In the News

Experts authenticate Saddam’s signature

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Handwriting experts authenticated Saddam Hussein’s signatures on more documents related to a crackdown on Shiites in the 1980s, the chief judge in his trial said Wednesday. Among the documents was apparently an order approving death sentences for 148 Shiites.

Saddam and his seven co-defendants were in the courtroom in the latest session of the trial Wednesday, as chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman read a report by handwriting experts on two documents said to be signed by Saddam.

The experts confirmed the signatures were those of the former Iraqi leader, Abdel-Rahman said.

The experts’ report did not give details on the documents, but one was dated June 16, 1984. That is the same date of a memo approving the death sentences of the Shiites, presented by prosecutors earlier in the six-month-old trial.

Saddam and his co-defendants are on trial for the deaths of the 148 Shiites and the imprisonment of hundreds of others in a crackdown launched following an assassination attempt against Saddam in the mainly Shiite town of Dujail in 1982.

2 Duke players arrested on rape charges

DURHAM, N.C. – Two Duke University lacrosse players were arrested on rape charges in a scandal that has rocked one of America’s elite campuses and raised explosive questions of race, class and the privileged status of college athletes.

The two players-both graduates of Northern prep schools-were promptly booked Tuesday and released on bail. District Attorney Mike Nifong said a third player could also be arrested but has yet to be firmly identified.

“It is important that we not only bring the assailants to justice, but also that we lift the cloud of suspicion from those team members who were not involved in the assault,” Nifong said.

Lawyers for the two men bitterly assailed the district attorney for bringing the charges. Other attorneys for Duke’s lacrosse players said the two were not even present at the time the rape is alleged to have occurred.

Reade Seligmann, 20, of Essex Fells, N.J., and Collin Finnerty, 19, of Garden City, N.Y., are accused of attacking a stripper at a team party at an off-campus house on the night of March 13. They were charged with first-degree rape, sexual offense and kidnapping and were released on $400,000 bail each.

Police rescue passengers from NYC cable cars

NEW YORK – All 69 people trapped for hours in two cable cars that were suspended above the East River after losing power have been rescued, police said Wednesday.

The passengers became stranded around 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, and police worked through the night, plucking them one by one from the dangling cars and hoisting them onto a gondola. The rescue effort ended around 5 a.m. Wednesday.

At least a dozen of those stranded were school-age children or babies. Police delivered food, water and diapers to the passengers.

The cause of the outage of the Roosevelt Island Tramway cars was not known, said Herb Berman, president of the agency that operates the system, which offer breathtaking views of the city from up to 250 feet high.

One of the tramcars had 46 passengers plus an operator, the other had 21 passengers and an operator, police said. Each car can hold about 125 people. No injuries were reported.

Chinese leader dines with Bill Gates

SEATTLE – After a swanky dinner with the world’s richest man, Chinese President Hu Jintao turns his attention to America’s largest exporter, whose sales to China could help ease tensions over a growing trade gap.

Hu, who dined Tuesday night at the home of Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, was invited to tour Boeing Co.’s Everett plant on Wednesday, just days after Chinese officials confirmed a commitment to order 80 Boeing 737 jets, in a deal valued at $5.2 billion at list prices. The order has yet to be finalized, and airlines typically negotiate discounts.

Boeing sees China as one of its most important future markets, estimating that the country will require 2,600 new airplanes over the next 20 years.

The big Boeing deal is one of several purchases the Chinese made recently as officials try to ease tensions over the massive trade gap between the two nations. It’s one of several issues President Bush is expected to raise when Hu heads to Washington, D.C., later in his four-day U.S. tour.