Nation & World Digest

Taliban dismiss peace meeting

KABUL, Afghanistan

The Taliban on Tuesday dismissed this week’s national peace conference in Afghanistan even before it had begun, threatening death to the 1,600 delegates in cassette messages distributed by the insurgent leadership.

The three-day meeting, which begins today in a giant tent at Kabul Polytechnic University, will discuss how to reconcile with the fighters — even as the U.S. rushes in more troops to ramp up the nearly nine-year war. But the meeting also could open fissures in a society deeply divided after decades of conflict.

Court: Onus of silence on suspect

WASHINGTON

The Supreme Court backed off Tuesday from strict enforcement of the famous Miranda decision and its right to remain silent, ruling that a crime suspect’s words can be used against him if he fails to clearly tell the police that he does not want to talk.

In the past, the court had said the “burden rests on the government” to show that a crime suspect has “knowingly and intelligently waived” his rights. Some police departments tell officers not to begin questioning until a suspect has waived his rights, usually by signing a waiver form.

But in Tuesday’s 5-4 decision, the court shifted the balance in favor of the police. It said the suspect has a duty to speak up and to say he does not want to talk. Moreover, the police are “not required to obtain a waiver” of the suspect’s “right to remain silent before interrogating him,” wrote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.

In her first strongly written dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the ruling “turns Miranda upside down” and “marks a substantial retreat from the protection against compelled self-incrimination.”

Ford floor mats are subject of probe

WASHINGTON

Federal safety regulators are investigating a few reports of gas pedals’ becoming trapped by floor mats in 2010 Ford Fusions and Mercury Milans.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a preliminary investigation Friday after receiving three such complaints involving unsecured all-weather floor mats. There are no reports of crashes or injuries.

A Ford spokesman, Said Deep, said the problem was due to drivers’ stacking all-weather mats on top of floor mats that come with the vehicle. Ford’s all-weather mats have warnings advising customers not to pile them and to secure them properly to the floor, he said.

Report: Justice lacks WMD plan

WASHINGTON

The Justice Department is not prepared to ensure public safety in the aftermath of an attack using weapons of mass destruction, the agency’s inspector general said Tuesday in the latest warning about U.S. government readiness for a catastrophic terrorist event.

In the event of an attack by nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, the Justice Department is supposed to coordinate federal law-enforcement activities and take over if the incident overwhelms state and local police, the report says.

Japanese PM says he’s resigning

TOKYO

Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said today he was resigning over his broken campaign promise to move a U.S. Marine base off the southern island of Okinawa.

The prime minister faced growing pressure from within his own party to resign ahead of July’s upper-house elections. His approval ratings had plummeted over his bungled handling of the relocation of the Marine Air Station Futenma, reinforcing his public image as an indecisive leader.

Combined dispatches