News Briefs

Sharon orders West Bank raids

JERUSALEM “”mdash; Israeli forces raided four West Bank villages
Tuesday, killing two Palestinian intelligence officers and
arresting 15 suspected militants. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon ruled
out peace talks until attacks against Israel end.

Sharon said the raids aimed at rooting out Palestinian militants
would continue, even though Israel’s large-scale incursion
into the West Bank has ended.

“We will continue to fight terrorism by entering
(Palestinian-controlled areas) when necessary,” Sharon
said.

Medical marijuana deemed weak

SAN JOSE, Calif. “”mdash; In the world of high-grade marijuana,
sticks, seeds and stems are not welcome ingredients. So when
medical marijuana researchers claimed to have found such cannabis
chafe among the pot imported from a government farm, they came to a
sour conclusion.

These are not kind buds for medical marijuana patients.

The government-grown marijuana is being provided to San Mateo
County for the first publicly funded analysis of HIV patients
smoking the drug at home.

First lady pushes education as hope

PARIS ““ In her inaugural foray into international
diplomacy, first lady Laura Bush addressed terrorism and told an
audience that education can turn hate to hope.

The former schoolteacher and librarian called for children
worldwide to be respectful and tolerant.

“A lasting victory in the war against terror depends on
educating the world’s children because educated children are
much more likely to embrace the values that defeat terror,”
Bush said.

Reports from The Associated Press.