Disabled Iraq vet wins nomination

Tammy Duckworth, a former Army helicopter pilot who lost both legs in a grenade attack in Iraq, is now leading the charge for the Fighting Democrats.

Duckworth narrowly won the Democratic nomination for Congress in a primary race Tuesday for the House seat held by Republican Rep. Henry Hyde, who is retiring after 32 years. She is the best-known of the Iraq war veterans who want to go to Capitol Hill this year.

“My experience in Iraq made me realize, and during the recovery, that I could have died,” said Duckworth, who was wounded in 2004 and now gets around by using either a wheelchair or metal prosthetic limbs and a cane. “And I just had to do more with my life.”

About 10 veterans of the current fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan are candidates for Congress, all but one of them Democrats. The Fighting Democrats, as they are being called, contend their battlefield experience will allow them to criticize the war without being written off as naive and weak on defense.

WASHINGTON

Gay marriage opposition down

Public backlash over gay marriage has eased in the three years since the Massachusetts Supreme Court issued a controversial decision to legalize those marriages, says a poll released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

But gay marriage still is a divisive issue, the poll found.

“Most Americans still oppose gay marriage, but the levels of opposition are down and the number of strong opponents are down,” said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center. “This has some implications for the midterm elections if this trend is maintained. There are gay marriage ballot initiatives in numerous states.”

Results:

•Opposed to gay marriage in February 2004: 63 percent.

•Opposed now: 51 percent.

•Strong opposition in February 2004: 42 percent.

•Strong opposition now: 28 percent.

•Strong opposition has dropped sharply among senior citizens and Republicans.

•Even split: allowing adoptions by gay couples

•Six in 10 now favor allowing gays to serve openly in the military.

The telephone poll of 1,405 adults was conducted March 8-12 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

New witness found in missing teen case

Aruban police reportedly have a new witness in the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway and plan to conduct another search for her body on the Dutch Caribbean island.

The witness provided specific information that prompted investigators to organize a search in sand dunes along the northern tip of the island, Gerald Dompig, Aruba’s deputy chief of police, said in an interview with CBS television’s “48 Hours Mystery” program, which released a partial transcript of the interview Wednesday.

Dompig said investigators will use cadaver dogs to search near a lighthouse and believe that someone took steps to carefully hide Holloway’s body – perhaps burying her twice. The CBS interview was scheduled for broadcast Saturday.

WASHINGTON

Americans warned about visiting Italy

The State Department warned Americans on Wednesday to take precautions this spring when traveling in Italy, saying next month’s parliamentary elections are likely to bring demonstrations in parts of the country.

“Demonstrations may be large, but even peaceful demonstrations have the potential to escalate into violence,” the announcement said.

The department said Americans should avoid areas where crowds are expected to gather, take common-sense precautions and closely follow media reports.

Compiled from wire reports