LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Jan Brewer is not a quitter.”
Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer,
a Republican, on her intent to appeal a federal judge’s
decision that blocks key provisions of an immigration law Brewer signed in April from taking effect today Article, 1AJurors deliberate Blagojevich case
CHICAGO - Rod Blagojevich’s fate was in the hands of jurors Wednesday as they began deciding whether the impeached Illinois governor tried to sell an appointment to President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat and schemed to use his political power for personal gain.
U.S. District Judge James Zagel not only explained the charges to the jury and what factors they were to consider but also laid out the hurdles they must overcome to reach a verdict.
An instruction that the jury was allowed to make “reasonable inferences” is the crux of prosecutors’ argument that, even if Blagojevich, a Democrat, didn’t come right out and ask for money in exchange for signing a bill or approving state aid, they could conclude that was exactly what he was doing.
Zagel also explained that it is not illegal to accept a campaign contribution even if the contributor is doing business with the state or believes that a contribution will help business in the future.
California workers furloughed again
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
- Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday brought back furloughs for thousands of state workers until California passes a budget.
Schwarzenegger released a new executive order requiring state workers to take three unpaid days off per month starting next month. State workers were furloughed a total of 46 days when Schwarzenegger issued a similar order in February 2009, which translated to a pay cut of about 14 percent for workers.
“Without a budget in place that addresses our $19 billion budget deficit, every day of delay brings California closer to a fiscal meltdown,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement. “Our cash situation leaves me no choice but to once again furlough state workers until the Legislature produces a budget I can sign.”
The new order exempts employees who work for departments that collect revenue.
Proof of warming definite, U.S. says
Scientific evidence that the world is getting warmer is “unmistakable,” according to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that draws on research from 48 countries, including Russia and China.
The past decade was the warmest on record and the past 50 years have been getting hotter, the researchers said, citing 10 main indicators, including surface and ocean temperatures, the amount of sea ice and glaciers and levels of humidity.
“The records come from many institutions worldwide,” Jane Lubchenco, the agency’s administrator and undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, said in a statement. “These independently produced lines of evidence all point to the same conclusion: Our planet is warming.”
Globally, air temperature near the surface in the past 10 years was 1 degree Fahrenheit warmer than the 1960s and about 0.4 of a degree warmer than the 1990s, according to the report.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 07/29/2010