Nation briefs 3/11/05

Several House members accept improper travel

WASHINGTON -- At least eight House members and 15 House aides accepted trips to South Korea from a registered foreign agent despite rules prohibiting the practice, government documents showed Thursday. Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and an aide to Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., were among those traveling at the expense of the Korea-United States Exchange Council.

Commander: Children imprisoned at Abu Ghraib

WASHINGTON -- Children held by the U.S. Army at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison included one boy who appeared to be only about 8 years old, the former commander of the prison told investigators. Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski's statement is among hundreds of pages of Army records about Abu Ghraib the American Civil Liberties Union released Thursday.

Former president Clinton undergoes surgery

NEW YORK -- Surgeons successfully removed fluid and scar tissue from Bill Clinton's chest cavity Thursday, cleaning up complications from the former president's heart bypass operation six months ago. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and daughter, Chelsea, were with him.

Budget deficit surges to $113.9 billion

WASHINGTON -- The federal government ran a record monthly deficit of $113.9 billion in February, a sizable worsening of the budget picture, the Treasury Department reported Thursday. However, even with the February deficit, the red ink for the first five months of the budget year is running 2.2 percent below the red ink for the same period a year ago.