• Iraqi Prime Minister Addresses Congress: Iyad Allawi reports progress in security, stability, and economy in Iraq. In press conference with President Bush, he says elections will go on as planned in January 2005.

• Italian Aid Workers Freed : Simona Pari and Simona Torretta, both 29, released three weeks after they were kidnapped in Baghdad by armed men.

• Cole Bombers Sentenced : Yemeni judge sentences Abd al-Rahim and Jamal al-Badawi to death for plotting the 2000 attack on the American destroyer.

• Cheney Convention Speech Attacks Kerry : Vice president says Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry is weak on defense and does not understand the intensity of the threat of terrorism. “Even in this post-9/11 period, Senator Kerry doesn't appear to understand how the world has changed.” Democratic senator Zell Miller delivers keynote address harshly critical of Kerry.  President Bush accepts the Republican presidential nomination, promising to remain tough on terrorism and introducing plans for the economy, health care, and education. “We will build a safer world and a more hopeful American, and nothing will hold us back,” he said.

• Navy Seals Charged Death of Iraqi Prisoner : Iraqi detainee died of injuries sustained when commandos hit him with the butt of a rifle after he resisted capture in Nov. 2003.

• Medicare Premiums Increase : Government announces 17% increase in Medicare premiums. Increase, largest in program's history, to take effect in 2005.

• Bush's Military Records Released: Additional records found under a Freedom of Information Act request indicate logged 336 hours as a pilot before letting his status as a pilot lapse because he failed to appear for a medical exam.

• Budget Office Predicts Little Movement on Deficit : Nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the federal budget deficit for current fiscal year will exceed $422 billion, or 3.6% of the country's gross domestic product.

• CBS Claims Bush Received Special Treatment : Memos, written by Bush's former squadron commander and revealed on60 Minutes, suggest president received preferential treatment in joining the National Guard and later when he served in it. CBS News and Dan Rather, who reported on the memos, acknowledge that they were not able to prove the documents are authentic.

• Bush Revises Position on Intelligence Director : Reversing earlier position, president says he supports giving proposed intelligence czar full authority over the agency's budget.

• Army Says CIA Hid Dozens of Prisoners in Iraq : Two generals testify that CIA requested that army hide a large number of detainees from Red Cross inspectors. Earlier report said only eight prisoners were kept off the rosters.

• House Passes Amendment to Alter Overtime Rules : Votes, 223–293, for an amendment that block rules that bar certain workers from being eligible for overtime pay.

• Violent Crime Hits Low : Justice Department reports property and violent crime drop to lowest rate in 30 years.

• Weapons Ban Expires : Law banning 19 types of semiautomatic weapons lapses. Bush administration criticized for bowing to National Rifle Association, which opposed extending the ban, and for not urging Congress to extend it.

• Intelligence Report Painted Grim Picture of Iraq: U.S. official acknowledges that highly classified National Intelligence Estimate prepared for President Bush and released in July predicted bleak future for Iraq. At best, the report said, the country's stability would be tenuous. Worst case could be civil war.

• Bush Proposes Shifting Iraq Funds : Administration requests the Senate divert $3.4 billion of the $18.4 billion Iraq reconstruction budget to improving security in the country. Plan criticized as a sign that American campaign in Iraa has been poorly executed.

• Judge Critical of FEC : Federal judge orders the Federal Election Commission to tighten 15 rules that regulate campaign financing, saying the rules create loopholes in the McCain-Feingold law.

• Bush Defends War in Iraq : In his annual address to the UN General Assembly, president says war was justified and Iraq is moving toward stability.

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