US & World News, Wednesday 2/20

US & World Summary --- Barack Obama And John McCain Come Out On Top Its ten in a row for Barack Obama. The Illinois Senator continued his winning streak yesterday, coming away with victories in the Wisconsin and Washington state primaries and the Hawaii Democratic caucus. On the Republican side, Arizona Senator John McCain also won Washington state and Wisconsin, widening his delegate lead over Mike Huckabee. After his wins, McCain took aim at Obama, saying the Illinois senators inexperience would hurt the country in a time of war. Obama continued to champion his theme of change during a speech at a Texas rally, calling for an end to the Iraq war. --- Shuttle Atlantis Crews Begins Journey Home (Houston, TX) -- Good weather is expected for the landing of the Space Shuttle Atlantis at Floridas Kennedy Space Center within the hour. The first of four landing possible attempts is set for 9:07 a.m. Eastern Time, and the shuttle crew has already begun final preparations for re-entry. Flight Director Bryan Lunney says Californias Edwards Air Force Base is also an option if weather conditions in Florida deteriorate unexpectedly. NASA wants to get the shuttle back to Earth as soon as possible before the military tries to shoot down a dead satellite. --- Class To Resume At School Where Shooting Happened (DeKalb, IL) -- Classes are scheduled to resume next week at Northern Illinois University, the scene of a fatal school shooting last week. All classes, including Geology 104 will resume. The Geology class is where Steven Kazmierczak opened fire last Thursday, killing five students and injuring 18 more before killing himself. Three-hundred counselors will visit classes across campus on Monday and Tuesday to help students. More than two-thousand faculty and staff members are getting training this week to help the students cope with a return to classes. --- Judge Holds Reporter In Contempt In Anthrax Case (Washington, DC) -- A former "USA Today" reporter is being held in contempt of court over the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people. Toni Locy was cited for not identifying sources who named former Army scientist Steven Hatfill as a possible suspect in the attacks. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton says he may begin fining Locy 500-dollars-a-day, increasing to five-thousand-dollars-a-day, until she names the sources. Walton says he will consider postponing the penalty to allow Locy and her lawyers to appeal the contempt ruling. --- Microsoft To Authorize Yahoo! Proxy Battle (Seattle, WA) -- Microsoft officials will authorize a proxy battle for Yahoo! this week in an attempt to convince the companys shareholders to agree on a takeover deal. According to the "New York Times," Microsoft will seek to nominate a slate of directors by March 13th, if the Yahoo! board doesnt enter talks. So far, the board has rejected the deal. Microsoft has offered to buy the company for 31-dollars-a-share, but that bid was turned down by Yahoo!s board which says Microsoft undervalued the company. --- Board Approves Evolution Education Option (Tallahassee, FL) -- Florida schools will teach "A" theory of evolution not "The" theory. Thats the compromise reached during a contentious debate over the teaching of evolution in the public schools. Yesterdays Florida Board of Education meeting was packed with people who wanted evolution taught in public schools and others who dont. People on both sides of the issue werent upset with the final decision, but they werent happy either. --- ONeal Set To Make Phoenix Suns Debut (Phoenix, AZ) -- Shaquille ONeal makes his debut with the Phoenix Suns tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Suns acquired ONeal in a February 6th trade with the Miami Heat that sent Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks east. Itll be a showdown of sorts against the team Shaq won three NBA Championships with. ONeal says he simply wants to, quote, "go out and have fun" while helping the team add to its 37-16 record. (Copyright 2008 by Newsroom Solutions) RNS-02-20-08 0748CST