WASHINGTON

BUSH PRAYS FOR PEACE, WELL-BEING OF SOLDIERS

FORT HOOD, TEXAS – President Bush attended an Easter service Sunday at Fort Hood, where he offered prayers for peace and the well-being of American soldiers and their families.

For a third straight year, the president made the 50-mile helicopter flight from his ranch in Crawford to mark Christianity’s highest holiday at the largest active duty armored post in the military and one that has contributed thousands of troops to U.S. forces in Iraq.

“I want to wish all the fellow citizens and their families a happy Easter,” President Bush told reporters after the service. “We prayed for peace, we prayed for our soldiers and their families. It’s an honor to be here at Fort Hood to celebrate Easter with those who wear the nation’s uniform.”

Mr. Bush and his family worshipped at the 4th Infantry Division Memorial Chapel along with several hundred other worshippers, some of whom wore Army fatigues and other uniforms. The first family occupied the entire right front pew. Joining them were the president’s parents, his wife, and his twin daughters.

There was no fanfare for the first family during the service, other than a brief recognition at the beginning. One of the pastors thanked the president’s mother for getting him out of bed early for Easter service and said it was a good habit. “He may go somewhere one of these days,” the pastor said to laughter from the congregation.

– Associated Press

OFFICIALS ACKNOWLEDGE ANTHRAX SCARE MISSTEPS

The Defense Department is changing how it handles biohazard threats, acknowledging that internal breakdowns delayed its response to a March 14 anthrax scare at the Pentagon and nearby office buildings, confused the rest of the federal government, and alarmed state and local public health workers, officials said.

Under fire for gaps in civilian bioterrorism detection and response systems, military officials said they will quicken reporting of test results from biological sensors around their Arlington, Va., headquarters to no more than 24 hours and shift away from using contract laboratories. It took three days to get results from a contractor after the March 14 incident.

Defense officials acknowledged the need to align laboratory testing protocols with those used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They also agreed that they should coordinate with local health officials when ordering emergency medical treatment for defense workers.

Pentagon representatives discussed the steps Friday during an “after-action” review chaired by Thomas J. Lockwood, national capital region coordinator for the Department of Homeland Security. Representatives from the White House, FBI, Health and Human Services Department, and U.S. Postal Service, as well as state and local officials, were present.

Officials described preliminary results on condition of anonymity because the review is not complete and because multiple agencies are involved. One participant said the two-hour meeting evolved from a “tense” set of exchanges to “a real air of candid, … open sharing of information.”

– The Washington Post

WEST

MICHAEL JACKSON SAYS HE’S A VICTIM OF CONSPIRACY

LOS ANGELES – Declaring himself “completely innocent” of child molestation charges, Michael Jackson said yesterday that he is the victim of a conspiracy and asked fans around the world to pray for him.

In an interview with the Reverend Jesse Jackson, the entertainer would not elaborate on his conspiracy belief, citing the court-imposed gag order that prevents him from discussing his trial in detail.

However, he said he believes he is just the latest of several “black luminaries” to be unjustly accused, citing a former South African president, Nelson Mandela, and former heavyweight boxing champions Muhammad Ali and Jack Johnson as others.

“I just want to say to fans in every corner of the Earth, every nationality, every race, every language, I love you from the bottom of my heart,” Mr. Jackson said toward the end of the hour-long interview broadcast live on the Internet.

“I would love your prayers and your goodwill, and please be patient and be with me and believe in me because I am completely, completely innocent. But please know a lot of conspiracy is going on as we speak,” he said.

Mr. Jackson also said he is in “intense pain” since falling in the shower earlier this month, although he said at another point that his health was perfect. He arrived late to court on March 10, wearing pajama bottoms, a T-shirt and walking stiffly, and his representatives said at the time he had been treated at a hospital for a serious back injury.

“I was coming out of the shower and I fell and all my body weight – I’m pretty fragile – all my body weight fell against my rib cage,” Mr, Jackson said. “And I bruised my lung very badly.” He said the injury has caused him to cough up blood and was so painful that it brought him to tears in court one day when he was seen wiping his eyes with a tissue. He said he remains under a doctor’s care.

– Associated Press