NATION/WORLD NEWS IN BRIEF WASHINGTON Sen. Clinton slams eavesdropping Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton called President Bush's explanations for eavesdropping on domestic conversations without warrants "strange" and "far-fetched" yesterday, launching a blistering attack on the White House ahead of the president's State of the Union address. "Obviously, I support tracking down terrorists. I think that's our obligation. But I think it can be done in a lawful way," the New York Democrat said. Clinton, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, told reporters she did not yet know whether the administration's warrantless eavesdropping broke any laws. The senator said she did not buy the White House's main justifications for the tactic. "Their argument that it's rooted in the authority to go after al-Qaida is far- fetched," she said in an apparent reference to a congressional resolution passed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack. The Bush administration has argued that resolution gave the president authority to order such electronic surveillance as part of efforts to protect the nation from terrorists. WASHINGTON Rumsfeld says military still strong Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld disputed reports suggesting that the U.S. military is stretched thin and close to a snapping point from opera- tions in Iraq and Afghanistan yesterday, asserting "the force is not broken." "This armed force is enormously capable," Rumsfeld told reporters at a Penta- gon briefing. "In addition, it's battle hardened. It's not a peacetime force that has been in barracks or garrisons." Rumsfeld spoke a day after The Associated Press reported that an unre- leased study conducted for the Pentagon said the Army is being overextend- ed, thanks to the two wars, and may not be able to retain and recruit enough troops to defeat the insurgency in Iraq. WASHINGTON Housing boom shows less bang The five-year housing boom is showing increased signs of cooling, and that's likely to mean slower growth for the entire national economy. The big question now is wheth- er home prices will come crashing to earth with even more severe consequences. The National Association of Realtors reported yestersday that sales of existing homes climbed to an all-time high of 7.072 million units in 2005, up 4.2 percent from 2004 and the fifth straight year sales have set a record. However, in a sign of slowing activity, sales fell by 5.7 percent in December, marking the third straight monthly decline, something that had not occurred since early 2002. a AP PHOTO t Supporters of the Palestinian ruling Fatah movement wave national and , party flags in Gaza city yesterday. Palestinian militants make A ev n Med- £ f' tn E'w VW Ti 4~ d fe i 11 U11g MIUW I11 W ASHINGTONv Unin nnnsesbush's mine aminitramtors N Fatah may be forced to invite Hamas militants into coalition RAMALLAH, West Bank - Islamic Hamas militants fared better than originally expected in landmark' Palestinian elections yesterday, and the ruling Fatah Party, though slightly ahead, might be forced to invite them into a coalition government and put Mideast peacemaking at risk, accord- ing to exit polls. Fatah had said before the first par- liamentary contest in a decade that it would rather team with small parties than join forces with Hamas, which is sworn to Israel's destruction and whose presence in the government would be liable to cause friction with Israel, the U.S. and Europe. But with the militants making a strong showing in their first leg- islative run, Fatah would need the backing of an array of smaller par- ties to cobble together a government. Because some of the smaller parties have ties with Hamas, Fatah might not be able to court enough of them to form a coalition strong enough to survive the Palestinians' domestic challenges - and face Israel again at the negotiating table. An exif poll by Bir Zeit University in Ramallah showed Fatah winning 63 seats in the 132-member parlia- ment with 46.4 percent of the vote and Hamas taking 58 seats with 39.5 percent. Smaller parties received 11 seats, according to the poll of 8,000 voters in 232 polling stations. The poll had a one-seat margin of error. A second survey showed Fatah beating Hamas 42 percent to 35 per- cent, or 58 seats to 53. Official results are due tomorrow. "Neither Fatah or Hamas can form the Cabinet on its own, so they need to get into a coalition with other fac- tions or with each other," said pollster Khalil Shikaki, who carried out the second survey. Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian Author- ity negotiator who won re-election to parliament in his West Bank home town of Jericho, indicated that options were open. "It's premature to speak now about the shape and form of the Cabinet," he told The Associated Press, "but I can tell you that this will be the beginning of a new Palestinian political life, a new horizon." The election was the Palestin- ians' first truly competitive vote, and officials hoped it would help cement democracy in the post-Yasser Arafat era. But it also gave unprecedented clout to Hamas, which carried out doz- ens of suicide bombings against Israel and is listed as a terror group by the United States and European Union. The strong showing by Hamas reflected popular discontent with Fatah over corruption, mismanage- ment and increasing lawlessness. After voting ended, President Bush said Washington would not deal with Hamas unless it renounced violence against Israel. "Not until you renounce your desire to destroy Israel will we deal with you," he said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. The election will usher in a new parliament and Cabinet, but Palestin- ian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who was elected president last year, will remain head of the Palestinian Authority regardless of the results. In Gaza City, Fatah loyalists fired rifles out of car windows, sounded their horns and waved the yellow flag of their movement as they drove around the streets after getting word of the exit polls. The former coal operator chosen by President Bush to oversee mine safety received a medar from Pennsylvania's governor for his work when nine trapped miners were rescued in 2002. But Richard Stickler is likely to be questioned closely about that same work next week at his Senate confirmation hearing. The United Mine Workers union has criticized the safety record of the mines in Pennsylvania and West Virginia that Stickler, 61, operated before he was appoint-, ed to run Pennsylvania's Bureau of Deep Mine Safety in 1997. On Tesday, the union sent Bush a letter asking him to withdraw the federal nomination. - Compiled from Daily wire reports CORRECTIONS A story on yesterday's front page (Michigamua members ousted from groups) should have attributed the quotation that began with the words "Michigamua has a documented history of discrimination, sexism, racism, and cultural appropriation" to LSA senior Lisa Bakale-Wise, a member of Students Supporting Affirmative Action, not to the group itself. In the same story, the quotation, "The thing I hope for most is just for them to not exist anymore," was incorrectly attributed to Native America Student Association member Casey Kasper. It should have been attributed to NASA member Brittany Marino. The top tease on yesterday's front page incorrectly said, "Cagers pre- pare to face interstate rivals." It should have said, "Cagers prepare to face intrastate rivals." Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com. 0 Gabe irrigr biI 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigaridaily.com JASON Z. PESICK Editor in Chief pesick@michigandaily.com 647-3336 Sun.-Thurs. 5 p.m. - 2 a.m. JONATHAN DOBBERSTEIN Business Manager business@michigandaily.com 764-0558 Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. COmpany at z60 W'rO kI fog Dt ~ C3I'C~ few an iig r who file e is I i it f~' 'iw~r tn IA tt4 L ~ h~W r~~ 1j F r 1t x~b BRIw r ' or hirwl Ofc. ,0gi , i. 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