Links to the News

The New York Times, June 30, 2006 Newseum Image

June 30, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The New York Times:

Justices, 5-3, Broadly Reject Bush Plan to Try Detainees

By LINDA GREENHOUSE

WASHINGTON, June 29 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday repudiated the Bush administration's plan to put Guantánamo detainees on trial before military commissions, ruling broadly that the commissions were unauthorized by federal statute and violated international law.

"The executive is bound to comply with the rule of law that prevails in this jurisdiction," Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the 5-to-3 majority, said at the end of a 73-page opinion that in sober tones shredded each of the administration's arguments, including the assertion that Congress had stripped the court of jurisdiction to decide the case.

A principal flaw the court found in the commissions was that the president had established them without Congressional authorization.
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The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 29, 2006 Newseum Image

June 29, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The Philadelphia Inquirer:

We're Bracing for More

By ANTHONY R. WOOD  

The remarkable siege of rain that has left a deadly legacy of angry, chocolate-brown waters, submerged highways, and forced evacuations threatens the region with yet more flooding today and tomorrow.

The flooding, so far, has been stunningly widespread. Gov. Rendell declared a state of emergency for 46 counties, including Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia.

At least four deaths statewide were blamed on the storm, and residents were ordered or urged to leave their homes in at least 13 towns in Bucks, Chester and Montgomery Counties as rising waters posed life-threatening hazards.

"It is the worst water I've seen since I've been a cop," said West Norriton Police Chief Robert Adams as he surveyed the flooded Riverview Landing Apartments on the banks of the Schuylkill. "That's 33 years, all here."
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The Virginian-Pilot, June 28, 2006 Newseum Image

June 28, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The Virginian-Pilot:

One vote short

From Wire Reports

WASHINGTON – A constitutional amendment to ban desecration of the American flag was rejected in a Senate cliffhanger Tuesday, a single vote short of the support needed to send it to the states for ratification and four months before voters elect a new Congress.

The 66 to 34 vote fell just short of the two-thirds majority required to approve a constitutional amendment. It marked the latest setback for congressional attempts to supersede Supreme Court decisions in 1989 and 1990, which narrowly ruled that burning and other desecrations of the flag are protected as free speech under the First Amendment. _______________________________________________

The Sacramento Bee, June 27, 2006 Newseum Image

June 27, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The Sacramento Bee:

McClatchy launches a new era

By DALE KASLER

SAN JOSE -- The McClatchy Co.'s multibillion-dollar bet on the newspaper business starts today.

Shareholders of Knight Ridder Inc. approved the company's sale to Sacramento-based McClatchy on Monday, capping an eight-month drama that put the newspaper industry's struggles under a microscope. Addressing the company's last-ever shareholders meeting, a tearful Knight Ridder Chairman and Chief Executive Tony Ridder announced the deal received enough votes. It's expected to be completed at 1 p.m. today California time.

Once various spinoffs are completed, the takeover will add 20 daily newspapers to McClatchy's roster, including such publications as the Miami Herald and Kansas City Star. It will nearly triple annual revenue to more than $2.8 billion and make the publisher of The Bee the second largest U.S. newspaper chain. McClatchy will rank about 630th on Fortune's list of publicly held U.S. corporations.

"I feel great," Gary Pruitt, McClatchy's chairman and chief executive, said Monday. "I also feel the pressure of having to deliver on the deal."
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, June 26, 2006 Newseum Image

June 26, 2006: An excerpt from an interview in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

The next step: Bring King's papers home

By MARIA SAPORTA  

Over the past two weeks, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin has been leading the charge to bring the personal papers of Martin Luther King Jr. to Atlanta.

Franklin held an extensive telephone interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writer Maria Saporta on Sunday to discuss many aspects of the deal with the King family, including why the papers are important to the city and what's next in bringing the collection home.

Here are excerpts of the interview:

Q: Can you describe to us how you view the importance of this deal to Atlanta?

