■ Canada
Astronaut to run in election
Political parties are reaching for some stars -- even an astronaut -- to boost their chances in next month's election. Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberals said on Wednesday that Marc Garneau, Canada's first astronaut, will run for them in a rural Quebec district near Montreal. Garneau, 56, became a Canadian hero in 1984 when he flew on a NASA space shuttle mission. He also participated in missions in 1996 and 2000. The former Liberal member of Parliament for the district, Nick Discepola, said he was happy to step aside so that Garneau can run, saying Garneau's candidacy will help the Liberals pick up four or five seats in Quebec. "Garneau will bring added name recognition," he said.
■ United States
Students target professor
Members of the College Republicans held a banner listing the names of people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks outside University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill's classroom. They wanted Churchill, who has said some of the victims were not innocent, to mark the names of each person he believes deserved to die in the attacks. Jeff O'Holleran of the College Republicans said students would stage the protest each Wednesday until the end of the semester. "We're just basically trying to call him out on what he said," said O'Holleran, who filmed the protest. Churchill, a tenured professor of ethnic studies, ignited a firestorm earlier this year when an essay he wrote following the terrorist attacks hailed the "gallant sacrifices" of the "combat teams" that struck America.
■ United States
Detainees' names published
A leading human-rights monitor published on Wednesday the names of 26 "ghost detainees" that it accused the US of holding and possibly torturing in secret overseas locations. The prisoners, suspected of involvement in such acts as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the 1998 US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, and the 2002 nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, are being held indefinitely and incommunicado, with no access to counsel, Human Rights Watch alleged.
■ United States
Stay of execution refused
The California Supreme Court refused to halt the scheduled execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams, the Crips gang founder who became an anti-gang activist while in prison and whose supporters claim has redeemed himself. In a last-ditch legal move, defense attorneys petitioned the high court earlier this month, alleging shoddy forensic testing and other errors may have wrongly sent Williams to San Quentin State Prison, where he is scheduled to die by injection on Dec. 13.
■ United States
Actor eats dog food
For actor Dick Van Patten, who played the patriarch on the 1980s television show Eight is Enough, some dog food is good enough to eat. Van Patten is lending his name and likeness to a new dog food formula that claims to be indistinguishable from a home-cooked meal for humans. To prove his point, Van Patten recently sampled the "Irish stew" recipe at a media luncheon. "Not too bad," the actor said before offering a bite to his canine dining companion. "Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Eatables for Dogs" comes in other people-friendly flavors such as spaghetti and meatballs, hobo chili and Chinese takeout. The food will sell for US$2.49 a can beginning on Dec. 15.
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