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NEW JERSEY News:

20080621

China

Hackers

GOV

Lawmakers

Human Rights

Politics

Military

Intelligence

Investigation

Ill

"More congressional computers hacked from China." ... "More Members of Congress have had their computers infiltrated by hackers within China than initially suspected, a lawmaker has revealed." ... "[Representatives] Reps. Frank Wolf (R-Va. [Republican-Virginia), Chris Smith (R-N.J. [Republican-New Jersey), and Mark Kirk (R-Ill. [Republican-Illinois]) admitted to having data removed from their Capitol Hill computers last week, but Wolf says there are more." ... "“I would suspect that the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services, Intelligence, (and) Appropriations committees would all be top targets,” Kirk said." ... "Wolf and Smith said they believe the hackers focused on them because of their continued objections to China’s human rights violations, and suspected that the hackers were looking for information on dissidents." ... "The FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] asked the lawmakers not to speak publicly, fearing that if they did, they would be unable to track the IP addresses of the hackers, Kirk said." ... "“When you’re in the middle of a criminal investigation, you try not to alert the criminal of what’s happened so you can track it down,” he said." -By Jordy Yager

-TheHill.com

20080613

J Robert Flores

Crime

Political

Juvenile

Justice

Science

Sports

New Jersey

Texas

"Football Charity Says It Deserved a $500,000 Govt Grant: Despite Not Even Applying, the Charity Was Awarded a Grant; Some [Department Of Justice] DOJ Staffers Objected." ... "A group that promotes leadership through football says it doesn't know how it was awarded a $500,000 federal grant to help stop juvenile crime, but that it "wasn't political."" ... "The grant is one of a number for the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) that has come under scrutiny after current and former employees said the official who awarded the money ignored professional staff recommendations and played favorites with groups connected to the [Republican] Bush White House. ABC News conducted an investigation into the OJJDP, which aired earlier this week on "Nightline"." ... "The National Football Foundation (NFF), formerly based in New Jersey and now in Texas, says they did not apply for the grant and have had no contact with J. Robert Flores, the official who awarded the money." ... "Some OJJDP staffers said this program did not deserve the funding." ... ""The football program, like the World Golf Foundation, has lots of private resources and outside funding. They have wealthy powerful people on the board," one staffer said." ... "The staffer added that by law the OJJDP's primary focus is to fund programs that intervene and protect kids who are on the cusp of entering into the juvenile justice system or who are already in the system, and there is no research that shows this program targets the most at-risk kids." (1, 2) -By Anna Schecter

-ABCNEWS.com

20080310

Water - Drugs - Human - Health - Environmental - Science - Investigation - Industry - Consumer - Safety - Federal - Law - Earth - Wildlife - California - New Jersey - Michigan - Ky - "Sex Hormones, Mood Stabilizers Found In Drinking Water Of 41 M Americans." ... "A vast array of pharmaceuticals _ including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones _ have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows." ... "To be sure, the concentrations of these pharmaceuticals are tiny, measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Also, utilities insist their water is safe." ... "But the presence of so many prescription drugs _ and over-the-counter medicines like acetaminophen and ibuprofen _ in so much of our drinking water is heightening worries among scientists of long-term consequences to human health." ... "In the course of a five-month inquiry, the AP discovered that drugs have been detected in the drinking water supplies of 24 major metropolitan areas _ from Southern California to Northern New Jersey, from Detroit [Michigan] to Louisville, Ky. [Kentucky.]" ... "How do the drugs get into the water?" ... "People take pills. Their bodies absorb some of the medication, but the rest of it passes through and is flushed down the toilet. The wastewater is treated before it is discharged into reservoirs, rivers or lakes. Then, some of the water is cleansed again at drinking water treatment plants and piped to consumers. But most treatments do not remove all drug residue." ... "And while researchers do not yet understand the exact risks from decades of persistent exposure to random combinations of low levels of pharmaceuticals, recent studies _ which have gone virtually unnoticed by the general public _ have found alarming effects on human cells and wildlife." ... "The federal government doesn't require any testing and hasn't set safety limits for drugs in water." ... "The AP's investigation also indicates that watersheds, the natural sources of most of the nation's water supply, also are contaminated." ... "Even users of bottled water and home filtration systems don't necessarily avoid exposure. Bottlers, some of which simply repackage tap water, do not typically treat or test for pharmaceuticals, according to the industry's main trade group. The same goes for the makers of home filtration systems." ... "Pharmaceuticals also permeate aquifers deep underground, source of 40 percent of the nation's water supply." -By Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza, and Justin Pritchard -AssociatedPress via -HuffingtonPost.com

