To the Point

Stem Cell Research Is Hot Issue in Presidential Campaign

Britain today gave scientists the go-ahead to therapeutically clone human embryos and get stem cell research going full speed into the treatment of Diabetes, Parkinson-s, Alzheimer-s and a host of other dreadful diseases. That action comes as the White House has been denying John Kerry-s charge that President Bush has delayed medical progress for political reasons. Are the embryos, artificially manufactured for research into the treatment of humanity-s worst ailments, human life or aren-t they? We hear how scientific, ethical and religious uncertainty makes for a hot political issue, and about the impact it could have on undecided voters, as Warren Olney speaks with biologists, bioethicists, and policy advisors to both Senator Kerry and President Bush. Making News: Report Accuses Sudanese Government of Atrocities Some 30,000 people have been killed in Sudan-s province of Darfur, where Janjaweed Arab militias have burned the villages of black Africans. Human Rights Watch reports that the government has failed to make good on promises to protect a million survivors from rapes, beatings and other abuse. Alfred Taban, who reports for the BBC from Khartoum, where he-s managing editor of the Monitor, says the situation is deteriorating. Reporter's Notebook: Ahmad Chalabi Returns to Baghdad to Face Charges When President Bush addressed the State of the Nation, Ahmad Chalabi was seated right behind the First Lady. Today, the one-time Pentagon favorite returned to Iraq to respond to charges of currency counterfeiting that could land him in jail. His nephew, Salem Chalabi, who led the tribunal that will try Saddam Hussein, is facing charges of murder. Long-time Chalabi advisor Francis Brooke says the accusations are political motivated.