HarpBlaster.com
HAVANA — Cuban leader Fidel Castro is allegedly not dead, but he is stepping down as the country’s president.
Castro took power in a revolution 49 years ago. He has not been seen in public in 19 months because of an illness, and he previously handed over power to his brother, Raul.
“To my dear compatriots, who [...]

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2008 – The Navy will shoot down a malfunctioning U.S. spy satellite sometime after Feb. 20, government officials said during a Pentagon news conference today.
Ambassador James F. Jeffrey, assistant to the President and deputy national security advisor, said President Bush decided to bring down the satellite because [...]

By Paul Sisco
Voice of America
WASHINGTON — Scientists have started analyzing data and images acquired when the Messenger space probe passed within 200 kilometers of the planet Mercury last month. It was the first flyby of the solar system’s inner-most planet in more than three decades. Those same investigators are anxiously awaiting a second flyby in [...]

By Deborah Tate
Voice of America
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Congress has begun a 12-day recess without meeting President Bush’s demand to renew a warrantless wiretap law set to expire on Saturday. President Bush is appealing to lawmakers to act when they return to Washington at the end of the month, saying it is a matter of [...]

Special to HarpBlaster.com
WASHINGTON — The Senate Foreign Relations Committee quickly passed the “Global Poverty Act” yesterday, and the bill “could result in the imposition of a global tax on the United States,” Accuracy in Media editor Cliff Kincaid says.
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., the front runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, is a co-sponsor of the [...]

HarpBlaster.com
DEKALB, Ill. — A gunman armed with one shotgun and two handguns opened fire in a lecture hall on the Northern Illinois University campus, killing five people and injuring more than a dozen others.
The university said 18 students were transported to Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb following the shooting.

By Jim Malone
Voice of America
WASHINGTON — Republican presidential contender John McCain picked up the endorsement of a former rival Thursday.  Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton got some potential good news in her battle with Barack Obama.
McCain won the endorsement of former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
During the campaign, the two were bitter rivals, clashing frequently during [...]

HarpBlaster.com
DEKALB, Ill. — At least 17 people were injured in a shooting today on the campus of Northern Illinois University. The suspected gunman apparently killed himself.

By Jim Malone
Voice of America
WASHINGTON — Senator Barack Obama got a major boost Tuesday with victories in the Democratic presidential primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Obama remains in a tight race with Senator Hillary Clinton, but the Illinois senator is favored to add to his delegate lead in next Tuesday’s contests [...]

By Scott Stearns
Voice of America
WASHINGTON — President Bush is pressing the U.S. House of Representatives to act quickly to renew controversial legislation that allows U.S. intelligence agents to monitor suspected terrorist communications without a court warrant. The legislation is set to expire this week if it is not renewed.
President Bush says the lives of countless [...]