Washington in brief

Secrets divulged in White House Web chat

WASHINGTON - First lady Laura Bush used a live Internet chat session Tuesday to preach the gospel of reading to children, and to let a couple of secrets out of the bag.

A British questioner told Mrs. Bush he was looking forward to her visit with the president to the United Kingdom in October - a trip that neither the White House nor British Prime Minister Tony Blair's office have announced.

The first lady took care of that.

"President Bush and I are both looking forward to our visit to the United Kingdom," she told the questioner.

Then she spilled the beans on her plans for the president's birthday this weekend. Bush turns 57 on July 6.

Eight-year-old "William" from Dayton, knowing the president is traveling to his hometown for Fourth of July celebrations, invited Mrs. Bush to his family's cookout that day. "My Dad said that is a good plan," William wrote. "My Dad will give you his e-mail address. Can you come?"

Sadly, Mrs. Bush replied, she would have to decline as she is remaining at the White House to prepare for the party she is throwing for the president that night.

"I've invited friends for his party and to watch the fireworks from the Truman Balcony," she wrote. "It is a surprise, shhhhhhhhh."

Mrs. Bush was the latest figure to appear on the forums on the White House Web site. The "Ask the White House" sessions were launched this spring.

WASHINGTON - President Bush's fundraising tour, combined with donations through the mail and Internet, produced $34.2-million for his re-election campaign in just six weeks, far more than any of his Democratic rivals have raised.

The candidate to announce the highest second-quarter total so far was Democrat Howard Dean, who raised about $7.5-million from April through June. His amount included $3-million raised over the Internet in the past week.

Officials with the John Edwards and John Kerry campaigns said they expected second-quarter totals of about $5-million. Added to their first-quarter figures, they could still lead the early Democratic money race overall. Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri was aiming for $5-million in the second quarter, Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman hoped for $4-million and Sen. Bob Graham of Florida expected to report $2-million to $3-million in contributions.

TRIBUNAL DISPUTE: The United States will suspend military aid to about 35 countries that didn't meet a deadline Tuesday for exempting Americans from prosecution before the new U.N. international war crimes tribunal. Among the nations cut off is Colombia, the main supplier of cocaine and heroin to the United States, where some assistance for fighting drugs and terrorists could be in jeopardy. Overall, about $48-million in aid will be blocked.

TOBACCO: The Agriculture Department, which is prohibited from marketing U.S. tobacco overseas, has been conducting studies of foreign tobacco markets that are available to American tobacco companies, a congressional report says. The study by the General Accounting Office found the agency regularly gathers and distributes tobacco-related information that identifies foreign tobacco production and consumption rates, import trends and changes in foreign regulations. The investigators found the agency failed to give staff specific directions regarding the marketing restrictions. The report recommends Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman issue such guidelines and review the agency's activities related to tobacco.

IRAN LAWSUITS: Iran is immune from lawsuits arising from the taking of 52 American hostages more than two decades ago despite congressional efforts to change that, an appeals court ruled. The Algiers Accords, which freed the hostages after 444 days in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, prohibited lawsuits against Iran and remains in effect, according to the decision.

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