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- 
CLONING
NEWS
- "Cloning
ban to face debate: Congress could take up
dilemma over experiments." ... "Real or hoax, the claim that the world's
first human clone has been born puts the next step squarely into Congress's
court: Will it ban baby-making via cloning?" ... "The nation has no specific
law against human cloning. But the Food and Drug Administration, which
regulates human experiments, contends that its regulations forbid human
cloning without prior agency permission - permission it has no intention
of giving." -By Lauran Neergaard
-AP via -Boston/Globe
- Eliot
Spitzer - 
- "TIME
2002 Crusader of the Year: Eliot Spitzer: ... "Wall Street's Top Cop:
In a year when business let so many down, Eliot Spitzer fought back. How
a rich kid from the Bronx became the people's champion." ... "Spitzer opened
an investigation that in just a few months began fundamentally reshaping
America's financial markets. Analysts, Spitzer would show, were doctoring
their reports—which the public relies on for stock information—to win business
for their banks' investment arms or to downgrade companies that didn't
play ball. Insiders knew the scam; folks in the heartland had no idea.
Spitzer's aggressive pursuit of Merrill Lynch and, subsequently, a dozen
other Wall Street firms turned the tables. The new ethics he championed
are touching in their simplicity: analysts' ratings should reflect what
they actually believe. There has not been such an affirmation of what's
right since Moses and the Ten Commandments. "The system was rotten, and
no one seemed interested in fixing it," says Spitzer. "So we moved in.""
(1,
2,
3,
4)
-By Adi Ignatius -TIME
- Person of the Year
- 2002
- Eliot
Spitzer - OPINION
- "[New
York states Attorney General Eliot] Spitzer: Man Of The Year - Savior of
Capitalism?" ... "Using a New York state law, he
obtained some explosive internal emails from Merrill Lynch and secured
a $100m fine. This pushed a complacent Securities and Exchange Commission
into action, and finally yesterday Spitzer got the reward for his pursuit."
... "As part of the agreement forged with the Stock Exchange [full
details], the ten leading brokerages must pay $900 million in retrospective
relief, $450m to fund "independent" research and $85 million to "investor
education". The brokerages, including Solomon Smith and Barney, CSFB, Lehman,
Morgan Stanley and UBS Warburg, will not be allowed to reward CEOs with
IPO offerings, and must operate at arms length from no less than independent
analysts on each offering. (Since the brokers are still paying these independent
analysts' fees, it's hard to see how this cure will be truly effective.)"
... "But for the Bronx-born Spitzer, his legend is assured as a pugilist
populist attorney straight from central casting. He's taken on the mob,
the music pigopolists (for CD price fixing), low-paying employers, and
is currently suing President Bush for gutting the clean air act." -By
Andrew Orlowski -TheRegister.co.uk
- "California
May Bar Judges from Joining the Boy Scouts." ...
"he California Supreme Court is considering a proposal that would forbid
the 1,600 judges in the state to belong to the Boy Scouts because of its
refusal to accept gays." ... "California judges are prohibited from joining
groups that discriminate based on sexual orientation, but nonprofit youth
organizations are exempt. The Supreme Court took up the proposal to consider
changing the rule at the request of bar associations in San Francisco and
Los Angeles." -By Adam Liptak
-NYTimes via
-AltaVista-News
- "Feds
Indict 7 in Texas Terror Probe: Feds Indicte
[sic] Employees of Texas Computer Firm and Hamas Leader on Terrorism-Related
Charges." ... "The leader of an Islamic militant group, his wife, and five
brothers work at a Texas computer firm were indicted on charges of trafficking
with terrorist states Libya and Syria, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced
Wednesday." ... """The war against terror is a war of accountants and auditors
as well as weaponry and soldiers," Ashcroft said. "We will pursue the financiers
of terror as well as pursue the thugs who do their work.""
-AP via -ABCNEWS.com
- "Four
men arrested in Texas by anti-terrorism task force."
... "Four men connected to a computer company that did business in the
Middle East were arrested by federal anti-terrorism agents early Wednesday
on money-laundering charges." ... "The four men worked at Infocom, a suburban
Richardson computer company that federal agents raided in September 2001."
-By Angela K. Brown -StarTribune.com
- Enron
News - "Panel
seeks Andersen attorney probe: House committee
asks DOJ to look at whether Nancy Temple committed perjury in Enron trial."
... "The House Energy and Commerce Committee ended its probe of Andersen's
role in the collapse of energy trader Enron by asking the Justice Department
Tuesday to look at whether Andersen in-house lawyer Nancy Temple was truthful
during congressional testimony." -Reuters
via -CNN /fn
- "Bush
Has Widened Authority of C.I.A. to Kill Terrorists."
... "The Bush administration has prepared a list of terrorist leaders the
Central Intelligence Agency is authorized to kill, if capture is impractical
and civilian casualties can be minimized, senior military and intelligence
officials said." ... "Despite the authority given to the agency, Mr. Bush
has not waived the executive order banning assassinations, officials said.
The presidential authority to kill terrorists defines operatives of Al
Qaeda as enemy combatants and thus legitimate targets for lethal force."
... "The president is not legally required to approve each name added to
the list, nor is the C.I.A. required to obtain presidential approval for
specific attacks, although officials said Mr. Bush had been kept well informed
about the agency's operations." ... "But the decision by the Bush administration
to authorize, under certain circumstances, the killing of terrorist leaders
threatens to thrust it into a murky area of national security and international
law that is almost never debated in public because the covert operations
are known only to a small circle of executive branch and Congressional
officials." (1, 2)
-By James Risen and David Johnstone
-NYTimes via
-AltaVista-News
- Accounting
News - "Donaldson
to head SEC: Co-founder of DLJ and ex-NYSE
chief would succeed Pitt as top market watchdog." ... "Wall Street veteran
William Donaldson, the founder of the former firm Donaldson Lufkin &
Jenrette, is the Bush administration's choice to be the new chairman of
the Securities and Exchange Commission." ... "Donaldson, whose firm was
sold to Credit Suisse First Boston in 2000, was introduced by President
Bush at a news conference Tuesday." ... "The SEC has been under greater
scrutiny due to the attention given to accounting and corporate misdeeds
that resulted in the nation's two largest bankruptcies, at WorldCom and
Enron, and shook investors' confidence in the market."
-CNN /fn
- 
-
- "Australia
trial could set Web precedent." ... "Australia's
highest court ruled on Tuesday that a defamation case sparked by a story
on a U.S Web site could be heard in Australia, opening a legal minefield
for web publishers over which libel laws they must follow." ... "The
landmark ruling that an article published by Dow Jones & Co was subject
to Australian law -- because it was downloaded in Australia -- is being
watched by media firms as it could set a precedent over where Internet
publication occurs." -Reuters
via -CNN /Sci-Tech
- "Soldier
Pleads in Classified Photo Case: Soldier Pleads
Guilty in Attempted Sale of Photos of Top-Secret Military Facility." ...
"A soldier has pleaded guilty to trying to sell a newspaper photographs
of a top-secret bunker where U.S. government leaders would be taken in
a nuclear attack." -AP
via -ABCNEWS.com
- "Judge
Rebuffs Effort to Obtain Records on Cheney [energy] Task Force."
... "In a case involving bedrock constitutional issues, a federal judge
today threw out a lawsuit brought by an agency of Congress against Vice
President Dick Cheney over the formulation of the administration's energy
policy." ... "Judge John D. Bates of Federal District Court found that
Comptroller General David M. Walker, the head of the General Accounting
Office, did not have sufficient standing to sue the vice president." ...
"Mr. Walker had asked the judge to order the White House to reveal the
identities of industry executives who helped the administration develop
its energy policy last year." -By David Stout
-NYTimes via
-AltaVista-News
-
"Nigerian
state stands firm on Sharia: "Support Sharia,
Allah's Law is Supreme," says a road sign on the way into the northwestern
Nigerian city of Gusau." ... "Sharia, the Islamic penal code, is certainly
a force to be reckoned with in Gusau, the capital of Zamfara state." ...
"Last week the state's deputy governor declared a fatwa religious edict
calling for the death of a Nigerian journalist for alleged blasphemy over
an article at the centre of a recent controversy surrounding the Miss World
beauty pageant." ... "The authorities seem to be standing firm, despite
the fact that Nigeria's two main Islamic bodies and religious leaders in
Saudi Arabia have harshly criticized the order."
