4/ 1/05 Friday
Pope John Paul II was near death late today, his breathing shallow
and his heart and kidneys failing, the Vatican said. Millions of
faithful around the world paid homage, many weeping as they knelt
with bowed heads, others carrying candles in prayer for the 84-
year-old pontiff. The pope "is on the verge of death," Cardinal
Javier Lozano Barragan, head of the Vatican's health care office,
told the Mexican television network Televisa. "I talked to the
doctors and they told me there is no more hope."
The medical examiner completed the autopsy of Terri Schiavo today,
clearing the way for the release of the body to her husband, who
plans to cremate her remains and bury the ashes without telling his
in-laws when or where. Results of the autopsy may not be released
for several weeks, the medical examiner's office said. Husband
Michael Schiavo hopes the autopsy will settle questions about her
medical condition, but experts differ on whether that will happen.
Oil prices rallied to a record close above $57 a barrel today,
sparked by a surge in gasoline futures that could send the average
retail cost of gasoline above $2.25 a gallon within a few weeks.
Analysts said the nearly $2-a-barrel run-up in oil prices suggested
there is new money coming into the market from hedge funds and
other speculators, as well as from commercial players, such as
airlines and fuel distributors, that are trying to lock in prices
now out of fear that the upward trend may continue.
4/ 2/05 Saturday
Pope John Paul II, who helped topple communism in Europe and left a
deeply conservative stamp on the church that he led for 26 years,
died this evening in his Vatican apartment, ending a long public
struggle against debilitating illness. He was 84. "We all feel
like orphans this evening," Undersecretary of State Archbishop
Leonardo Sandri told the crowd of 70,000 that gathered in St.
Peter's Square below the pope's still-lighted apartment windows.
The courage Pope John Paul II showed in his final days sparked a
sustained outpouring of reverence both for him and the Roman
Catholic Church at a time when the faith's image has been battered
by scandal, parish closings and financial troubles. Around the
clock and around the globe, tributes on television newscasts and at
public services gave the church a moment of nearly unfettered good
will that likely to continue at least through the funeral
ceremonies of the next week.
Insurgents attacked the Abu Ghraib prison west of Baghdad, injuring
44 U.S. forces and 12 prisoners, the U.S. military said, while six
people were killed elsewhere in Iraq following a period of
declining attacks that had raised hopes the insurgency might be
weakening. At least 40 militants fired rocket-propelled grenades
and set off two car bombs at the infamous prison as darkness fell,
1st Lt. Adam Rondeau said. Soldiers and Marines stationed at the
detention facility responded, and the resulting clash and gunfight
lasted about 40 minutes. No one escaped.
4/ 3/05 Sunday
Finally at rest after years of crippling disease, Pope John Paul
II's body lay in state today, his hands clutching a rosary, his
pastoral staff under his arm. Millions prayed and wept at services
across the globe, as the Vatican prepared for the ritual-filled
funeral and conclave that will choose a successor. Television
images gave the public its first view of the pope since his death:
lying in the Vatican's frescoed Apostolic Palace, dressed in
crimson vestments and a white bishop's miter, his head resting on a
stack of gold pillows. A Swiss Guard stood on either side as
diplomats, politicians and clergy paid their respects at his feet.
For all of his inspiring qualities - personal charm, deep
spirituality, acceptance of other faiths - Pope John Paul II's
tight grip on church leadership and unwillingness to change
unpopular teachings clashed with the more democratic approach that
many of the 65 million U.S. Catholics favor. At the end of his
pontificate, John Paul leaves behind an American church uplifted by
his piety, yet struggling with several of the same problems that
preceded him: a dramatically shrinking U.S. priesthood,
disagreement over the proper role for lay leaders, and a growing
conservative-liberal divide over sexuality, women's ordination and
celibacy for clergy.
Volunteers for an effort to patrol the Mexican border reported
their first sighting of suspected illegal immigrants, resulting in
18 arrests, authorities said today. Participants in the Minuteman
Project spotted the migrants Saturday near Naco as the volunteers
were surveying the border to familiarize themselves with area.
When agents arrived, they apprehended 18 people, Border Patrol
spokesman Andy Adame said.
