CRAWFORD, Texas - Cindy Sheehan arrived here last summer as an obscure, grieving mother to protest the war that killed her son. On Friday, with President Bush back at his vacation home for the first time since Sheehan took that stand, she returned as a celebrity.
She promoted her new book, Not One More Mother's Child, and was the chief honoree at an unveiling of a monument chiseled with the words, "Sheehan's Stand." The monument also lists the names of about 25 soldiers killed in Iraq, including her son, Casey.
The marker was placed at the Crawford Peace House, which opened downtown a month after the war began in March 2003. An antiwar rally was planned for today and an interfaith service Sunday.
Several Bush supporters also gathered in Crawford on Friday. Hundreds were expected to attend a pro-Bush rally today.
Macy's offers better seats for sisters hurt in parade
NEW YORK - An 11-year-old girl injured when a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon knocked down a street lamp says she'll be back next year - with better seats.
Sarah Chamberlain and her 26-year-old disabled sister, Mary, were recovering Friday at their home in Albany, N.Y.
Macy's has offered the Chamberlain family seats in the reserved bleacher section at the 2006 parade, and Sarah plans to accept, with one caveat.
"I want them to take down the light poles during the parade," she said. "But I think the balloons should definitely stay."
The sisters were injured when a 515-pound M&M balloon blew off course and snapped a 30-pound light fixture from atop a lamppost.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city will create a task force to investigate the accident and recommend changes to safety guidelines.
