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Former Republican N.C. Sen. Jesse Helms dies at 86

By WHITNEY WOODWARD and DAVID ESPO

Published: Jul 04, 2008

Former Sen. Jesse Helms, who built a career along the fault lines of racial politics and battled liberals, Communists and the occasional fellow Republican during 30 conservative years in Congress, died on the Fourth of July. He was 86.

"It's just incredible that he would die on July 4, the same day of the Declaration of Independence and the same day that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died, and he certainly is a patriot in the mold of those great men," said former North Carolina GOP Rep. Bill Cobey, the chairman of The Jesse Helms Center in Wingate, N.C.

Helms died at 1:15 a.m, the center said. He died in Raleigh of natural causes, said former chief of staff Jimmy Broughton.

"He was very comfortable," Broughton said. More

Jul 04, 2008

• Bush welcomes new US citizens on 4th of July

President Bush invoked the memory of Thomas Jefferson Friday in welcoming new U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony at Monticello, saying "I'll be proud to call you a fellow American."

Jul 04, 2008

• White House says ruling could free detainees in US

The White House said Thursday that dangerous detainees at Guantanamo Bay could end up walking Main Street U.S.A. as a result of last month's Supreme Court ruling about detainees' legal rights. Federal appeals courts, however, have indicated they have no intention of letting that happen.

Jul 04, 2008

• Obama looks to turn Montana blue in the fall

Only two Democratic presidential candidates have carried Montana since 1948. Barack Obama is betting he can do it in November.

Jul 04, 2008

• Obama says Iraq trip could refine his policy

Democrat Barack Obama struggled Thursday to explain how his upcoming trip to Iraq might refine, but not basically alter, his promise to quickly remove U.S. combat troops from the war.

Jul 04, 2008

• McCain: Staff shake-up part of 'natural evolution'

Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Thursday that a shake-up in the leadership of his campaign was part of a "natural evolution" as the organization becomes more national in scope.

Jul 04, 2008

• Analysis: Obama's centrist emphasis gives GOP ammo

Is Barack Obama close to being shadowed by giant flip-flops and, worse, having the image stick with people all the way to the voting booth?

Jul 04, 2008

• Obama and family spend 4th of July in Montana

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama celebrated the Fourth of July with his family in Montana.

Jul 04, 2008

• Franken tries the switch from comic to Congress

Moving from celebrity to senator isn't exactly an untraveled path. But that doesn't mean comedian Al Franken, who is vying for a Senate seat in Minnesota, will coast to Capitol Hill on a wide, smooth road.

Jul 04, 2008

• Obama visits traditionally Republican Montana

Barack Obama is celebrating the 4th of July in Butte, Montana, attending a parade and picnic. It's a state that usually gives its three electoral votes to a Republican. Only two Democrats have carried Montana since 1948. Republicans typically take it for granted and Democrats usually write if off. But this year, Obama is spending a sizeable amount of time and money to try to win it.

Jul 04, 2008

• Pentagon extends tour of Marines in Afghanistan

The Pentagon has extended the tour of 2,200 Marines in Afghanistan, after insisting for months the unit would come home on time.

Jul 04, 2008

• Bush will attend opening ceremonies of Olympics

President Bush will attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing, the White House said Thursday. The announcement quashed any talk of a presidential boycott over China's violent crackdown after anti-government riots and protests in Tibet.

Jul 04, 2008

• Today on the presidential campaign trail

IN THE HEADLINES

Jul 04, 2008

• Obama says Jones mailer is not an endorsement

Barack Obama's presidential campaign distanced itself Thursday from a mailer by Georgia Democratic Senate hopeful Vernon Jones that shows them together under Obama's signature slogan: "Yes we can."

Jul 04, 2008

• Obama may accept nomination at Invesco Field

Barack Obama's campaign is considering having him accept the Democratic presidential nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High instead of the Pepsi Center, the chosen site for the Democratic National Convention, two people with knowledge of convention planning said Thursday.

Jul 03, 2008

• McCain aide takes over day-to-day campaign duties

John McCain put a top adviser in control of day-to-day campaign operations Wednesday after weeks of private concerns among Republicans that the GOP presidential campaign had not made the transition for the general election.

Jul 03, 2008

• Bush says US to send more troops to Afghanistan

Grappling with a record death toll in an overshadowed war, President Bush promised Wednesday to send more U.S. troops into Afghanistan by year's end. He conceded that June was a "tough month" in the nearly seven-year-old war.

Jul 03, 2008

• Senator asks if nation's drivers should slow down

An influential Republican senator suggested Thursday that Congress might want to consider reimposing a national speed limit to save gasoline and possibly ease fuel prices.

Jul 03, 2008

• Obama focuses on turning red states blue

It will be a red-state Fourth of July for Barack Obama, who hopes to find votes as well as fireworks in places that blue-state Democrats often bypass in presidential elections.

Jul 03, 2008

• Obama: Mental distress can't justify late abortion

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says "mental distress" should not qualify as a justification for late-term abortions, a key distinction not embraced by many supporters of abortion rights.

Jul 03, 2008

• Report: Passport snooping likely rampant

An internal State Department investigative report suggests that employees may have been snooping on the passport records of celebrities far more than previously disclosed. It urges new steps to secure the files.

Jul 03, 2008

• US: It flew 3,600 flights looking for hostages

The U.S. military says it flew thousands of spy flights over Colombian jungles trying to find and free three Pentagon contractors since their kidnapping in 2003.

Jul 03, 2008

• US has $20M to disable NKorean reactor

The Bush administration says it has $20 million available to pay for disabling North Korea's main nuclear facility.

Jul 03, 2008

• Bush helps break ground for new Walter Reed center

President Bush helped break ground Thursday for a new military medical center to replace Walter Reed hospital, whose reputation was soiled by allegations of shoddy care for war veterans.

Jul 03, 2008

• Marine moms, dads, often drop out of boot camp

Franklin Smith had a wife and an infant son when he convinced a recruiter in Biloxi, Miss., that he wanted to be a Marine.

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