Wednesday, May 26, 2004
North, South Korea havetalks between generals
SEOUL, South Korea -- The two Koreas took small but symbolically important steps today with first-ever talks between the two sides' generals, and agreed on more meetings to reduce tensions in the Cold War's last frontier.
The officers were discussing ways to avoid naval skirmishes along their west coast during the May-June crab-catching season, when the two sides have clashed before. New skirmishes could derail fragile efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the international standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons development.
South Korea suggested setting up a phone hotline and adopting a standard radio frequency and signaling system for their navies, according to a statement issued by the Defense Ministry.
North Korea had previously rejected the South's call for high-level military talks, allowing only colonels to meet and limiting their discussions to economic exchanges. It said today that both sides should discuss ways to reduce provocative propaganda -- something its state-controlled media are known for.
The Koreas, divided in 1945, officially remain in a state of war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. Their border is guarded by nearly 2 million soldiers, including 37,000 U.S. troops in the South.
Governor seeks assistancein battling N.M. wildfires
CAPITAN, N.M. -- As a wildfire exploded in size in rural south-central New Mexico, the governor blasted the federal government for not allowing heavy air tankers to battle the flames.
After the blaze in Lincoln National Forest grew to more than 23,000 acres, Gov. Bill Richardson renewed his call for the Bush administration to allow the tankers to be used to drop fire retardant. The planes were grounded because of safety concerns after two broke up in flight during the 2002 fire season.
More than 300 firefighters spent Tuesday building fire lines around the forest fire in the Capitan Mountains. A dozen cabins and several outbuildings -- mostly summer homes -- have been destroyed.
"I was shocked to be told this fire could have been held to a single acre if the heavy air tankers had been available at the beginning," Richardson said. "The administration has pulled the safety net out from under states and local communities threatened by wildfire."
Nichols case goes to jury
McALESTER, Okla. -- Jurors are being asked to consider two starkly different versions of Terry Nichols' role in the Oklahoma City bombing: The defense says he was manipulated, while prosecutors describe a mastermind. Jurors were to begin deliberating this morning after a two-month state murder trial that included testimony from about 250 witnesses. Their decision could affect whether Nichols lives or dies.
In closing arguments Tuesday, the defense poked at holes in the bombing investigation and argued that prosecutors haven't proven Nichols helped Timothy McVeigh bomb the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Defense attorney Barbara Bergman said McVeigh was aided by others who set up Nichols to take the blame for the deaths of 168 people killed in the April 19, 1995, blast. "This is a case about manipulation, betrayal and overreaching," Bergman said. "People who are still unknown assisted Timothy McVeigh."
New outbreak of bird flu
BANGKOK, Thailand -- Hundreds of chickens have died of bird flu at a research farm in northern Thailand, but the new outbreak of the disease appears to be on the wane, an official said today.
A U.N. official, however, warned that even though prospects for a new spread of the disease appeared low, officials must not get complacent. Agriculture Ministry officials culled 1,575 chickens at the farm of the Chiang Mai University in Chiang Mai province after university officials told them about the outbreak, said Yukol Limlamthong, the director general of Livestock Department. He said officials are monitoring the quarantined farm, which is in an isolated area.
The research farm contained various other bird species also, but no symptoms of the disease were recorded among them, Yukol said.
Comedian Al Frankenconsiders Senate run
NEW YORK -- No professional comedian has ever been elected to the U.S. Senate, according to Capitol Hill historians, but Al Franken is seriously thinking about trying to become the first. By the end of next year, Franken said he expects to decide whether to move from New York City to his native Minnesota to take on Republican Sen. Norm Coleman in 2008. If he runs, he would seek to reclaim the seat of his hero and friend, the late Democratic Sen. Paul Wellstone.
"When Paul said something, whether you agreed with it or not, you knew where he stood," Franken said. "And that's a great thing. I kinda like the idea of my running because I think I'm in a position to do that, and it might be for having have been a comedian. You know, I feel like I can say what I want to say."
Franken, interviewed outside a New York skyscraper that hosts his new liberal radio talk show, said his decision will depend partly on the fate of his new show and whether a stronger candidate emerges.
"But I don't see anyone necessarily in line," said Franken.
Chief justice ordersstudy of judicial ethics
WASHINGTON -- Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist has ordered a study of federal judicial ethics, a move that follows intense criticism of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's hunting trip with Vice President Dick Cheney and congressional complaints that judges were lax in policing themselves.
A six-member committee appointed by Rehnquist will begin meeting next month, about the time the Supreme Court is expected to rule in a case involving Cheney that generated much of the criticism. Rehnquist named Justice Stephen Breyer, a Clinton appointee, to chair the panel.
Supreme Court justices decide for themselves if they have conflicts of interest, and their decisions are final. Separately, a law allows complaints to be lodged alleging federal judges have engaged in "conduct prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts."
House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., told judicial leaders at a private meeting this spring that judges are not adequately disciplining their colleagues.
Associated Press