A: Atlanta has a unique role to play for human rights and civil rights in America and in world history, and a pivotal role was played by the King family, both Coretta and Martin King. To have the papers, the family's collection of papers, many of them unpublished, to document his [King's] thoughts, his concerns and even his evolution as a leader in Atlanta, gives us a basis on which to really expand the civil rights story.

We now have demonstrated through a communitywide bid that Atlanta is embracing its own history. Atlanta understands the significance of Martin King, and by understanding the significance of Martin King, understands the significance of the civil rights movement to its current-day, present-day success.
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Chicago Tribune, June 23, 2006 Newseum Image

June 23, 2006: An excerpt from a story in the Chicago Tribune:

FBI: Sears Tower targeted

By MICHAEL TACKETT and JEFF ZELENY. Tribune staff reporters DAVID HEINZMANN and GERRY DOYLE in Chicago contributed to this report

WASHINGTON -- FBI agents in an undercover sting operation arrested seven terrorism suspects in Miami on Thursday who allegedly were plotting to attack the Sears Tower in Chicago, the FBI headquarters in Miami and other U.S. buildings, officials said.

The suspects had "aspirations" but "no means" to attack the Sears Tower or other buildings, a senior federal law-enforcement source said.

The men were all Muslims who thought they were plotting "in conjunction with Al Qaeda" but they really were dealing with law-enforcement undercover agents, one law-enforcement official told The Miami Herald.

The men, who told neighbors in the Liberty City area of Miami that they were starting a children's karate class at a warehouse, had been plotting for an undetermined amount of time, but their scheme was thwarted well before any attack could be carried out.
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Nepszabadsag, June 22, 2006 Newseum Image

June 22, 2006:
The Budapest, Hungary newspaper, Nepszabadsag, reports on U.S. President George Bush's visit to Hungary. He is visiting the country in honor of the 50th anniversary of Hungary's revolt against communist rule. The Hungarian uprising, which began in late October 1956, was crushed by Soviet troops. Thousands of rebels were killed or wounded. 



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The Miami Herald, June 21, 2006 Image from newspaper's Web site

June 21, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The Miami Herald:

HEAT 95, MAVERICKS 92
Ring of fire

BY ISRAEL GUTIERREZ

DALLAS - Dwyane Wade stopped in his tracks, grabbed a Wheaties box with him and Shaquille O'Neal on it and said, "Oh, I like this.''

Udonis Haslem sat, soaked in champagne, crying with a hat covering his eyes.

Alonzo Mourning walked into the locker room preparing for a champagne shower, saying "Show me the bubbles, baby.''

They are all snapshots of a plan executed to perfection.

Heat coach and president Pat Riley altered a team built around Wade and O'Neal for this very moment, for those embraces, for that celebration that he has waited 11 years to experience as the leader of the Miami Heat.
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The News & Observer, June 20, 2006 Newseum Image

June 20, 2006: An excerpt from a story in the Raleigh, North Carolina, News & Observer:

Cup stops here
Hurricanes hold off Oilers to win NHL title

By LUKE DECOCK 

RALEIGH - As his teammates danced wildly at the other end of the ice, Rod Brind'Amour skated by himself, head bowed and hands on his knees, overwhelmed with emotion.

After years of struggle for the captain and the Carolina Hurricanes, he was only minutes away from lifting the Stanley Cup above his head.

You could say it took the Hurricanes 10 months and 107 games to win the Stanley Cup, but it really took nine years, countless losses, the trials and tribulations of a slapdash move, two years in Greensboro and a lost season to realize this impossible dream. A franchise once seen as hopeless has now conquered the entire hockey world.

On the brink of tragedy after missing out on two chances to close out the Edmonton Oilers, the Hurricanes claimed ultimate success with a 3-1 win in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals on Monday, securing North Carolina's first major league title and setting off a night of wild celebration across the Triangle, starting with the scene at center ice at the RBC Center where Brind'Amour accepted the Cup from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
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Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 19, 2006 Newseum Image

June 19, 2006: An excerpt from a story in the Las Vegas, Nevada, Review-Journal:

Episcopal Church: Nevadan rises to top
Jefferts Schori is first woman named U.S. presiding bishop

By JOHN PRZYBYS

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who has shepherded the statewide Episcopal Diocese of Nevada since 2001, on Sunday was named the first woman to head the Episcopal Church in the United States.

