VIDEO GAMING MACHINES VIOLATE LAW, JUDGE RULES

Video gaming machinesviolate law, judge rules
COLUMBUS -- The Tic Tac Fruit video gaming machines do not require skill and violate Ohio's law against games of chance, a judge has ruled. The order came in a case brought by a Fraternal Order of Eagles lodge in Meigs County where state liquor inspectors, responding to an anonymous tip, confiscated three of the increasingly popular barroom games in December 2004. A statewide crackdown on the machines had been suspended while the case was heard. In the case against the Ohio Liquor Control Commission, the lodge argued that the devices were "skill-based amusement machines," which do not fall under a state prohibition against games set up to pay winners and guarantee profits to the machine owners.
Astronauts inspect shuttle
HOUSTON -- Astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery swept across the ship's exterior with remote-controlled cameras Wednesday in a search for damage that could jeopardize their return to Earth, as NASA managers pondered which of three sites would be best for landing Friday. The Discovery crew used the shuttle's robotic arm and a 50-foot boom to take pictures, which NASA engineers will examine before deciding as early as Thursday whether to clear the spaceship for landing. "So far everything is looking good," said Phil Engelauf, chief of the flight directors' office. "The systems on the vehicle are performing well. The vehicle is healthy."
Republican fears electionof more Muslims to office
WASHINGTON -- A Republican congressman has told constituents that unless immigration is tightened, "many more Muslims" will be elected and follow the lead of a recently elected lawmaker who plans to use the Quran at his ceremonial swearing-in. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., made the comments in a letter sent earlier this month to hundreds of constituents who had written to him about Rep.-elect Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat and the first Muslim elected to Congress. Goode's letter triggered angry responses from a New Jersey congressman and an Islamic civil rights group. In the letter, Goode wrote, "The Muslim representative from Minnesota was elected by the voters of that district and if American citizens don't wake up and adopt the Virgil Goode position on immigration there will likely be many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Koran." Goode said the U.S. needs to stop illegal immigration "totally" and reduce legal immigration. Goode added: "I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped." Ellison was born in Detroit and converted to Islam in college. He did not return telephone messages left Wednesday.
President Bush signs lawchanging postal operations
WASHINGTON -- President Bush on Wednesday signed into law the first major changes in postal operations in decades, offering hope for reducing or delaying future rate increases. For now, people will not notice anything different at the post office. "This is a historic accomplishment and will help one of the most revered institutions in America survive and prosper in the electronic age," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif. Sen. Susan Collins said the changes are the only way to avoid what congressional investigators referred to as a "death spiral" -- excessive and unpredictable rate increases that result in a lower volume of mail. Collins, R-Maine, noted that the Postal Service is the linchpin of a 900 billion mailing industry, providing 9 million jobs in fields such as direct mailing, printing, catalog companies, paper manufacturing and financial services. Postmaster General John E. Potter said the law could not have come at a better time. "The Postal Service has never been stronger, and this law enables us to build on our successes," he said. In an important change, the law shifts responsibility for some retirement benefits to the Treasury.
School shooting victimscheduled to return home
NICKEL MINES, Pa. -- The last of five Amish girls hospitalized after being shot nearly three months ago in a schoolhouse massacre is scheduled to go home before Christmas, according to a family friend. Sarah Ann Stoltzfus was expected to be released from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia on Friday, said Leroy Zook, the father of Stoltzfus' teacher, Emma Mae Zook, and a close friend of the victim's parents. Five other girls were killed in the Oct. 2 attack at West Nickel Mines Amish School, including Sarah Ann's 12-year-old sister, Anna Mae. The 32-year-old gunman, Charles Carl Roberts IV, committed suicide as police surrounded the one-room school.
Associated Press