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Abdullah said likely to boycott election

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Abdullah Abdullah, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's opponent, likely will announce this weekend he will boycott the Nov. 7 runoff election, a source told CNN.

The U.S. news network, citing an unnamed Western source close to Afghan leadership, said talks between Karzai and Abdullah had broken down.

Word of the apparent collapse of negotiations came a day after Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, predicted in an interview with CNN that the country would soon be governed under a power-sharing deal.

"Both (candidates) want power-sharing," Khalilzad said. "Karzai wanted to be first declared the winner or win the election and then offer something from a position of strength, while Abdullah Abdullah wanted to go to a second round but have a power-sharing agreement without the vote."

Khalilzad also said Abdullah is running out of money and worries he could lose.

Also Friday, U.S. President Barack Obama met with military advisers about strategy in Afghanistan. Sources told CNN each branch of the armed services had a chance to predict the effect on the military of sending a "large number" of additional forces to Afghanistan.

Khalilzad called the outcome of Afghan election negotiations critical in Obama's decision.

"There are very few very capable Afghans, and they need to come together in a power-sharing arrangement," he said, "because whatever the decision is here in the United States, this will be one last chance to push for success in Afghanistan. And that cannot happen without the Afghan leaders doing their part."

White House releases visitors list

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- The White House released records of 481 visitors Friday in what it called an unprecedented step in "government transparency."

The list includes a wide range of lobbyists, labor leaders, lawmakers, executives and activists, along with some marquee Hollywood names who visited the executive mansion between Jan. 20 and July 31.

As President Barack Obama tried to jump-start the economy, numerous Wall Street executives and bankers' representatives visited, The Hill reported. They included John Mack, head of Morgan Stanley; Vikram Pandit, head of Citigroup; Lloyd Blankfein, head of Goldman Sachs; and Edward Yingling, head of the American Bankers Association.

Lobbyists Steve Elmendorf of Elmendorf Strategies and Tony Podesta of the Podesta Group visited.

Former Sen. Tom Daschle, D-S.D., showed up 11 times. He met with administration officials Larry Summers, Rahm Emmanuel and others. Howard Dean, the former Democratic National Committee chairman and 2004 presidential candidate, stopped by to see senior White House adviser David Axelrod.

Andy Stern, head of the Service Employees International Union, came to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. at least 19 times and met with Obama five times, The Washington Post reported.

The list includes only those visitors about whom a specific request was made on the Whitehouse.gov Web site since last month. In December, the White House said it would release all visitor records.

"Today marks a major milestone in government transparency," Norm Eisen, special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform, wrote in a posting on the White House blog.

The White House also rolled out the red carpet for the likes of George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Denzel Washington and Serena Williams.

Others who visited had famous names but not fame (or infamy). The Jeremiah Wright is not the Chicago preacher who caused a fuss during Obama's campaign. The Michael Jordan is not the basketball great. The William Ayers is not the former member of the Weathermen. The Michael Moore is not the filmmaker.

Corzine, Christie in dead heat in NJ

GALLOWAY, N.J., Oct. 30 (UPI) -- New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and his Republican challenger, Chris Christie, are locked in a race too close to call, a poll released Friday said.

Zogby International surveyed 1,093 voters, with 40 percent saying they prefer Corzine and 39 percent Christie. Chris Daggett, a former Republican environmental official running as an independent, has the support of 14 percent.

The poll was done for the Hughes Center for Public Policy at Richard Stockton College.

New Jersey and Virginia are the only states choosing governors Tuesday. Corzine has been getting help from Democratic heavy hitters, including former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama, who plans a final visit to the state this weekend.

Only 6 percent of those surveyed said they remain undecided. And Sharon Schulman, head of the Hughes Center, said most voters have made up their minds, even though many do not like their choices. She said only 34 percent of likely voters want to give Corzine another term, and 59 percent said they would prefer someone else, including 30 percent of Democrats and 70 percent of independents.

The telephone poll was done between Tuesday and Thursday and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Plane hits house in Georgia, 2 die

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga., Oct. 30 (UPI) -- A twin-engine plane slammed into a house in Lawrenceville, Ga., Friday, killing the pilot and a woman in the home, police said.

The woman's husband escaped the explosion and ensuing fire, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The names of the victims were being withheld until relatives could be notified.

Gwinnett County police Cpl. David Schiralli said the house was engulfed in flames when emergency crews arrived, the newspaper said.

The pilot was the only person aboard the Cessna 310, which had taken off from the Gwinnett County airport for a flight to Sparta, Tenn. Emergency officials said there was no distress signal from the aircraft before it went down shortly before 1:30 p.m.

Neighbor Jerry Hennebaul said the woman was in the home's den and the husband was upstairs. Hennebaul said neighbors restrained the man from going back inside to try to save his wife.

The plane didn't sound like it was in trouble, Hennebaul said.

"It sounded like the engine had power, because toward the end, we heard it throttle like it was trying to pull up," he said. "Then we heard an explosion."

Gavin Newsom drops out of Calif. gov race

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom withdrew Friday from next year's race to be California governor before it officially started.

Newsom said he could not handle the demands of campaigning while continuing to serve as a big-city mayor, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"With a young family and responsibilities at City Hall, I have found it impossible to commit the time required to complete this effort the way it needs to -- and should be -- done," Newsom said in a statement.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown, a former governor, is not yet a declared candidate. But Brown has been raising far more money than Newsom and running about 20 points ahead of him in polls of potential Democratic primary voters.

"Mayor Newsom is a talented public official and I believe he has a bright future," a Brown statement said. "I am sure this was not an easy decision."

In his statement, Newsom did not say whether he would consider a run for lieutenant governor with Brown, presumably, on the top of the ticket. Newsom's second term as mayor ends in January 2012.