Special from NewsMax's Most Informed Sources
April 29, 2002

1. Karen Hughes: Conservatives Cheering
2. Gay Host: Blame Gays On Catholic Scandal
3. NewsMax Poll: U.S. Should Support Israel
4. Russia Rife with Rumors Over Lebed Death

#1 Karen Hughes: Conservatives Cheering

Details are still emerging about Karen Hughes's resignation from the White House. But, rest assured, it has little to do with Hughes's interest to raise her child in Texas.

Some notable conservatives in Washington see the Hughes departure as a hopeful sign.

Hughes was known as the most powerful person in the White House and made herself a brake against President Bush expressing and moving a conservative agenda. Hughes, an insider tells NewsMax, played a role similar to Michael Deaver at the Reagan White House.

But Deaver's influence was somewhat limited. Hughes was said to be all-powerful and demanding. Insiders suggest that when she couldn't get 100 percent of her way, she balked at continuing.

More developing....

#2 Gay Host: Blame Gays On Catholic Scandal

KABC's highly rated Al Rantel says he knows exactly why the Catholic Church is having its current sex crisis: gay males.

Al, the nation's most noted gay conservative radio host, admits while he likes the same sex, he is not attracted to boys.

He blames the current church crisis on too many gay priests who spend too much time "in the Boys' Department" when they go shopping, and Church officials who fail to remove these people from the priesthood.

Rantel's comments give credibility to the thesis of a blockbuster new book, "Good Bye! Good Men," which claims that the church sex crisis is caused by gay males unwilling to confront other homosexuals who have an interest in children and young men.

Editor's Note: Read More about "Good Bye! Good Men" ... Click Here


#3 NewsMax Poll: U.S. Should Support Israel

An online, non-scientific poll of NewMax.com readers indicates an overwhelming amount of support for the State of Israel during the present crisis.

The poll, taken over the last week, received more than 65,000 total votes.

Asked, "Who Should America Support?", 86% of NewsMax readers said Israel. Only 3% said Palestinians, with 11% calling for neutrality.

Support for the Bush Administration's handling of the Mid-east crisis appears strongly divided.

While 16% described his job performance as "excellent" and almost 39% as "good," 28% said President Bush was doing a "fair" job while 17% said his performance was "poor."

#4 Russia Rife with Rumors Over Lebed Death

Krasnoyarsk Governor Alexander Lebed - the gruff general who came in third in the 1996 presidential elections and signed the peace accord that ended the 1994-96 war in Chechnya - died Sunday morning after a helicopter crash in the south of his vast Siberian region.

As of Sunday evening, eight more people, including four journalists and Lebed's deputy, Nadezhda Kolba, were reported dead. Eleven were badly injured.

According to preliminary reports from the crash site, the Mi-8 helicopter with 20 passengers and crewmembers got tangled in power lines due to fog and poor visibility.

But some aren't so quick to buy the official story about the death of one of the few men with the courage to challenge Russian President Putin.

Lebed's brother already has suggested foul play in the death.

Lebed's brother Alexei called the accident an "absurd chance occurrence" and said on Ekho Moskvy radio that he did not want to "artificially heighten tensions" with speculations of foul play.

However, the late governor's forthright manner and tough-guy tactics had earned him many enemies in the region and beyond, prompting a number of politicians and experts to speak of possible sabotage.

Former Kursk Governor Alexander Rutskoi, also a retired general, called for a thorough investigation, while State Duma Deputy Alexei Arbatov said that if the crash had not been caused by poor visibility or technical malfunction, suspicions of "malicious intent" inevitably came to mind.

Russian tycoon Boris Berezovskiy told BBC Radio Sunday that Lebed's death was simply a regularity of the Russian history: "No doubt that the argument between a grey colonel, the president, an outstanding general, the governor, was won by greyness. This is how the Russian history works: one way or the other the greyness always wins."

Berezovskiy said that he did not rule out "the worst variant [of Lebed's death]- the destruction of Lebed by force."

Berezovskiy has expressed his deep regret at Lebed's death. "We can have as many grudges against Lebed as we like but only now we will start realizing that in fact there are no striking personalities left in Russia," he added.

Putin, since becoming president in 2000, has moved to close down political opposition and mute Russia's once vibrant press. He has also moved to more directly control the federal regions, of which Lebed was the most notable governor.

Editor's Note: Russia's highest ranking defector, Col. Stanislav Lunev, has warned that Pres. Putin has been working with terrorist nations and has plans to use a nuclear device in the U.S.

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