MADRID -- Spanish political parties and unions have banded together to rally in Madrid Tuesday against the Basque separatist group ETA. Union and political officials said that thousands would be on hand Tuesday to demonstrate against ETA in the the wake of two police shootings over the weekend, El Pais reported Tuesday. One of the officers shot in the Basque territory straddling France and Spain was killed. The other remains in a coma, according to ... [full story]

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela might not be ready to accept socialism, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez following the defeat of proposed changes to the constitution. The leftist Chavez admitted it was likely a "mistake" to hold a referendum last weekend, Globovision TV reported Tuesday. Voters rejected a package of 69 proposed amendments by a vote of 51 percent to 49 percent, the Election Commission said. The outcome was the first major electoral defeat in the ... [full story]

AUSTIN, Minn. -- A mysterious illness has sickened 11 employees at a pork plant in Minnesota, but state health officials say they haven't seen a risk to the public's health.The workers at the Quality Pork Processors plant in Austin, Minn., became ill between last December and July with a neurological disorder, the Star Tribune reported Tuesday. The cause remains unknown for chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy, which normally affects two people per 100,000.State health officials stressed ... [full story]

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. Senate aide in Washington has been arrested for allegedly soliciting sex from what he thought was a 13-year-old boy in an FBI sting operation.James McHaney, 28, was arrested Friday afternoon when he arrived to meet the "teenager" he had been communicating with on the Internet, which TheSmokingGun Web site first reported Monday.Court records said McHaney was charged "with using a computer to arrange a sexual encounter with an informant posing as ... [full story]

PHOENIX -- Rising tensions over illegal immigrants in Phoenix have attracted a conservative Washington group considering suing the city on behalf of local businesses.The mayor's office said it would have no comment on Judicial Watch's decision to send an investigator to the city ahead of last weekend's protests that featured 200 demonstrators divided roughly equally in support for and against undocumented workers, The Arizona Republic reported Monday. Eight people were arrested nearby on suspicion of ... [full story]

BOSTON -- Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney has decided it's time to speak to America directly about his Mormon religious faith.Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said the former Massachusetts governor will deliver a speech, "Faith in America," Thursday at the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum in College Station, Texas, The Boston Globe reported Monday."This speech is an opportunity for Gov. Romney to share his views on religious liberty, the grand tradition religious tolerance has played ... [full story]

NEW YORK -- Weather spawning emergencies from hurricane force winds to flooding and freezing was forecast for the entire northern United States Tuesday.Since Sunday, the Pacific Northwest has been deluged with flooding rains and winds that Monday were recorded at 129 mph in Bay City, Ore., and 104 mph in Cape Disappointment, Wash., AccuWeather reported.Forecasters said 40-foot waves would begin pounding the west coast on Tuesday, and the governors of Oregon and Washington declared states ... [full story]

LOS ANGELES -- A Los Angeles-area man mauled by a tiger whose cage he was cleaning at a celebrity's wildlife refuge clung to life Tuesday .Chris Orr, 40, was cleaning the cage of a 4-year-old male tiger when it attacked him at actress Tippi Hedren's wildlife rescue sanctuary, 40 miles north of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported.He was airlifted to an undisclosed hospital where he was listed in critical condition from bite wounds, ... [full story]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A 28-year-old man in Anchorage, Alaska, faced arraignment Tuesday in a deadly machete and shooting spree that left two dead and three others wounded.Christopher Rogers Jr., 28, told police he began the 26 hour rampage on Sunday because he was angry with his family, whom he allegedly targeted first, the Anchorage Daily News reported.Police documents said Rogers admitted to using a machete to hack his 51-year-old father to death at the man's ... [full story]

HENDERSON, Nev. -- A 60-year-old man convicted of destroying hundreds of trees obstructing his view of the Las Vegas Strip could be sent to jail for 35 years.Last month, Douglas Hoffman was convicted on 10 counts of destroying almost $250,000 worth of trees that had grown to obstruct his view in the retirement community of Henderson, Nev., the Los Angeles Times reported.He is expected to be sentenced next month, and faces as much as 35 ... [full story]