Nation/world roundup
White House staff shake-up continues; McClellan resigns
WASHINGTON -- White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove gave up some of his responsibilities and White House press secretary Scott McClellan announced his resignation Wednesday, continuing a shake-up in President Bush's administration that has already yielded a new chief of staff.
Rove is giving up oversight of policy development to focus more on politics with the approach of the fall midterm elections.
Huge explosion rocks Afghan capital
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A massive explosion rocked downtown Kabul late Wednesday near its diplomatic area where the U.S. Embassy is located. A large plume of white smoke rose into the air. The source of the blast was not immediately clear. Emergency vehicle sirens could be heard speeding to the area of the blast.
Consumer prices surge on energy costs
WASHINGTON -- Consumer prices rose sharply in March, reflecting higher costs for everything from gasoline to clothes and hotel rooms.
Perhaps most troubling, core inflation, which does not include energy and food, rose at the fastest pace in a year.
The Labor Department reported Wednesday that its Consumer Price Index rose by 0.4 percent last month, up sharply from the modest 0.1 percent gain in February. The extra price pressures were led by a big jump in gasoline prices.
Police search Duke University dorm rooms
DURHAM, N.C. -- Police searched the dorm rooms of two Duke University lacrosse players after the two were arrested on charges of raping and kidnapping an exotic dancer during an off-campus team party.
District Attorney Mike Nifong said Tuesday he also hoped to link a third man to the alleged attack soon, but he said that person had not been "identified with certainty."
Iraqi PM al-Jaafari insists he's staying
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari stood firm Wednesday, insisting he is the Shiite nominee for a new term and to step down is "out of the question." Officials called a session of parliament to try to break the political deadlock caused by disputes over his candidacy.
Efforts to form a national unity government in Iraq have been stalled for months. Sunnis and Kurds oppose al-Jaafari, blaming him for the rise in sectarian tensions across Iraq and for a high-handed leadership style since he assumed office last year.
Chinese president visits Boeing's headquarters
EVERETT, Wash. -- Calling his country's relationship with the Boeing Co. an example of the "win-win" potential of China-U.S. trade, Chinese President Hu Jintao on Wednesday told an audience of aircraft workers that China will need thousands of new planes in coming years.
Hu's speech at the company's massive Everett plant comes just days after Chinese officials confirmed a commitment to order 80 Boeing 737 jets, in a deal valued at $5.2 billion at list prices. The order has yet to be finalized, and airlines typically negotiate discounts.
Victims' kin testify in Moussaoui trial
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Two relatives of Sept. 11 victims testified for the defense Wednesday in Zacarias Moussaoui's death-penalty sentencing trial. One told the jury her family does not want to "get caught in a whirlpool of sadness and anger." Medical sociologist Marilynn Rosenthal, whose son Josh was killed at the World Trade Center, said her family feels strongly "something good has to come out of what happened" and family members have endowed an annual lecture on 9/11 at the University of Michigan, where she teaches.
6 Branch Davidians soon to leave prison
WACO, Texas -- Thirteen years after the Branch Davidians' armed standoff with federal agents ended in an inferno that killed nearly 80 people, six sect members who were sent to prison are about to be released from custody. Most of those who will be freed over the next two months escaped from the compound near Waco as it burned to the ground on April 19, 1993 -- 51 days after a shootout that erupted when federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to arrest religious leader David Koresh for stockpiling guns and explosives.
From wire reports. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.