Bush to address NAACP for first time as president
Washington – President Bush will address the NAACP on Thursday for the first time since he ran for office in 2000, hoping his appearance at its annual convention in Washington will help thaw relations.
After five years of declining to address the group, Bush decided to seize “a moment of opportunity,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said.
Relations have been frosty between Bush and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. NAACP chairman Julian Bond has been an outspoken critic of the administration, saying two years ago that it draws “its most rabid followers from the Taliban wing” of the Republican party.
“Yes, they have political disagreements,” Snow said.
He suggested, though, that the NAACP’s new president, Bruce Gordon, has helped to change the tone in the relationship.
WASHINGTON
Chávez may be added to title of voting act
César Chávez may join three other civil rights leaders on the title of the Voting Rights Act if Sen. Ken Salazar gets his wish.
Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, will introduce the amendment today on behalf of Salazar, a Democrat from Colorado.
“César Chávez is an American hero. He sacrificed his life to empower the most vulnerable in America,” Salazar said. “César Chávez believed strongly in the democracy of America and saw the right to vote as a cornerstone of our freedom.”
The bill already is named for Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King.
The act was first authorized in 1965 to ensure fair access and to protect the rights of minorities.
LINCOLN, Neb.
Push nixed to get Osborne on ballot
The Nebraska Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by supporters of U.S. Rep. Tom Osborne to mount a write-in campaign aimed at getting the former Nebraska coach elected governor.
Osborne dropped out of the race after losing the Republican primary to Gov. Dave Heineman.
Nebraska law prohibits a candidate who lost in a primary from launching a write-in campaign, and the state’s high court rejected his supporters’ request without comment late last week, the clerk’s office said Tuesday.
ATLANTA
Reed loses first bid to win elective office
Former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed, unable to overcome his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, conceded defeat Tuesday in Georgia’s Republican race for lieutenant governor.
It was a stunning turnaround for Reed in his first bid for elective office. He lost the nomination to state Sen. Casey Cagle. Abramoff pleaded guilty to fraud and corruption this year.
Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney faced voters for the first time since her March scuffle with an officer who didn’t recognize her as she entered a House office building.
With more than a third of the votes in, McKinney was in a dead heat with former DeKalb County Commissioner Hank Johnson Jr., who also is black.
In neighboring Alabama, George Wallace Jr. – son of the legendary governor and presidential candidate – lost his bid for the GOP nomination for lieutenant governor.
LOS ANGELES
Radar-center outage disrupts air travel
A power outage at a radar facility cut communications and disrupted air travel in and out of Southern California for more than an hour Tuesday, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman said.
The cause of the problem was not known.
Los Angeles International Airport, the world’s fifth-busiest in terms of passenger volume, was “pretty much shut down” during the outage, spokesman Harold Johnson said.
NORTH KOREA
Floods, slides kill 100; thousands homeless
More than 100 people are dead or missing in North Korea due to floods and landslides, an aid group operating in the communist nation said Wednesday.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said heavy rains last week and this week had caused flash floods that totally or partially destroyed 11,524 houses, leaving more than 9,000 families homeless.
TOKYO
Toyota recall covers 420,000 vehicles
Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday that it was recalling about 420,000 vehicles globally, including some Echo, Corolla and Prius models sold in the U.S., because of a faulty engine part.
The defective part is the latest in a string of problems requiring recalls by Toyota, raising doubts over whether the automaker can maintain quality standards amid booming sales.
The recall includes about 150,000 cars sold overseas, mainly in the United States and Canada, Toyota spokeswoman Shiori Hashimoto said. These autos were manufactured in 2001.