-Reuters via -CNN
/World
-
- "Update:
Bush Creates ".Kids" Domain." ... "President Bush
signed into law on Wednesday a bill that would create a ".kids" domain
name, and certify that the domain was "safe" for minors." ... "The .kids
domain will actually be a subdomain of the ".us" suffix, and so will only
apply to web sites based in the U.S, such as "www.example.kids.us". Since
the domain is under the purview of the U.S. country code, it will be overseen
by the Department of Commerce." -By Mark Hachman
-ExtremeTech
- 
- "High schools
give it up for Pentagon: Law requires giving
recruiters access to juniors, seniors." ... "A little-noticed provision
in a new federal education law is requiring high schools to hand over to
military recruiters some key information about their juniors and seniors:
name, address and phone number." ... "The No Child Left Behind law, signed
last January, pumps billions into education but also gives military recruiters
access to the names, addresses and phone numbers of students in 22,000
schools. The law also says that schools must give the military the same
access to their campuses that businesses and college recruiters enjoy."
... "Students and parents who oppose the law can keep their information
from being turned over to the military, but they must sign and return an
“opt-out” form." -By Ken Maguire
-AP via -MSNBC
- "Supreme
Court reviews punishment of anti-abortion protesters:
Justices grapple with corruption law's use." ... "Anti-abortion protests
have become commonplace at clinics across the country. Now the Supreme
Court is being asked to clarify how to punish those who cross the line
into disruptive, even violent civil disobedience." ... "The National Organization
for Women (NOW) first filed a lawsuit on behalf of the clinics in 1986,
and the Court eight years later ruled in its favor. Leaders of the anti-abortion
movement, including Operation Rescue and the Pro-Life Action Network, filed
a new legal claim the justices will now decide."
-CNN
-
- "CIA
Target: Americans: Officials: U.S. Citizens
Working for Al Qaeda Can Be Killed in CIA Actions." ... "American citizens
working for al Qaeda overseas can legally be targeted and killed by the
CIA under President Bush's rules for the war on terrorism, U.S. officials
say." ... "The authority to kill U.S. citizens is granted under a secret
finding signed by the president after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that
directs the CIA to covertly attack al Qaeda anywhere in the world. The
authority makes no exception for Americans, so permission to strike them
is understood rather than specifically described, officials said." ...
"Previously, the government's authority to kill a citizen outside of the
judicial process has been generally restricted to when the American is
directly threatening the lives of other Americans or their allies." -By
John J. Lumpkin -AP
via -ABCNEWS.com
- 
- "Military trial
plans nearly done: Bush to decide which detainees
will be tried by tribunals." ... "The government is nearly ready to go
forward with military tribunals for suspected al Qaeda operatives in U.S.
custody in Guantanamo Bay and Afghanistan, pending completion of final
details and approval from President Bush, according to federal officials."
... "Pentagon General Counsel William J. Haynes II has met in recent weeks
with senior officials in other agencies, including the Justice Department,
to outline the plans that have been put in place for the tribunals, also
known as military commissions." -By Susan Schmidt
and Bradley Graham-WashingtonPost
via -MSNBC
TIA:
Total Information Awareness - 
- "Pentagon
Plans a Computer System That Would Peek at Personal Data of Americans."
... "As the director of the effort, Vice Adm. John M. Poindexter, has described
the system in Pentagon documents and in speeches, it will provide intelligence
analysts and law enforcement officials with instant access to information
from Internet mail and calling records to credit card and banking transactions
and travel documents, without a search warrant." ... "Historically, military
and intelligence agencies have not been permitted to spy on Americans without
extraordinary legal authorization." ... "In order to deploy such a system,
known as Total Information Awareness, new legislation would be needed,
some of which has been proposed by the Bush administration in the Homeland
Security Act that is now before Congress. That legislation would amend
the Privacy Act of 1974, which was intended to limit what government agencies
could do with private information." (1, 2)
-By John Markoff -NYTimes
via -LawMeme
TIA:
Total Information Awareness - Discussion
- "Search
Warrant Not Reuired." -LawMeme
- Microsoft
News - "The
Microsoft case: Antitrust overseers are named." ...
"Microsoft yesterday established a committee of directors to make sure
it obeys the law — a move mandated by a federal judge's Nov. 1 ruling in
the company's antitrust case." ... "Meeting a requirement to set up the
compliance committee, Microsoft appointed Harvard Business School professor
James Cash to lead the group, which also includes Merck Chief Executive
Raymond Gilmartin and former U.S. Labor Secretary Ann McLaughlin Korologos."
-By Kim Peterson -SeattleTimes.NWsource
- 
- "U.N.
passes Iraq resolution on weapons inspections:
Bush: 'All nations must continue to pressure Saddam'" ... "The United Nations
Security Council on Friday approved a resolution that demands unfettered
access for U.N. inspectors to search for weapons of mass destruction in
Iraq." ... "All 15 member states of the Security Council voted in favor
of the resolution." ... "Iraq has seven days to accept the resolution's
terms." ... "Within 30 days, Iraq must send the U.N. a list of its
weapons." ... "Within 45 days, Iraq must allow inspections to begin."
... "Iraq is accused of possessing weapons of mass destruction -- nuclear,
biological, chemical -- in violation of the ceasefire treaty it signed
when Baghdad lost the 1991 Persian Gulf War." -Report
contributed to by Jane Arraf -CNN
-
- 
-
- "US,
France agree on new Iraq resolution. " ... "The U.N.
Security Council set the vote for 10 a.m. EST after the United States and
its cosponsor Britain, at French urging, changed the wording in a key provision
that would declare Iraq in "material breach" of its U.N. obligations."
... "The change addresses concerns by France, Russia, Syria and others
that the original text would have let the United States determine on its
own whether Iraq had committed an infraction." -By
Edith M. Lederer -AP
via -Boston/Globe
- WorldCom
News - "SEC
Case Against WorldCom Grows: Agency Says Fraud
May Exceed $9 Billion." ... "The Securities and Exchange Commission expanded
its fraud case against WorldCom Inc. yesterday, saying the improper bookkeeping
at the telecommunications company stretches back to at least 1999 and the
total amount of fraudulent accounting may exceed $9 billion." -By
Christopher Stern-WashingtonPost
>TechNews
ELECTION
2002 - "GOP
in Control: Energy, Taxes and Judges Top List
of Priorities for Republicans." ... "Now, with the GOP making gains in
the House and taking a slight edge in the Senate, Bush is likely to be
able to move ahead with an agenda that includes making deeper cuts in taxes,
an energy bill that could see more national parks opened up to oil exploration
and logging, and a slate of conservative judges whose appointments have
been blocked." ... "The only area where Bush might face a challenge from
the party he carried to victory is his proposal to privatize Social Security,
a plan that lost a lot of its popularity in the collapse of the stock market
that saw many Americans take a hard hit to their retirement hopes."
-ABCNEWS.com
- Law
Enforcement
- "Interior
Department Struggles to Upgrade Its Police Forces."
... "The Statue of Liberty, the Washington Monument, the Hoover Dam and
half of the Alaska pipeline are all protected against terrorist attack
and other threats by police forces that auditors have long described as
ill trained, poorly managed, dysfunctional and, in some instances, corrupt."
... "The department has more than 4,300 officers in seven agencies, including
the United States Park Police, the National Park Service and the Bureau
of Land Management. They are responsible for protecting most of the nation's
historic icons, like Mount Rushmore and the Washington Monument, some of
which have been the target of terrorist threats in the last year. But few
of the agencies have intelligence or terrorism offices, or the ability
to gather crime and enforcement statistics." (1, 2)
-By Joel Brinkley -NYTimes
via -Google-News
- Enron
News - "Enron
loss major blow to law firm: Vinson & Elkins
regroups after hit." ... "Dynegy has experienced it. So, too, has Arthur
Andersen." ... "And now the city's largest law firm, a historical pillar
of Houston's downtown establishment, is suffering through the repercussions
that come from a too-close association with Enron Corp." ... "A year after
Enron's collapse, Vinson & Elkins is beginning to jettison some of
its partners -- something that is rarely done at major law firms." -By
L. M. Sixel -HoustonChronicle.com
OPINION
- "Money
talks, Microsoft walks: Bill Gates lets out
a big "Whew!" as the court decides that what's good for Microsoft is good
for America." ... "This is the way the Microsoft antitrust suit ends: Not
with a bang but a whimper." ... "With their proposed settlement last autumn,
the hollow men of the Bush Justice Department had already gutted whatever
remnant of serious penalty or constraint against Microsoft that had been
won during the five-year legal process. Now, with that settlement largely
rubber-stamped by Federal District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, the endless
process is, if not over, close to a finale." -By Scott
Rosenberg -Salon
- "Federal
Regulators Sue Ernst & Young." ... "Federal regulators
say accounting giant Ernst & Young misstated the assets of a failed
Chicago-area savings and loan and deliberately delayed reporting the error
to the government." ... "The allegation came Friday in a $548 million fraud
and negligence lawsuit filed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
[FDIC]. It said the accounting firm was silent about the misstated assets
to avoid publicity that would hurt the $11 billion sale of its consulting
arm." ... "Ernst & Young, one of the so-called Big Four accounting
firms, issued a statement blaming Superior Bank's management and a slumping
economy for the collapse of the savings and loan, which was based in west
suburban Oakbrook Terrace." -By Mike Robinson
-AP via -SeattlePI.NWsource
- "SEC
Chief Is Subject Of Probe: Pitt Failed To Disclose
Past Of Board Nominee." ... "The Securities and Exchange Commission ordered
an investigation into the actions of its own chairman yesterday, after
the agency's commissioners learned that Chairman Harvey L. Pitt failed
to tell them that his choice to head a new accounting oversight board chaired
the audit committee of a company being questioned about possible fraud."
