QUOTE OF THE DAY
“These older, stringent punishments that are out of line with sentences imposed under today’s laws erode people’s confidence in our criminal-justice system.”
Deputy Attorney General James Cole, as the U.S. Justice Department unveiled a revamped clemency process for some low-level felons in federal prisons Article, 1A
Astronauts swap out backup computer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Spacewalking astronauts easily replaced a dead computer outside the International Space Station on Wednesday and got their orbiting home back up to full strength.
The two Americans on board, Rick Mastracchio and Steven Swanson, hustled through the urgent repair job, swapping out the computers well within an hour. The new one tested fine.
The removed computer, a critical backup, failed nearly two weeks ago. The prime computer has been working perfectly, but NASA wanted to install a fresh spare as soon as possible.
Mission Control waited until after the arrival of a capsule full of fresh supplies Sunday.
Engineers do not know why the original failed and asked the space walkers to keep an eye out for any damage that might explain the breakdown. Nothing jumped out.
Coal-mining dust ordered cut by 25%
The administration of President Barack Obama on Wednesday ordered a 25 percent cut in the levels of coal dust in U.S. mines to reduce deadly black lung disease, a move that drew criticism from the mining industry and the threat of a lawsuit.
The rule, which is effective Aug. 1, will lower the allowable level of dust in mines and require more frequent air testing, costing operators less than 1 percent of industry revenue, the Labor Department said. The industry said the standards cannot be met with existing technologies.
Black lung disease has killed more than 76,000 U.S.
miners since 1968, leading to $45 billion in benefits for miners and their survivors, the department said. Coal dust causes pneumoconiosis, emphysema and progressive massive fibrosis.
The exposure levels are the first revision in the mine dust standard since 1972 and sparked a battle between the federal government and the coal industry, which said cases of lung disease since 1980 have declined under existing rules. The Labor Department proposed the revision four years ago.
The new standard is “technologically and economically unachievable,” according to Murray Energy Corp. of Pepper Pike, Ohio. Murray, the largest closely held U.S. coal producer, said it will sue to block the rule.
Charges dropped for ex-Blackwater guard
WASHINGTON - A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed criminal charges against a former Blackwater security guard whose actions purportedly triggered the shootings of dozens of Iraqis at a traffic circle in Baghdad nearly seven years ago.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth dismissed the indictment against Nicholas Slatten after a federal appeals court said the statute of limitations had lapsed before the government filed the charges against Slatten in October.
The government’s lead prosecutor, Anthony Asuncion, said prosecutors might seek to file new charges against Slatten that could become part of the scheduled June 11 trial of the other three Blackwater guards in the case. A number of federal crimes do not carry a statute of limitations, including murder.
Slatten had been charged with manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and using a firearm in a crime of violence.
Images aired of 1888 sunken steamship
SAN FRANCISCO - The first images of the newly discovered wreckage of a steamship that sank in San Francisco Bay in 1888, killing 16 people, were released Wednesday by federal ocean scientists.
The iron and wood steamship City of Chester went down on Aug. 22, 1888, after it was struck in dense fog by a larger ship.
The collision came soon after family members bid their loved ones safe passage and the Chester departed with 106 passengers for Eureka, Calif., and Portland, Ore.
Moments later, it was split in two by the Oceanic, a ship more than twice its size, killing 13 passengers, including two children, and three crew members.
More than 125 years later, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration team found the shipwreck in 217 feet of water just inside the Golden Gate Bridge while the scientists were charting shipping channels.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 04/24/2014