Nation briefs 4/22/04

Eight bodies found after twisters rock Midwest

UTICA, Ill. -- Searchers with shovels and buckets pulled eight bodies Wednesday from the rubble of a tavern where residents had gathered to seek shelter from a twister that flattened the century-old building. Mayor Fred Esmond said several people from a nearby trailer park had congregated in the basement of the Milestone Tap on a night when dozens of twisters tore through the Midwest. Nine people were removed alive from the ruins of the country-western-themed watering hole.

Ambassador denies lower oil price link to election

WASHINGTON -- The Saudi ambassador to the United States on Wednesday denied any linkage between the U.S. presidential election campaign and a Saudi pledge to the Bush administration to push for lower oil prices. There was no "quid pro quo," Prince Bandar bin Sultan told reporters after a meeting with national security adviser Condoleezza Rice about the latest terrorist strike in Saudi Arabia.

Judge: Do not prosecute Calif. marijuana group

SAN FRANCISCO -- A judge on Wednesday ordered the federal government not to raid or prosecute a California group that grows and distributes marijuana for its sick members. The decision from U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose was the first interpretation of an appeals court's December ruling that federal prosecutions of medical marijuana users are unconstitutional if the pot isn't sold, transported across state lines or used for non-medicinal purposes. Nine states, including California, allow medical marijuana use, but the Justice Department contends that federal drug laws take precedence.

Travel to U.S. down sharply due to entry requirements

WASHINGTON -- Top Bush administration officials said Wednesday that restrictions on the entry of foreigners have prompted many to shun travel to the United States since 2001. They recommended that the constraints be reviewed. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said the security benefits derived from the post-Sept. 11 restrictions have had unwanted economic side effects. The number of foreign students in the United States is down as are visits by scientists, businessmen and others, he added.

Bipartisan Senate bill would allow drug imports

WASHINGTON -- Democratic and Republican senators, among them former opponents of importing drugs from abroad, introduced legislation Wednesday to permit prescription drug imports from Canada. The bill is one of several in Congress that address the topic, a reflection of growing election-year discontent with rising drug prices. The White House and Republican leaders in Congress have raised safety concerns in opposing allowing Americans to fill their prescriptions in Canada, where prices are lower by a third or more on many drugs.

-- From wire reports