20080218

Corporate - Government - US Attorney - Politics - New Jersey - Calif - Indiana - Manufacturer - Investigation - "Christie faces a grilling over Ashcroft role." ... "A congressional committee has called for New Jersey's U.S. attorney, Christopher Christie, to testify at a hearing next week about his appointment of former Attorney General John Ashcroft to a lucrative assignment as a corporate monitor." ... "[California Democratic Representative] Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.[Democratic-California]), who will chair the Feb. 26 hearing, said she and other Judiciary Committee members want to discuss Ashcroft's hiring, role and compensation at Zimmer Holdings, an Indiana-based manufacturer that accepted a monitor to settle a fraud investigation with Christie's office." ... "The contract calls for Ashcroft's Washington-based consulting firm to collect between $27 million and $52 million over 18 months." ... "The hearing, before members of a subcommittee on commercial and administrative law, represents part of the growing scrutiny on out-of-court settlements between corporations and federal prosecutors, a practice that has flourished in recent years without court or congressional oversight. In many of the settlements, called deferred prosecutions, prosecutors privately negotiate the terms with target companies, then appoint private lawyers to monitor the companies' compliance." -By John P. Martin andd Jeff Whelan -NJ.com

20080214

Hospital Corporations - Pharmaceutical - Corporations - Federal - Investigators - New Jersey - New York - Tennessee - Ohio - Louisiana - Pennsylvania - "Federal investigators recoup $2.2B in healthcare-fraud prosecutions." ... "The largest recovery came from a settlement with Tenet Healthcare Corp. [Corporation], one of the largest for-profit hospital chains in the United States. In a well-publicized case, whistleblowers from inside the company alerted federal authorities, which uncovered evidence that Tenet was manipulating Medicare’s payment system to boost revenue and paid kickbacks to physicians who sent their patients to Tenet facilities. To settle the charges and avoid a court judgment on the accusations, Tenet agreed to pay the government $900 million over the course of four years." ... "Other hospital companies also coughed up millions to the federal government in fraud and abuse cases in fiscal 2006, including St. Barnabas Health Care System in New Jersey ($265 million), Beth Israel Medical Center in New York ($73 million), the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Hospital Authority in Tennessee ($37 million), University Hospitals Health System in Ohio ($13.8 million), Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Louisiana ($3.8 million) and the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania ($2.9 million)." ... "The pharmaceutical company Serono paid $704 million to settle charges that it illegally advised doctors to prescribe an AIDS medicine called Serostim for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), paid kickbacks to cooperative physicians, and conspired with the diagnostic device maker RJL Sciences to market a device not approved by the FDA. RJL Sciences pleaded guilty to its role." ... "Schering-Plough, another drug company, is on the hook for $435 million as a result of several charges, including allegedly giving false information to the FDA, which was investigating whether the company’s marketing practices violated the law." -By Jeffrey Young -TheHill.com