4/ 4/05 Monday
Falling silent, whispering the rosary and clasping their hands,
tens of thousands of pilgrims paid their final respects to Pope
John Paul II today after his body was carried on a crimson platform
to St. Peter's Basilica. Incense wafted through the church where
he will be laid to rest Friday in an ancient grotto holding the
remains of popes through the ages, immediately after a funeral to
be attended under heavy security by President Bush, British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, U.N.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and dozens of other world leaders.
Most Americans - Catholics and non-Catholics alike - want the next
pope to allow priests to marry and women to join the priesthood, a
major break from church rules and the judgment of Pope John Paul
II, according to an AP poll. The charismatic pontiff was held in
high regard by a majority of Americans and most Catholics, with
many suggesting that John Paul will be remembered as one of the
greatest popes. For many, the man who led the church for 26 years
is the only pope they know.
Prisoners at Iraq's largest detention facility protested the
transfer of several detainees deemed "unruly" by authorities,
throwing rocks and setting tents on fire in a disturbance that
injured four guards and 12 detainees, the military said. Friday's
protest was the first of at least three violent incidents at Iraqi
prisons during the past four days, with the latest occurring today
at the notorious Abu Ghraib facility. A suicide bomber driving a
tractor blew himself up outside the prison, wounding four
civilians.
4/ 5/05 Tuesday
Peter Jennings, ABC news anchor, announced today that he has
recently been diagnosed with lung cancer; it was reported that
there is a 95% mortality rate for the disease, but that goes down
with early detection. Jennings condition was reported on all of
the national evening news shows.
People continued to pay respects to Pope John Paul II in long
lines, and walked past the body of the pope; the large number of
morners is said will be coming from Poland, the pope's birthplace.
Plans are being formed and honed for the funeral services on
Friday.
In Iraq, the temporary government council elected a Kurd to be the
prime minister. It was reported that there have been four GI's
killed in action in various skirmishes across the country in the
last two days.
4/ 6/05 Wednesday
There was an accidental heliocopter crash in Afghanistan today; 16
Americans were said to be killed in an unusually tragic crash, due
apparentally to severe weather conditions in a desert area of the
country.
U.S. President's Bush, Bush, and Clinton were in the Vatican in
Rome; where they paid their respects to Pope John Paul II. The
crowd of mourners numbered somewhere around two million and the
line had to be cut short, Rome was so inundated with the pilgrims.
But more are said to be traveling in.
4/ 7/05 Thursday
Pfizer's arthritis medicine Bextra became the latest to be removed
from the market.
Governmanet analysts predict gasoline will rise to an avergage cost
of $2.35/gal in May and that demand for gasoline will increase
during the summer.
St. Peter's Basilica in Rome was closed, for preparations for the
pope's funeral tomorrow; large numbers of mourner pilgrams began
arriving from Poland, were putting down sleeping bags in the areas
for temporary camping in the city. TV news coverage of the funeral
was announced to begin at 3am EDT tomorrw morning.
4/ 8/05 Friday
Eric Rudolf, the Olympics bomber, plea bargined for a life
sentence, in exchange for telling authorities where he had stashed
some bomb making material.
There were some 300,000 mouners in St Peter's Square in the Vatican
in Rome, during the pope's funeral; the proceedings were said to be
those of a normal funeral, but much more lavish were the
surroundings and the ceremonies. Many heads of state were there
and there was much security - Rome was turned into a no-fly zone.
4/ 9/05 Saturday
In England, Prince Charles and Amelia Parker Boles were married -
first in a simple civil ceremony, then in a church. The Queen was
not there, but Charles' two sons were.
There was a large demostration in Baghdad in Iraq against the
American occupation of Iraq - the demo was mostly Sunnis, held mock
scenes of Americans wreakng havoc on Iraqis.
4/10/05 Sunday
A big blizzard snowstorm clobbered most of Colorado - it was
considered to be typical out there for spring - one hits almost
every April - they needed the moisture, having been thru several
years of drought.
P.M. Sharon of Israel visited President Bush in Texas for talks
concerning middle east troubles. There were protests by radical
Jews in Israel, against Sharon's policy to tear down settlements in
Gaza.
