U.S., Israel deny air drill report
JERUSALEM, July 11 (UPI) -- U.S. and Israeli officials Friday denied reports that Israel is using U.S. airbases in Iraq to prepare for a possible attack on Iran.
Several Mideast media outlets reported an Iraqi minister as saying Israeli airplanes were in Iraqi airspace and landing at U.S. airbases in preparation for an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said, "I find that report inconceivable, and clearly someone is either misinformed or intentionally trying to create mischief," Press TV of Iran reported.
An Israeli military spokesman also played down the report, describing it as "utterly baseless."
Meanwhile, officials of an unnamed Arab country told Israeli officials that they and representatives from other countries would not oppose an Israeli strike against Iran, sources told Haaretz. The representatives said they were concerned about Iran's growing influence in the region, creating potential Shiite-Sunni rifts.
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak Thursday said Israel was the "strongest country in the region," the Post reported, and has "already proved it did not shy away in the past from acting when it fears its vital interests are at stake."
Civilian deaths blamed on U.S. airstrike
KABUL, Afghanistan, July 11 (UPI) -- Afghan government officials say a U.S. aircraft bombed a civilian wedding party in Afghanistan last Sunday, killing 47 people, almost all women and children.
The U.S. military said there were no civilians targeted, and that only militants were attacked. Military officials said Friday, however, that a separate investigation was under way.
The incident in Deh Bala came two days after another claim that U.S. forces killed 15 civilians during an air strike on two vehicles in the province of Nuristan, the Times of London said.
Bush: Millions of stimulus checks out
WASHINGTON, July 11 (UPI) -- More than 112 million economic stimulus checks have been mailed, representing about $91 billion in relief, U.S. President George Bush said Friday.
The mailing of the 112 million checks "has had a positive effect on retail sales," Bush said after meeting with his team of economic advisers.
Concerning struggling mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Bush said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson "assured me that that he and (Federal Reserve Chairman) Ben Bernanke will be working this issue very hard."
The two government-backed mortgage companies watched their shares drop this week as they struggle to raise billions in fresh capital.
Bush used the briefing to renew his call to Congress to open up more off-shore land to drilling, as well as explore the potential shale oil in the Western United States.
Some Democratic leaders have resisted efforts to open protected lands to exploration, saying companies should drill the 100 million domestic acres already approved for exploration.
Discussions also covered environmentally friendly exploration techniques, Bush said.
"Technology has changed dramatically to enable the exploitation of oil in a way that protects the environment," Bush said.
Congress must address energy-related issues before the August recess, he said, singling out Democrats.
"They have a responsibility to explain to their constituents why we should not be drilling for more oil here in America to take the pressure off of gasoline prices," Bush said.
Aide: Clinton not being vetted for VP
WASHINGTON, July 11 (UPI) -- A former top campaign aide to U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton said she has not been asked to undergo vetting as a possible vice presidential candidate.
Howard Wolfson, who served as Clinton's communications director, told Fox News he has seen no sign that Barack Obama, now the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, is considering Clinton. But he said that does not necessarily mean the New York Democrat is out of the running.
"She's been vetted now for a long time -- she's got 30 years of taxes in the public record and financial disclosure forms. She ran for president for 18 months and every news organization in America had multiple teams of reporters look at all aspects at her career and her biography," Wolfson said.
The Obama campaign has approached other potential vice presidential candidates, CNN reported. They include U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., who had his own short-lived presidential campaign. Dodd said that the Obama staff has requested "a lot of stuff."
More Guard troops called to fire duty
SACRAMENTO, July 11 (UPI) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called up another 2,000 National Guard troops Friday to help battle more than 300 wildfires raging in the state.
The mobilization comes after 1,000 guard troops were mobilized in the effort to contain what had been more than 1,400 fires, most caused by lightning, that have blackened around 753,000 acres from Santa Barbara to the Oregon border.
"We already have 400 guard members on the front lines, and once these new troops are trained and certified, they will be ready to pitch in at a moment's notice throughout the fire season," Schwarzenegger said in a statement released by his office.
Currently nearly 20,000 firefighters are in action in the Golden State, including prison inmates and crews from other states. International aid is coming in the form of crews and aircraft from Mexico, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, the governor's office said.
Cal Fire reported good containment on many fronts Friday. The most dire situation appeared to be in Northern California where the multi-fire Butte Lightning Complex grew to around 49,000 acres and remained a threat to 3,800 homes.
Officials said while overnight winds did not blow as hard as had been expected, the weather remained dry and hot with forecast highs around 100 degrees.
Similar conditions were reported to the north in eastern Montana and western Dakotas where the National Weather Service posted a red-flag fire warning for the region.
Bejing restaurants told to remove dog
BEIJING, July 11 (UPI) -- The Beijing Restaurant Association has notified restaurants under contract for the Summer Olympics that dog meat cannot be served during the games.
The association, which has government backing, has advised other restaurants that many foreigners find eating dog offensive and suggested that they take it off the menu, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Dog has never been a part of Beijing-style cuisine. But the capital is home to a growing number of Korean restaurants, which serve dog, and the food of parts of southern China where eating dog is traditional has become increasingly popular.
A spokesman for Huatian Cold Noodles, a Korean chain with an Olympic contract, said that the restaurants normally serve about 20 different dog dishes.
"It will certainly have an effect on our sales," he said.
A member of the staff at Dog Meat King, a small restaurant specializing in -- you guessed it -- told the British newspaper the restaurant had heard nothing of a dog ban.
"If it applies to us, the effect will be huge," the staffer said. "If we get an order like that, I have no idea what we would do."
