Newsweek Exclusive : Election Day Worries

July 19 issue - American counterterrorism officials, citing what they call "alarming" intelligence about a possible Qaeda strike inside the United States this fall, are reviewing a proposal that could allow for the postponement of the November presidential election in the event of such an attack, NEWSWEEK has learned.

The prospect that Al Qaeda might seek to disrupt the U.S. election was a major factor behind last week's terror warning by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. Ridge and other counterterrorism officials concede they have no intel about any specific plots. But the success of March's Madrid railway bombings in influencing the Spanish elections—as well as intercepted "chatter" among Qaeda operatives—has led analysts to conclude "they want to interfere with the elections," says one official.

As a result, sources tell NEWSWEEK, Ridge's department last week asked the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to analyze what legal steps would be needed to permit the postponement of the election were an attack to take place. Justice was specifically asked to review a recent letter to Ridge from DeForest B. Soaries Jr., chairman of the newly created U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Soaries noted that, while a primary election in New York on September 11, 2001, was quickly suspended by that state's Board of Elections after the attacks that morning, "the federal government has no agency that has the statutory authority to cancel and reschedule a federal election." Soaries, a Bush appointee who two years ago was an unsuccessful GOP candidate for Congress, wants Ridge to seek emergency legislation from Congress empowering his agency to make such a call. Homeland officials say that as drastic as such proposals sound, they are taking them seriously—along with other possible contingency plans in the event of an election-eve or Election Day attack. "We are reviewing the issue to determine what steps need to be taken to secure the election," says Brian Roehrkasse, a Homeland spokesman.

Blackout Hits Athens Month Before Olympics

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - The worst blackout in more than a decade hit Athens and southern Greece on Monday, leaving millions sweltering in a heat wave and raising concerns about whether the lights will go out at next month's Olympics.

The government blamed the three-hour capital outage on "mismanagement" of the electricity grid. Still, officials promised the network was ready to handle the Aug. 13-29 Olympics.

But it was yet another hurdle in Athens' attempt to convince the world it is ready to host well-run and safe games. Olympics preparations have come under criticism because of construction delays and concerns over security arrangements to stop terror attacks.

The blackout knocked out air conditioners as afternoon temperatures soared to 104 degrees Monday. The power failure created enormous traffic jams from failed traffic signals and stalled electric trolleys. Hundreds of passengers on the Athens subway were forced to leave trains and walk, and the fire department received hundreds of calls about people trapped in elevators.

In one embarrassing moment for the government, Transport Minister Mihalis Liapis was making a test run to showcase a new Olympic rail link from central Athens to the airport - and got stranded en route when the power failed.

Government officials said generators had to be pressed into service at Olympic venues.

White House Urged to Pick CIA Chief

President Bush is facing pressure to nominate a permanent CIA director quickly after a Senate Intelligence Committee report revealed serious breakdowns in U.S. intelligence-gathering and analysis.

George Tenet left office Sunday after announcing in early June that he was resigning for personal reasons. That leaves Tenet's deputy, John McLaughlin, in charge as acting CIA director until a new appointment is made.

A senior administration official said in early July an announcement could happen soon, but a White House spokeswoman gave no indication Sunday as to specifically when.

"Acting director McLaughlin is a strong and capable leader," said spokeswoman Erin Healy. "The president will make a decision on a new CIA director in due course."

Appearing on Sunday television news shows, senators leading the intelligence committee urged Bush not to delay, saying the country couldn't wait until after the November election given the current terrorist threat. Their comments came two days after the panel concluded the CIA provided unfounded assessments of the threat posed by Iraq with weapons of mass destruction.

"An acting director for the next six or seven months, during such a dangerous period for the United States, with all of these talks about attacks on the United States, is not acceptable," said West Virginia Sen. Jay Rockefeller, the committee's top Democrat.

'Fahrenheit' Breaks British Opening Records

Michael Moore's controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 has broken British box office records in its opening weekend.

Are You Addicted to Tanning Booths?

MONDAY, July 12 (HealthDayNews) -- If you just can't stay away from your neighborhood tanning salon, new research suggests that you may have developed a dangerous habit you can't break.

You could be fighting ultraviolet light addiction.

You read correctly. Habitual patrons of tanning parlors may be drawn to the ultraviolet exposure for its mood-boosting ability, says a study in the July issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

It's this mood-boosting effect, not just the bronzed skin, that brings tanning salon fans back for more, said study author Dr. Steven Feldman, a professor of dermatology, pathology and public health sciences at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

When tanners were offered a choice at one point in the study between tanning beds with UV lights and impostor beds, most chose the UV bed every time, even though the two versions looked identical. "Like Pavlov's dog, they chose more UV light," Feldman said.

In the research, Feldman evaluated 14 people -- one man and 13 women -- between the ages of 18 and 45 who tanned twice a week, splitting the time equally between a bed that emitted UV light and one that did not. Subjects' moods were measured before and after each exposure.