64th anniversary of attack on Pearl Harbor marked
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii – About 2,000 sailors, veterans, community leaders and guests bowed their heads Wednesday in remembrance of the attack on Pearl Harbor that hurled the U.S. into World War II 64 years ago.
As Hawaii Air National Guard F-15s flew in formation overhead and the Arizona Memorial glistened in the distance, survivors laid wreaths in honor of ships that were destroyed in the Japanese attack. Trumpeters from a Pacific Fleet band played taps.
The crowd observed a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m. – the exact time the surprise attack began in 1941.
“We cannot help ourselves but to return, not just to honor but to learn,” said Adm. Michael Mullen, chief of U.S. naval operations. “We hope for the future and emulate the World War II generation. We look to their courage, to their determination and to their commitment.”
The crowd gathered on a grassy area outside the memorial visitors’ center, from which tourists take boats to the memorial erected over the sunken USS Arizona battleship.
The attack on Pearl Harbor and other military bases on Oahu lasted two hours, killing 2,390 people, wounding 1,178, leaving 21 U.S. ships heavily damaged and 323 aircraft damaged or destroyed.
The Arizona still holds the bodies of hundreds of sailors killed.
WASHINGTON
Menendez gets nod as new N.J. senator
New Jersey Gov.-elect Jon Corzine will name Democratic Rep. Robert Menendez to fill the remaining year of his Senate term, Democratic congressional aides said Wednesday.
Menendez would be the first minority member to represent New Jersey in the Senate, and would be the body’s third sitting Hispanic senator, alongside Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida and Democratic Sen. Ken Salazar of Colorado.
Corzine’s term expires in 2006 and state law lets the governor fill Senate and House vacancies. Corzine was elected governor last month.
BOSTON
170,000 sign petition to end gay marriage
Supporters of a 2008 ballot initiative to eliminate gay marriage delivered petitions with more than 170,000 signatures to the secretary of state on Wednesday.
The move by the Massachusetts Family Institute and its supporters was the next step in their quest to overturn the 2003 court ruling that made Massachusetts the only state with gay marriage. The measure, if approved, would not overturn existing single-sex marriages but would ban future marriages.
Of the more than 170,000 signatures, 147,000 were certified by local election clerks. Backers of the initiative needed only 65,825 certified signatures to qualify for the ballot.
CHICAGO
Strict smoking law hits downtown in ’08
The City Council approved a ban on smoking in nearly all public places Wednesday but gave taverns and bars located inside restaurants until the middle of 2008 to comply.
The measure was approved 45-1 after months of debate and aggressive lobbying on both sides of the issue by groups such as the American Cancer Society and the Illinois Restaurant Association.
The ordinance was a compromise between health advocates who wanted an immediate, all-out ban and businesses that wanted a less stringent measure.
The ban takes effect Jan. 16.
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras
Ruling party concedes election to Liberals
Honduras’ ruling-party candidate for president conceded defeat Wednesday, even though official results were still unavailable 10 days after the election because of vote-counting delays.
The announcement from the National Party’s Porfirio Lobo Sosa clears the way for Manuel Zelaya of the opposition Liberal Party to become the country’s president-elect.
On Tuesday night, the national election tribunal said that with just under 90 percent of the votes counted, Zelaya had received nearly 50 percent and Lobo Sosa slightly more than 46 percent.
PORT VILA, Vanuatu
Thousands evacuated as volcano shoots ash
A volcano on Vanuatu’s Ambae island blasted steam, gas and ash Wednesday, forcing thousands to evacuate, and medical teams stood ready in case of a major eruption.
A “red zone” has been declared around the South Pacific island’s Mount Manaro Volcano, which has been erupting since Nov. 27, and several ships are ready to evacuate islanders if the situation worsens dramatically.
About 10,000 people live on the small island, one of more than 80 in the archipelago, which is studded with active and dormant volcanoes. The islands, with a total population of 200,000 people, are 1,400 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia.
KATMANDU, Nepal
King replaces eight in Cabinet shake-up
Nepal’s king reshuffled his Cabinet Wednesday amid growing opposition from major political parties and Maoist rebels.
King Gyanendra replaced eight ministers, including some controversial figures, and put in place members of the royalist Rastriya Prajatantra, or National Democratic Party.
Maoist rebels have been fighting since 1996 to topple the monarchy and the civil war has killed about 12,000 people.
