AmericasBlood.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Americans overwhelmingly lack confidence that Iraq will have a stable government in place within the next year, and more than half say that the war has not been worth its cost, according to a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Wednesday.

Fewer than one in five, or about 19 percent, of the 1,003 adults quizzed Friday through Sunday, said they believe Iraqis can assemble a sound, democratic government in the next 12 months that is able to maintain order without the assistance of U.S. troops. Seventy-five percent said they didn’t believe that would happen.

(continue reading…)

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) — An explosive device was found in a Starbucks coffee shop in central San Francisco on Monday. The building was evacuated and a police bomb squad disarmed the device, authorities said.

A Starbucks employee found the device about 1:15 p.m. (4:15 p.m. ET) on the coffee shop’s bathroom floor, police spokesman Neville Gittens said.

"If it had detonated, it would have caused damage," Gittens said. "It was what we consider an IED," an improvised explosive device.

The device was not concealed, he said. Gittens would not describe the explosive’s appearance.

Officers told CNN that police were called to investigate a metal flashlight and determined it was an explosive.

(continue reading…)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) — U.S. officials are opening personal mail that arrives from abroad when they deem it necessary to protect the country from terrorism, a Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman said Monday.

News of the little-known practice follows revelations that the government approved eavesdropping on U.S. citizens without judicial oversight after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which sparked concern from civil liberties advocates and some lawmakers, who called for congressional hearings.

"Customs and Border Protection is charged with making sure that terrorists and terrorists’ weapons don’t enter the country," said Suzanne Trevino, a spokeswoman for the customs agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security.

(continue reading…)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — A freelance writer on assignment for The Christian Science Monitor was kidnapped Saturday in western Baghdad, and her Iraqi interpreter was killed, the newspaper said Monday.

Jill Carroll, 28, has been reporting from the Middle East for American, Jordanian, Italian and other news organizations for three years.

"Jill’s ability to help others understand the issues facing all groups in Iraq has been invaluable," said Richard Bergenheim, editor of The Monitor, which is a non-religious newspaper published in Boston. 

"We are urgently seeking information about Miss Carroll and are pursuing every avenue to secure her release," Bergenheim said.

(continue reading…)

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Under Republican control, America has been "put up for sale to the highest bidder" and its government has been transformed into an "engine of patronage, not one of responsible policy," a Democratic congresswoman said Saturday in the party’s weekly radio address.

"As Americans, we have a right to expect that our government will be defined by the integrity of its office holders," said Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York. "And yet today, we are suffering the consequences of what may be the worst corruption in the history of our Congress."

(continue reading…)

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Rep. Tom DeLay announced Saturday he will not try to reclaim the House majority leader post he had held for three years, but the Republican said he will seek re-election in his Texas district when his term expires in November.

"I plan to run a very vigorous campaign, and I plan to win," he said at a news conference in his home district of Sugar Land.

The Republican faces illegal campaign finance charges in Texas and was forced by party rules to step down from the leadership post while under indictment. Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri assumed the majority leadership job.

(continue reading…)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Twelve Americans were killed when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed in Iraq early Sunday, the military said.

The helicopter, which was carrying a crew of four and eight passengers, was flying between bases in the north of the country, according to news releases from the U.S. military.

A search-and-rescue team found the crash site about noon (4 a.m. ET).

The military also announced the deaths of five U.S. Marines in three different Iraqi towns Saturday and Sunday.

Insurgents in Falluja killed three Marines during separate gunbattles Sunday. Falluja is about 35 miles (56 kilometers) west of Baghdad in restive Anbar province.

(continue reading…)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — Eleven U.S. troops — eight soldiers and three Marines — were among about 140 people killed in attacks across Iraq Thursday, military officials said. It was the deadliest day in Iraq in nearly four months.

A U.S. soldier and a U.S. Marine were killed in a major suicide bombing targeting an Iraqi police recruitment center in Ramadi, the military said Friday. Both were assigned to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Their deaths bring the number of people killed in the Ramadi attack to at least 82, along with about 70 wounded. (More on what happened)

In addition, two U.S. Marines were killed by small arms fire in separate attacks during combat operations in Falluja, the military said. The Marines were assigned to Regimental Combat Team 8, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

(continue reading…)

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A bomb that killed six civilians Monday near Baiji, Iraq, missed its target by 65 feet (20 meters) and hit the wrong home, military officials said.

The bomb, which was dropped by a U.S. fighter plane, was aimed at a building that three men entered after planting a roadside bomb as an unmanned surveillance plane watched from overhead, the officials said.

A U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter jet strafed the building before the bomb was dropped, according to a U.S. military statement released after the nighttime attack.

(continue reading…)

(CNN) — Television evangelist Pat Robertson suggested Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s stroke was divine retribution for the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, which Robertson opposed.

"He was dividing God’s land, and I would say, ’Woe unto any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course to appease the [European Union], the United Nations or the United States of America,’" Robertson told viewers of his long-running television show, "The 700 Club."

"God says, ’This land belongs to me, and you’d better leave it alone,’" he said.

Robertson’s show airs on the ABC Family cable network and claims about 1 million viewers daily.

(continue reading…)