Mine-safety bill mandates doubling of oxygen supply
Washington – It will never be as safe as a desk job, but lawmakers hope coal mining becomes less risky as a result of changes they ordered Wednesday.
In a 381-37 vote, the U.S. House endorsed a bill that would require mine operators to put more oxygen supplies underground and move rescue teams closer to mines.
The bill, which previously won Senate backing, now goes to President Bush for his signature. In a statement Wednesday night, the president said the legislation would complement the administration’s efforts to enhance mine safety.
“America’s miners and their families can be confident that their government is committed to taking measures that will help prevent accidents and save lives,” Bush said.
A string of fatal accidents in West Virginia and Kentucky prompted lawmakers to act.
In all, 33 coal miners have been killed in the United States this year, compared with 22 deaths throughout 2005, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
“This has been a dark, mournful year for our nation’s coal miners,” said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.
The last time Congress passed significant mine-safety legislation was in 1977.
“Technology has changed, communications equipment has changed, but our laws have not kept up,” said Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky.
The measure would require miners to have at least a two-hour supply of oxygen with them while they work – an increase from a one-hour standard.
ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md.
Injured CBS reporter Dozier returns to U.S.
CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier, who was critically wounded by a car bomb in Iraq last week, returned to the United States on Wednesday, the Air Force said.
Dozier, 39, was carried off the plane on a stretcher after arriving from Germany. She was taken to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md.
Dozier was wounded May 29 in a blast that killed her camera crew – Paul Douglas and James Brolan, both of Britain – as well as a U.S. soldier and an Iraqi translator.
She was flown the following day to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany for treatment of head and lower-body injuries. Her family said she would need rods in her legs.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
3rd contender enters Southern Baptist race
A key member of the Southern Baptist Convention’s conservative leadership has made a late entry into the SBC’s presidential race as the nation’s largest Protestant denomination prepares to meet next week in Greensboro.
Jerry Sutton, pastor at Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., says he will let his name be placed in nomination for the presidency at the annual meeting, which starts Tuesday.
Sutton is first vice president of the SBC, the No. 2 position in the denomination but not traditionally a stepping stone to the presidency.
Sutton said he had been urged for the past month by Baptist pastors to enter the race as an alternative to Ronnie Floyd of First Baptist Church in Springdale, Ark., and Frank Page of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C.
WASHINGTON
Judge is asked to rule raid unconstitutional
House leaders from both parties asked a federal judge Wednesday to declare the late- night search of Rep. William Jefferson’s office unconstitutional, a move that could undermine part of a lengthy bribery investigation of the Louisiana Democrat.
In a 43-page court filing, the House leaders accused the FBI and Justice Department of conducting a heavy-handed search of Jefferson’s office May 20-21 and threatening the balance of power in government in the process.
The FBI raid violated “more than 200 years of comity and respect for a coordinated branch of government” when agents showed up unannounced and demanded that the Capitol Police chief let them into Jefferson’s office immediately or they would “pick the office door lock.”
BRUSSELS, Belgium
NATO to review Afghanistan strategy
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will discuss NATO’s plans for Afghanistan with other military leaders amid suggestions the U.S. did not send enough troops to control violence in the southern part of the country.
Pentagon spokesman Eric Ruff said the U.S. plans to pose a number of new initiatives as NATO forces take over control in the south and, ultimately, eastern portions of Afghanistan.
A senior defense official traveling with Rumsfeld said the initiatives would involve special-operations forces, improvements in Afghanistan’s strategic lift capabilities and a plan to provide more coordinated military training for Middle East nations.
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia
Agreement may put U.N. force in Darfur
The U.N. Security Council and the African Union said Wednesday that they were in agreement that a U.N. force should take over peacekeeping in Sudan’s Darfur region and that the African troops now on the ground must be reinforced quickly.
Both stressed that the Sudanese government must approve the transfer – and were hopeful Khartoum would agree.
