UPI VIDEO NEWS 02.20.08

Obama's momentum grows after two state wins.

Senator Barack Obama is surging ahead in the Democractic presidential race after winning contests in Wisconsin and Hawaii yesterday. Those wins have solidified Obama's lead over rival Senator Hillary Clinton. That makes the contests in Texas and Ohio next month must-win battles for the New York Senator. On the Republican side, John McCain widened his lead yesterday in the GOP race for the presidential nomination. The Arizona senator won victories in Wisconsin and Washington State as expected.

White House hopefuls on both sides are taking a stance on Cuba following President Fidel Castro's resignation yesterday. Democratic Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton say the U.S. should be ready to respond to reforms in that country if the new regime indicates a willingness to change. Castro's brother Raul, who's expected to take over, has raised expectations for modest reforms. But Republicans are insisting that significant benchmarks be met before there's any response from the U.S.

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf says he intends to stay in office and work with the newly elected government. That's despite calls by the opposition to step down. The Pakistan People's Party of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto won most national assembly seats. The party affiliated with former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came in second. If those two big opposition parties form a coalition and grab the support of smaller groups and independents, they could gain the two-thirds majority needed to impeach Musharraf.

Space Shuttle Atlantis and its crew are back on the ground. The shuttles touched down earlier today after a 13-day journey to deliver a new European space station lab. NASA wanted Atlantis to return as soon as possible to clear the way for the Navy to shoot down a dying space satellite. That could happen as early as tomorrow.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 01.04.08

Obama, Huckabee win in Iowa.

Democrat Barack Obama and Republican Mike Huckabee are now the frontrunners in the in the White House race after yesterday's caucuses in Iowa. Obama had the support of 38 percent of voters while Huckabee earned 34 percent. Falling behind Obama was John Edwards who came in second place and Senator Hillary Clinton who fell to third. On the Republican side, Mitt Romney trailed Huckabee and Fred Thompson took third place. Next week, the presidential hopefuls square off in the New Hampshire primary.

Meanwhile, two White House hopefuls are calling it quits after last night's results. Senators Joe Biden and Chris Dodd are abandoning their bids for the Democratic presidential nomination. Both candidates received less than one percent in the Iowa caucuses.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is defending himself against accusations that he had a role in former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination. Musharraf says Bhutto ignored government warnings, saying the former prime minister was informed of the threat to being at the park where she was killed last week. He also says he's not satisfied with the investigation into her death. A team of Scotland Yard investigators arrived in Islamabad today to help in the probe of her death.

There are more delays in store for space shuttle Atlantis. NASA says the shuttle will be grounded until late January, or more likely, February, to replace a suspect connector in the fuel tank. The connector is believed to be responsible for a series of launch postponements last month. NASA faces a 2010 deadline for retiring its three shuttles and completing the space station.

UPI VIDEO NEWS 12.06.07

Nine dead in Nebraska shooting.

9 people are dead and 5 others are wounded after a gunman opened fire in a Nebraska mall. Police say 19 year old Robert Hawkins is responsible for killing those 8 people and himself with an assault rifle. He reportedly left a suicide note saying "Now I'll be famous." Hawkins' landlord says he had a history of emotional problems and had a troubled relationship with his family.

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is planning to speak out about his Mormon faith. He's expected to make a speech in Texas today, focusing on religious tolerance in the U.S. Some Americans apparently have negative views of the Mormon religion, seeing it as a threat to Christianity. If elected, Romney would be the first Mormon president to serve in the White House.

The Atlantis space shuttle is preparing for takeoff. If all goes as planned, seven crew members will liftoff this afternoon from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The group is heading to the International Space Station to install the European Space Agency's new Columbus laboratory. The 23 feet long module will apparently improve the space stations research abilities. The mission is expected to take about 11 days.

New U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey is stressing the importance of online safety for kids. Mukasey spoke at the National Project Safe Childhood Conference yesterday in St. Louis. To an audience of about 700 law enforcement officials he spoke about the dangers of online predators and says it's a priority for the justice department. The attorney general also apparently announced 6 million dollars in grants to raise awareness for these issues online.