[Dotgnu-see-devel] geminate executive

[UCody KNelson]

President Bush, working a southwest Missouri campaign crowd like a yell leader, blasted Democrats on Friday, saying they have no plan to keep Americans safe from terrorists. Three firefighters died when the flames swept over their truck, and a fourth died soon after at a hospital. A fifth was taken off life support and died this week. The last time so many firefighters were killed battling a wildfire was July 1994, when 14 were killed near Glenwood Springs, Colorado, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The report issued Friday said the airplane was flying along the East River between Manhattan and Queens when it attempted a U-turn with only 1,300 feet of room for the turn. To make a successful turn, the aircraft would have had to bank so steeply that it might have stalled, the NTSB said in an update on the crash. Funeral services were also scheduled over the next several days for firefighters Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont; Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, of San Jacinto; Mark Loutzenhiser, 43, of Idyllwild; and Pablo Cerda, 23, of Fountain Valley. A public memorial service for all five men was planned for Sunday. The National Transportation Safety Board said the wind, coupled with the pilot's inability to turn sharply, forced the aircraft away from its intended path over the East River and into the building. President Bush, working a southwest Missouri campaign crowd like a yell leader, blasted Democrats on Friday, saying they have no plan to keep Americans safe from terrorists. Several thousand GOP supporters cheered Bush as he strode into the darkened Springfield Exposition Center where volunteers handed out signs that said "Cards fans for Talent" -- a reference to the St. Louis Cardinals' World Series victory. Violence against Iraqis has grown unabated in the past month, with more than 1,300 killed since October 1. Fearing more bloodshed after Sunday's expected announcement of a verdict in the trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Iraq's defense minister has canceled leave for all army officers. "This arrest really does help with some of the closure, the healing that we in the Forest Service community, and in the families, need," said Jeanne Wade Evans, the San Bernardino National Forest supervisor. Small planes could previously fly below 1,100 feet along the river without filing flight plans or checking in with air traffic control. The FAA said the rule change -- a temporary one -- was made for safety reasons. The airplane, which also carried flight instructor Tyler Stanger, struck the building and fell 30 stories to the street below. Investigators do not say whether they determined who was at the controls of the Cirrus SR20. "The truth is the Democrats can't answer that question," Bush said. "Harsh criticism is not a plan for victory. Second guessing is not a strategy. District Attorney-elect Rod Pacheco said the evidence against Oyler was "overwhelming," but he did not disclose a motive and would not say what led investigators to Oyler. Missouri's Senate race is intertwined with a ballot measure that would engrave the right to conduct embryonic stem cell research into the state constitution. McCaskill supports it; Talent opposes it. Bush didn't mention it. (Watch Michael J. Fox back McCaskill on stem cells -- :32 ) Mourners honored the firefighters killed by the California arson fire as the first of five funerals began Friday, and praised authorities for charging the man accused of starting that fire with murder. "The truth is the Democrats can't answer that question," Bush said. "Harsh criticism is not a plan for victory. Second guessing is not a strategy.