... "Former FBI and CIA director William H. Webster told Pitt about his
association with Washington-based U.S. Technologies Inc. more than a week
before the SEC approved Webster by a 3 to 2 party-line vote last Friday.
The new board, intended to restore investor confidence, was created by
legislation passed after accounting scandals at Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc.
and several other major companies cost investors and employees billions
of dollars." -By Kathleen Day, David S. Hilzenrath
and Shannon Henry-WashingtonPost
- "SEC
investigates choice of Webster for board." ... "The
Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday opened an investigation into
the selection of former FBI director William Webster to run a new five-member
board to oversee the embattled accounting industry, amid escalating calls
for SEC chairman Harvey Pitt to resign. The White House said it stood by
Pitt, but also said it did not have all the facts in the matter." ... "Pitt
requested the probe under pressure from fellow SEC commissioners, some
of whom have publicly complained that he bowed to pressure from the accounting
industry last month when he selected Webster to run the new board instead
of another, more experienced candidate." -By Sue Kirchhoff
-Boston/Globe
Enron
News - "Ex-Enron
Executive Indicted on 78 Counts." ... "A federal
grand jury on Thursday handed up a 78-count indictment accusing fired Enron
executive Andrew Fastow of engaging in fraud, money laundering, and other
crimes to enrich himself and create the "illusion of business skill and
success" at the ruined energy giant." ... "The indictment added a new charge
that Fastow, 40, allegedly obstructed justice by trying to persuade former
protege Michael Kopper, who is cooperating with prosecutors, to destroy
computer records." ... "The order to Kopper, who pleaded guilty Aug. 21
and implicated his former boss in a series of fraud and kickback schemes,
came in August and September 2001." -By C. Bryson
Hull -Reuters/Business
-West
Coast Port Lockout
- "Union
points finger at shippers, Justice Department in filing."
... "The West Coast dockworkers union blames mismanagement by shipping
companies for slow movement of cargo, saying Pacific Maritime Association
members are trying to make longshoremen look bad." ... "In documents filed
yesterday with the Justice Department, the International Longshore and
Warehouse Union also said the department appears to blame longshoremen
for the backlog. The union says the department has not asked the maritime
association to respond to union charges that its mismanagement is keeping
ports clogged." -By Frank Vinluan -SeattleTimes.NWsource
- 
- Iowa
pregnancy privacy challenge.
- "Judge
Drops Pregnancy Records Request." ... "A Buena Vista
District Court judge has vacated an order that would have required Planned
Parenthood to turn over pregnancy records." -By Pat
Mack -KTIV
Sniper
- "Sniper
search: a communication strategy: A man was
fatally shot Tuesday at a Maryland bus stop, as police continue to seek
contact with the killer." ... "As the sniper investigation grinds on, the
issue of communication among the shooter, the police, and the media has
emerged as one of the most intriguing yet exasperating facets of the case."
... ""The media are not just sitting off to the side reporting this case.
They are an active member of this complex dynamic between perpetrator,
victim, and law enforcement, and how they conduct themselves in that mix
will impact how the outcome plays out," says Jerrold Post, a psychology
expert at George Washington University and a former CIA profiler." -By
Gail Russell Chaddock -CSMonitor/buy
-
- Iowa
pregnancy privacy challenge.
- "Judges
Lifts Pregnancy Records Order: Judge Lifts
Order for Pregnancy Records Sought in Investigation of Abandoned Baby."
... "A judge on Tuesday lifted an order that would have required Planned
Parenthood to provide pregnancy-test records that authorities had hoped
would lead them to the mother of a dead baby boy."
-AP via -ABCNEWS.com
Sniper
- "Police
Ask Caller in the Sniper Make Contact." ... "In a
fitful effort at communication through the public airwaves, the police
disclosed that the person they are desperately trying to reach — the sniper
himself, in the view of many detectives — had made his own telephone call
to them since a note was left on Saturday at the scene of the latest shooting,
in Ashland, Va." ... "No details of the Ponderosa Steakhouse note have
been released other than that it was more than two pages long. Its content
clearly did not ease detectives' fears that the sniper may strike again
at any moment in some fresh direction out beyond the Washington hub." (1,
2)
-By Francis X Clines with Christopher Drew -NYTimes
via -AltaVista-News
Sniper
- "Police
Want to Talk More to Sniper-Case Caller." ... ""The
person you called could not hear everything that you said; the audio was
unclear and we want to get it right," Montgomery County Police Chief Charles
Moose said at a televised news briefing, making clear he was sending a
message." ... ""Call us back so that we can clearly understand," Moose
said, speaking in Rockville, Maryland, where a task force investigating
the case is based." ... "He gave no details on who the caller might be
-- a tipster or even possibly the sniper -- or when the call was received."
-By Mark Wilkinson -Reuters
via -ABCNEWS.com
- "Bush
Seeks to Cut Back on Raise for S.E.C.'s Corporate Cleanup."
... "Less than three months ago, President Bush signed with great fanfare
sweeping corporate antifraud legislation that called for a huge increase
in the budget of the Securities and Exchange Commission to police corporate
America and clean up Wall Street." ... "Now the White House is backing
off the budget provision and urging Congress to provide the agency with
27 percent less money than the new law authorized. Administration officials
say their proposed increase is enough and that other budgetary needs, like
the military and security against terrorism, make it impossible to afford
more." ... "Harvey L. Pitt, the commission's chairman, has acknowledged
through a spokesman that the administration's level of financing will not
allow it to undertake important initiatives." (1, 2)
-By Stephen Labaton-NYTimes
via -AltaVista-News
- 
- "Indonesia
passes emergency terrorism laws." ... "Indonesian
President Megawati Sukarnoputri has signed into law two decrees expanding
powers of police to deal with terrorism in the wake of last weekend's deadly
bomb attacks on the island of Bali." ... "The new laws give authorities
sweeping powers to detain terror suspects without charge for up to six
months and provides for the death penalty for convicted terrorists." ...
"The new laws will be made retroactive to cover those responsible for the
Bali bombings." -AP
-Reuters -CNN
- "Rivals:
Microsoft is up to old tricks: Without protocols,
competing gadgets, software won't work as well on Windows." ... "As Microsoft
awaits court approval of its landmark antitrust settlement with the government,
the company has angered some competitors by tightly limiting the technical
data it promised to release." ... "In order to gain access, a company would
have to use Microsoft's "Passport" identity authentication system, then
request and sign two forms -- one of them promising secrecy -- just to
see the license terms and find how much Microsoft is charging for the information."
-AP via -CNN
Sniper
- "Barbara
Starr: Military joins sniper probe." ... "The aircraft
to be used are the RC-7 and U-21 -- small fixed-wing planes packed advanced
technology, including sensors. They are all-weather planes that have the
capability of operating round the clock." ... "STARR: Under the posse comitatus
law, which dates back originally to 1878, no military involvement [is allowed]
in law enforcement. And that means they can't pursue, they can't target,
they have no powers of arrest." ... "But in recent years, what has come
to happen is the military can provide assistance, and of course, the best
example is the drug enforcement issue, drug interdiction." ...
-CNN
- "Appeals
court stands behind jailhouse lawyer privilege:
Convicts can continue to consult fellow inmates until trial settles matter."
... "The U.S. Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court's injunction allowing
a convicted Tama killer to get legal advice from his fellow inmates at
the Iowa State Penitentiary." ... "Archie Robert Bear and three other inmates
are challenging the Fort Madison prison's decision to ban prisoners from
seeking legal advice from each other and to do away with the prison's "red
star" envelope system prisoners use to communicate with each other on lawsuits
and criminal appeals." ... "Before it was abolished in July 2001, the envelopes,
which were marked with a crimson star, allowed jailhouse lawyers -- inmates
with a knowledge of law -- to receive information and dispense legal advice."
