GOP senators: Congress must rein in terrorism-war ruling
Washington – Two Republican senators said Sunday that Congress must rein in the Supreme Court ruling that international law applies to the Bush administration’s conduct in the war on terrorism.
Thursday’s court decision embracing Article 3 of the Geneva Accords in the military-commission case of Osama bin Laden’s former driver strikes at the heart of the White House’s legal position in the war on al-Qaeda.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the second-ranking GOP leader in the Senate, said the 5-3 court decision “means that American servicemen potentially could be accused of war crimes.”
“I think Congress is going to want to deal with that,” McConnell said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He called the ruling “very disturbing.”
The Geneva Convention’s Article 3 is “far beyond our domestic law when it comes to terrorism, and Congress can rein it in, and I think we should,” said Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., assigned as a reserve judge to the Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals. Graham spoke on “Fox News Sunday.”
LAS VEGAS
Two fires, heat challenge crews
Firefighters endured daytime highs of 104 to 106 degrees Sunday in their battle against two fires in the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in southern Nevada.
A 21,120-acre fire centered on the Sheep Mountains north of Las Vegas was 50 percent contained, with full containment expected Tuesday, fire information officer Hillerie Patton said.
No containment estimate was available for a 2,500-acre blaze around Gass Peak about 4 miles north of Las Vegas. Winds caused the Gass Peak blaze to “kind of blow up on us,” Patton said.
TRENTON, N.J.
Casinos to close doors amid budget impasse
Atlantic City’s casinos were ordered to close Wednesday, the latest casualty of a state-government shutdown that entered its second day Sunday after the Legislature failed to adopt a budget by its Saturday deadline.
The head of the Casino Control Commission ordered gaming in Atlantic City to cease at 8 a.m. Wednesday. The 12 casinos have waged a court battle to remain open, and an appeals court was weighing the matter Sunday. Gov. Jon Corzine said Sunday there was “no immediate prospect of a budget.”
State parks, beaches and historic sites also were expected to shut down Wednesday.
If the casinos shut down, the state would lose an estimated $2 million in tax revenue a day.
CHICAGO
Fireworks injuries increased last year
Backyard use of fireworks and related injuries are increasing nationwide, according to industry and government data, and researchers say thousands of children are among the victims.
From 1990 to 2003, roughly 85,800 Americans under age 19 were treated in emergency rooms for burns and other injuries from firecrackers, bottle rockets and sparklers, according to a study to be released today in July’s issue of the journal Pediatrics. Most injuries occurred around the Fourth of July.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission last week released new figures showing an estimated 10,800 children and adults were treated for fireworks injuries last year. That was up from 9,600 in 2004.
Injuries to those younger than 20 accounted for 55 percent of last year’s figures.
ORLANDO, Fla.
Teachers union plans push for more funds
The head of the country’s largest education union said Sunday that teachers welcome the accountability measures imposed by the No Child Left Behind Act – and they’ll demand the same from Congress when the law comes up for renewal next year.
National Education Association president Reg Weaver said members will intensify efforts to get Congress to increase education spending and loosen guidelines that the union says threaten teachers’ jobs, even if only some of their students fail.
“Accountability is not a one- way street,” Weaver told about 9,000 delegates at the union’s annual meeting.
KABUL, Afghanistan
2 U.K. soldiers slain; GI dies in copter crash
An insurgent attack on a British base killed two soldiers and an Afghan interpreter, military officials said Sunday, while at least 20 militants died during clashes and coalition airstrikes.
A U.S. helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing one crew member, the U.S. military said. The AH-64 Apache plunged to the ground shortly after taking off from Kandahar Air Field, it said.
The deaths came amid a massive anti-Taliban campaign in southern Afghanistan involving more than 10,000 Afghan and coalition soldiers.
LA PAZ, Bolivia
Ruling party stumbles in vote, polling shows
President Evo Morales’ ambitious plans to empower Bolivia’s indigenous majority and boost state control over the economy suffered a setback Sunday when his party failed to win control of an assembly that will rewrite the constitution, exit polls showed.
The results, based on a partial count of actual votes at 100 percent of polling stations done for the PAT television network, gave Morales supporters 132 seats in the 255-member body, far short of the two-thirds majority they needed to push through their agenda.
