USA

June 21, 2005

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R) was poised Monday to try to end a Democratic filibuster of the long-stalled nomination of John Bolton as the next US ambassador to the UN. Democrats believe they have the votes to continue the debate, and if they do, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking on ABC's "This Week," said she wouldn't rule out the possibility of a temporary, one-year recess appointment for Bolton. President Bush is entitled to enlist such an end run during the July 4 Senate recess.

CIA director Porter Goss said he has an "excellent idea" where Osama bin Laden is, but is hampered by geopolitical factors in hunting down the Al Qaeda leader, according to an interview in Time magazine's June 27 issue. "When you go to the question of dealing with sanctuaries in sovereign states, you're dealing with a problem of our sense of international obligation, fair play," Goss said.

Sen. Joseph Biden (D) of Dela-ware, said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation" that he intends to run for president in 2008 if, by the end of this year, he has raised enough money and support to merit continuing. He dropped out of the 1988 race after questions arose about his law school records and borrowed stump speech material.

The Supreme Court declined to consider whether cities can deny a police officer's request for compensatory time off solely to avoid paying overtime to substitute officers. The Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association said the city's refusal to grant the time off violated the rights of officers.

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D) of West Virginia calls his association with the Ku Klux Klan 40 years ago "an extraordinarily foolish mistake." The mea culpa appears in an autobiography released Monday. Next June, Byrd, who joined the Senate in 1958, is on track to become the longest-serving senator in US history.

Although federal law has freed up billions of dollars to help insurers pay terrorist-related claims, there are still significant gaps in the nation's insurance program, according to results of a study released Monday by the Rand Corp., the noted California think tank. Insufficient terrorism coverage leaves the economy vulnerable by providing too little compensation for businesses to rebuild and rehire, the report concludes.

Michael Campbell withstood a final-round US Open challenge by Tiger Woods to become the first New Zealander to win a major championship in golf since Bob Charles in the 1963 British Open. Campbell, whose career once seemed stuck in reverse, was the only golfer to shoot par in securing his two- stroke victory in Pinehurst, N.C.