Gasoline grew to an average of $2.29 a gallon in the U.S. Some
think it has achieved a plateau of maximum, for the present time
being, and will not go much higher in price.
4/11/05 Monday
A traveler from China threw a bomb scare into the police in
Washington, DC. The person's two bags turned up only personal
belongings, tho - there was no bomb products evident; but the
person was arrested.
The U.S. F.D.A. started hearings again on the possibilty of re-
introducing silicon breast implants for the general public - the
hearings are supposed to yield results of one kind or the other by
the end of the week.
China and India are entering talks for peace and tranquility, but
there were protests against Japan in Beijing, today. Chinese are
resentful of Japan's actions against China during the second world
war and Japan is being considered for a permanent seat in the U.N.
Security Council.
4/12/05 Tuesday
U.S. Secretary of Defense Rumsfield visited Iraq, today; he talked
with Iraq interim government leaders. From the U.S., President
Bush told of how much the victory the Iraq war has been - he
likened it to the fall of communism in the late 1980's.
It was announced that prescription drugs went up very much in cost
last year. The ethical drug inflation rate was more than 7 percent
- double the general inflation rate, researchers said.
The tomb of Pope John Paul II was opened to the public, today.
Soon, the catholic cardinals will start to pick the next pope.
4/13/05 Wednesday
A dangerous flu virus was accidentally spread out. It was sent off
to several countries, to check for laboratory ability to detect
germs. The flu virus sent was supposed to be a non-harmfull virus;
no real spread of this 1957 flu bug is expected.
At the Michael Jackson child molestation trial in California, the
alleged victum's mother took the stand for the prosecution. The
trial is said to be going not too well for the prosecution, whose
witnesses have not been all helpful to bring convincing evidence
aginst Jackson.
4/14/05 Thursday
Congress passed the bankruptcy bill, today, sending it to Bush to
sign. The bill makes it so more bankruptcies will be having to pay
at least some of the money owed to lenders.
The Washington, D.C. Nationals played their first baseball game;
there was much fanfare for the new team - president Bush threw out
the first pitch, etc.
Many were the car bombings in Iraq, today. Eighteen Iraqis were
killed, some forty more injured; one of the targets was the NBC
news building in Baghdad.
4/15/05 Friday
In a small town Massachusetts murder case, where all the people in
the town were DNA typed to narrow the suspect list, a suspect
surfaced, but had been one of the first ones to be DNA analysed.
The problem was typical - a log jam at the state DNA testing lab
slowed down the results of the DNA dragnet.
On this tax day, it was reported that President Bush has paid more
than $200,000 in income taxes for the tax year of last year.
There was a bad fire in a older hotel in downtown Paris, France,
today. 20 people were reported killed, 10 of whom were children;
the hotel had been used by the city to house poor immigrants.
4/16/05 Saturday
A government report came out that said the U.S. airport security is
no really improved over pre-Sept-11th levels. They say contrband
items get thru security checks similar to those of before 2001.
This is on top of increasing the airport security budget from $1
billion per year to $5 billion. The question to ask is: where did
all the money go.
People are worried over the week's stock market workings; the DOW
and NASDAQ both went down to yearly lows, due to reports of a
consumer spending down dip and the gasoline prices up-swing; other
factors also contributed, of course.
In a small villiage in Iraq, there was a bunch of kid-nappings of
Shias in an attempt to force the non-Sunni population tp leave.
This story, however, has been very difficult to substanciate.
4/17/05 Sunday
The catholic cardinals in Rome started to assemble for the conclave
to pick the next pope. They met and were assigned rooms in the new
hotel for such purposes, in the Vatican.
The action in Iraq killed 3 U.S. troops in a morter barrage; also,
2 U.S. civilians were killed in a car bomb attack on the Baghdad
airport road.
The House of Representatives majority leader Tom Delay debate
continued on the morning news talk shows - he is accused of
violating ethics rules.
