Posted 8-19-08

NewsRoom Shorts

NewsRoom Agency
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Fay Makes Landfall in Fla.

Tropical Storm Fay made landfall in southwestern Florida Tuesday as residents braced for another battering.

Residents of the area near Naples, Fla. recall a killer storm in 2004 - Hurricane Wilma, which was a Catagory 3 storm - and made preparations by shutting schools, government offices and many businesses.

There have been no major storms in the state for two years, so officials warned residents not to be complacent and to take Fay seriously.

Fay brushed past the Florida Keys without much damage Monday, then ambled ashore near Naples early Tuesday with sustained 60 mph winds.

So far, there have been no reports of deaths or injuries.

Half of House Dems May Vote For Hillary at Convention

Nearly half of House Democrats may vote for Sen. Hillary Clinton at the party's nominating convention in Denver later this month, according to a report Monday in Politico.

The report, posted on the politics publication's Web site, quoted Rep.
Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., as saying she will be happy to cast her ballot for Clinton and predicted that as many as half the other delegates would as well.

Politico reported that the delegate vote will be conducted using a state-by-state roll call, a process confirmed last week by the campaign of Democratic presidential frontrunner Sen. Barack Obama, in an attempt to assuage Clinton supporters still anguished by her defeat.

"Under proposed convention bylaws, delegates would be forced to register their votes on a tally sheet with the convention secretary - the rules could be altered or suspended before the start of the convention," the Web site reported.

Some delegates complained that the process would unduly put others on the spot. They also complained that a roll call would eat into precious broadcast time.

As for herself, Clinton said she plans to vote for Obama.

The United States has accused Russia of stalling in its pull-out from Georgia, thought the White House is not making rash moves to repudiate Moscow for its alleged inaction.

The U.S. is walking a fine line in dealing with Russia. On the one hand, the Bush administration believes Russia should be punished in some way for its treatment of neighboring Georgia. But on the other, the White House doesn't want to stand in the way of Russia integrating itself into global economic and political institutions.

Russian army troops and air force jets quickly intervened against Georgia when the latter sent forces into the breakaway province of South Ossetia, in an effort to regain control.

"There's no doubt there will be further consequences," said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday. She briefed President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas throughout the weekend on the fast-changing situation in Georgia.

Rice returned to Washington on Sunday and is flying to Brussels, Belgium, on Monday to talk with NATO allies about what message the West should send to Russia.

She said Russia can't use "disproportionate force" against Georgia and still be welcomed into the halls of international institutions.

"It's not going to happen that way," she said. "Russia will pay a price."

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russian troops would begin withdrawing from Georgia on Monday.