20080110

John Ashcroft - Michael B Mukasey - Alberto R Gonzales - Debra Wong Yang - Criminal - Corporate - Government - Lawyers - US Attorneys - Politics - Medical - New Jersey - Indiana - New York - Los Angeles - California - "Ashcroft Deal Brings Scrutiny in Justice Dept.." ... "When the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey [Christopher J. Christie] needed to find an outside lawyer to monitor a large corporation willing to settle criminal charges out of court last fall, he turned to [Republican] former Attorney General John Ashcroft, his onetime boss. With no public notice and no bidding, the company awarded Mr. Ashcroft an 18-month contract worth $28 million to $52 million." ... "That contract, which Justice Department officials in Washington learned about only several weeks ago, has prompted an internal inquiry into the department’s procedures for selecting outside monitors to police settlements with large companies." ... "The contract between Mr. Ashcroft’s consulting firm, the Ashcroft Group, and Zimmer Holdings, a medical supply company in Indiana, has also drawn the attention of Congressional investigators." ... "The New Jersey prosecutor, United States Attorney Christopher J. Christie, directed similar monitoring contracts last year to two other former Justice Department colleagues from the [Republican President] Bush administration, as well as to a former Republican state attorney general in New Jersey." ... "Officials said that while there had been no accusations of wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Christie or Mr. Ashcroft, aides to Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey were concerned about the appearance of favoritism." ... "Mr. Mukasey, a former federal judge who was sworn in as attorney general in November, has vowed to remove political considerations from decision-making at the department in the wake of a series of scandals under his predecessor, Alberto R. Gonzales." ... "In the Bush administration, federal prosecutors have increasingly relied on out-of-court settlements with large corporations in criminal investigations that in the past might have resulted in indictments and trials." ... "Mr. Christie directed similar contracts in settlements with other medical-supply companies to two other former Justice Department colleagues — David N. Kelley, the former United States attorney in Manhattan [New York], and Debra Wong Yang, his counterpart in Los Angeles [California] — and to David Samson, the former Republican attorney general in New Jersey." (1, 2) -By Philip Shenon -NYTimes

20071231

Money - Politics - Federal - Housing - Legislation - New Jersey - Georgia - California - Texas - Utah - Maryland - Nevada - Oregon - Washington - 2004 Election - US - Netherlands - "Lender Lobbying Blitz Abetted Mortgage Mess: Ameriquest Pressed For Changes in Laws; A Battle in New Jersey." ... "During the housing boom, the subprime industry succeeded at more than just writing mortgages. It also shot down efforts by some states to curtail risky lending to borrowers with spotty credit." ... "Ameriquest Mortgage Co. [ACC Capital Holdings], until recently one of the nation's largest subprime lenders, was at the center of those battles. Working with a husband-and-wife team of Washington lobbyists, it handed out more than $20 million in political donations and played a big role in persuading legislators in New Jersey and Georgia to relax tough new laws. Those victories, in turn, helped blunt efforts by other states to crack down on reckless lending, critics of the industry contend." ... "Home loans made by Ameriquest and other subprime lenders are defaulting now in large numbers, roiling global credit markets and sparking debate about whether regulators and lawmakers should have anticipated the mess and taken action. A close look at Ameriquest's lobbying and political donations shows how the subprime industry maneuvered to defeat legislation that might have contained some of the damage." ... "Data from federal and state campaign-finance records, Internal Revenue Service filings, and the National Institute on Money in State Politics show that from 2002 through 2006, Ameriquest, its executives and their spouses and business associates donated at least $20.5 million to state and federal political groups. In comparison, over the same time period, Countrywide Financial, another large subprime lender, gave about $2 million in campaign gifts, and spent an additional $6.7 million lobbying in Washington, records indicate." ... "Some of the giving by Ameriquest executives and associates was high-profile. [Republican] President Bush received more than $200,000 for his 2004 re-election campaign, and Ameriquest founder Roland Arnall and his wife, Dawn, contributed more than $5 million to political organizations that backed the president. Last year, [Republican] President Bush appointed Mr. Arnall ambassador to the Netherlands, and his wife took over as chairman of Ameriquest's parent company. California [Republican Governor] Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaigns received at least $1.4 million, along with stacks of tickets to a Rolling Stones concert that were used to lure big donors." ... "Last year, ACC Capital, its [Ameriquest Mortgage Company] parent company, agreed to pay $325 million to settle regulators' claims that it charged excessively high mortgage rates and didn't adequately disclose loan risks. Some of the state attorneys general who signed the settlement, including Greg Abbott of Texas, received campaign donations from the firm. Utah's attorney general, Mark Shurtleff, received a $1,000 contribution and Rolling Stones tickets." ... "Ameriquest also handed out Rolling Stones tickets to state legislators in Georgia, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and California, according to ethics records and local news accounts." ... "Federal lawmakers didn't pose much of a threat to the subprime industry in recent years. Members of Congress received at least $645,000 in donations from Ameriquest and large sums from other big subprime lenders, Federal Election Commission records indicate." ... "ACC Capital, Ameriquest's parent company, and its executives gave more than $350,000 to Texas politicians in 2006, including $100,000 to [Republican Governor] Gov. Rick Perry, according to state records." -By Glenn R. Simpson -WSJ.com