4/18/05 Monday
The Rome catholic cardinals voted for the first ballot on the pope
& the smoke ran grey, then black - this black smoke from the
chimney on the roof of the Sistine chapel meant the vote had not
been final - the pope had not been elected. White smoke will mean
a new pope has been elected.
An Iraqi general was assasinated in Iraq; in the Jackson trial in
California, the victum's mother testified that Jackson's people had
attempted to kidnap her and her son in a hot air balloon.
4/19/05 Tuesday
The catholic pontiff was picked, today; in Rome, it was around
5:58pm when the Sistine chapel chimney smoke started coming forth
and with a white tinge. The crowd in St Peter's Square in the
Vatican began to become agitated and loud; around 6:25pm, the big
bells were started ringing and a new pope's election was 95%
confirmed. Around 6:40pm, the offical word came from the balconey
that there was a new pope. It turned out to be the one from
Germany - the first German pope in several hundred years.
The U.S. government announced a new food pyramid - really twelve of
them for the different body types of people - and a flight of steps
up the pyramid, showing that everyone needs some physical exercise.
Those in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, showed respect to the ones who
perished in the bombing of the federal building 10 years ago today.
4/20/05 Wednesday
President Bush signed the bankruptcy reform bill into law, today;
the new rules will go into effect in six months.
There have been found many - up to fifty, bodies in the Tigris
river in Iraq, near where there had been reported kid-nappings of
Shias. The story appears to have been true, but the Iraqi police
simply had not discovered where the missing Shias were. There have
been twenty car bombings in Iraq so far this week - there seems to
be some of a pickup in the insurgency going on.
4/21/05 Thursday
The insurgents in Iraq shot down their first civilian aircraft,
today. There were reported 11 people killed on board the
heliocopter used as an air taxi. Six of them were American
bodyguards working under various contracts.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a version of the energy
bill. It has provisions for drilling for oil in Alaska's north
shore nature preserve, and for extending daylight savings time for
two months each year.
4/22/05 Friday
The so called 20th highjacker, in reference of Sept 11th, '01,
Zacarias Moussaoui, pled guilty to charges in Federal court,
today. The defendent had been in custody since Aug, 2001 and has
been talking to to prosecutors for some days; Moussaoui does not
want the death sentence, but the possibility does exist.
In the country's economy, the DOW stock averages have been up and
down. Down a record number of points on the 20th, up some on the
21st, returned to being down, for today. It rests around 10,100,
having been up to 10,900 in recent weeks. The instability is due
to mixed news and infornmation about the current economic
conditions.
4/23/05 Saturday
U.S. troops captured some suspects in the downing of a civilian
heliocopter in Iraq - Iraqi civilians gave info that led to the
arrests.
In Florida, a 5 year old girl was handcuffed and put in a police
car outside her school. The officers wanted to arrest her, but
were advised to call her mother - that they did, and mom was called
and soon picked up the culprit. Needless to say, there is some
controvery concerning the event.
4/24/05 Sunday
The new pope was officially put into office, today; the national
news networks atarted their coverage around 3am, EDT; the
ceremonies took several hours. Some say the new pope will not be
so harsh and dogmatic as his recent sermons have seemed to
indicate. Being Pope has perhaps a calming and leveling effect on
a person.
There was action in Iraq, today. In Tikrit and Baghdad, car bombs
and havic accounted for 21 deaths of Iraqis and 90 injured; an
American soldier was also killed.
In Japan, there was a commuter train accident and derailing. 70
people were reported killed and a good many injured. The tentative
cause is that of an inexperience operator's taking the train too
fast over a bend in the tracks and a misapplication of the train's
brakes.
4/25/05 Monday
The crown prince of Saudi Arabia met with President Bush at Bush's
ranch in Texas - the subject: oil costs. The crown prince said
that the U.S. did not have the capacity to refine any more crude
oil, even if oil production should go up. Various promises and
compromises were given and accepted.
The Syrian army finally completely withdrew from Lebanon, today.
There was even some of a ceremony - after having been present in
Lebanon for some 29 years.
One of Michael Jackson's lawyers left the case, today. There was
reportedly some sort of argument between lawyers; the child
molestion court room hearings are said to be nearing an end.
