SAN JOSE, CALIF. – Dealing a major blow to the Bush administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, a federal judge Wednesday put on hold new rules that would require businesses to fire employees whose names don’t match their Social Security numbers. U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer, warning that the penalties could hurt businesses and documented workers, issued a preliminary injunction to stop any penalties until he can hand down a final ruling, likely in several months.
Additional national news briefs:
Noose on prof’s door stirs outrage
NEW YORK – Hundreds of Columbia University teachers and students voiced outrage Wednesday over a noose found hanging from a black professor’s office door, while police investigated if it was the work of disgruntled students or a colleague. The 4-foot-long twine noose was found Tuesday on Madonna Constantine’s door at a graduate school affiliated with Columbia. At a raucous rally Wednesday, Constantine said it was a “blatant act of racism.”
House where 6 slain will be torn down
CRANDON, WIS. – The house where an off-duty sheriff’s deputy fatally shot six young people and injured another will be torn down and replaced with a memorial, a church pastor said Wednesday. The homeowner, father of 18-year-old victim Jordanne Murray, wants it demolished, said the Rev. Bill Farr of Praise Chapel Community Church, which became a gathering point after the shootings.
Udall backs “diplomatic offensive”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Mark Udall on Wednesday backed Iraq war legislation that would force the U.S. to step up its diplomatic efforts in the region.
The Eldorado Springs Democrat signed on to a measure that incorporates the Iraq Study Group’s recommendation urging a “New Diplomatic Offensive” as key to fixing problems in and around Iraq. The bill will be introduced next week.
