SPB News for Thursday

George W. Bush calls Mrs. Kennedy

Inspector general quits to run for Senate

Kennedy To Lie In Repose At JFK Library Before Saturday Funeral


Suspect in Dem office vandalism mystifies
Man who once helped Dem candidate also was arrested at '08 GOP Convention.

8 in 10 support public option
Poll finds 86% believe health care 'should be available to everyone.

Kennedy's Priest: 'He Was Ready To Go'

Mike Enzi, Gang Of Six Republican, Admits He's Simply Blocking Health Care Reform — Mike Enzi, one of three Republicans ostensibly negotiating health care reform as part of the Senate's “Gang of Six,” told a Wyoming town hall crowd that he had no plans to compromise with Democrats and was merely trying to extract concessions.

Christie Faces Questions Over '05 Traffic Tickets — On a Saturday night in 2005 Chris Christie was issued tickets for speeding and driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle. A tow truck showed up at the scene but Christie was allowed to drive the vehicle with his wife …

‘Writing is on the wall,’ ally tells Sanford — (CNN) — South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford forcefully rejected his lieutenant governor's request that he resign for the good of the state Wednesday. — “I am not going to be railroaded out of this office by political opponents or folks …

'08 race worker held in damage to Colorado Democratic HQ — One of two people suspected of shattering 11 windows Tuesday morning at the state Democratic Party headquarters has an arrest record and a history of helping a Democratic political candidate, public records show.

President Obama to deliver eulogy at Kennedy's funeral — Senator Kennedy's funeral is scheduled to be held at The Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston's Mission Hill section. — By Bryan Bender, Michael Paulson, Matt Viser, and Noah Bierman, Globe Staff

Group: US is monitoring journalists in Afghanistan The International Federation of Journalists complained Wednesday that news people covering the war in Afghanistan are being monitored by the U.S. military to see if they are sympathetic to the American cause. The federation said journalists seeking to travel under the protection of U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan may be screened first by an American public relations firm to see if their coverage portrays the military in a positive light.

ACLU Seeks Records About Laptop Searches At the Border --Customs and Border Protection Policy Allows Searches of Laptops Without Suspicion of Wrongdoing The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit today demanding records about the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)'s policy of searching travelers' laptops without suspicion of wrongdoing. Among the documents being sought by the ACLU are records pertaining to the criteria used for selecting passengers for suspicionless searches, the number of people who have been subject to the searches, the number of devices and documents retained and the reasons for their retention.

New home sales blast past expectations Sales of newly constructed homes leaped unexpectedly in July to hit their highest level since last September. New homes sold at an annualized rate of 433,000 during the month, according to a joint report issued by the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development. That far exceeded analysts' forecasts and was up 9.6% from the revised 395,000 rate recorded in June.

Mohammed Jawad: 'I was 12 when I was arrested and sent to Guantanamo' --Human rights activists say that in one seven-day period, Jawad was subjected to 152 episodes of mistreatment. In December 2002, when Mohammed Jawad says he was only 12, he was arrested on suspicion of throwing a grenade into a Jeep carrying US special forces soldiers through Kabul, wounding two of them and an interpreter. He was taken first to an airbase north of Kabul, then to the US prison in Guantánamo Bay, where he remained until his release a few days ago after a ruling by a US judge that his confession had been obtained by force. Since returning, Mr Jawad has accused his captors of torturing prisoners, depriving them of food and sleep, and insulting Islam and the Koran.

France's Sarkozy raises Iran sanction threat French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened on Wednesday to press for tougher sanctions on Iran and repeated his call for broad international action to curb financial market abuses. He also lambasted the leadership of Iran and said tougher sanctions would have to be discussed if Tehran does not change its position on the contentious nuclear program that the West believes is aimed at developing a nuclear bomb.