hU.S. soldiers re-up and then go for a ride

hU.S. soldiers re-upand then go for a ride
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Having fun at Busch Gardens are, from bottom to top, U.S. Army Spc. William Bracy, Col. Jeff Meiser, Master Sgt. Ana Reyes, and Staff Sgt. Jacob Bechtel. They rode Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens on Friday. They were among 31 soldiers from Fort Eustis celebrating their re-enlistment at the park. A group of military career counselors created the event to give their retention program an "extra edge."
Jury awards $500,000for a spanking at work
FRESNO, Calif. -- A jury awarded $500,000 Friday to a woman who was spanked in front of her colleagues in what her employer called a camaraderie-building exercise. The jury of six men and six women found that Janet Orlando was subjected to sexual harassment and sexual battery when she was paddled two years ago at Alarm One Inc., a home security company in Fresno. The jury, however, said that Orlando did not suffer from sexual assault as she had alleged. Orlando, 53, had asked for at least $1.2 million in lost wages, medical costs and damages. Orlando quit in 2004, less than a year after she was hired, saying she was humiliated during the company's camaraderie-building exercises.
5 Congress membersare jailed after protest
WASHINGTON -- Five members of Congress were jailed Friday after protesting outside the Sudanese Embassy over atrocities in the embattled Darfur region. "The slaughter of the people of Darfur must end," Rep. Tom Lantos, D-Calif., a Holocaust survivor who founded the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, said from the embassy steps before his arrest. Four other Democratic House members -- Reps. James McGovern and John Olver of Massachusetts, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and Jim Moran of Virginia -- were among 11 protesters arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly, a misdemeanor subject to a fine. The five lawmakers were released after being booked at a D.C. police station and paying $50 fines. During the protest, the five were willingly arrested and led away from the embassy front steps in plastic handcuffs. "We must hold the Sudanese government accountable for the attacks they have supported on their own citizens in Darfur," Olver said. At the White House, President Bush met with Darfur advocates on Friday and lent his support to rallies planned in more than a dozen cities around the country this weekend to protest the violence in the embattled western region of Sudan.
Mexico's Congress OKsdecriminalizing drugs
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's Congress approved a bill Friday decriminalizing possession of small quantities of drugs for personal use -- including cocaine and even heroin -- raising potential questions about joint U.S.-Mexican anti-narcotics operations. The only step remaining was the signature of President Vicente Fox, whose office indicated he would sign the bill, which Mexican officials hope will allow police to focus on large-scale trafficking operations rather than minor drug busts. "This law gives police and prosecutors better legal tools to combat drug crimes that do so much damage to our youth and children," said Fox's spokesman, Ruben Aguilar.
Army charges officerin Abu Ghraib abuse
WASHINGTON -- The Army charged the former head of the interrogation center at Abu Ghraib prison Friday in Iraq with cruelty and maltreatment, dereliction of duty and other criminal offenses for his alleged involvement in the abuse of detainees at the notorious prison in 2003. Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, was charged with 12 counts under the Uniform Code of Military Justice covering seven separate offenses. He is the highest-ranking officer at Abu Ghraib to face criminal charges. A preliminary hearing, often referred to as the military equivalent of a grand jury investigation, will be held when Jordan's defense counsel is ready but no date has been set, according to an announcement by the Military District of Washington.
Associated Press