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Obama promises a better NASA

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Likely Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, at a forum in Florida, said he would not cut the NASA budget if he is elected.

Obama, campaigning in the state for a second straight day, spoke in Titusville near the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida Today reported.

"Under my watch, NASA will inspire the world once again and is going to help grow the economy right here in Brevard County," Obama said.

At a news conference, Obama also repeated his support for a bipartisan compromise on energy that would allow some additional offshore drilling, The New York Times said. He told the St. Petersburg Times Friday that he supports the proposal crafted by senators from both parties.

"If we come up with a genuine bipartisan compromise, where I have to accept some things that I don't like in order to get energy independence," Obama said, "that's something I will have to consider."

Responding to a claim by likely Republican nominee John McCain's campaign that he had brought race into the campaign, Obama said he thinks McCain is "cynical" but not racist.

Offshore drilling is a touchy question in Florida. Recent polls have shown state residents have become more willing to accept it as gas prices have risen, but many officials in the state want Florida to be able to veto drilling off its coasts.

Wildfires blacken 25,000 acres in Turkey

KARATAS, Turkey, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- Wildfires have blackened 25,000 acres in Turkey's prime tourism region, leaving at least one person dead, authorities said Saturday.

Dozens of people were left homeless in Antalya province, where flames destroyed about 60 homes in the village of Karatas, Environmental Minister Veysel Eroglu told the Hurriyet news agency.

An elderly man's body was found in the wreckage of one house, the state-run Anatolian news agency reported. A second elderly villager was reported missing.

"I have dealt my whole life with fires but I have never seen a sight like this ...," Mustafa Kurtulmuslu, deputy general manager of Turkey's forestry directorate, told the Anatolian news agency. "I can ... say that we are experiencing a catastrophe."

The fire is in an area near the south coast known for its archaeological sites and popular with tourists.

At one point, the fire came within 2.5 miles of Turkey's best-preserved Roman theater, CNN reported. Officials said the ruins in Aspendos were not at risk.

Aircraft were being used to drop water on the fire, which broke out Friday. About 1,300 people were fighting the blaze on the ground.

Fugitive dad arrested; daughter recovered

BALTIMORE, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A mystery man using the name Clark Rockefeller was arrested Saturday in Baltimore, less than a week after he allegedly abducted his daughter in Boston.

Boston police said Rockefeller was staying in an apartment and had a 26-foot catamaran at a marina nearby, the Boston Herald reported. FBI agents got him out of the building by telling him the boat appeared to be leaking.

His 7-year-old daughter, Reigh, was found in the apartment unharmed. Police officers described her as "overjoyed" when they showed up.

Rockefeller allegedly kidnapped his daughter during a visit Sunday that was monitored by a social worker. Investigators say he pushed the social worker and then got away in a limousine.

His ex-wife, Sandra Boss, is living in England and is a partner in an international consulting firm. She released a videotaped plea Thursday for her daughter's return.

While Rockefeller was a fugitive, police in Boston said they have no idea of his real identity. Investigators said he appears to have used the name first in the early 1990s, when he was living in Manhattan.

Rape may be connected to triple killing

MARINETTE, Wis., Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A woman says she was raped by a suspected killer at the same spot where he allegedly ambushed young people in the river dividing Michigan and Wisconsin.

Jerry Sauve, chief deputy in the Marinette County Sheriff's Department, said the alleged sexual assault might be related to the killings. He told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the suspect, Scott Johnson, might have been hiding in the area to see if his alleged victim brought police there.

Johnson allegedly fired at swimmers in the Menominee River. Bryan Mort, 19, of Iron Mountain, Mich.; Tiffany Pohlson, 17, of Norway, Mich.; and Anthony Spigarelli, 18, of Kingsford, Mich.; were killed and another man was wounded.

To complicate the investigation, Mort was killed on the Michigan side of the river, while the other victims were on the Wisconsin side. Johnson, who had not yet been formally charged Saturday, was being held in Marinette County.

The alleged rape victim told the Journal Sentinel she and Johnson met in a store late last year and had become friends.