US & World News, Monday 6/2

US & World Summary --- Ted Kennedy Set To Undergo Surgery (Boston, MA) -- Senator Edward Kennedy is undergoing surgery for brain cancer at Duke University Medical Center. Doctors began operating on the longtime Democratic lawmaker at 9:00 Eastern time. Its estimated the surgery could take up to six hours. In a statement released by his office this morning, the 76-year-old Kennedy said he will be at the hospital for about one week while he recovers. Kennedys statement went on to say he looks forward to returning to the U.S. Senate. --- Universal Studios To Reopen (Hollywood, CA) -- Universal Studios Hollywood is scheduled to reopen this morning following yesterday mornings devastating fire that severely damaged or destroyed several back-lot sets and the studios video vault. The fire broke out shortly before 5 a.m. Pacific time after witnesses reported hearing several explosions. The fire spread rapidly to the adjacent sets. It reportedly destroyed the King Kong ride, a good portion of the New York street set, and the historic clock tower from the "Back to the Future" movie produced at the studios in 1985. Losses are believed to be in the tens of millions of dollars. --- Pfleger Apologizes For Clinton Rant (Chicago, IL) -- The Reverend Michael Pfleger 1/81/8 FLAY-gur 3/83/8 is apologizing for mocking Senator Hillary Clinton during a recent church sermon. In comments last Sunday at Chicagos Trinity United Church of Christ, Pfleger suggested that Clinton felt "entitled" to the Democratic presidential nomination over Senator Barack Obama because she is white. His comments were circulated over the Internet and on television, and eventually helped lead Obama to sever ties with his long-time church. Now, after receiving thousands of hate letters via email and being reprimanded by Cardinal Francis George, Pfleger is offering up an apology for his choice of words. --- Final Primaries Just A Day Away (Washington, DC) -- Primary season comes to an end tomorrow for Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. The final Democratic primaries occur in Montana and South Dakota. Fresh off a victory in Puerto Ricos primary yesterday, New York Senator Clinton is hoping for big wins in Montana and South Dakota to convince the undecided superdelegates to start moving her way. Illinois Senator Obama is within reach of enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, though hell likely fall short of the magic number tomorrow night. --- Yves Saint Laurent Dead At Age 71 (Paris) -- The fashion world has lost a legend. French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent died yesterday after a long illness at his Paris home. The 71-year-old has been hailed as the most influential designers of his time. He is listed next to names such as Christian Dior and Coco Chanel as dominating 20th Century clothing. He spent four decades in the fashion industry before finally retiring in 2002. --- Shuttle Crew Readies For Rendezvous (Houston, TX) -- The crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery is preparing to rendezvous today with the International Space Station. Just before docking, Discovery Commander Mark Kelly will pilot his ship through a back-flip maneuver so that the station crew can snap high-resolution photos of the shuttles thermal tiles. Those images will help determine if the shuttle was damaged by at least five pieces of foam seen falling from the external fuel tank during launch. NASA managers believe the debris peeled off after it was too late to damage the orbiter, but the photos will help confirm that. --- Ridership On Mass Transit Shatters Records High gas prices are sending record numbers of passengers to the nations buses and trains. The "USA Today" cites a report set to be released today by the American Public Transportation Association as saying a record two-point-six billion riders chose buses or trains for the January through March period of 2008. Light rails experienced the biggest increase in ridership, recording a whopping ten-percent jump. Early figures for April show ridership even higher as gas hovers near four-dollars a gallon. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-06-02-08 0843CDT