-By Jeff Reinitz -WCFCourier.com
- "Illinois
puts death penalty on trial." ... "Clemency hearings
are scheduled to begin this week for almost every prisoner facing the death
penalty in the US state of Illinois." ... "The cases of 142 murderers -
convicted of killing around 250 people - will be reviewed with the possibility
that the state's Governor George Ryan will commute all their sentences
to life in prison." ... "Governor Ryan, who leaves office in January, was
the first to declare a moratorium on executions three years ago after three
murder convictions were overturned with new examinations of DNA evidence."-BBC/News
- "Congress
Passes Iraq War Resolution: Congress Approves
Use of U.S. Military Force to Confront Iraq, Send Resolution to White House."
... "Congress approved the use of America's military might against Iraq,
reinforcing President Bush's insistence that Saddam Hussein's government
had no other option but to disarm. "The days of Iraq acting as an outlaw
state are coming to an end," Bush said." ... "After days of solemn debate,
both the House and Senate passed and sent to the White House a resolution
authorizing the president to use military force, if necessary, to compel
Iraq to get rid of its biological and chemical weapons and disband its
nuclear weapons program." -AP
via -ABCNEWS.com
-West
Coast Port Lockout
- "Bush
Gets The Goods Moving." ... "Judge Alsup will hold
a hearing in a week on whether to grant a full 80-day injunction. Such
an order would push the dispute past the Christmas buying season, past
the November elections--and, perhaps, past the start of the war, if it
comes." ... "The judge issued a temporary restraining order that expires
Oct. 16. On that day, he will hold a hearing to determine whether to impose
the 80-day cooling-off period as mandated by Taft-Hartley at that time.
Both sides expect the judge to do so." -By Dan Ackman
-Forbes
-West
Coast Port Lockout
- "Bush
Invokes Taft-Hartley Act to Open West Coast Ports."
... "In seeking to suspend the shutdown for 80 days, Mr. Bush became the
first president to successfully invoke the Taft-Hartley Act emergency provisions
since President Richard M. Nixon sought to stop a longshoremen's strike
in 1971." ... "Mr. Bush said he was worried about the movement of military
supplies. The Pentagon often uses commercial shipping lines to send supplies
and equipment overseas, and those lines would undoubtedly fill that role
from the busy West Coast ports if fighting erupted in Iraq or elsewhere
in the Middle East." -By David E. Sanger with Steven
Greenhouse -NYTimes
via -AltaVista-News
- "Profiler:
Sniper case publicity a balancing act." ... "One
of the lead investigators in the Washington, D.C.-area sniper shootings
lashed out at the media Wednesday." ... "Montgomery County, Maryland, Police
Chief Charles Moose was upset that information about a tarot card left
near the scene of the most recent shooting -- and inscribed with the message,
"Dear Policeman: I am God" -- had been leaked to the media."
-CNN
-West
Coast Port Lockout
- "West
Coast Ports Set to Reopen After Court Intervenes in Labor Dispute."
... "Workers may need as long as two and a half months to clear the backlog
of goods caused by the 10-day lockout at 29 major Pacific ports." ... "The
most often-cited study estimated total harm to the economy from the labor
strife at between $1 billion and $2 billion a day. The study, prepared
for the shippers' association by Martin Associates of Lancaster, Pa., estimated
the cost of a 10-day stoppage at $19 billion."
-AP via -ABCNEWS.com
-West
Coast Port Lockout
- "Bush
Wins End to West Coast Lockout." ... "President Bush
won an 80-day halt to a management lockout of West Coast ports on Tuesday
as a federal judge granted a court order to reopen the docks and start
clearing a huge backlog of cargo from more than 200 ships now idled offshore."
... "In San Francisco, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup said the
government had met the requirements for an injunction to reopen the ports
and issued a temporary restraining order with a fuller hearing set for
Oct. 16." -By Andrew Quinn -Reuters
via -ABCNEWS.com
-West
Coast Port Lockout
- "Courts
Are Port Option for Bush Under Act." ... "The [1947]
Taft-Hartley Act, passed over the protests of the labor movement and the
veto of President Harry Truman, is a sweeping piece of legislation that
curtails some of the union rights workers had won in the 1935 National
Labor Relations Act." -Reuters
via -ABCNEWS.com
-West
Coast Port Lockout
- "Taft-Hartley
Act no quick-fix for port dispute." ... "If President
Bush decides to intervene in the labor dispute that has shut down West
Coast ports since Sunday, a resumption of work would be neither quick nor
assured." ... "Under the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act, Bush would have to appoint
a fact-finding panel and try to convince federal courts on the West Coast
that the dispute would "imperil the national health or safety." If the
courts agree, they can order the ports to reopen and keep running for up
to 80 days." -By Peter Szekely
-Reuters via -Forbes
-West
Coast Port Lockout
- "Bush
to Intervene in Port Lockout." ... "President Bush
will take the first step toward ending a labor dispute between West Coast
port workers and shipping lines Monday by forming a board of inquiry to
make a quick assessment of the economic damage and determine whether the
two sides are negotiating in good faith." ... "Bush is forming the board
under the Taft-Hartley Act, hours after talks broke down between the union
and management Sunday night." -By Leigh Strope
-AP via -Seattle-PI.com.NWsource
OPINION-
-
- "Rule
of law or renegade? Iraq crisis will tell, ex-inspector
says." ... "The looming war in Iraq will define the United States either
as a democracy dedicated to the rule of law or a renegade empire, says
Scott Ritter, the controversial former chief U.N. weapons inspector in
Iraq." ... "He said the Bush administration has used the Sept. 11 tragedy
to further the right's agenda -- not to make the nation more secure." ...
"By accusing dissenters of being unpatriotic, he said Bush has created
a climate in America that stifles democratic values of free and open discussion
of issues." ... ""Democracy is about involvement, criticizing, debate,
that's what makes this country work," Ritter said." -By
Chris McGann -Seattle-PI.com.NWsource
- STEM
CELL NEWS
- "Nancy
Reagan Fights Bush Over Stem Cells." ... "Mr. Bush
sharply limited such research. At 81, the former first lady is obliquely
but persistently campaigning — through friends, advisers, lawmakers and
her own well-placed calls and letters — to reverse the president's decision."
... "Mrs. Reagan believes that embryonic stem cell research could uncover
a cure for Alzheimer's, the disease that has wiped out her husband's memory.
She was dismayed, friends say, when the White House took issue on Monday
with a new California law that encourages embryonic stem cell research."
... ""A lot of time is being wasted," she told a friend last week who was
given permission to pass her words on to The New York Times. "A lot of
people who could be helped are not being helped."" -By
Alessandra Stanley -NYTimes
via -Google-News
OPINION
- "House
GOP bill protects bad doctors, HMOs and nursing homes from accountability;
patients lose crucial rights." ... "Just 5 percent
of American doctors are responsible for half the malpractice in the United
States, according to a new analysis of federal data by the consumer group
Public Citizen." ... "The analysis was released as the U.S. House of Representatives
is scheduled to consider legislation that would make it more difficult
for injured patients to hold their doctors accountable for negligence."
-Citizen.org
-
- 
- "Tex.
Women Charged With Selling Mexicans' Babies:
Mothers Illegally Brought to U.S., Prosecutors Say." ... "A Texas adoption
agency worker and her daughter are facing federal and state charges in
what authorities say was a scheme that lured dozens -- and possibly hundreds
-- of young pregnant Mexican women to the United States to sell their babies."
-By Amanda Zamora-WashingtonPost
- "[Illinois]
Islamic charity charged again after court victory."
... "A federal judge Friday threw out perjury charges against a Chicago-area
Islamic charity and its leader, but prosecutors quickly filed new, related
charges just a few hours after the stunning courtroom ruling." ... "Prosecutors
have alleged in court that Palos Hills-based Benevolence International
Foundation and its executive director, Enaam Arnaout, have ties to Osama
bin Laden's terrorist network, but defense lawyers have blasted the government
evidence as weak and tenuous." -By Matt O'Connor and
Laurie Cohen
-ChicagoTribune
-
- 
- "U.S.
pilots face charges in Afghan bombing of Canadians."
