USA
President Bush traveled to Charlotte, N.C., for the last planned personal appearance in his record-shattering $182.7 million, 11-month fundraising drive and to announce a proposed job-retraining program aimed at doubling the number of Americans eligible for federal help. Meanwhile, his presumed Democratic rival, John Kerry, returned to full-campaign mode after shoulder surgery and a vacation by going on the economic offensive. A study released by the Kerry camp claims Bush's spending could raise the budget defiicit by $6 trillion over the next 10 years.
Secretary of State Powell made his first visit to Haiti following the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Powell was expected to urge new Prime Minister Gerard LaTortue not to reward rebels involved in the February insurrection who are known criminals or human rights violators with government positions.
For the second time in recent months, a commander in the Army's 4th Infantry Division has been disciplined in a case involving the mistreatment of Iraqi detainees, The Washington Post reported. It said Lt. Col. Nate Sassaman was reprimanded for impeding an investigation into why two men, picked up on curfew violations near the Sunni Triangle town of Samarra Jan. 4, were forced to jump from a bridge into the Tigris River. One of the men later filed a complaint; his compatriot is believed to have drowned.
Plans to reopen the Statue of Liberty, announced last week, have led to a federal investigation of donor gifts, The New York Times reported. The probe, according to an unnamed government official, is looking at why the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation has launched a $7 million fundraising campaign when it already had a $30 million endowment. The statue has been closed since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In a rematch of last year's final, women's basketball powers Tennessee and Connecticut meet in Tuesday night's NCAA championship game in New Orleans. UConn (30-4) is looking for its third straight crown and fourth in five years. Tennessee (31-3) is hoping to win its seventh title. Connecticut defeated Minne-sota, 67-58, to reach the final. Tennessee advanced with its third-straight last-second victory, 52-50, over Louisiana State.
The bat Babe Ruth may have used to hit his last home run as a New York Yankee in 1934 went on display at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Kentucky. Terms call for the museum to keep the bat, which bears Ruth's handwritten date, for two years, when its owners plan to sell it.