Jefferts Schori, 52, was elected presiding bishop during the denomination's General Convention in Columbus, Ohio.

When she is installed Nov. 4 at Washington National Cathedral, Jefferts Schori also will become the first woman ever elected to lead a church in the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The vote represents another groundbreaking and controversial move for a denomination that three years ago consecrated Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop.

That move created a rift between the U.S. church and other churches in the Communion, and some critics said Sunday that Jefferts Schori's election might cause the rift to widen even further.
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 16, 2006 Newseum Image

June 16, 2006: An excerpt from a story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Gates' reduced role sign of major transition
Two-year transition will leave Ballmer, Ray Ozzie at the helm

By TODD BISHOP AND DAN RICHMAN

REDMOND -- Bill Gates is moving on -- but not entirely, and not just yet.

Foreshadowing the end of a storied career, Microsoft Corp.'s iconic leader announced plans Thursday to step down from his day-to-day executive position in two years. The news begins a momentous transition for Gates and the company he built into a technological and commercial force.

Gates will shift to a full-time role at his philanthropic foundation by July 2008, although he plans to remain the company's chairman and a technical adviser on key projects. He also said he expects to continue as Microsoft's largest shareholder.

Microsoft quickly named the executives who will fill Gates' technological role after he leaves, working with Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. But the move has huge implications on a variety of fronts. Gates, who founded Microsoft in 1975 with Paul Allen, conceded that the personal ramifications hadn't yet sunk in.
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The Seattle Times, June 16, 2006 Newseum Image

June 16, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The Seattle Times:

Gates' next full-time job: Trying to save the world

By BENJAMIN J. ROMANO 

The man who once aimed to put a computer on every desk and in every home will turn his full attention to something even more ambitious: the health and welfare of the world.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, who dropped out of Harvard to build the world's largest software company and become the world's richest person, said Thursday he is stepping aside over the next two years to work full time at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The world's largest charity, the Seattle foundation has a $29.1 billion endowment focused on fighting disease and improving education around the world.

The move comes at a critical time for Microsoft, which has brought tens of thousands of jobs to the Puget Sound area and created enormous wealth. But Gates, who has generated controversy over business practices, said in a Redmond news conference with his friend and business partner, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, that the company is as strong as ever.
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El Universal, June 15, 2006 Newseum Image

June 15, 2006: The Caracas, Venezuela newspaper, El Universal, reports on the World Cup.

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Washington Post, June 14, 2006 Newseum Image

June 14, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The Washington Post:

In Baghdad, Bush Pledges Support to Iraqi Leader

By JONATHAN FINER and MICHAEL ABRAMOWITZ  

BAGHDAD, June 13 -- President Bush told Iraq's prime minister and his cabinet Tuesday that "we'll keep our commitment" not to withdraw troops from the country until the new government is capable of defending itself.

During an unannounced visit to Baghdad aimed at buttressing the newly formed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, Bush pledged his support for the country's new leader and declared that "the fate of the Iraqi people is in their hands, and our job is to help them succeed."

Bush, making his first appearance here since serving Thanksgiving turkey to U.S. troops in 2003, greeted Maliki under the cupola of a marble-walled chamber in one of Saddam Hussein's former palaces, now serving as the U.S. Embassy. Afterward, the president told reporters that Iraq's leaders were "deeply concerned that the stability provided by the coalition forces will be removed and there'll be a vacuum. And they're concerned about what goes into the vacuum, and I can understand that concern."
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Tribune-Review, June 13, 2006 Image from newspaper's Web site

June 13, 2006: An excerpt from a story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

7-hour Roethlisberger surgery called success

By JILL KING GREENWOOD

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger underwent seven hours of surgery Monday to repair multiple facial fractures suffered in a motorcycle crash in Uptown earlier in the day.