... "The U.S. Air Force is expected to announce criminal charges as early
as Friday against two American F-16 fighter pilots who mistakenly bombed
Canadian troops in Afghanistan in April, killing four and injuring eight,
U.S. defence officials said on Thursday." -By Charles
Aldinger -Reuters/Asia
Enron
News - 
-
- "Enron
probe indicts three British bankers." ... "Federal
prosecutors in Houston on Thursday indicted three British bankers on wire
fraud charges in connection with an Enron Corp. deal considered a critical
piece of the case being built against former Chief Financial Officer Andrew
Fastow." -By C. Bryson Hull
-Reuters via -Forbes
- "Illinois
governor may commute death sentences." ... "Gov.
George Ryan is considering commuting every death row inmate's sentence
to life in prison...." ... "The governor suspended executions in January
2000 after a string of death row inmates were released."
-AP via -CNN
- "As
stalkers go online, new state laws try to catch up:
One of the first trials for 'cyberstalking' in the US opens in Illinois
this week." ... "Upwards of 100 new cases are reported each week of someone
using the Internet to intimidate another person." ... "This week ... one
of the first cases of cyberstalking in the US will be played out in a suburban
Chicago courtroom." -By Terry Costlow
-CSMonitor/buy
- "Greenpeace
asks U.S. to extradite Bhopal figure." ... "Environmental
group Greenpeace said Thursday it had located a former head of Union Carbide
in New York and called on U.S. authorities to extradite him to India, where
he is wanted in connection with the 1984 gas disaster that killed thousands."
... "Greenpeace said in a statement that members accompanied by journalists
visited Warren Anderson at his home in Long Island, New York, and served
him with what they called a citizens' arrest warrant about 10 days ago."
-Reuters via -ENN.com
- "Bhopal
charges intact: Ex-Chairman of Union Carbide Still
Held liable in Deadly 1984 Gas Leak in India." ... "[India's] Chief Judicial
Magistrate Rameshwar Kotha asked the Central Bureau of Investigation to
start extradition proceedings against former chairman Warren Anderson."
... "The leak of deadly methyl isocyanate gas from the Union Carbide plant
in Bhopal, the capital of central Madhya Pradesh state, killed 4,000 people
within hours on the night of Dec. 2, 1984. Over the years, the death toll
has risen to 14,410 as those sickened by the gas later died, the government
says." -By Mazhar Ullah
-AP via -MercuryNews
- "Justices:
Re-Examine Teen Executions." ... "In an unusual public
statement about the death penalty, three Supreme Court justices said the
time is right to consider abolishing capital punishment for killers who
committed their crimes as minors." ... "Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth
Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer could not persuade the rest of the court
to delay Wednesday's execution of a Texas inmate for a killing committed
when he was 17." -By Anne Gearan
-AP via
-ChicagoTribune
- "Bhopal
charges stay, Indian court rules: Judge orders
extradition proceedings." ... "More than 3,000 people died immediately
and countless more suffered permanent injury following a leak of poisonous
methyl isocyanate gas from the Union Carbide pesticide plant on the outskirts
of the city on December 3, 1984." ... "In the subsequent years it is thought
that as many as 10,000 people died as a result of illnesses brought on
by the gas." -CNN/Asia
- "Texan
executed for murder committed at age 17." ... "The
case drew criticism from anti-death penalty groups and others opposed to
the execution of juvenile offenders." ... "Toronto Patterson, 24, was condemned
for killing his 3-year-old cousin Ollie Brewer while stealing car wheels
from his great-aunt's Dallas home on June 6, 1995."
-Reuters via -CNN
- "Death
penalty for juveniles under scrutiny: Texas
is scheduled to execute the third person in four months for a crime committed
under age 18." ... "... two-thirds of US juvenile offenders put to death
in the past decade have been in Texas, adding a new dimension to debate
over the Lone Star State's hard-line tradition of capital punishment."
... "The US has a long history of executing murderers who commit their
crimes under the age of 18. Since 1642, an estimated 364 juvenile offenders
have been put to death by states and the federal government." -By
Kris Axtman -CSMonitor/buy
- "Authorities
think [Oregon girls] bodies might have been moved."
... "Authorities on Monday identified the human remains discovered in a
barrel buried in Ward Weaver's back yard as those of Ashley Pond as investigators
tried to determine whether her remains and those of Miranda Gaddis had
been moved in recent months." -By Noelle Crombie and
Stepheen Beaven -OregonLive.com/Oregonian
Enron
News - "Enron
audit costs Andersen Worldwide $60 million." ...
"Andersen's vast global accounting empire, which boasted 85,000 employees
in 84 countries and more than $9 billion in revenue last year, lies in
tatters after its U.S. arm was found guilty of obstructing justice in the
Enron investigation." ... "The U.S. arm of the network, Arthur Andersen,
wasn't part of the agreement, according to a person familiar with the matter."
-Reuters via -CNET
/News
- "Bush
Aides Say Iraq War Needs No Hill Vote: Some
See Such Support As Politically Helpful." ... "Lawyers for President Bush
have concluded he can launch an attack on Iraq without new approval from
Congress, in part because they say permission remains in force from the
1991 resolution giving Bush's father authority to wage war in the Persian
Gulf, according to administration officials." Also cited are "the
Constitution's designation of the president as commander-in-chief," as
well as the "Sept. 14 resolution – passed 98 to 0 in the Senate and 420
to 1 in the House – endorsing a military response to the terrorist attacks
on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. That argument would depend
on linking Iraq and al Qaeda." -By Mike Allen and
Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost
- "[Oregon's]
Missing girls case 'resolved'." ... "Weaver [the
main suspect] has not been charged in the girls' case. Investigators said
there would be no indictments until they finish processing all the evidence
they took from Weaver's home during the weekend. Generally, in cases such
as this, it takes days or weeks for detectives and prosecutors to complete
the investigation and present evidence to a grand jury." -By
Stephen Beaven -Oregonian
- "One
set of remains ID'd as Miranda Gaddis." ... "Miranda's
mother, Michelle Duffey, said through her lawyer that she didn't share
other people's frustration with the pace of the investigation." ... ""She
understands that if things are done outside of the law, then potential
evidence could be thrown out, and that would be a real shame," attorney
Linda Beloof said." -AP
via -USATODAY
- "[update] Saudis
confirm detention of suspect." ... "Saudi Arabia
— a key U.S. ally in the Gulf and home to 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers
— has defended itself against accusations in the American media and policy
circles that it is not doing enough to crack down on suspected militants
within its borders." -AP
via -MSNBC
- "[Illinois
Governor] Ryan making end run on death penalty:
Veto could set up vote in legislature." ... "Attempting to put death penalty
reform on the General Assembly's fall agenda, Gov. George Ryan Friday altered
a bill to include a provision that would prohibit capital punishment in
cases where conviction rests solely on a single eyewitness, accomplice
or jailhouse snitch." ... "The veto is the governor's latest attempt to
focus lawmakers' attention on an issue near to his heart. In the two years
since he declared a moratorium on executions in Illinois and appointed
a panel of experts to review the state's capital justice system, Ryan has
repeatedly urged the General Assembly to undertake serious reform." -By
Christi Parsons
-ChicagoTribune
- Iowa
pregnancy privacy challenge.
- "Privacy
Furor Over Subpoena in Baby's Death." ... "The State
Supreme Court stayed enforcement of the subpoena but has given no indication
of when it will act on Planned Parenthood's appeal. The group contends
that Judge Frank B. Nelson of State District Court, who issued the subpoena
on June 24, should have conducted a hearing to determine whether the prospects
of finding the killer justified "the extreme and indiscriminate invasion
of constitutional rights" involved in the inevitable questioning that would
follow." ... "Mr. Havens ["Philip E. Havens, the county attorney of Buena
Vista County"] responded on Monday with a brief contending that Planned
Parenthood had missed the deadline for appealing Judge Nelson's ruling,
that it had failed to raise the issues at the district level that it was
now arguing before the higher court, and that it had not met its burden
of proving to the judge that the pregnancy tests involved care by a doctor
or nurse and thus could qualify as medical records." -By
Adam Clymer -NYTimes
via -Moreover
- "Saudis detain
man sought by FBI: Father says 21-year-old
turned himself [in] to authorities after U.S. issued bulletin." ... "A
man wanted by FBI for alleged links to the Sept. 11 hijackers has been
detained by the Saudi authorities, his father said Saturday. Saud Abdulaziz
Saud al-Rasheed surrendered voluntarily to the Interior Ministry on Thursday,
two days after the FBI issues a bulletin seeking the immediate arrest of
the 21-year-old." -AP
via -MSNBC
"FBI
issues alert for 'associate' of 9/11 hijackers."
... "The bulletin issued to law enforcement across the globe sought the
immediate arrest of Saud A.S. al-Rasheed, 21, of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia."
