N. KOREA SLAMS HAWAI'I MISSILE DEFENSE

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea criticized the U.S. today for positioning missile defense systems around Hawai'i, calling the deployment part of a plot to attack the regime and saying it would bolster its nuclear arsenal in retaliation.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he ordered the deployment of a ground-based, mobile missile intercept system and radar system to Hawai'i amid concerns the North may fire a long-range missile toward the Islands, about 4,500 miles away.

The North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper, in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency also accused the U.S. of deploying nuclear-powered aircraft and atomic-armed submarines in waters near the Korean Peninsula, saying the moves prove "the U.S. pre-emptive nuclear war" on the North is imminent.

JACKSON HAD FAINT PULSE WHEN FOUND

LOS ANGELES — Michael Jackson still had a faint pulse and his body was warm when his doctor found him in bed and not breathing, a lawyer for the doctor said yesterday.

Edward Chernoff also said Dr. Conrad Murray never prescribed or gave Jackson the drugs Demerol or OxyContin. He denied reports suggesting Murray gave Jackson drugs that contributed to his death.

Chernoff said Murray was at the pop icon's rented mansion on Thursday afternoon when he discovered Jackson in bed and not breathing. The doctor immediately began administering CPR, Chernoff said.

The lawyer's claim was consistent with the account of a source close to the investigation who told the Los Angeles Times that a lengthy interview of the doctor turned up "no smoking gun."

WOMAN ADMITS AFFAIR WITH S.C. GOVERNOR

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — A 41-year-old former reporter in Argentina acknowledged having a relationship with South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, saying yesterday that widely published e-mail correspondence between the two was obtained from her account without permission.

In a brief statement sent to news network C5n of Buenos Aires, Maria Belen Chapur said she will not talk about her private life, which has already been the focus of intense media scrutiny in the United States and Argentina. It was widely reported that Chapur was Sanford's mistress after the governor admitted to the relationship following a secret trip to Argentina earlier this month.

IRAQ FORCES BRACE FOR U.S. WITHDRAWAL

BAGHDAD — Iraqi security forces bolstered checkpoints and banned motorcycles from the streets of Baghdad yesterday as they prepared for more violence before this week's withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from the capital and other cities and towns.

Despite the increased checks, a roadside bomb targeting a U.S. convoy in eastern Baghdad wounded six bystanders. It was unclear if anyone in the convoy was injured, police said. A car bomb also exploded in the parking lot of a police academy in western Baghdad, killing one police officer and wounding six others, police said.

The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. Ray Odierno, said yesterday that he believes Iraqi forces are prepared for tomorrow's exit of U.S. forces from cities.

OBAMA MAY TAX EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

WASHINGTON — The Obama White House left open the possibility yesterday that the president would break a campaign promise and raise taxes on people earning less than $250,000 to support his overall health care agenda.

White House adviser David Axelrod said on ABC's "This Week" that the administration wouldn't rule out taxing some employees' benefits to fund a health care agenda that has yet to take final form. The move would be a compromise with fellow Democrats, who are pushing the proposal as a way to pay for the massive undertaking without ballooning the federal deficit.

MAN KILLS WIFE, ADULT SON AND HIMSELF

AXTON, Va. — A Virginia man fatally shot his wife and adult son and wounded another son before killing himself, authorities said yesterday. The bodies were discovered in the basement of the family's burning home in Axton, near the Virginia-North Carolina state line.

The Henry County Sheriff's Office said William Ronald Carter shot his wife, Bonnie, 56, and their 29-year-old son William Ronald Carter Jr. Officials said he wounded another son who was able to escape and then killed himself.