WASHINGTON — Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., raised $55 million in February, $20 million more than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and a record sum for a single month in any presidential campaign, aides to Obama announced Thursday. Obama’s success reflected a sharp resurgence of Democratic fundraising generally, as new numbers released Thursday showed the Republicans lagging behind their rivals and well below their efforts of four years ago. Much of the difference came from the Internet. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the presumptive Republican nominee, has not disclosed his February fundraising sum, though it has been well behind Obama and Clinton.
@3. Headline Briefs 14 no:Military bans Google from bases
Citing security risks, the Pentagon banned Google teams from making detailed street-level video maps of U.S. military bases after images of a Texas base ended up on the popular Internet site. A message sent to all Defense Department bases and installations around the country late last week told officials not to allow the mapping Web site to take panoramic views inside the facilities. Google said taking such pictures is against its policy and that the incident was a mistake.
Ohio: Error leads to near miss
Two airplanes carrying more than 120 passengers narrowly averted a collision after an air traffic control trainee told a Delta Air Lines pilot to turn into the path of an oncoming PSA plane, officials said. One pilot flew up and the other went down, and the planes never came closer than about 400 feet in altitude and three miles in lateral, or horizontal, separation, a Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday. Standard separation is 1,000 feet vertical and five miles lateral, she said.
California: Rings on Saturn moon
New observations by a spacecraft suggest Saturn’s second-largest moon may be surrounded by rings. If confirmed, it would the first time a ring system has been found around a moon. The Cassini spacecraft detected what appeared to be a large debris disk around the 950-mile-wide moon Rhea during a flyby in 2005. Scientists proposed that the halo likely contained particles ranging from the size of grains to the size of boulders. The finding was described in a study published in today’s issue of the journal Science.
Kentucky: Baptist funds blocked
A judge has ruled that lawmakers violated the state constitution by appropriating state funding to a Baptist university. A gay rights group filed suit to try to block an $11 million appropriation to create a pharmacy school at the University of the Cumberlands, a Southern Baptist school in Williamsburg. The Center for Law &Religious Freedom had argued on behalf of the school that the legislature acted lawfully because it sought to address the state’s shortage of pharmacists.
Nevada: ‘Girls Gone Wild’ ruling
“Girls Gone Wild” mogul Joe Francis has lost his bid to be released from a Nevada jail without fear of being extradited to Florida. The 34-year-old video empire founder is facing trial in Nevada for tax evasion. He’s wanted in Florida on charges related to filming underage girls on spring break. Francis has been jailed for nearly a year while caught in a tug-of-war between the two states. Francis has made millions selling videos of often inebriated women exposing themselves.
French Guiana: Sunday launch set
A European rocket has been scheduled to launch Sunday on a mission to bring oxygen, food, water and equipment to the international space station. The rocket will carry 21 tons of cargo to the space station, according to a news release from Arianespace, the commercial arm of the 13-country European Space Agency. It is the first of nine missions that Arianespace has arranged from this South American country to service the space station over the next several years.
Britain: New national ID cards
Britain will begin issuing national identity cards within months, targeting foreigners, airport staff and students in the first wave of the program, the government said Thursday. Foreign nationals will need to provide fingerprints and personal data for a database linked to the plan starting in November, the home secretary said. Ministers say the cards and database, which will cost an estimated $11.1 billion, will help tackle terrorism, crime and illegal immigration.
Nicaragua: Breaking relations
President Daniel Ortega announced Thursday that Nicaragua is breaking relations with Colombia because of its raid on a guerrilla base in Ecuador. Ortega announced his decision while sitting beside Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa, who is touring the region to rally opposition to Colombia’s attack on Saturday, which killed a senior Colombian guerrilla leader and more than 20 other people. Nicaragua has a long-standing maritime boundary dispute with Colombia and Ortega is a strong ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Correa.
From Herald news services
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