The Record, Bergen County, NJ

On the Campaign Trail

Keyes will run for Senate in Illinois ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. - Alan Keyes, the conservative Maryland political commentator to whom Illinois Republicans turned after weeks of searching for a replacement Senate candidate, agreed Sunday to run against a rising Democratic star who has only grown stronger amid GOP scandal and disarray.

The Young and the Restless ; Summertime Doldrums Leave Many Teens Hanging

On a midsummer's evening, the wild things thunder across the concrete plains of every small suburban town. From Lodi to Ramsey to Wayne and Saddle River, the restless herd fans out across the region, their Serengeti. Transformed over the summer months into nocturnal creatures, they sleep like sloths until early afternoon, wake up hungry as bears, and emerge at dusk on a quest to find their pride.

Shaping Paternity Legislation ; Bill Advances After Sculptor's Donations

"Sculptor" would not normally rank high on the list of occupations of major campaign contributors. But "heir" just might.

A Good Day for a Ride

Study: More Shore-Goers, Less Spending

BRIGANTINE - More people are coming to the New Jersey shore this summer but are spending less money, according to a published report. The disparity has state officials taking a close look at how the region is marketed. In May and June, traffic along the Atlantic City Expressway rose 3 percent, to 5.38 million vehicles. Statistics provided by the state showed a more than 12 percent increase since 2002, but local business owners told The Philadelphia Inquirer that has not translated to more cus...

State Building Trust by Upgrading Schools ; Court-Ordered Effort has Doled Out $3.4 Billion

TRENTON - Cinder blocks were being cut and moved by the hundreds as Jack Spencer made his way around the construction site where renovations and additions were being done at Mott Elementary School. The chief executive officer of the New Jersey Schools Construction Corp. wore a dark suit and hard hat last week as he walked the dusty site and discussed the state's $8.6 billion program to upgrade educational facilities.

Chalabi, Nephew Facing Arrest ; Iraq Issues Warrant for Former U.S. Ally

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq has issued arrest warrants for Ahmad Chalabi, a former Governing Council member with strong U.S. ties, on counterfeiting charges, and for his nephew Salem Chalabi - head of the tribunal trying Saddam Hussein - on murder charges, Iraq's chief investigating judge said Sunday. The warrant was the latest strike against Ahmad Chalabi in his removal from the centers of power. A longtime Iraqi exile opposition leader, he had been a favorite of many in the Pentagon but fell out w...

Clues Sought in Air Collision; a Third Small Plane Crashes

Radar data and fuselage damage may provide the only clues to what went wrong aboard two small planes that collided and crashed in Morris County, killing their pilots, federal authorities said Sunday. Meanwhile, aviation officials again were summoned to New Jersey - for the second time in little more than 24 hours - to investigate a single-plane crash in Hunterdon County. One person was seriously hurt and three others suffered minor injuries in that incident, near Sky Manor Airport in Pittstown.

Mcgreevey Can't Cut Lawyer Link to Kushner

Governor McGreevey has sought to distance himself from the legal woes of his top donor, Charles Kushner, who's accused of using hookers to hinder the federal investigation into his campaign giving. But that effort is complicated by the fact that the governor and Kushner both relied on the same lawyer for advice on the very contributions at the center of the government's probe - thousands of dollars made in the name of Kushner's business partners without their consent.

Al-Qaeda Proposed Limo Bomb, Time Says ; Pru Building Garage Deemed a Tight Fit

NEWARK - Information obtained by U.S. officials about a possible terrorist attack on Prudential Financial's headquarters includes plans to destroy the building by driving an explosives-laden vehicle into its parking lot, according to a published report. But terrorists knew it might be difficult to fit a van or truck into the underground lot, so they proposed using a limousine stuffed with explosives, according to a Time magazine article due out today.

