THE FULCRUM

AT&T Corp., the nation's largest long-distance carrier, announced moves to cut about 7,000 more jobs as it retreats from the consumer market and to write off $11.4 billion in assets that have lost much of their earning power.

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The cuts come as AT&T, based in Bedminster, N.J., struggles with plunging revenue and earnings. AT&T, which had forecast cutting about 5,000 positions earlier in the year, said it will eliminate a total of about 12,000 jobs this year, resulting in a 20% reduction from the 61,600 employees it had at the end of 2003.

For the second time in a week, the House ethics committee Wednesday night admonished House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, this time for engaging in fund-raising activities that created the appearance of impropriety, and for using his position to exert undue influence over a federal agency.

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Already, at least one good-government group is calling for DeLay to step down. On Wednesday, before the committee released its report, Judicial Watch - - a conservative public interest group -- called on DeLay to resign his position as majority leader, citing last week's rebuke in the case involving Rep. Nick Smith, R-Mich.

[not] trying to lure Western tourists to Iraq. He's trying to keep them away.

"I understand all about wanting to have an adventure, but Iraq could be a one-way trip," he says, shaking his head. "This is just not a place for tourists."

With the country beset by a bloody guerrilla war and a wave of kidnappings and killings, Mr. Jobori's point might seem obvious. But despite the violence, a small number of determined adventure-seekers are planning to visit Iraq in coming months.

Phil Lalani, a hotel owner from Blackpool, England, hopes to be one of the pioneers. He and his girlfriend, Katrina Copsey, are among the 10 tourists who have paid to reserve space in a tour of the country later this month with Don Lucey, a former British special-forces officer who worked in Iraq last year doing support work for a British company providing telecommunications services to the British army. Cost of the eight-day trip: $2,200 per person, with mandatory insurance adding another $1,000.

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For security reasons, Mr. Lucey refuses to tell the tourists their exact itinerary until they arrive in Iraq. Then, he'll parcel it out to them a day at a time.

Mr. Lucey, 52, also says the group will wear non-Western clothing, travel discreetly in inconspicuous vehicles and be protected at all times by armed guards.

"People think we'll be walking around with cameras around our necks snapping pictures, but this will be a covert operation," Mr. Lucey says. "You can't get away from the fact that Iraq is a very dangerous place, but I'm determined to begin bringing tourists here."

Mr. Jobori had hoped to travel north and mark its completion with a gala grand-opening party. But with the highways connecting the cities largely controlled by militants and Mosul convulsed by violence, Mr. Jobori opted to remain in Baghdad instead. He didn't even announce the completion publicly for fear of sparking an insurgent attack on the hotel.

The end of campaigning was marked by violence today when Karzai's first vice-presidential running mate, Ahmad Zia Mas'ud, escaped injury when an explosion hit his convoy in northeastern Afghanistan.

One person was killed and two injured in the blast, for which the Taliban has reportedly claimed responsibility.

Thirty states are poised to make abortion illegal within a year if the Supreme Court reversed its 1973 ruling establishing a woman's legal right to an abortion, an advocacy group said Tuesday.

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"The building blocks are already in place to recriminalize abortion," said Nancy Northup, the center's president.

Currently, it is believed that five of the nine justices support abortion rights, but that balance could be tipped if President Bush, in a second term, nominates a new justice who reflects his anti-abortion views. Democratic contender John Kerry is a strong supporter of abortion rights.