In the News, October 6th, 2008

Presidential Wannabes Spar

One thing is for sure. It will be an interesting month heading into the election.

• Sen. Barack Obama charged that Sen. John McCain's campaign is launching "Swift boat-style attacks" on him instead of addressing the country's problems.
• The McCain and Obama presidential campaigns are trading accusations of mudslinging in the wake of new ads dredging up infamous events from 20, 30, even 40 years ago.
• The Republican National Committee plans to file a fundraising complaint against Democrat Barack Obama's presidential campaign alleging it has accepted donations that exceed federal limits as well as illegal contributions from foreigners.
• Sen. Barack Obama is launching a multimedia campaign to draw attention to the involvement of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the “Keating Five” savings-and-loan scandal of 1989-91, which blemished McCain’s public image and set him on his course as a self-styled reformer.

• Over the weekend Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, claimed that Obama associated "with terrorists who targeted our own country."
  

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Pet Warnings

In a report in the October edition of the group's medical journal, Pediatrics. there is a warning that young children should not keep hedgehogs as pets — or hamsters, baby chicks, lizards and turtles, for that matter — because of risks for disease.That means families with children younger than 5 should avoid owning "nontraditional" pets. Also, kids that young should avoid contact with these animals in petting zoos or other public places, according to the report from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"Many parents clearly don't understand the risks from various infections" these animals often carry, said Dr. Larry Pickering, the report's lead author and an infectious disease specialist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Could be whya a Orlando man was taken into custody over the weekend after police said he was caught breaking into a pet store and grabbing $2,500 worth of puppies. Surveillance video showed the man grabbing puppies from cages inside the store police said."He took a brick from out back, smashed a window, climbed on a garbage can and made it past Brutus (guard dog)," the store owner said. "He was determined and high."

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Has the Taliban Ceased Connection with al Qaeda?

Remember these guys- terrorists who attemtpted to take down the U.S.? According to CNN, Taliban leaders are holding Saudi-brokered talks with the Afghan government to end the country's bloody conflict -- and are severing their ties with al Qaeda. This is according to sources close to the historic discussions have told CNN. Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, has been involved four days of talks hosted by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, says the source.


They also mark a sidestepping of key "war on terror" ally Pakistan, frequently accused of not doing enough to tackle militants sheltering on its territory, which has previously been a conduit for talks between the Saudis and Afghanistan. According to the source, fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar -- high on the U.S. military's most-wanted list -- was not present, but his representatives were keen to stress the reclusive cleric is no longer allied to al Qaeda.