20071217

University - Politics - New Jersey - "Police: Princeton student faked attack, e-mail threats." ... "A [New Jersey] Princeton University student who argued that his conservative views were not accepted on the campus confessed to fabricating an assault and sending threatening e-mail messages to himself and some friends who shared his views, authorities said Monday." ... "Princeton Township police said Francisco Nava was not immediately charged with any crime, but the investigation was continuing." ... "Nava claimed to have been assaulted Friday by two men off-campus, police said. But he later confessed that scrapes and scratches on his face were self-inflicted, and that the threats were his work, too, said Detective Sgt. [Sergeant] Ernie Silagyi." -By Geoff Mulvihill -AP via -Newsday.com

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20071216

Secret - Surveillance - Terrorism - Crime - Telecommunications - Companies - Government - Legislation - Politics - Intelligence - Drug - Consumer - Wireless - Technology - United States - Global - Space - Colorado - New Jersey - "Wider Spying Fuels Aid Plan for Telecom Industry." ... "For months, the [Republican President] Bush administration has waged a high-profile campaign, including personal lobbying by President Bush and closed-door briefings by top officials, to persuade Congress to pass legislation protecting companies from lawsuits for aiding the National Security Agency’s warrantless eavesdropping program." ... "But the battle is really about something much bigger. At stake is the federal government’s extensive but uneasy partnership with industry to conduct a wide range of secret surveillance operations in fighting terrorism and crime." ... "The N.S.A.’s reliance on telecommunications companies is broader and deeper than ever before, according to government and industry officials, yet that alliance is strained by legal worries and the fear of public exposure." ... "To detect narcotics trafficking, for example, the government has been collecting the phone records of thousands of Americans and others inside the United States who call people in Latin America, according to several government officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the program remains classified. But in 2004, one major phone carrier balked at turning over its customers’ records. Worried about possible privacy violations or public relations problems, company executives declined to help the operation, which has not been previously disclosed." ... "In a separate N.S.A. [National Security Agency] project, executives at a Denver [Colorado] phone carrier, Qwest, refused in early 2001 to give the agency access to their most localized communications switches, which primarily carry domestic calls, according to people aware of the request, which has not been previously reported. They say the arrangement could have permitted neighborhood-by-neighborhood surveillance of phone traffic without a court order, which alarmed them." ... "The federal government’s reliance on private industry has been driven by changes in technology. Two decades ago, telephone calls and other communications traveled mostly through the air, relayed along microwave towers or bounced off satellites. The N.S.A. could vacuum up phone, fax and data traffic merely by erecting its own satellite dishes. But the fiber optics revolution has sent more and more international communications by land and undersea cable, forcing the agency to seek company cooperation to get access." ... "[An ATT engineer is claiming in a lawsuit that as early as February 2001,] “What he saw,” said Bruce Afran, a New Jersey lawyer representing the plaintiffs along with Carl Mayer, “was decisive evidence that within two weeks of taking office, the [Republican] Bush administration was planning a comprehensive effort of spying on Americans’ phone usage.”" (1, 2) -By Eric Lichtblau, James Risen, and Scott Shane -NYTimes