Roethlisberger was in serious but stable condition last night in Mercy Hospital, Uptown, said Dr. Harry Sell Jr., chairman of the hospital's department of surgery. Sell said the four surgeons who operated on Roethlisberger termed the surgery a success. 

Sell said Roethlisberger was in the recovery room after coming out of surgery about 9 p.m.

"He suffered multiple facial fractures, all of which were successfully repaired," said Dr. Daniel Pituch, the chief of the division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Mercy Hospital.
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Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 13, 2006 Newseum Image

June 13, 2006: An excerpt from a story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Four surgeons work for 7 hours to repair facial fractures

By MICHAEL A. FUOCO

Doctors successfully repaired what they said were multiple facial fractures suffered in a motorcycle accident yesterday by Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but no one would say how his injuries would affect his ability to play.

The 24-year-old quarterback, who was not wearing a helmet, was in serious but stable condition at Mercy Hospital after undergoing seven hours of surgery performed by a team of four surgeons.

Mr. Roethlisberger was injured in an accident at 11:10 a.m. as his motorcycle collided with a car on Second Avenue near the 10th Street Bridge. Witnesses said his head hit the car's windshield and then struck the pavement.
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Daytona Beach News-Journal, June 12, 2006 Newseum Image

June 12, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The Daytona Beach News-Journal:

Drenching Alberto rains down on state

By AUDREY PARENTE
 
Tropical Storm Alberto, which developed in the Gulf of Mexico, is a welcome relief to firefighters battling wildfires in Volusia County and to one local grape grower.

On Sunday, the storm had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph, but was not likely to strengthen into a hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Although the storm isn't expected to make landfall until early Tuesday afternoon, heavy rain showers and thunderstorms are expected in Volusia and Flagler counties throughout today with wind squalls of 30 to 40 mph possible, forecasters said Sunday. The eye of the storm is expected to cross North Florida but not directly over Volusia or Flagler counties.
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The Baltimore Sun, June 9, 2006 Image from newspaper's Web site

June 9, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The Baltimore Sun:

Insurgent chief dead, but impact uncertain
Officials temper optimism in wake of strike on al-Zarqawi

By  TODD RICHISSIN

The face of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi that was broadcast on television yesterday looked nothing like ferocious. He was scraped and bruised, his skin drained of color, tinted the ghostly white of the newly dead.

Probably more because of the brutality of his tactics than the size of his following, al-Zarqawi, alive, had been the face of the insurgency in Iraq. What remains to be seen is whether the face shown yesterday will come to represent the beginning of the end of the insurgency that has cost more than 2,500 American lives and thousands more Iraqis.

U.S. and Iraqi officials announced yesterday that al-Zarqawi was killed Wednesday, when Air Force F-16 warplanes dropped two 500-pound bombs on a house north of Baghdad.

To reach al-Zarqawi, military officials said that Special Operations forces had tracked a person known as al-Zarqawi's spiritual adviser, Sheik Abdul Rahman, to the house that was bombed. Rahman was also killed, along with four others.
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Neue Westfalische, June 9, 2006 Newseum Image

 

June 9, 2006: The Bielefeld, Germany newspaper, Neue Westfalische, reports on the start of the World Cup.

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Akron Beacon Journal, June 8, 2006 Newseum Image

June 8, 2006: An excerpt from a story in the Akron Beacon Journal:

Canadian Buys Beacon

By GLORIA IRWIN

The Akron Beacon Journal, the first of John. S. Knight's newspapers, will become the largest newspaper in a private, family-owned media company.

Sound Publishing Holdings Inc., a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Black Press Ltd. of British Columbia, Canada, emerged from nearly three months of bidding as the surprise winner and future owner of the Beacon Journal. Black Press is paying $165 million for the paper and its Web site, Ohio.com.

The transaction is part of McClatchy Co.'s purchase of Knight Ridder Inc. and is expected to close about June 27. It will be the first time in more than three decades that the Beacon Journal is privately owned.

Beacon Journal Publisher James Crutchfield announced the sale shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday in a companywide meeting.

David Black, president and CEO of Black Press, was not present. In a letter read to employees, he stressed his belief in "good community journalism'' and emphasized the awards won by his newspapers in Canada and Hawaii.

