McCain errs in warning on Mideast

AMMAN, Jordan — Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, mistakenly said Tuesday that Iran was allowing al-Qaida fighters into the country to be trained and returned to Iraq.

"Al-Qaida is going back into Iran and is receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran," he said at a news conference in Jordan.

After Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent from Connecticut who was traveling with McCain, stepped forward to whisper in the candidate's ear, McCain said: "I'm sorry; the Iranians are training the extremists, not al-Qaida. Not al-Qaida. I'm sorry."

Shiite-dominated Iran has been accused by the United States of funding, training and arming Iraqi Shiite militants. But there is no evidence al-Qaida has benefited from Iranian assistance.

McCain, who has linked his political future to U.S. success in Iraq, had just completed his eighth visit to Iraq. McCain also noted U.S. military officials recently discovered a cache of armor-piercing bombs in Iraq, and he hinted the explosives had been provided by Iran.

Clinton pushes for Michigan primary

LANSING, Mich. — Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign accused Barack Obama on Tuesday of standing in the way of a second presidential primary in Michigan, and said she would make an appearance in Detroit today to make the argument for going ahead despite the obstacles.

Michigan and Florida were stripped of their delegates after they violated Democratic Party rules by holding primaries too early in the year. Plans for a revote in Florida collapsed over the weekend, leaving the future of its delegation unclear.

Clinton won the earlier primaries in both states, although all the candidates had pledged not to campaign in either, and Obama removed his name from the Michigan ballot.

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said "there are valid concerns about the proposal currently being discussed, including severe restrictions on voter eligibility and the reliance on private funding."

Michigan has a rule that would ban anyone who voted in the Republican presidential primary from voting again in the Democratic one.

To cast a ballot in a do-over election, voters would have to sign a statement saying they hadn't voted in the GOP primary. That could hurt Obama more, since his supporters were more likely than Clinton's to have crossed over to vote in the GOP primary.

Clinton schedules to be released today

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The National Archives, which operates former President Clinton's presidential library in Little Rock, announced Tuesday it would release 11,046 pages of Hillary Rodham Clinton's schedules as first lady today after months of pressure and criticism that the Clintons were delaying the disclosure.

Clinton has faced criticism from fellow Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and Republicans over the number of White House documents from her husband's administration that have not been made public.

Also

Murtha backs Clinton: Rep. John Murtha, a leading congressional opponent of the Iraq war, on Tuesday endorsed Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination. Murtha is a Pennsylvania Democrat whose endorsement might be a boost for Clinton in the April 22 Pennsylvania primary. Murtha is also a superdelegate, one of the party officials who automatically have votes at the Democratic National Convention.

Obama due in Northwest: Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama will make a campaign swing through Oregon this week, including a Portland appearance Friday morning, said spokesman Nick Shapiro. Hillary Rodham Clinton hasn't been to Oregon during her presidential campaign. Ballots for the state's mail-in primary go out in six weeks. The results are tallied on May 20.

Seattle Times news services