Dems delay action on immigration bill

Dems delay action on immigration bill

WASHINGTON

The Senate moved Thursday to delay a politically charged showdown vote on legislation carving out a path to legal status for foreign-born youngsters brought to this country illegally, putting off but probably not preventing the measure’s demise.

Facing GOP objections, Democrats put aside the so-called Dream Act and said they’d try again to advance it before year’s end. They’re short of the 60 votes needed to do so, however, and critics in both parties quickly said they won’t change their minds in the waning days of the Democratic-controlled Congress.

“This is mainly a political exercise rather than a serious attempt to deal with our broken immigration system,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

Diplomacy in Korea

SEOUL, South Korea

Diplomacy is showing signs of life on the Korean peninsula, two weeks after North Korea shelled its neighbor. China, under intense international pressure, sent a top envoy to meet with Kim Jong Il, and an American governor whose past visits have led to warmer ties announced a new trip to the North.

As both Koreas continued to carry out military maneuvers, regional powers balanced shows of support for their allies with attempts to negotiate a detente to avert a further escalation of tensions. Four South Koreans died in the Nov. 23 attack on Yeonpyeong Island, the first to target a civilian area since the Korean War.

Brothers killed in blast at plant

NEW CUMBERLAND, W.Va.

Authorities say two brothers were killed in an explosion at a small chemical plant in West Virginia.

New Cumberland Police Chief Lester Skinner said 39-year-old Jeffery Scott Fish and 38-year-old James E. Fish were killed in the Thursday afternoon blast.

A third employee, 27-year-old Steven Swain, was badly burned and was receiving surgery and other treatment at a Pittsburgh hospital.

The second injured victim was Dave Williams, an outside contractor who was at the AL Solutions Inc. plant at the time. He was being treated for burns to his hands and face.

The cause of the blast is being investigated. Skinner said they believe the workers were processing powdered titanium, an additive for aluminum.

Drug fails against breast cancer

SAN ANTONIO

One of the most promising new approaches for fighting breast cancer took a stunning setback Thursday when a major study showed that a bone-building drug did not stop cancer from returning or extend life for most women fighting the disease.

However, the drug Zometa did seem to help certain post-menopausal women. Its maker, Novartis AG, is considering further study but will suspend plans to expand it beyond its current use as a treatment for patients whose cancer has spread to the bone.

Du Pont dies in prison cell

PITTSBURGH

John du Pont, the chemical-fortune heir who killed an Olympic gold medal-winning wrestler at his palatial estate near Philadelphia, died Thursday after being found unresponsive in his prison cell. He was 72.

Du Pont was found just before 7 a.m. at the Laurel Highlands state prison near Somerset, state prisons spokeswoman Susan McNaughton said. He was pronounced dead a short time later at Somerset Community Hospital.

He was serving a 13- to 30-year prison sentence after being found guilty but mentally ill in David Schultz’s death.

Associated Press