Hello to you from the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Veronica De La Cruz, thank you so much for checking in with us. Let's take a look at what is happening NOW IN THE NEWS.
Congressional Democrats could soon give their first glimpse of how they will handle the Iraq issue when they take power next year. General John Abizaid, the top US commander in the Middle East, is one of several top Bush advisers testifying on Capitol Hill today. He appeared this morning before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Later this afternoon, he testifies at a House hearing. Democrats are expected to press Abizaid about the need to begin pulling troops out of Iraq.
Iraq's minister of higher education is reportedly boycotting his position until all hostages taken in a mass kidnapping are released. According to Reuters News Service, the minister says about 100 people were abducted when dozens of armed gunmen stormed a Baghdad research institute yesterday. And he says only about two dozen have been released. Police in Baghdad say as many as 50 people have been freed.
People on the Pacific coast are breathing a little easier right now after an expected tsunami turned out to be a little more than a baby-wave. Japanese officials were predicting a 6-foot-tall or higher tsunami after a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck the northernmost island of Hokkaido. But the first wave measured only 16 inches. Aftershocks of the quake could still strike and may trigger more tsunamis. But meteorologists expect those waves to pose little danger.
No charges will be filed against two Los Angeles police officers caught punching a suspect on tape. Legal authorities say the suspect was resisting arrest. They say the officers were doing what they had to, to get him into handcuffs. L.A. Police Chief William Bratton will now decide whether the violent arrest violated any department policy.
Delta Airlines isn’t even out of bankruptcy court yet and there is already an offer to buy it out. US Airways has made an 8-billion-dollar cash and stock offer to buy Delta once it emerges from bankruptcy. If the deal goes through, it will create one of the biggest airlines in the world.
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