20071122

US - Iraq - Afghanistan - Military - People - Brain - Science - Accounting - Politics - NJ - "20,000 vets' brain injuries not listed in Pentagon tally." ... "At least 20,000 U.S. troops who were not classified as wounded during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan have been found with signs of brain injuries, according to military and veterans records compiled by USA TODAY." ... "The data, provided by the Army, Navy and Department of Veterans Affairs, show that about five times as many troops sustained brain trauma as the 4,471 officially listed by the Pentagon through Sept. 30. These cases also are not reflected in the Pentagon's official tally of wounded, which stands at 30,327." ... "More than 150,000 troops may have suffered head injuries in combat, says [New Jersey Democratic Representative] Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., founder of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force." ... "About 1.5 million troops have served in Iraq, where traumatic brain injury can occur despite heavy body armor worn by troops." -By Gregg Zoroya -USATODAY

20071109

Bernard Kerik - Rudolph Giuliani - Secret - Apartment - Book - Money - Law - New York - New Jersey - "Ex-NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik surrenders in corruption probe." ... "[Former Police Commissioner Bernard] Kerik is charged with conspiracy, tax fraud, making false statements and depriving the city of his honest services while he was [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate Rudolph] Giuliani’s corrections commissioner and top cop." ... "The one-time nominee to be [Republican] President Bush’s Homeland Security czar faces charges that carry a top prison sentence of 142 years, if convicted. He also faces more than $4 million and fines, and would have to repay $255,000 in free rent he got from a Manhattan developer." ... "Kerik is charged with trying to convince city investigators that a New Jersey contractor secretly renovating his Bronx apartment was free of mob ties." ... "He also faces multiple allegations of tax fraud, including failing to report those renovations as income, hiding $75,000 in income from his book, “The Lost Son, and to taking a bogus $80,000 charitable donation." -By Thomas Zambito and Greg B. Smith -NYDailyNews.com

20071108

Bernard B Kerik - Rudolph W Giuliani - Crime - Money - Apartment - Construction - Wiretapping - Politics - New York - New Jersey - 2008 Election - "Kerik Indictment on Tax and Corruption Charges Imminent." ... "Federal prosecutors are planning to unveil an indictment against former New York City police commissioner Bernard B. Kerik as early as week's end, spotlighting alleged corruption that occurred a decade ago when he worked was a trusted adviser to former New York mayor -- and now [2008 Election Republican] presidential candidate -- Rudolph W. Giuliani, according to people familiar with the case." ... "Kerik, 51, rejected a plea bargain earlier this year and was informed by prosecutors that he was likely to be indicted on charges that could include tax evasion or tax fraud, public corruption and filing false information regarding his failed 2004 nomination to be [Republican] President Bush's homeland security chief." ... "The federal investigation has focused on gifts that Kerik is alleged to have accepted while New York City's corrections chief and police commissioner, including $165,000 in apartment renovations in 1999 from a New Jersey construction company that sought his help overcoming allegations of ties to organized crime so it could compete for business from Giuliani's mayoral administration." ... "Last year, Kerik pleaded guilty to a New York state ethics charge in connection with those gifts and was placed on probation. Federal authorities pursued their own, broader investigation that also examined Kerik's conduct during his vetting to be the homeland security nominee." ... "The FBI also has investigated whether Kerik played a role in a conspiracy to commit illegal wiretapping involving former New York attorney general candidate Jeanine Pirro." -By John Solomon -WashingtonPost

20071014

Food - Safety - Health - History - Agriculture - Company - Employees - Florida - New Jersey - "Food inspectors overwhelmed: Workload, vacancies undermine safety, employees claim." ... "As alarm bells sounded for the second-largest hamburger recall in history, about 250 of the nation's top food safety officials were in Miami [Florida] setting the "course for the next 100 years of food safety."" ... "That so many U.S. Department of Agriculture field supervisors were in Florida while New Jersey-based Topps Meat Co. [company] was scrambling to recall 21.7 million pounds of hamburger has rankled some USDA inspectors and food safety advocates." ... "Several USDA inspectors said in interviews that their workloads are doubling or tripling as they take on the duties of inspectors who have left the department, not to be replaced." ... ""We've been short the whole time I've been in," said one veteran inspector who asked not to be named. "We don't have enough inspectors, but we have too much management. The inspectors are short all the time and getting spread thinner and thinner."" ... "The Topps crisis began last month, when three consumers in New York and Florida fell ill from E. coli poisoning. Soon after that, at least 32 people were sick. The Topps recall, though, began 18 days after the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service confirmed E. coli bacteria in a Topps hamburger." (1, 2) -By Stephen J. Hedges -ChicagoTribune

