Washington, D.C.: Gephardt starts run with dig at president

Democratic Rep. Dick Gephardt who is taking a first step toward a White House bid in 2004, said Saturday that President Bush was offering poor leadership at a critical time in the nation’s history.

“On nearly every issue of importance to the country — national security, the economy, health care, education, energy policy — President Bush is leading the country either down the wrong path or not leading at all,” Gephardt said in a statement.

The 61-year-old Missouri congressman, who ran unsuccessfully in 1988, plans to file papers for his presidential exploratory committee on Monday. Such committees are established by budding candidates mainly to raise money, finance travels around the country and help gauge voter support.

Pittsburgh: Three SUVs torched in eco-terror incident

In the latest in a string of vandalism carried out in the name of the Earth Liberation Front, members of the radical environmental group are claiming responsibility for a fire at a Pennsylvania auto dealership.

A posting on the group’s Web site said the “attack” targeted SUVs in a fight “to remove the profit motive from the killing of the natural environment.”

Jugs of gasoline were set ablaze under three vehicles, engulfing them and a nearby car in flames Wednesday at a dealership in Girard, about 110 miles north of Pittsburgh, FBI Special Agent Bob Rudge said. Three other vehicles also had jugs of gasoline set under them but failed to ignite.

The FBI considers the Earth Liberation Front one of the nation’s most prolific domestic terrorist organizations.

New York: Former boyfriend suspected in killings

A man faces murder and attempted murder charges in the stabbings of his ex-girlfriend, her husband and two young daughters, police said Saturday.

Moo Chul Shin, 30, of Springfield, Va., remained hospitalized in serious condition Saturday after slashing his wrists in a Queens hotel room after the stabbings, police said.

Sook Kim, 34, and her 7-year-old daughter, Clara, died of their injuries after the attack early Friday in the family’s home in Queens.

Estelle Kim, 8, remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition Saturday. Her father, Hyunsik Kim, was hospitalized in fair condition.