... "Several government officials said the FBI doesn't believe al-Rasheed
is in the United States at the present time. Law enforcement agencies overseas
were advised to contact the local U.S. embassy if they have information
regarding his whereabouts."-AJC
- Iowa
pregnancy privacy challenge.
- "Attorney:
Clinic missed appeal deadline." ... "Planned Parenthood
officials filed a Supreme Court appeal on Aug. 2, 39 days after the lower
court's initial ruling, [Iowa's Buena Vista} County Attorney Phil Havens
said in court documents." ... "Sandra Suarez, a staff attorney for Planned
Parenthood of Greater Iowa, said Tuesday that the 30-day deadline didn't
apply until the judge's second ruling July 15, which set a deadline for
Planned Parenthood to open its records." -By Staci
Hupp -DesMoinesRegister
Enron
News - "Justice
Department Seeking $23 Million in Assets From Enron Former CFO Fastow [and
his family and "unnamed associates"]." ... "The government
contends the proceeds represent "assets derived from a scheme to unlawfully
generate millions of dollars for themselves," according to a person familiar
with the situation." -By Jonahthan Weil
-WSJ.com via -Quicken.com
Enron
News - "Former
Enron executive pleads guilty to money laundering, wire fraud; to surrender
$12 million." ... "In his written pleading, [Michael]
Kopper said his activities were conducted under the direction of Fastow
and in some cases in concert with Fastow." ... "Kopper's cooperation represents
a potential watershed in the investigation, given his knowledge of Enron's
innermost workings." ... He "could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison
and fined up to double the amount determined to have been fraudulently
gained." -By Kristen Hays
-AP via -Boston/Globe
Enron
News - "Former
Enron Executive Kopper Will Plead Guilty of Fraud."
... "... Michael Kopper will plead guilty to wire fraud and money laundering
charges, in what would be the first criminal indictment in the federal
investigation of the fallen energy giant."
-WSJ.com via -Quicken.com
-
- 911
Lawsuit - "Saudis
label 9/11 lawsuit extortion attempt." ... "Several
Saudi banks and Islamic charities named in a lawsuit by families of September
11 victims vehemently denied on Sunday any role in funding terrorism and
blasted the case as an attempt to extort Saudi wealth abroad." ... "Saudi
investments in the United States are put at $750 billion."
-Reuters via -CNN
- 911
Lawsuit - "Sept.
11 Families Join to Sue Saudis: Banks, Charities
and Royals Accused Of Funding al Qaeda Terrorist Network." ... "The lawsuit
does not allege that the Saudi defendants directly participated in the
Sept. 11 attacks, or approved them. That would be a difficult assertion
to support because bin Laden, who was banished from the Saudi kingdom in
1991, has declared war on Saudi leaders as well as the United States."
... "Instead, the plaintiffs contend that some of the leading figures in
Saudi society --top businessmen, charity executives and members of the
royal family -- gave money to foundations and front groups that sustained
al Qaeda and moved its money." -By Susan Schmidt -WashingtonPost
-
- Iowa
pregnancy privacy challenge.OPINION
- "Editorial:
The issue is medical privacy: Don't let emotions
cloud the stakes in the Storm Lake dead-baby case." ... "... this case
is no longer just about finding the mother of a dead infant. It's about
the possibility of setting a precedent that allows law enforcement broad
access to everyone's medical records. If a blood sample containing a certain
medication is found at a crime scene, does that give police access to medical
records from all the hospitals and doctors['] offices of anyone taking
that medication? If police have a DNA sample in a rape, can they go on
a fishing expedition for every tissue sample in local hospitals and clinics
in search of a match?" ... "The Storm Lake case isn't about women's rights.
It's isn't about dead infants. It isn't about abortion. It's about medical
privacy. And it needs to be judged outside its emotionally charged circumstances."
-By Register Editorial Board
-DesMoinesRegister / News
- 911
Lawsuit - "Sept.
11 victims' families sue Saudis, others." ... According
to the lawsuit, ""the financial resources and support network of these
defendants -- charities, banks and individual financiers -- are what allowed
the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to occur," said the 259-page, 15-count complaint.
Attorneys said they expect that the lawsuit will eventually include more
than 1,000 family members who lost relatives in New York City, Washington
and Pennsylvania." ... "But this legal action is more about exposure, vengeance
and prevention of future attacks than it is about money, the family members
said at a news conference." -By Bob Dart-AJC
- 911
Lawsuit - "Families
of 9/11 victims file suit: 'Enablers of terrorism'
named." ... "The complaint, based on information from an investigative
team paid for by the plaintiffs, names three prominent members of the Saudi
royal family: Princes Turki al Faisal al Saud, Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al
Saud and Mohammed al Faisal al Saud. It alleges that Prince Sultan, the
Saudi minister of defense and aviation, has donated at least $6 million
since 1994 to four Islamic charities that allegedly supported al Qaeda."
... "The suit also alleges Turki al Faisal al Saud, a powerful former Saudi
intelligence chief, worked against the proposed extradition of bin Laden
and other al Qaeda members from Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia in 1998. In
return, the suit alleges, bin Laden agreed not to undermine the Saudi government."
-By Cassio Furtado -Miami/Herald
911
Lawsuit - [PDF]
- "Complaint:
Burnett v. al Baraka Investment and Dev. Corp.."
... The "$100 Trillion Lawsuit By Families of 9/11 Victims."
-FindLaw /LegalNews/Documents
911
Lawsuit - "Attack
victims sue over alleged Sept. 11 financing." ...
"Individuals named in the suit included Saudi-born extremist Osama bin
Laden and several of his relatives, as well as three members of the Saudi
royal family: Turki al Faisal al Saud, Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al Saud and
Mohammed al Faisal al Saud." ... "The banks named in the suit were: Al
Baraka Investment and Development Corp., National Commercial Bank, Faisal
Islamic Bank, Al Rajhi Banking and Investment, Al Barakaat Exchange LLC,
Dar Al Maal Al Islami and Al Shamal Islamic Bank." ... "Charitable groups
named included: the International Islamic Relief Organization, Sanabel
Al Kheer Inc., Muslim World League, Saar Foundation, Rabita Trust, Al-Haramain
Islamic Foundation, Benevolence International Foundation and the World
Assembly of Muslim Youth." -By Deborah Charles
-Reuters via -AlertNet.org/Newsdesk
911
Lawsuit - "$116
trillion lawsuit filed by 9/11 families." ... "Acknowledging
the odds are against them, relatives of the September 11 attacks filed
a 15-count, $116 trillion lawsuit Thursday against the company run by Osama
bin Laden's family, Saudi Arabian princes and Sudan." ... "Co-lead counsel
for the lawsuit is attorney Allen Gerson, one of the attorneys who negotiated
a $2.7 billion settlement between the Libyan government and families of
270 people killed when Pam Am Flight 103 was blown up over Scotland in
1988." -CNN
911
Lawsuit -
- "Saudi
officials sued over Sept. 11 attacks; $1 trillion sought by families."
... "The suit, modeled after action filed against Libya in the Pan Am flight
103 disaster, seeks to cripple banks, charities and some members of the
Saudi royal family - as well as vengeance for the families of those who
perished, the plaintiffs said." -By Laurie Kellman
-AP via -NandoTimes
- Iowa
pregnancy privacy challenge.
- "Is
pregnancy a privacy issue?" ... ""This was a heinous
crime that demands justice," said Jill June, director of Planned Parenthood
of Greater Iowa. "I feel horrible and this needs to be solved and we want
to help, but what they are asking for is illegal and unethical. This is
a blatant violation of a patient's rights to privacy."" ... "Local prosecutor
Phil Havens argues that privacy is not an absolute right. "If the rights
of society are greater, then those rights should prevail ... We have a
dead baby and there is no way we can investigate the crime without knowing
who the mother is."" -By Waynce Loewe -CourtTV.com
via -CNN
- OPINION
- Iowa
pregnancy privacy challenge.
- "A
Question of Medical Privacy." ... "... lots of innocent
women did use the clinic and were promised confidentiality when they did
so, and the cost to their privacy could be substantial. Some of these women
likely had abortions -- though the clinic in question does not perform
them -- and their families may not have known about their pregnancies.
Some may have miscarried and wish to keep that secret." -WashingtonPost
- Iowa
pregnancy privacy challenge.