20070925

Nuclear - Energy - Construction - Industry - Government - Environmental - Law - Language - Politics - History - Land - Maryland - New Jersey - "Nuclear Utilities Redefine One Word to Bulldoze for New Plants." ... "On tree-lined bluffs overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, where anti-nuclear activists won a landmark environmental victory 36 years ago, Constellation Energy Group Inc. is engineering atomic power's comeback." ... "This time, even if there are protests, bulldozers will roll." ... "That's because the [Maryland] Baltimore-based utility and its allies have found a way around a longstanding regulatory policy they say added a year or more to construction times for nuclear plants." ... "In April, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission [NRC] agreed to industry demands that it reduce its oversight of initial work at reactor sites. By narrowing its definition of the word ``construction'' in agency rules, the NRC put off the required public hearings and permits that have waylaid past projects." ... "The untold story of how the energy lobby and the federal government worked to clear a path for new reactors -- backed by an NRC commissioner [Republican Jeffrey Merrifield] seeking a job in the [nuclear] industry -- reveals one way pro-nuclear forces have stolen a march on environmentalists." ... "Utilities and the administration of [Republican] President George W. Bush say they want new reactors on line by 2015. Power companies are rushing to take advantage of federal tax credits and loan guarantees in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, some of which begin to expire next year. The NRC says it expects to receive as many as 21 applications to build 32 new reactors, the first of which will be filed today by NRG Energy Inc. of Princeton, New Jersey." ... "The new construction rule is only the latest such initiative. In 2004, the NRC limited the public's ability to gather evidence and question witnesses during hearings." ... "By redefining ``construction'' to exclude excavation, road building and the erection of some cooling towers, the NRC could reduce its oversight without violating the 1971 court order." ... "Andrew Kugler, senior environmental project manager in the NRC's New Reactor Office, protested to the general counsel's office. Kugler said in an e-mail that the proposed rule would exclude from NRC regulation ``probably 90 percent of the true environmental impacts of construction.''" -By Elliot Blair Smith -Bloomberg

20070810

US - China - New Jersey - Company - Manufacturer - Transportation - Vehicles - Safety - "Importer Recalls 255,000 Chinese Light-Truck Tires." ... "Foreign Tire Sales, a New Jersey importer, said yesterday that it would recall about 255,000 light-truck tires made to order by a Chinese company." ... "The tires are steel-belted radial models sold under the brand names Westlake, Compass and YKS. They were produced from 2004 to 2006 for pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans, Foreign Tire said. The company has reported two deaths in a rollover accident involving the tires." ... "[The Chinese manufacturer,] Hangzhou Zhongce said it was cooperating with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which enforces federal motor vehicle safety standards." -Bloomberg via -NYTimes

20060816

US - Iraq - Military - Connecticut - New-Jersey - Hawaii - "Kerry bats for anti-war candidates Lamont, Menendez and Akaka." ... "Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry is revving up his online political machine to raise campaign cash for Democratic Senate nominee Ned Lamont, the anti-war candidate who upset three-term Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman in last week's primary." ... "Kerry tapped his 3 million-person e-mail list on Wednesday to deliver a fundraising appeal for Lamont." ... ""Ned Lamont has caused a national stir by successfully challenging the Bush position on Iraq that ignores the utter failure of the President's policy," Kerry's message said." ... "The Kerry e-mail also touted two Democratic Senate incumbents facing tough fights this fall, Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Daniel Akaka of Hawaii. Both oppose the war." ... ""Ned, Dan and Bob have been attacked mercilessly for acting with such conviction and are locked in close must-win races," Kerry said. "It's time to reward their courage."" -By Andrew Miga -AP via -Newsday.com

