Yahoo! News: Top Stories
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                  as of Sat, 01 Oct 2005 11:55:47 GMT

    U.S. Launches Military Offensive in Iraq (AP)

AP - About 1,000 U.S. troops, backed by attack helicopters, swarmed into
 a tiny Iraqi village near the Syrian border Saturday in an offensive
 aimed at rooting out fighters from al-Qaida in Iraq, the country's most
 feared militant group, the military said.

    Hamas Claims Election Results Distorted (AP)

AP - GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- The Hamas militant group accused the
 Palestinian Election Committee on Saturday of distorting the results of
 a round of municipal voting to make it appear that Palestinian leader
 Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party -- which came out ahead -- had swept the
 poll.

    Gas Prices Spark Protests in Indonesia (AP)

AP - Indonesia more than doubled the average cost of fuel Saturday in a
 bid to stave off an economic crisis, sparking transport strikes and
 violent protests from people who have long enjoyed some of the cheapest
 gas prices in the world.

    U.S. Millionaire Heads 'Out of This World' (AP)

AP - A Russian rocket roared into space Saturday in a burst of flame
 from the Central Asian steppes, launching the world's third space
 tourist, U.S millionaire scientist Gregory Olsen, and a U.S-Russian
 crew on a two-day trip to the international space station.

    White House criticizes Bennett remarks on blacks (Reuters)

Reuters - The White House on Friday criticized as "not appropriate" a
 comment from former Education Secretary William Bennett that aborting
 black babies would reduce the U.S. crime rate.

    White House Condemns Bennett's Remarks (AP)

AP - The White House on Friday criticized former Education Secretary
 William Bennett for remarks linking the crime rate and the abortion of
 black babies.

    Firefighters Beat Back Wildfire Near L.A. (AP)

AP - Fading desert winds and a stream of humid ocean air helped
 firefighters gain ground on a 23,970-acre wildfire, allowing hundreds
 of residents to return home to the hills and canyons outside the city.

    Kan. Mayor Calls Birthday Card 'Offensive' (AP)

AP - Don't send Mayor Bill Bunten this birthday card. He won't be
 amused.

    O.J. Signs Autographs at Horror Convention (AP)

AP - A decade after he was acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her
 friend, O.J. Simpson was back in Los Angeles autographing sports
 memorabilia for people attending a horror movie convention.

    BoSox Beat Yankees to Tie for AL East Lead (AP)

AP - Of course the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are tied with two
 games to go. The AL East had to come down to this. Jason Varitek
 homered, David Ortiz drove in another big run and David Wells (15-7)
 got another big win at Fenway Park to give the Red Sox a 5-3 victory
 Friday night.

    Russia-US crew and tourist blast off into space (Reuters)

Reuters - A Russia-U.S. two-man crew and the world's third space tourist
 blasted off from Earth on Saturday, bound for orbit and the
 International Space Station.

    US launches offensive in western Iraq (Reuters)

Reuters - Around 1,000 U.S. troops, backed by helicopters, attacked
 towns in the far west of Iraq on Saturday, in the latest effort to
 track down al-Qaeda militants believed to be hiding out near the Syrian
 border.

    U.S. Army ends hard recruiting year, woes persist (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.S. Army, hard pressed to lure new soldiers amid wariness
 about war in Iraq, ended on Friday one of its toughest recruiting years
 since the birth of the all-volunteer U.S. military in 1973, and
 officials said the next year looked difficult too.

    New charges filed against 2 NY Muslims (Reuters)

Reuters - Two Islamic men accused in an FBI sting are facing new charges
 of helping a terrorist organization a year after the judge in the case
 said there was no evidence of their links to extremist groups.

    New Orleans residents trickle back, try to rebuild (Reuters)

Reuters - Thousands of people began returning to storm-ravaged New
 Orleans on Friday, but local officials said they feared fragile levees
 could give way once again if another hurricane strikes.

    This Just in: Flops Caused Box Office Slump (Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Times - One of Hollywood's basic tenets is that when things
 go wrong it's somebody else's fault.

    U.S. Generals Now See Virtues of a Smaller Troop Presence in Iraq
     (Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Times - WASHINGTON -- The U.S. generals running the war in
 Iraq presented a new assessment of the military situation in public
 comments and sworn testimony this week: The 149,000 U.S. troops
 currently in Iraq are increasingly part of the problem.

    Ground Shifted Beneath Levees (Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Times - The rapid sinking of the Louisiana coast may have
 lowered New Orleans levees and contributed to their failure after
 Hurricane Katrina, resulting in the city's catastrophic flooding,
 engineers and other experts say.

    Border Crossing Deaths Set a 12-Month Record (Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Times - TUCSON -- A record 460 migrants died crossing the
 U.S.-Mexico border in the last year, a toll pushed higher by unusually
 hot temperatures and a shift of illegal migration routes through remote
 deserts.

    Battle Plans Pay Off for Firefighters (Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Times - A massive, rapid and well-coordinated response --
 along with a little bit of luck -- allowed firefighters this week to
 successfully battle a blaze that at its peak threatened about 2,000
 homes, but destroyed only two.

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