NEWS
IN A FEW
State:
•
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- An Alameda County
superior court judge said Wednesday that
the county's district attorney would wait
until Nov. 4 to decide whether to retry
three former Oakland police officers recently
acquitted of charges of corruption and abuse.
•
DINUBA, Calif. (AP) -- After taking a hands-off
approach to Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign,
President Bush rushed Wednesday toward embracing
him, setting the stage for an alliance that
could reap a rich electoral windfall for
Republicans next year.
•
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Labor unrest spread
across Southern California on Wednesday
as contract bus drivers walked off their
jobs in solidarity with striking transit
workers and two courthouses were temporarily
shut down when scores of sheriff's deputies
called in sick in a separate dispute.
•
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- Law enforcement officials
used a slight increase in California crime
this year to argue Wednesday that they need
the $4.2 billion generated by the car tax
Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarze-negger pledges
to roll back.
National:
•
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt's
nomination to head the Environmental Protection
Agency advanced Wednesday from a Senate
committee, but two more Democrats said they
would block a vote in the full Senate.
•
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A father and son from
California have been arrested and charged
with brokering an illegal arms deal that
provided Iraq with armored patrol boats
shortly before the U.S.-led war that ousted
Saddam Hussein, federal officials said Wednesday.
•
MEXICO CITY (AP) -- The sister of a California
businessman possibly kidnapped by Mexican
army deserters-turned drug traffickers said
Wednesday the family would press authorities
to investigate the case.
•
KENAI, Alaska (AP) -- The number of commercial
salmon fishermen plying Alaska waters has
plummeted 37 percent in the last decade
as cheaper farm-raised salmon flooded the
market, the state labor department said.
•
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- A measure authorizing
nearly a fivefold funding increase to improve
the safety of aging dams across the West
has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
•
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Republicans are
drafting a proposal that would end the federal
ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, while
giving states greater say on whether they
want energy development in their coastal
waters, congressional sources say.
International:
•
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip (AP) -- A remote-controlled
bomb exploded under a U.S. diplomatic convoy
Wednesday, ripping apart an armored van
and killing three Americans in an unprecedented
deadly attack on an official U.S. target.
•
GOBI DESERT, China (AP) -- China's first
astronaut carried the hopes of his nation
into orbit with him Wednesday, promising
to do a good job and telling his family
far below that the view from space was ''extremely
splendid.''
•
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- Pope John Paul II presided
at his weekly general audience Wednesday
before tens of thousands of pilgrims who
packed St. Peter's Square to pay tribute
to the ailing pontiff ahead of the 25th
anniversary of his papacy.
•
TOKYO (AP) -- A moderately strong earthquake
with a preliminary magnitude of 5 shook
buildings in downtown Tokyo on Wednesday
afternoon, but no damage or injuries were
reported.
•
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- After a U.S. veto
in the Security Council, the Palestinians
promised to seek a U.N. General Assembly
vote on a resolution condemning Israel for
building a massive security fence that critics
say essentially freezes the Mideast peace
process.
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