News
in a few
STATE:
• California's increased license fee
took effect Wednesday, tripling the cost
of vehicle registration.
• The Federal Communications Commission
vowed Wednesday to begin a partial crackdown
on telemarketers who call any of the 51
million phone numbers registered on the
national do-not-call list.
• A 19-year-old Sacramento-area high
school student was shot in the shoulder
by police Wednesday after taking a school
administrator hostage who was also shot
in the leg. Both are in stable condition.
• The California man who helped his
teenage girlfriend murder her father and
three of her siblings plead guilty Wednesday
guaranteeing him life in prison without
parole.
NATIONAL:
• Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt's nomination
by Bush to head the Environmental Protection
Agency is delayed by Democrats citing the
Bush administration's environmental record.
• Bush said he welcomed a Justice
Department investigation into whether a
CIA agent's name was intentionally leaked
to punish the agent for her husband's criticism
of the administration.
• A 2-year-old Florida girl survived
for 19 days on ketchup, mustard and dried
pasta after being left alone when her mother
was arrested. The girl's father discovered
her after not being able to contact the
mother.
• Boston University and the University
of Texas will receive $120-million federal
grants for wining a national competition
to research deadly viruses in new high-security
laboratories as part of Bush's effort to
defend against bioterrorism.
• The House and Senate passed a ban
on "partial-birth-abortions" Tuesday.
Supporter of the bill, House Judiciary Committee
Chairman, James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said,
"We are just days away from prohibiting
the gruesome and inhumane practice..."
Opponents say the ban is unconstitutional
and plan to challenge it.
• American students spend slightly
more than 19 minutes on homework daily,
up from 16 minutes in 1981, a national study
by Brookings Institution researchers found.
• A record 151 immigrants died last
year while crossing Arizona's United States-Mexico
border, the U.S. Border Patrol reported.
• Hawaii's 4-year-old industrial hemp
research project was shut down Wednesday
by federal drug agents.
INTERNATIONAL:
• A crowd of about 300 unemployed
Iraqis rioted when they were turned away
after seeking employment at a Baghdad police
station. Some participants told CNN that
they were angry because jobs were only available
to people offering bribes.
• A U.S. soldier was killed and three
were wounded in an explosion in Tikrit Tuesday.
• Afghanistan's new constitution declares
the nation a Muslim state but does not impose
Islamic Shariah law. The document will be
put forward soon for ratification by the
500-member grand council.
• Cairo, Egypt (AP) -- Egypt's ruling
party Sunday adopted a package of economic
and political reforms pushed by the president's
son that address democracy, human rights
and the status of women in the country.
• Jerusalem (AP) -- Israel's Cabinet
on Wednesday approved the extension of a
security barrier that would sweep around
Jewish settlements deep in the West Bank.
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