National and State News-Wednesday, May 16th

CAPITOL HILL (AP) - Senate Democrats and Republicans are pushing various Iraq war measures to be voted on today. Republican John Warner is behind a bill that would threaten (b) billions of dollars in U-S aid if Iraq's government didn't meet certain benchmarks.

BAGHDAD (AP) - A car bomb has killed at least 32 people and wounded 50 others in a Shiite enclave northeast of Baghdad. The bomb went off near a market. Victims say chlorine was used in the attack but police deny it. American troops continue an intense hunt for three U-S soldiers missing since Saturday.

ATLANTA (AP) - The eldest child of the late Martin Luther King Junior and Coretta Scott King has died. Yolanda King was 51 and lived in California. She was an actress, an author and an advocate for peace and nonviolence. Relatives think she may have had a heart problem.

PARIS (AP) - France's new president has been sworn in. Nicolas Sarkozy enjoyed an elaborate ceremony in Paris. He succeeds Jacques Chirac, who spent 12 years in office. The new French leader is claiming a mandate for change, promising to restore the values of "work, effort and merit."

UNDATED (AP) - About 25-hundred homes have been evacuated in southern New Jersey because of a wildfire. The blaze may have been started by a flare dropped by a New Jersey Air National Guard jet. In Minnesota, some residents chased out by a huge wildfire will be
allowed to return home only briefly beginning tomorrow.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Michael Nutter says his campaign for mayor of Philadelphia isn't over yet. The former city councilman won the Democratic nomination last night. He still needs to beat business leader Al Taubenberger, who was unopposed in the Republican primary.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Pennsylvania's Democrats and Republicans heeded their party leaders in nominating candidates for the state Supreme Court. But party endorsements seemed to mean nothing for the Superior Court. The only Democratic candidate to win the party's endorsement for Superior Court was far back in the field of seven candidates.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Scattered, unofficial tallies from around Pennsylvania show voters largely refusing to raise local income taxes so that property taxes could be cut. Early today, just over 25 percent of school districts had results available on a state Web site. Of those 142 districts, only three appeared poised to approve the tax shift.

HAZLETON, Pa. (AP) - The mayor of Hazleton in Luzerne County says it's clear the voters in his city like his anti-illegal immigration stance. Lou Barletta has won both the Republican and
Democratic nominations for a third term. He backed a city law that would punish landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and businesses that hire them.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A Pittsburgh councilwoman awaiting trial on charges that she diverted more than 40-thousand dollar in taxpayer money is trailing a community activist by a large margin in the Democratic primary. The Reverend Ricky Burgess had more than 52
percent of the vote, compared to just 15 percent for Ninth District Councilwoman Twanda Carlisle.