republican presidential candidate john mccain tried to strike a balance at a town hall meeting here tuesday between the independence he boasts of and his avowed conservatism .

A summary about the text above: mccain tries to show independence and conservatism

paul mellon , the patrician art collector who tenaciously turned philanthropy into his personal art form , above all through his stewardship of the national gallery of art , died on monday at his home in upperville , va. .

A summary about the text above: paul mellon philanthropist and head of national gallery dead at

biljana plavsic , once called bosnia 's `` iron lady , '' looked ahead with an air of fatalism toward her sentencing thursday , a landmark event that could influence other war crimes suspects on whether to plead guilty and cooperate with the u.n. tribunal .

A summary about the text above: former bosnian serb leader to be sentenced for war crimes

philippine defense secretary avelino cruz monday called as `` irresponsible '' the proposal of former army chief and defense secretary maj. gen. fortunato abat to set up a civilian-military junta to replace the government of president gloria macapagal arroyo .

A summary about the text above:
philippine defense secretary dismisses call for coup as irresponsible