- "Court
blocks search of pregnancy data: Death probe
raises privacy concerns." ... "On Tuesday, the Iowa Supreme Court granted
a stay of the lower court's order [for Storm Lake's Planned Parenthood
clinic to turn over women's pregnancy tests in the investigation of a dead
infant discovered at a recycling center] while it decides whether it will
hear Planned Parenthood's appeal [not to reveal the names]." ... "That
some medical providers turned over information about pregnant women has
outraged some in this community of about 10,000 people...." ... "One woman
is considering legal action against her medical clinic after it turned
over her test information without her permission." -By
John McCormick
-ChicagoTribune
- Iowa
pregnancy privacy challenge.
- "Iowa
Planned Parenthood Granted Stay." ... "Planned Parenthood
will not have to turn over pregnancy test records to Buena Vista County
authorities under a temporary stay granted Tuesday by the Iowa Supreme
Court." -By Melanie S. Welte
-WashingtonPost
Enron
News - "Enron
probe looks at alleged bribery: Federal prosecutors
examine overseas operations." ... "Federal prosecutors are investigating
whether Enron Corp. for years bribed foreign government officials to win
contracts for its far-flung operations abroad, underscoring the sweep of
the government’s probe into Enron’s collapse." ... "The Justice Department’s
Enron Task Force is examining the energy company’s overseas operations
for possible criminal violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,
according to government officials and lawyers close to the case. The previously
undisclosed inquiry is examining Enron’s efforts to win foreign pipeline,
power and water-privatization projects, some reaching as far back as the
mid-1990s, they said." -By John R. Wilke
-WSJ.com via -MSNBC
WorldCom
News - "Former
WorldCom Executives Face Charges of Securities Fraud."
... "Mr. Sullivan has admitted to WorldCom investigators that he knowingly
shifted the $3.8 billion in expenses from an operation account of the company
into its capital accounts. That enabled WorldCom to treat expenses that
should have been fully recognized each quarter as, instead, something more
like a mortgage, with a little bit of the debt paid off with each filed
financial report." ... "Mr. Myers has admitted to investigators that he
was aware of the expense shifts, but he said financial pressures being
faced by the company left him with little choice." -By
Terence Neilan -NYTimes
via -AltaVista-News
WorldCom
News - "Former
WorldCom CFO, Controller Arrested." ... "If convicted,
the men could face a prison term of up to five years and a $250,000 fine
on the one conspiracy count and 10 years and a $1 million fine on each
of the fraud and false filings counts." ... "Although the securities reform
legislation signed on Tuesday quadruples penalties for accounting fraud,
the WorldCom executives were charged under pre-existing laws because the
alleged wrongdoing predates the new statue." -By Gail
Appleson -Reuters
via -FindLaw /LegalNews
WorldCom
News - "Complaint
Against Former WorldCom CFO And Controller."
-FindLaw /LegalNews/Documents
WorldCom
News - "WorldCom
ex-CFO surrenders. ... "A criminal complaint charges
both Sullivan and David Myers, WorldCom's former controller, with securities
fraud, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and filing false statements
that allowed the No. 2 long-distance phone service provider to inflate
profits by hiding $3.8 billion in expenses." ... "One count of securities
fraud charges that Sullivan directed Myers to improperly account for billions
of dollars of operating expenses as capital expenses starting last year.
The second count involves conspiracy. The final five counts involve filing
false financial statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission, which
has filed civil fraud charges against WorldCom." -CNN/fn
Connecticut
- "Judge
allows Connecticut ban on Boy Scouts contributions."
... "Connecticut did not violate the rights of the Boy Scouts when it dropped
the group from a list of charities that state employees contribute to through
a payroll deduction plan, a federal judge has ruled." ... "A state panel
removed the Boy Scouts from the list in 2000, after a state human rights
commission found that including the organization violates state anti-discrimination
laws because of the scouts' ban on gay troop leaders."
-AP via -NandoTimes
Operation_TIPS
- "Ashcroft
offers TIPS assurances." ... "Amid growing concern
over Operation TIPS, Ashcroft sought to assure members of the Senate Judiciary
Committee July 25 that reports of suspicious activity will not be retained
in a central database, but he said some reports may be kept in databases
maintained by various law enforcement agencies." ... "Ashcroft said he
advised against creating a database that would be maintained by Operation
TIPS, and "I have been given assurances that TIPS will not maintain a database."
But the FBI and other agencies might preserve TIPS reports in databases,
he said." -By William Matthews
-FCW.com
CLONING
NEWS-
"[European]
Human cloning loophole closed." ... "The Munich-based
European Patent office said it had revised the patent granted to Edinburgh
University, Scotland, in December 1999 on altering animal cells following
objections from 14 parties." ... ""The much-discussed 'Edinburgh' patent...
no longer includes human or animal embryonic stem cells," the European
Patent Office (EPO) said in a statement after three days of hearings."
-CNN /Europe
WorldCom
News - "Judge
OKs Independent WorldCom Probe." ... "The federal
judge overseeing the WorldCom bankruptcy case approved a Justice Department
request Monday to allow the appointment of an independent examiner to investigate
for mismanagement, irregularities and fraud." -By
Brad Foss -AP
via -Miami/Herald
OPINION
- Operation_TIPS
- "ACLU
Says Bush Administration Should Not Allow Operation TIPS To Become An End
Run Around Constitution." ... "The ACLU is concerned
that law enforcement will use these new volunteers -- especially those
whose occupations allow them to enter homes and monitor citizens - to search
people’s residences without a warrant. Also worrisome is the potential
for the program to adversely affect the fight against terrorism by wasting
resources on useless tips and the possibility that the program would encourage
vigilantism and racial profiling."
-ACLU.org
- "Officials
deny plan for clinic arrests." ... "No one from Planned
Parenthood will be arrested any time soon for refusing to turn over pregnancy-test
records in connection with the case of a newborn boy's body found shredded
at a recycling center, Buena Vista County officials said Friday." ... "While
other clinics complied, Planned Parenthood challenged the court order by
District Judge Frank Nelson, saying records of pregnancy tests are confidential
and protected by law." -By Lynn Okamoto
-DesMoinesRegister / News
WorldCom
News - "DOJ
seeks to curtail internal probe: Government
wants to first conduct own inquiry at WorldCom." ... "The Justice Department
is seeking to curtail WorldCom Inc.’s internal investigation into accounting
irregularities to allow the government to first conduct its own inquiry
at the company, according to people familiar with the matter." -By
Deborah Solomon and Susan Pulliam -WSJ.com
via -MSNBC
- "Iowa
judge orders Planned Parenthood to hand over pregnancy tests."
... "Authorities want the records containing the names of women who tested
positive for pregnancy in five area clinics and hospitals. They hope to
learn the names of all those women who were pregnant between August 2001
and May." -AP
via -MercuryNews
- "Planned
Parenthood fights order on records: Planned
Parenthood cites patient privacy; Buena Vista officials say no medical
records are involved." ... "Planned Parenthood officials in Iowa are fighting
a judge's order to provide investigators with the names of women who took
pregnancy tests in Buena Vista County, where the search for the mother
of a newborn baby left at a recycling center in May has hit a snag." -By
Staci Hupp -DesMoinesRegister
/ News
WorldCom
News - "WorldCom
Analyst Faces Probe: Recent downgrade raises
questions." ... "Plaintiffs lawyers and industry observers have long speculated
whether [Salomon Smith Barney telecommunications analyst Jack] Grubman's
recommendations are in anyway impacted by his firm's desire to bring in
large investment banking fees." -By By Christian Murray
-Newsday.com
WorldCom
News - "WorldCom
Subpoenas: Will Bernie Show?" ... "The House Financial
Services Committee has subpoenaed Bernard Ebbers, Scott Sullivan and John
Sidgmore to testify at a hearing on July 8 about alleged accounting fraud
at WorldCom." -By Dan Ackman
-Forbes
WorldCom
News - "Judge
orders WorldCom, Andersen not to shred." -By
Sam Costello -IDG.netvia
-ITworld.com
Enron
News - "Justice
Department charges three former British bankers with wire fraud scheme
involving Enron." -By Christopher
Newton -AP
via -Boston/Globe
WorldCom
News - "Business
Reform Gains Support In Senate, SEC: WorldCom
Crisis Prompts Call For Stronger Oversight Rules." ... "If the Senate bill
passes, as Daschle and others now expect, lawmakers will have to reconcile
it with a House-passed bill sponsored by Reps. Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio)
and Rep. Richard H. Baker (R-La.). The House bill is supported by the accounting
industry but, like Pitt's proposal, is has been attacked by Democrats andsome
investor and consumer groups for being too soft on industry." -By
Kathleen Day and Anitha Reddy-WashingtonPost
WorldCom
News - "SEC
Charges WorldCom With Fraud." ... ""In a scheme directed
and approved by its senior management, WorldCom disguised its true operating
performance by using undisclosed and improper accounting" that made the
company appear more profitable than it was, the SEC said in a suit filed
in U.S. District Court in New York. The agency asked the court to block
WorldCom from destroying or altering any documents or making any extraordinary
payments to executives and said it would also seek financial penalties
against the company." (1, 2)
-By
Christopher Stern and Yuki Noguchi -WashingtonPost
WorldCom
News - "WorldCom
Facing Charges of Fraud: Bush Vows Inquiry." ...