Capitol a Target, Too, White House Aide Says ; Intelligence Doesn't Rattle Lawmakers

WASHINGTON - New intelligence gathered overseas indicated that al- Qaeda had set its sights on the U.S. Capitol, in addition to the five financial institutions in Washington, New York, and New Jersey revealed last week, a White House official said Sunday. The targeting of the Capitol and members of Congress came up "as part of this continuing threat stream" that led officials on Aug. 1 to raise the terrorism alert, White House domestic security adviser Frances Townsend said on CBS' "Face the ...

Terror Training Camp Chief Caught ; Arrest Is Latest Setback for Al-Qaeda

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - In a new blow to al-Qaeda, authorities in the United Arab Emirates captured a senior operative in Osama bin Laden's terror network, who trained thousands of militants for combat, and turned him over to Pakistan, the information minister said Sunday. The man, Qari Saifullah Akhtar, was secretly flown to the eastern city of Lahore, where he was being interrogated, a Pakistani intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

Interim Iraqi Leader Fails to End Uprising

NAJAF, Iraq - Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and top U.S. military officials made an emergency visit Sunday to Najaf hoping to end the Shiite insurrection, but their efforts failed and they had to be hustled out of town amid renewed attacks by followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. After arriving on a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter and traveling through the holy city in a convoy of a dozen heavily armored vehicles, Allawi met with regional Iraqi officials and U.S. military command...

Kushner, State Prosecutors Had Deal Months Before Settlement with Feds

State prosecutors inked a deal with Charles Kushner in January that closed a criminal investigation into his political giving in New Jersey, nearly six months before he reached a separate financial settlement with federal regulators. Kushner, Governor McGreevey's top campaign donor, agreed to pay a $230,000 civil penalty to end the investigation by the state Division of Criminal Justice into campaign contributions he made beginning in 1996, when he and a family trust he controls assumed major...

Mia's Remains Being Returned to U.S.

SMITHVILLE, Texas - The remains of an American soldier who had been missing since the Vietnam War are coming home after being located with help from a former enemy. Marine 2nd Lt. Donald John Matocha of Smithville was killed in a firefight in April 1968 on Dong Ma mountain in what was then South Vietnam.

California Gop Against Using $3 Billion for Stem Cell Research

SAN DIEGO - Capping a three-day state convention, California Republicans voted Sunday to oppose a November ballot measure that would provide $3 billion in state bonds for human embryonic stem cell research in the state. Although President Bush has cited ethical issues in arguing against the expansion of such research, party members framed their voice vote largely as a budget issue. They said the state can't afford $3 billion in interest payments that would bring the true cost of Proposition 7...

6 Massacred Over Stolen Xbox, Clothes, Florida Authorities Say

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - An ex-convict who blamed a young woman for taking his video game system and clothes recruited three teenagers to stab and beat her and five others to death, investigators said Sunday. The 22-year-old woman was singled out for an attack so vicious that even dental records were useless in trying to identify her. Some of the victims were attacked in their sleep, according to authorities.

Around the World

Taiwan skyscraper is world's tallest TAIPEI, Taiwan - Some liken it to a giant bamboo shoot of glass and steel. The less charitable see an outsize stack of Chinese food containers.

Russians Lose Soviet-Era Perks ; Amid Protests, Parliament Oks Social Reforms

MOSCOW - Russia's upper house of Parliament approved a controversial social reform bill Sunday, ending an array of Soviet- era benefits, including free transportation and medicine, for some of Russia's most impoverished and vulnerable people, including World War II veterans. The measure, which now goes to President Vladimir Putin for his signature, sparked protests in Moscow and around the nation. Police cordoned off the Federation Council building Sunday but the large protests that marked ot...

Sudanese Conflict Is Said to Require More Time to Resolve ; Arab Militias Have Killed 30,000

CAIRO, Egypt - The Arab League chief said Sunday that the Sudanese government needs more time to end the crisis in its troubled Darfur region, where purportedly state-backed Arab militias are accused of killing thousands of African villagers. Amr Moussa's call, made at an emergency meeting of the 22-member Arab League on the Darfur crisis, came as Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo offered to host peace talks to resolve what has been called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.