The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We are one step closer toward approval of the Keystone XL pipeline.”

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota Democrat and pipeline supporter, after a government study found the pipeline’s effect on the climate would be minimal Article, 1A

Powder found in mail is safe, FBI says

NEWARK, N.J. - A suspicious powder mailed to several locations in New York and New Jersey, including at least five hotels near the site of Sunday’s Super Bowl, appeared not to be dangerous, the FBI said Friday.

The agency said further testing was being conducted on the substance but that it is “within normal values.”

White powder also was found in a letter sent to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s business in New York City. Police said preliminary tests showed it posed no threat.

A federal law enforcement official, who wasn’t authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said powder from one envelope tested positive for baking soda. It’s not clear where that letter was sent.

Hackensack University Medical Center received a number of people for evaluation because they came in contact with the letters, but a hospital spokesman said there were no reported illnesses or injuries.

In New Jersey, the suspicious mailings went to at least five hotels, Carlstadt police detective John Cleary said.

Atlanta mayor orders review after storm

ATLANTA - Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed on Friday outlined steps he said he plans to take to improve the city’s emergency preparedness after a winter storm brought the metro area to a halt.

Reed said he has ordered a comprehensive review of the city’s response to Tuesday’s snowfall. He also will convene a working group to come up with best practices for emergency preparedness, including a protocol for dismissals during severe weather.

His remarks came as temperatures in Atlanta climbed above 50 degrees, melting much of the remaining snow and ice. Traffic was moving normally on the region’s interstates and local roads, though a state of emergency remained in effect through Sunday night. Although many school districts were still closed, state and many private employees returned to work. Police were encouraging motorists to reclaim cars abandoned at the height of the storm.

Reed also plans to hire an emergency management executive for the city to implement the working group’s recommendations and to be responsible for the city’s readiness in any kind of emergency situation. That person will help coordinate with other regional leaders, he said. Reed will also request that the City Council appropriate funds to expand Atlanta’s pre-treating and deicing capabilities, he said.

Texas adds textbook-panel restrictions

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Board of Education imposed tighter rules Friday on the citizen review panels that scrutinize proposed textbooks, potentially softening fights over evolution, religion’s role in U.S. history and other ideological matters that have long seeped into what students learn in school.

Tension about the issue has been building for years in the country’s second-most-populous state, where the textbook market is so large that changes can affect the industry nationwide. Critics complain that a few activists with religious or political objections have too much power to shape what the state’s more than 5 million public-school students are taught.

The 15-member Education Board approves textbooks for school districts to use, but objections raised by reviewers can influence its decisions. The volunteer review panels are often dominated by social conservatives who want more skepticism about evolution included in science textbooks, arguing that a higher power helped create the universe.

Among the changes approved Friday was a mandate that teachers or professors be given priority for serving on the textbook review panels for subjects in their areas of expertise.

The changes also enable the board to appoint outside experts to check objections raised by review panels and ensure they are based on fact, not ideology.

Suspect in Utah police slaying dies

SPANISH FORK, Utah - A fugitive suspected of killing one Utah deputy and wounding another died Friday from injuries suffered a day earlier, when he was shot by law officers during a gunfight.

Jose Angel Garcia-Juaregui’s death means authorities might never know his motive for shooting the deputies and hijacking a car Thursday, going on a crime rampage with police in pursuit that covered 50 miles in Utah and Juab counties before he was fatally wounded, Utah County Sheriff Jim Tracy said.

However, Tracy said the shootout might have had to do with an arrest warrant that was issued for Garcia-Juaregui on Wednesday for purported violations of his parole conditions. Garcia-Juaregui served 4 ½ years in prison for attempted homicide. He was paroled from a Utah prison in December 2012.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/01/2014

Upcoming Events