20060815

US - Mexico - US Immigration - 2006 Election - Politics - California - New York - Texas - Florida - New-Jersey - Illinois - Georgia - North Carolina - Indiana - South Dakota - Delaware - Missouri - Colorado - New Hampshire - Ohio - "Census Shows Growth of Immigrants." ... "The number of immigrants living in American households rose 16 percent over the last five years, fueled largely by recent arrivals from Mexico, according to fresh data released by the Census Bureau." ... "Coming in the heart of an election season in which illegal immigration has emerged as an issue, the new data from the bureau’s 2005 American Community Survey is certain to generate more debate." ... "By far the largest numbers of immigrants continue to live in the six states that have traditionally attracted them: California, New York, Texas, Florida, New Jersey and Illinois." ... "Immigrants also continue to flow into a handful of states in the Southeast, like Georgia and North Carolina, a trend that was discerned in the 2000 census." ... "But it is in the less-expected immigrant destinations that demographers find the most of interest in the new data." ... "Indiana saw a 34 percent increase in the number of immigrants; South Dakota saw a 44 percent rise; Delaware 32 percent; Missouri 31 percent; Colorado 28 percent; and New Hampshire 26 percent." ... "“It’s the continuation of a pattern that we first began to see 10 or 15 years ago,” said Jeff Passel, senior research associate at the Pew Hispanic Center, who has examined the new census data. “But instead of being confined to areas like the Southeast, it’s beginning to spill over into some Midwestern states, like Indiana and Ohio. It’s even moving up into New England.”" ... "Over all, immigrants now make up 12.4 percent of the nation’s population, up from 11.2 percent in 2000. That amounts to an estimated 4.9 million additional immigrants for a total of 35.7 million, a number larger than the population of California." (1, 2) -By Rick Lyman -NYTimes
US - Iraq - Military - Religious - Election 2006 - 2004 Election - Free Speech - Law - Colorado - Maryland - Montana - Tennessee - Michigan - Ohio - Pennsylvania - New Jersey - Minnesota - California - "Conservatives Put Faith in Church Voter Drives: Evangelicals seek to sign up a new flock of GOP supporters in states with crucial November races." ... "As discontent with the Republican Party threatens to dampen the turnout of conservative voters in November, evangelical leaders are launching a massive registration drive that could help counter the malaise and mobilize new religious voters in battleground states." ... "The program, coordinated by the Colorado-based group Focus on the Family and its influential founder, James C. Dobson, would use a variety of methods — including information inserted in church publications and booths placed outside worship services — to recruit millions of new voters in 2006 and beyond." ... "The effort builds on the aggressive courtship of evangelical voters in 2004 by President Bush's reelection campaign, even as the Internal Revenue Service has announced renewed scrutiny of nonprofit organizations, including churches, that engage in political activities." ... "The program, announced in an e-mail to activists last week, is seeking county and church coordinators in the targeted states of Maryland, Montana, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Minnesota." ... "Registering voters in churches is not a new tactic for either party, but Republicans have proved far more effective in recent years at combining religion and politics for electoral gain." ... "Critics say the practice is potentially illegal, citing tax laws that prohibit churches from engaging in partisan activities." ... "The IRS has launched a program to crack down on violators, with investigations pending against dozens of churches." ... "The IRS probe with the highest profile is that of All Saints Church in Pasadena, one of Southern California's largest and most liberal congregations." ... "After a priest delivered a sermon critical of the Iraq war two days before the 2004 presidential election, the IRS began reviewing the Episcopal church's tax-exempt status. No decision has been announced." -By Peter Wallsten -LAtimes

20060504

Secret - US - Philippines - Dick Cheney - Leandro Aragoncillo - Government - Military - Intelligence - Politics - New Jersey - Death Penalty - "Ex-VP aide, FBI analyst admits spying: Former Marine pleads guilty to taking part in Philippine coup plot." ... "A former [Republican Dick Cheney] vice presidential military aide and FBI analyst pleaded guilty Thursday to supplying documents to unnamed individuals in the Philippines on how to orchestrate a coup attempt against Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo." ... "In a federal court hearing in Newark, New Jersey, Leandro Aragoncillo entered into a plea agreement that would keep the death penalty off the table for him." ... "Aragoncillo, a former U.S. Marine, acknowledged to prosecutors that he supplied top secret U.S. defense inf