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Bush to push freedom in Mideast

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt, May 17 (UPI) -- U.S. President George W. Bush Saturday said he would urge Mideast leaders to "move past old grievances" and work toward "justice, tolerance and freedom."

Bush, speaking from Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt, used his weekly radio address to recap his trip with first lady Laura Bush to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.

He alluded to, but did not specifically repeat, a controversial remark he made Thursday during an address to Israeli leaders when he compared U.S. politicians to pre-World War II Nazi appeasers.

"I reaffirmed the principles that make our alliance strong: a love of liberty, a devotion to justice, and a respect for human dignity," Bush said. "And I said that standing firm on these ideals is the surest way to defeat the extremists and build a future of peace for people throughout the Middle East."

Bush said he had engaged in "a series of productive meetings" with Saudi King Abdullah. Saudi officials said Friday that oil production in the country was being increased by 300,000 barrels a day to meet its customers' demands.

Bush said he would use his appearance at the World Economic Forum to promote political and economic freedom.

"And I will urge leaders across the region to … move past old grievances and embrace the changes necessary for a day when societies across the Middle East are based on justice, tolerance, and freedom."

Medical marijuana dealers found guilty

MODESTO, Calif., May 17 (UPI) -- Two California men could spend 20 years behind bars after a federal jury found them guilty of operating an illegal medical marijuana business, officials said.

A Fresno, Calif., federal jury found Modesto residents Luke Anthony Scarmazzo, 28, and Ricardo Ruiz Montes, 28, guilty of conducting a continuing criminal enterprise, growing marijuana and possessing marijuana with the intent to distribute, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday.

Scarmazzo and Montes' case sets an example for marijuana producers and sellers who think they are protected by California's legalization of marijuana for medical use, federal authorities said.

Evidence in the case indicated that Scarmazzo and Montes made $9 million selling marijuana.

"These two set out to make as much money as they could as drug dealers, plain and simple," attorney McGregor Scott said.

The Chronicle said the convictions call for a mandatory 20-year prison sentence. U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger is scheduled to sentence them on Aug. 4.

Drought, high food prices slam Somalia

MOGADISHU, Somalia, May 17 (UPI) -- Villagers in Somalia say spiking food costs, coupled with a drought that is killing vital livestock, are producing a famine that has killed hundreds so far.

Cattle are lying dead in the sand and prices for commodities are out of control, poverty-stricken Somalis told The New York Times reported Saturday. The combination of civil war, a refugee crisis and foreign aid jeopardized by the fighting means the humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa is becoming desperate, the newspaper reported.

The only thing standing between many Somalis and starvation is "a thin gruel made from mashed thorn-tree branches," the newspaper reported, adding that villagers have reported children chewing on their own lips and tongues because they had no food.

The United Nations said in a news release that at least 2.6 million Somalis -- more than one-third of the country's population -- need assistance. That represents a 40 percent increase since January.

The U.N. added that 600,000 more people in urban areas "either do not have enough food to sustain their households, or have been forced to sell assets to buy food, leaving them vulnerable to further deterioration."

Carnival ride collapse injures 18

ANGELS CAMP, Calif., May 17 (UPI) -- An investigation was under way Saturday into a California carnival ride collapse that injured 18 people, three seriously.

The incident happened Friday evening at the Calaveras County Fair and Jumping Frog Jubilee in Angels Camp, Calif., about 50 miles east of Stockton, Calif. An official from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told the San Francisco Chronicle the Yo-Yo ride collapsed and firefighters were alerted by screaming.

The three most seriously injured ride patrons were airlifted to nearby hospitals. Fifteen others with less serious injuries were taken by ambulance or drove private cars to hospitals.

Investigators from the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration were expected at the accident scene Saturday.

Riverside, Calif., tops gas prices list

RIVERSIDE, Calif., May 17 (UPI) -- Forbes Magazine says Riverside and San Bernadino, Calif., have the highest U.S. driving costs thanks to a combination of high gas prices and long commutes.

The magazine's survey of which cities have the most "pain at the pump" was released Friday. Its authors say they arrive at the list by taking the country's 50 largest metro areas and factor for "congestion, fuel costs, use of mass transit and carpools and commuting distances to determine which were the most affected by rising gasoline prices, and calculate how much commuters pay each day to get to and from work."

Under those criteria, California's "Inland Empire" in Riverside County achieved the dubious distinction of being at the top of the list.

"Not only are gas prices $3.91 per gallon, one of the highest in the country," Forbes said, "but cities like Riverside and San Bernardino grew as part of the Los Angeles sprawl, where residents accepted the trade-off of cheaper housing for longer commutes."

Rounding out the Top Ten list of cities with the most painful gas prices were Atlanta, Washington, Miami, Chicago, Birmingham, Ala., Los Angeles, Raleigh, N.C., Houston and Sacramento, Calif.