UPI NewsTrack TopNews

Palin stepping down as Alaska governor

WASILLA, Alaska, July 3 (UPI) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announced Friday she will resign as governor by the end of July and will not seek a second term in 2010.

Palin, Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain's vice presidential running mate last year, said Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell would be sworn in as the new governor July 25.

Speaking outside her home in Wasilla, Alaska, Palin said being a "lame-duck" governor would have been the "easiest path" as she approaches her final year in office.

"Once I decided not to run for re-election, I also felt that to embrace the conventional 'lame-duck' status in this particular climate would just be another dose of 'politics as usual,' something I campaigned against and will always oppose," she said.

"People who know me know that besides faith and family, nothing's more important to me than our beloved Alaska," Palin said. "It is my duty to always protect our great state."

She said she talked to her family and "determined that it is best to make a difference this summer, and I am willing to change things."

Some considered Palin a possible front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2012, and her resignation fueled speculation that she might be planning a run for the presidency.

In an interview last month with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Palin said she was unsure about whether she'd seek either re-election as governor or the GOP nomination.

"So, no decision yet on either 2010 or let alone 2012?" Blitzer asked.

"No decision that I'd want to announce today," Palin responded.

Palin did not take questions at Friday's news conference.

She said the new governor's administration would build on the accomplishments of hers.

"I look forward to helping others -- to fight for our state and our country and campaign for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops and energy independence," she said.

Powerful anesthetic found at Jackson home

LOS ANGELES, July 3 (UPI) -- Investigators found the powerful anesthetic drug Diprivan in pop icon Michael Jackson's Los Angeles home, ABC News reported.

Diprivan, also known by the generic name propofol, was one of many medications found in Jackson's home, sources told ABC. The drugs had been prescribed by multiple doctors to multiple patient names, some believed to be aliases, the network said.

The reported discovery of Diprivan comes after nurse Cherilyn Lee, who had worked as a nutritionist for Jackson, told reporters he had been asking for the drug in the days before his death last week at 50.

Lee has told CNN and other media outlets Jackson said he suffered severe insomnia and pleaded for the drug, saying it helped him sleep.

Experts say Diprivan is not for insomnia and should normally be administered only by IV in a hospital, typically before a medical procedure.

ABC, citing unnamed emergency physicians, said the drug could have caused respiratory depression and, ultimately, cardiac arrest if Jackson used it for insomnia.

The drug, a white liquid, has been dubbed "milk of amnesia" because of its potency as an anesthetic.

"Propofol is an agent that requires very close monitoring and is often limited only to use by anesthesiologists," Dr. Richard Page, head of cardiology at the University of Washington medical center, told ABC. "The main issue with this agent is respiratory depression, which in turn could cause cardiac arrest."

Toxicology test results on Jackson are not expected to be back for several weeks.

The discovery follows reports the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating the possible involvement of drugs in Jackson's death.

Biden predicts 'hard road ahead' in Iraq

BAGHDAD, July 3 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden emerged from meetings with Iraqi leaders Friday predicting "a hard road ahead" to bring about long-term stability to the country.

Biden, who met for about an hour with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki during a two-day diplomatic trip to Iraq, said they had made progress in fostering political reconciliation and a spirit of partnership after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi cities Tuesday.

"The president and I appreciate that Iraq has traveled a great distance over the past year, but there is a hard road ahead if Iraq is going to find lasting peace and stability," Biden said. "Its not over yet."

For his part, Maliki acknowledged "the common partnership and common efforts" between the United States and Iraq in defeating al-Qaida and praised an "atmosphere of dialogue and positive attitude" between the United States and Iraq.

"What we have seen (in the past) week … confirms the credibility of the agreements that are in place between Iraq and the United States," he said. "These agreements are being faithfully committed to."

The prime minister said the two countries should work together to strengthen Iraq's economy, military and democratic government as well as cultural and educational institutions.

"I have seen very clearly the keen determination from the vice president and his administration to support Iraq on a political level and in the democratic area and a great readiness to give us or to lend anywhere we ask a lending hand and support," Maliki said.

The White House said the unannounced two-day diplomatic mission was intended to "re-establish contact" with Iraqi leaders and prod them toward settling internal disputes over oil revenues and political power-sharing.

Evidence of deep-seated division could be seen on the streets, as hundreds of protesters chanted and burned American flags, and in recent days, violence has racked the country.

Biden got in some family time Friday morning when he had breakfast with his son, Beau, an Army captain in Iraq.

Russia to allow U.S. military flights

MOSCOW, July 3 (UPI) -- Russian leaders have agreed to allow U.S. military planes carrying troops and equipment to use their country's airspace, officials said Friday.

Mikhail Margelov, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of parliament, told The New York Times military operations in Afghanistan help protect the southern border of Russia.

"Afghanistan is one of the areas where we must cooperate," he said.

Russia has allowed the United States to ship only non-lethal supplies and aid through its territory by train. The change in policy is to be announced officially Monday or Tuesday during President Obama's first official visit to Russia.

The Taliban surge in Pakistan has made supplying U.S. and other NATO forces in Afghanistan by truck difficult. Uzbekistan ended U.S. use of a base several years ago, while Kyrgyzstan, after threatening to evict the U.S. military, changed its mind after payments were increased.

Demjanjuk found fit for war crimes trial

BERLIN, July 3 (UPI) -- John Demjanjuk, the former U.S. auto worker suspected of Nazi war crimes, has been ruled fit by doctors to stand trial, prosecutors said Friday.

Demjanjuk, 89, was deported in May from the United States to Germany, where he was wanted for alleged involvement in about 29,000 killings as an SS guard at Sobibor, a World War II Nazi death camp in Poland.

Munich State Prosecutor Anton Winkler said that although deemed fit for trial, doctors have restricted the time he can be tried each day to two sessions of 90 minutes each, CNN reported.

Demjanjuk, a native Ukrainian, has long denied any role in the Holocaust and claimed he was a prisoner of war, not a death camp guard.

This would be Demjanjuk's second war crimes trial. He was convicted in an Israeli trial in the 1970s and sentenced to death but the sentence was overturned when mistaken identity was proven.