WASHINGTON

DEAN FAVORS QUICK WITHDRAWAL OF U.S. TROOPS FROM IRAQ

A leading candidate for national chairman of the Democratic Party, Dr. Howard Dean, said yesterday he favors a quick pullout of American troops from Iraq after the elections scheduled there later this month. “We ought to have elections on January 30 … in Iraq so that we can withdraw our troops as fast as possible in an orderly way,” Dr. Dean said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week” program.

Dr. Dean, who is a former governor of Vermont, harnessed anti-war sentiment to become an early favorite for the Democratic presidential nomination last year. However, during that contest, he opposed a rapid withdrawal from Iraq.

“You’ve got to have institutions and the rule of law, and in a country that hasn’t had that in 3,000 years, it’s unlikely to suddenly develop by having elections and getting the heck out,” he told the Washington Post in August 2003.

In the ABC interview, Dr. Dean said he believes that despite his northeastern roots he can help the Democrats appeal to Southern voters. “Look, there is a reason the trial lawyers used to pick Mississippi for their favorite venue before tort reform down there, because juries in Mississippi are suspicious about large corporations,” Dr. Dean said. “There is no reason we can’t win in Mississippi.”

Members of the Democratic National Committee are set to select a replacement for outgoing chairman Terence McAuliffe on February 12. In addition to Dr. Dean, other contenders for the post include a former Indiana congressman, Timothy Roemer, and a former Texas congressman, Martin Frost. They are scheduled to hold a final debate at a party meeting in Manhattan on Saturday.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

WEST

WASHINGTON GOP FILES CHALLENGE TO GOVERNOR’S RACE

SEATTLE – The state’s Republicans, still pressing their court challenge to the disputed governor’s election, have filed a separate challenge with the state Legislature.

“We did this to cover all our bases,” said Mary Lane, a spokeswoman for Dino Rossi, the Republican who narrowly won the original vote count and a mandatory recount. In a hand recount, he lost to Democrat Christine Gregoire by 129 votes out of 2.9 million cast. Ms. Gregoire was sworn into office January 12.

Republicans have filed a legal challenge against the hand recount in Chelan County Superior Court, saying mistakes were made and calling for another statewide vote. That same challenge was filed with the Legislature Friday evening, “as an insurance policy,” Ms. Lane said Saturday.

The challenge, however, goes to the Democrat-controlled Legislature, which certified the election January 11 despite a GOP request for a two-week delay.

State Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirstin Brost said the move indicated Republicans are afraid they won’t win in court. “What we have seen in the last couple weeks is them floundering and grasping at straws trying to find some way to undo the election results,” Ms. Brost said. The next court hearing is scheduled for February 4, when several counties and Democrats present motions to dismiss the case.

– Associated Press

CHURCH BURIES HUNDREDS OF FETUSES AFTER ROE V. WADE ANNIVERSARY

BOULDER, Colo. – A Roman Catholic church buried the ashes of hundreds of aborted fetuses yesterday, a day after the 32nd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal, drawing criticism that the church was exploiting women’s grief to make a political statement.

A crowd of 250 parishioners prayed as the ashes were buried in the Sacred Heart of Mary Church cemetery, while a handful of protesters gathered nearby holding signs that read, “This church is a grave robber.”

A mortuary hired by the abortion clinic to dispose of the fetuses had been giving the ashes to the church for years to be buried at a memorial. Dr. Warren Hern, clinic director, said he had no idea such an arrangement had been made and said his contract required the mortuary to bury the ashes in its own plot.

The church agreed to return the remains of 300 to 500 fetuses that had been cremated in November before the service began yesterday. The church had been planning to bury up to 1,000 fetuses.

Service organizer Susan LaVelle said the parish has held unannounced burials twice a year since 2001, but the parish priest agreed to make the burial public this year. Ms. LaVelle said the timing of the service so close to the Saturday anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision was a coincidence.

But Kate Horle, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, questioned the church’s motives and said many of Dr. Hern’s patients were devastated by the news of a religious service.

– Associated Press

HEALTH

STUDY: OBESITY MAY HINDER PROSTATE CANCER TEST’S ACCURACY

ATLANTA – A new study suggests a man’s weight may affect the accuracy of a common test to detect prostate cancer, leading researchers to warn that doctors could be missing the dangerous cancer in obese men.

Researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio studied 2,779 men without prostate cancer between 2001-04. In the study released online today in the journal Cancer, they reported finding that the more obese the men were, the lower their levels of prostate-specific antigen or PSA. A PSA of 4.0 or lower usually means no cancer.

Previous studies have shown that prostate cancer is more aggressive in obese men than in men of average weight. The researchers wanted to see if the cancer’s detection was somehow being delayed in obese men.

The Texas study found that obese men had about 30% lower PSA levels than men of normal weight. “That tells us it’s likely or it’s possible that prostate cancer detection may be delayed in overweight or obese men,” said Jacques Baillargeon, associate professor of epidemiology at the health science center.

The research may encourage doctors to take a closer look at the tests of obese men.

– Associated Press