forward, to give these people their rights."
In listing more details of the charges against the defendants, Gen Hartmann alleged that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had proposed the attacks to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in 1996, had obtained funding and overseen the operation and the training of hijackers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Kuwaiti of Pakistani extraction, was said to have been al-Qaeda's third in command when he was captured in Pakistan in March 2003.
He has reportedly admitted to decapitating kidnapped US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002 but these charges do not relate to that.
The BBC's Vincent Dowd in Washington says Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has said he planned every part of the 9/11 attacks but that his confession may prove problematic as the CIA admitted using controversial "waterboarding" techniques.
Human rights groups regard the procedure as torture.
Legal challenge
The charges will now be sent to Susan Crawford, the convening authority for the military commissions, to determine whether they will be referred to trial.
Any trials would be held by military tribunal under the terms of the Military Commissions Act, passed by the US Congress in 2006.
The Act set up tribunals to try terror suspects who were not US citizens.
The law is being challenged by two prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, who say they are being deprived of their rights to have their cases heard by a US civilian court.
Nineteen men hijacked four planes in the 9/11 attacks. Two planes hit the World Trade Center in New York, another the Pentagon in Washington and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for the six, who include alleged plot mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
The charges, the first for Guantanamo inmates directly related to 9/11, are expected to be heard by a controversial military tribunal system.
About 3,000 people died in the hijacked plane attacks.
The Guantanamo Bay detention centre, in south-east Cuba, began to receive US military prisoners in January 2002. Hundreds have been released without charge but about 275 remain and the US hopes to try about 80.
Tribunal process
Brig Gen Thomas Hartmann, a legal adviser to the head of the Pentagon's Office of Military Commissions, said the charges alleged a "long-term, highly sophisticated plan by al-Qaeda to attack the US".
He said there would be "no secret trials" and that they would be "as completely open as possible".
"Relatively little amounts of evidence will be classified," Gen Hartmann said.
The other five defendants are Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni, Walid bin Attash, also from Yemen, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, who was born in Balochistan, Pakistan, and raised in Kuwait, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi, a Saudi, and Mohammed al-Qahtani.
Gen Hartmann said the charges included conspiracy, murder in violation of the laws of war, attacking civilians, destruction of property and terrorism.
All but Mr Qahtani and Mr Hawsawi are also charged with hijacking or hazarding an aircraft.
The charges listed "169 overt acts allegedly committed by the defendants in furtherance of the September 11 events".
Gen Thomas Hartmann said: "The accused will have his opportunity to have his day in court.
It's our obligation to move the process forward, to give these people their rights."
In listing more details of the charges against the defendants, Gen Hartmann alleged that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had proposed the attacks to al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in 1996, had obtained funding and overseen the operation and the training of hijackers in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a Kuwaiti of Pakistani extraction, was said to have been al-Qaeda's third in command when he was captured in Pakistan in March 2003.
He has reportedly admitted to decapitating kidnapped US journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002 but these charges do not relate to that.
The BBC's Vincent Dowd in Washington says Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has said he planned every part of the 9/11 attacks but that his confession may prove problematic as the CIA admitted using controversial "waterboarding" techniques.
Human rights groups regard the procedure as torture.
Legal challenge
The charges will now be sent to Susan Crawford, the convening authority for the military commissions, to determine whether they will be referred to trial.
Any trials would be held by military tribunal under the terms of the Military Commissions Act, passed by the US Congress in 2006.
The Act set up tribunals to try terror suspects who were not US citizens.
The law is being challenged by two prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, who say they are being deprived of their rights to have their cases heard by a US civilian court.
Nineteen men hijacked four planes in the 9/11 attacks. Two planes hit the World Trade Center in New York, another the Pentagon in Washington and the fourth crashed in Pennsylvania.
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