Huckabee apologizes for Mormon remark

DES MOINES, Iowa — Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee apologized to Mitt Romney on Wednesday for saying, "Don't Mormons believe that Jesus and the devil are brothers?"

An ordained Southern Baptist minister, Huckabee asked the question in an article to be published Sunday in The New York Times, which released his quote Tuesday. Romney, a Mormon, retorted that "attacking someone's religion is really going too far."

Huckabee apologized Wednesday, saying he had asked an innocent question during a lengthy conversation and was shocked to see it taken out of context.

"I was horrified when I read that, and I apologized to Mitt Romney, because first of all, I don't think that his being a Mormon or not being a Mormon has a thing to do with his being president."

Huckabee said Romney responded graciously to his apology, which he offered after a Republican presidential debate in Des Moines.

Obama's past use of drugs raised

MANCHESTER, N.H. — On the same day Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton discovered she had lost her lead in New Hampshire, one of her chief supporters questioned whether Sen. Barack Obama could win a general election because of his past marijuana and cocaine use.

More than six hours after his words became public, Bill Shaheen, Clinton's New Hampshire co-chairman, issued an apology: "I deeply regret the comments I made today and they were not authorized by the campaign in any way," he said in a statement sent out by the campaign.

Shaheen told The Washington Post that Republicans would jump on Obama's "drug use" and said it would lead to more questions. "It'll be, 'When was the last time? Did you ever give drugs to anyone? Did you sell them to anyone?' " Shaheen said.

Obama wrote about his teenage drug use in his memoir. His rivals have largely remained silent on the subject.

While national polling shows Clinton with a substantial lead over Obama, the latest CNN/WMUR poll in New Hampshire released Wednesday shows Clinton and Obama in a virtual deadlock, with Clinton at 31 percent and Obama at 30.

Edwards unveils anti-crime plan

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards unveiled an anti-crime initiative Wednesday that would increase the number of police patrols, combat methamphetamine production in rural areas and renew the ban on assault weapons.

The proposal was coupled with the endorsement of 38 Iowa law-enforcement officials, including nine county sheriffs.

The Edwards plan also would finance programs protecting women against domestic violence, help ex-offenders through literacy programs, drug treatment and startup jobs, and expand support for mental-health and literacy programs for people in custody.

The proposal would cost roughly $1.5 billion annually, according to the campaign.

Seattle Times news services