"In its court filing, the S.E.C. said WorldCom violated antifraud and reporting
provisions of federal securities laws by creating an accounting scheme
intended to manipulate earnings to meet Wall Street's expectations and
to support the company's stock price. Under this scheme, the S.E.C. said,
WorldCom improperly booked so-called line costs, or the fees WorldCom paid
to other communications companies to use their networks, as capital investments,
which had the effect of masking losses." -By Simon
Romero -NYTimes
via -CBSNews
/MarketWatch
Enron
News "Andersen's
guilty verdict puts chill on other boardrooms:
The decision worries many by penalizing the whole firm for one worker's
deed." ... "... in the end, jurors said they did not believe Andersen's
destruction of documents or e-mails was illegal. They did find obstruction
by an in-house lawyer Nancy Temple, when she requested that lead Enron
auditor David Duncan remove her name from a memo related to the company
because it would increase "the chances that I might be a witness, which
I prefer to avoid."" -By Kris Axtman -CSMonitor/subscribe
Enron
News -
- "Jury
finds Andersen guilty: Auditor convicted of
obstructing U.S. investigation of Enron failure. Firm says verdict 'effectively
ends' its core practice." ... "In an inglorious end to its 89-year history
as the country's pre-eminent accounting firm, Chicago-based Andersen was
convicted Saturday of obstruction of justice for interfering with a federal
investigation of its failed client, Enron Corp." ... "In a surprise to
defense attorneys, jurors said their decision to convict centered not on
the shredding of trunks full of paperwork but largely on the changing of
a just a few words by in-house Andersen attorney Nancy Temple on Andersen
internal memos." -By E.A. Torriero and Robert Manor
-ChicagoTribune
Enron
News "Arthur
Andersen Found Guilty of Obstructing Justice:
Lawyers for Accounting Firm Likely to Appeal Verdict." ... "Arthur Andersen
LLP was found guilty of obstruction of justice today, in a verdict that
could doom the venerable accounting giant and bolster the government's
upcoming case against Enron Corp." -WashingtonPost
OPINION
- "Deep
Linking Danish Lawsuit - ''license to link?''"
from the Get-A-Clue. dept. -By
Hermit
!-| -Posted
1st @ LISNews.com
- "Crime
falls in cannabis trial area." ... "The south London
borough which is piloting a scheme to treat cannabis offenders more leniently
has seen a dramatic drop in the level of street crimes."
-BBC /News
Enron
News - "White
House yields to Senate subpoena: Enron files
are released." ... "Unless the Wednesday release persuades Democrats on
the committee to shelve the vote for subpoenas, it would be up to the White
House to comply or ignore the threat." -By Michael
Hedges and David Ivanovich -HoustonChronicle.com
Enron
News - "White
House gets Enron subpoena." ... "If the committee's
use of subpoena powers is backed by the courts, the White House would be
legally obliged to disclose details of its dealings with the bankrupt energy
trader." -BBC
/News
Enron
News - "Enron
Auditor Admits Crime: Andersen's Duncan Ordered
Shredding." ... "The statements by the 43-year-old accountant -- his first
public remarks since his plea last month -- are damaging to Andersen's
case as the accounting firm must prove that Duncan did nothing wrong even
though he has pleaded guilty to illegal destruction of documents. A partnership
can be found criminally liable for the acts of one of its partners."
-By Carrie Johnson -WashingtonPost
Enron
News - "The
Collapse of Enron: A Bibliography of Online Legal,
Government and Legislative Resources." -By Stephanie
J. Burke -LLRX.com
Enron
- "Vinson
& Elkins' Smoking Gun." -(printer-friendly)
-By Douglas McCollam -AmericanLawyer.com
via -Law.com
Enron
- "How
Big a Slice? Disclosure key to Milbank Tweed's
bid for second helpings of Enron." One of the lead law firms working
for creditors in the Enron bankruptcy case previously earned over $17 million
working for Enron and was still working for various Enron Wind subsidiaries
when hired to work for creditors against Enron. -(printer-friendly)
-By Nathan Koppel -AmericanLawyer.com
via -Law.com
Enron
- "The
Enron file: Will anyone end up going to jail?
Despite the appearance of clear misdeeds, proving criminal intent in white-collar
cases is difficult." -By Peter Grier and Seth Stern
-CSMonitor/buy
Enron
- "Vinson
& Elkins Shoots Back: Vinson & Elkins
offers its most detailed response yet to critical report on its work for
embattled Enron Corp." -(printer-friendly)
-By Otis Bilodeau -LegalTimes
via -Law.com
Enron-
"Enron
Shareholder Suits? Not So Fast: Champions of
securities-litigation reform should have been more careful about the law
they managed to get passed in 1995." -By Dan Carney
-BusinessWeek/DailyBriefing
Enron
- "Ex-Enron
chairman Lay will refuse to testify."
-AP via -USATODAY
Enron
- "The
man who wants Cheney's Enron files."
-By Gail Russell Chaddock -CSMonitor/buy
Enron
- "Enron
Testimony Clashes: Ex-CEO's Account Contradicted
by 2 Former Executives." -By Craig Whitlock and Susan
Schmidt -WashingtonPost
Enron
- "'Illegal
Activity' At Enron, Pol Says: •Rep.
Billy Tauzin Opens Hearing With Charges Of Illegality. •Congress
Learns How Employees Were Bankrupted... •...Even
As Enron's Executives Cashed Out." -CBSNews
Enron
- "Subpoena
for Lay authorized." -HoustonChronicle
Enron
- "Ex-Chairman
of Enron Cancels Hill Testimony: Lawyer Warns
Of Accusatory Atmosphere." -By Susan Schmidt-WashingtonPost
Enron
- "White
House Told to Save Enron Records."
-By Stephen Labaton and Don Van Natta Jr. -NYTimes
via -AltaVista
Enron
- "Malpractice
Exposure For Enron Law Firm." -By Riva D. Atlas
-NYTimes via -LexisONE
/News
Enron
- "Enron's
Lawyers: Eyes Wide Shut?" -Dan
Ackman -Forbes
Enron
- "Houston
Law Firm Helped Craft Enron Deals: Vinson &
Elkins Has Close Social, Political Ties With Troubled Energy-Trading Company."
-By James V. Grimaldi and Peter Behr -WashingtonPost
Enron
- "A
Fog Over Enron, and the Legal Landscape."
-By Diana B. Henriques and Kurt Eichenwald
-NYTimes via -Moreover
Enron
- "White
House Could be Sued Over Cheney Advisers."
-By Don Van Natta Jr. -NYTimes
via -CBSnews/MarketWatch
Enron
- "White
House orders Enron contracts probe."
-By Peter Spiegel and Gwen Robinson -FT.com
Enron
- "FBI
searches Enron head office."
-BBC /News
Enron
News - "Enron
Case Raises the Bar in Texas: A matter that's
big even by the state's usual standards has the legal community in a frenzy,
with lawyers hiring their own lawyers and others dodging conflicts."
-By David Streitfeld-LAtimes
Enron
News - "Enron
Creditors Could Invoke 'Intent-to-Defraud' Clause."
-By Terry Brennan -Law.com
Enron
News - "Georgia
Angling to Recoup Enron Loss in Worker Retirement Plan."
-By Jonathan Ringel -Law.com
Enron
News - "Congress
deepens Enron probe: Bush officials say no
help was offered to Enron head." -By Matt Andrejczak
-CBSNews /MarketWatch
Enron
News - "Enron
Fallout: The Justice Department begins a criminal
investigation of the former energy giant Enron."
-PBS /NewsHour
Enron
News - "U.S.
attorney disqualifies himself from inquiry into Enron."
-AP via -NandoTimes
Enron
News - "Criminal
inquiry into Enron collapse."-BBC
/News
Osama
bin Laden - "Trying
Al Qaeda: US vs. Europe: Videotape aired yesterday
bolsters case on bin Laden." ... "If Osama bin Laden wants to escape death,
he has one sure fire route to safety: find his way to Europe and hand himself
in." -By Peter Ford -CSMonitor/buy