4/26/05 Tuesday
President Bush gave another push for his Social Security changes
plans, in Texas; he also praised Tx Rep Tom Delay as being of great
benefit to the white house.
It was announced that world terrorism events took an upswing for
last year. They were some 650 significant events that occurred,
the report said.
4/27/05 Wednesday
The extra large A380 Air Bus passenger jet took its first test run
in the air, today. It flew around France and Spain - the pilot
said it flew very well. Not very many airports will be having
facilities to handle the large jet, tho; it will be routing among
the large hubs of the world.
The U.S. House of Reps leaders said they will restore the House
Ethics rules and begin an official investigation of allegations
against Rep Tom Delay.
The price of crude oil relaxed some - it went down a $3 per barrel,
today.
The U.S. Senate leaders are still wondering to start up the
"nuclear option". This "option" would elimidate filibusters for
federal judge nominee approval.
4/28/05 Thursday
The sightings and photography of a thought-to-be-extinct ivory
beaked woodpecker was released to the public. The woodpecker was
found in E Arkansas.
President Bush gave a rare prime time press interview at 8pm EDT.
He promoted his private accounts plan for Social Security, mostly.
4/29/05 Friday
Insurgents unleashed a series of car bombings and other attacks
across Iraq today, killing at least 41 people, including three U.S.
soldiers, and wounding dozens of people a day after the country's
first democratically elected government was approved. Iraq's most-
wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, purportedly threatened more
violence in an audiotape on the Internet, warning President Bush
the insurgents "will not rest until we avenge our dignity."
NASA today delayed by another two months the first space shuttle
flight since the Columbia disaster, saying it needs more time to
ensure that the fuel tank does not shed dangerous pieces of ice at
liftoff. Discovery is now scheduled for launch no earlier than
July 13. The flight had been targeted for late May.
Tomy and Blanquita, two white tigers at the Buenos Aires zoo,
bounded from their cave today to find an unexpected treat: children
and zookeepers had presented them with a gift-wrapped box for the
"Day of the Animal" filled with bones, meat and a ball.
Argentina's animal appreciation day is a 79-year-old custom that
dates to some of the earliest legislation in this South American
country protecting animals from hunting and abuse. Today,
zookeepers also treated lemurs to a fruit-and-vegetable cake.
Elephants, bears, monkeys and other species got their own
delicacies as children looked on.
4/30/05 Saturday
Distressed, out of cash and in disguise, a missing Georgia bride-
to-be turned up on a seedy stretch of Route 66 and told authorities
today she'd been abducted, then copped to the truth - she fled the
pressure of her looming wedding. Jennifer Wilbanks, 32, was picked
up by police after a bus trip that took her through Las Vegas,
Nev., to a payphone outside an Albuquerque 7-Eleven where she
called her fiance, John Mason, and 911 late Friday and said she had
been freed by kidnappers.
Insurgents unleashed a second day of deadly bombings in Iraq's
capital and beyond today, staging a series of carefully coordinated
and increasingly sophisticated assaults that killed at least 65
over two days and appeared timed to deflate hopes in Washington and
Baghdad that the installation of the nation's first democratically
elected government would curb spiking violence. At least 17 Iraqis
and one U.S. soldier were killed in the bloodletting today. The
military also announced that six other U.S. soldiers had been
killed and six wounded in Iraq since Thursday.
Volunteers recruited over the Internet to monitor illegal immigrant
activity along a stretch of Arizona's border ended their monthlong
campaign this weekend as they began - peering through binoculars
along a dusty border road. Members of the Minuteman Project hailed
the program as a success, and organizers said they plan to expand
the mission to the other states bordering Mexico, and parts of the
Canadian border.
Communist Vietnam marked the 30th anniversary of the war's end with
a colorful parade of floats - some emblazoned with American
business logos - down the same boulevard where North Vietnamese
tanks rolled to victory against a U.S.-backed government. Hundreds
of aging veterans, their chests decked with medals, watched from
the sidelines as uniformed soldiers and costumed dancers waving red
national flags marched toward the Reunification Palace. The
legendary Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap, military architect of the war, was
among them, standing alongside Vietnam's President Tran Duc Luong.
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