Labor OKs funds to unite members against Bush

BAL HARBOUR, Fla. -- Labor leaders voted Wednesday to spend $44 million to mobilize union household voters in November against President Bush, a record sum in an election they say is do-or-die for the labor movement. The AFL-CIO's get-out-the-vote efforts on behalf of Democrat John Kerry are concentrated in a few battleground states that labor leaders believe will determine the next occupant of the White House. Florida, Ohio and Missouri top the list.

Reports of lies slow jury selection in bombing trial

McALESTER, Okla. -- The pace of jury selection in the Terry Nichols murder trial slowed Wednesday as attorneys developed a new line of questioning that focuses on whether prospective jurors have been truthful. Five prospective jurors were seated on the jury panel Wednesday after they passed an initial round of questioning by the judge and lawyers on both sides. A total of 42 people have been seated on the panel that will eventually be culled down to 12 jurors and six alternates for Nichols' trial on 161 counts of first-degree murder in the Oklahoma City bombing.

Sharon, Qureia set date for their first summit

JERUSALEM -- The Palestinian and Israeli prime ministers agreed in principle on a long-delayed summit next week, officials said Wednesday, a sign of diplomatic progress. But corrosive violence persisted, with Israeli forces killing six Palestinian militants in the West Bank. The Israeli-Palestinian summit is the latest step in the complex brinkmanship between the sides, with the Palestinian uprising in its 42nd month and both sides jockeying for U.S. and international support. Among Israelis, who have suffered about 1,000 fatalities in the fighting, there is widespread support for a Palestinian state. But the Palestinians are far from their goal that such a state encompass all of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.

U.S. official: Indonesian cleric involved in terror

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A jailed Muslim cleric sharply criticized the United States on Wednesday after the U.S. Homeland Security chief said the cleric was "intensely and deeply" involved in terrorism. Speaking to The Associated Press from his prison cell, Abu Bakar Bashir dismissed the remarks by Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge. "For him, all Islamic figures are enemies," Bashir said. Ridge came to Jakarta a day after the Supreme Court cut Bashir's prison term in half, meaning he likely will be set free April 4.

Insurgents kill two U.S. officials, Iraqi translator

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Gunmen disguised as police shot to death two American coalition officials and their Iraqi translator south of Baghdad after stopping their car at a roadblock, the Polish military said Wednesday. The Americans were the first U.S. civilians from the occupation authority to be killed in Iraq. Farther south, Iraqi police clashed with a Shiite Muslim militia during a raid on a building in a gunbattle that killed four policemen and wounded two. L. Paul Bremer, the top administrator in Iraq, has requested that the FBI investigate the slayings of the Americans late Tuesday on a road outside the town of Hillah, 35 miles south of Baghdad, said Dan Senor, spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition.

Ex-Guantanamo detainees are released in Britain

LONDON -- All four men who were arrested on their return to Britain from U.S. military detention at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were released Wednesday, police said. A fifth man had not been arrested when the group arrived at Northolt Royal Air Force Base Tuesday, and he was freed within hours. A Metropolitan Police spokesman announced Wednesday night that one of the arrested four had been released, then issued a second statement saying the remaining three were freed without charge as well.

Franken, Garofalo head new liberal radio network

NEW YORK -- Comedian Al Franken is baiting conservatives again, and this time he's bringing a bunch of friends to back him up. Franken will be the lead personality on Air America Radio, a startup venture promising a liberal alternative to powerhouse radio talk show pundits like Rush Limbaugh. The backers of Air America announced their programming lineup Wednesday and said they planned to launch the network March 31 in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. Franken and fellow comedian Janeane Garofalo will have co-hosts for their live three-hour shows.

-- From wire reports