"Under the direction of the Knight family and Knight Ridder, the Akron Beacon Journal has been a good community newspaper for a long time," he said in a news release. "We believe in the same focus on local journalism of high quality."
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The Globe and Mail, June 7, 2006 Newseum Image

June 7, 2006: An excerpt from a story in Canada's Globe and Mail:

The Allegations: Shocking revelations as terror suspects appear in court
STORM Parliament Hill; SEIZE the politicians; BEHEAD the Prime Minister

By JOE FRIESEN

BRAMPTON, ONT. -- A plan to storm the House of Commons, take politicians hostage and behead Prime Minister Stephen Harper is among the sensational allegations to emerge yesterday after 15 men and youths charged in an anti-terrorism sweep appeared in court.

The startling revelations include purported plans to bomb power plants in Southern Ontario and take control of the CBC building in Toronto. The targets were on a shortlist the group had allegedly discussed in brainstorming sessions, before deciding on three: an unspecified Canadian military base, the Toronto Stock Exchange and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service building in downtown Toronto.

The allegations regarding Mr. Harper and talk of taking over the CBC building are contained in a synopsis of charges filed against Steven Chand, a 25-year-old from Toronto who often went to local schools and encouraged young people to convert to Islam.
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Toronto Star, June 6, 2006 Newseum Image

June 6, 2006: An excerpt from a story in Canada's Toronto Star:

Inside the bomb 'plot'
Suspects cited for terrorist training
Six are singled out in explosives plan
 
By MICHELLE SHEPHARD AND JESSICA LEEDER

Government lawyers will allege 20-year-old Zakaria Amara, a university student and father of an 8-month-old daughter, was the man who purchased three tonnes of ammonium nitrate for bomb attacks on Canadian soil, sources have told the Star.

Court documents released yesterday claim Amara and another five suspects were involved in the bomb plot.

All 17 suspects in what police are alleging is a home-grown terrorist cell are expected to appear in a Brampton court today for the start of their bail hearings.
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San Francisco Chronicle, June 5, 2006 Newseum Image

June 5, 2006: An excerpt from a story in the San Francisco Chronicle:

AIDS at 25
Disease Denial Devastating for African Americans

By LESLIE FULBRIGHT

When AIDS emerged 25 years ago, it was branded a gay white man's disease.

Millions of dollars poured into research and prevention efforts have reduced the number of diagnoses and deaths in the United States over the years. But that success hasn't touched African Americans, many of whom have remained reluctant to acknowledge the disease's impact in their community.

From the epidemic's start, black people have been disproportionately likely to test positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. African American men, women and children now account for 51 percent of new HIV diagnoses -- up from 25 percent in 1985 -- and 55 percent of people dying nationally of AIDS, although they make up 13 percent of the U.S. population.

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Daily Al Bayan, June 2, 2006 Newseum Image

June 2, 2006: The Dubai, United Arab Emirates newspaper, Daily Al Bayan, reports on the thousands of Palestinian police officers protesting in Gaza City over unpaid wages.

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The Times-Picayune, June 1, 2006 Newseum Image

June 1, 2006: An excerpt from a story in The Times-Picayune:

Hurricane season starts today 
 
By BRIAN THEVENOT

After months of hand-wringing and calendar counting, the long-dreaded first post-Katrina hurricane season officially begins today. But if this year is anything like every year since 1855, don't expect to see many hurricanes in the Gulf for the next month or so.

In more than 150 years, not a single hurricane has come near New Orleans in June. During the same period, only four tropical storms have hit the city in summer's first weeks.

As for July, only three of 28 hurricanes have hit the New Orleans area in that month, with the only serious storm being a Category 3 that hit land in 1916.

While the hurricane season officially lasts six months -- ending Nov. 30 -- those given to panic likely won't need to run for the hills until about mid-August, when the Gulf Coast storm season starts to peak. In the recorded storms that have hit the New Orleans area, 75 percent of hurricanes, including all of the most destructive storms, have struck in either late August or September, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.