Judge won’t block Pa. voter-ID law

Judge won’t block Pa. voter-ID law

HARRISBURG, Pa.

A Commonwealth Court judge denied a bid by civil- rights groups to block Pennsylvania’s new voter- identification law from taking effect, delivering a first-round victory to Gov. Tom Corbett and legislative Republicans who pushed the measure through this spring, saying it was needed to prevent voter fraud.

In a 70-page decision delivered Wednesday morning, Judge Robert E. Simpson said the plaintiffs did not establish that “disenfranchisement was immediate or inevitable.”

Judge Simpson also said plaintiffs did not prove that denying an injunction would cause “greater injury,” and instead noted that halting the process now would interfere with election machinery now in motion to prepare for the Nov. 6 vote.

Militants attack base

ISLAMABAD

Militants attacked an air- force base in northwest Pakistan filled with F-16s and other aircraft before dawn today, sparking a heavy battle with security forces that left parts of the base in flames, officials said.

The attack on the base in Kamra, about 50 miles northwest of Islamabad, was a brazen reminder of the threat posed by Islamist militants in Pakistan despite numerous military offensives against their sanctuaries along the Afghan border.

Unmanned craft fails at Mach 6 attempt

LOS ANGELES

An unmanned experimental aircraft failed during an attempt to fly at six times the speed of sound in the latest setback for hypersonic flight.

The X-51A Waverider was designed to reach Mach 6, or 3,600 mph, after being dropped by a B-52 bomber off the Southern California coast Tuesday. Engineers hoped it would sustain its top speed for five minutes, twice as long as an X-51A has gone before.

But the Air Force said Wednesday that a faulty control fin prevented it from starting its exotic scramjet engine, and it was lost.

Ecuador warned on Assange asylum

QUITO, Ecuador

A stern warning from Britain on the eve of Ecuador’s much-anticipated decision on Julian Assange’s asylum request led its foreign minister to accuse Britain on Wednesday of threatening to storm his nation’s London embassy to arrest the WikiLeaks founder.

Foreign Minister Ricard Patino said Britain earlier in the day had issued “a written threat that it could assault our embassy” if Assange is not handed over.

Patino also said he would announce this morning whether Ecuador would grant the request of the secret-spilling former Australian hacker, who took refuge in Ecuador’s embassy June 19 to avoid extradition to Sweden. Assange faces questioning there about purported sexual misconduct.

Man shoots guard at Christian lobby

WASHINGTON

A man opened fire inside a conservative Christian lobbying group’s headquarters Wednesday, wounding a security guard, and authorities said the gunman was carrying extra ammunition and information related to Chick-fil-A, which has become a public symbol of opposition to gay marriage.

The incident began around 10:45 a.m., officials said, when the man walked into the lobby of the Family Research Council in Washington and muttered something. When a security guard confronted him, the man opened fire with a 9 mm pistol and hit the guard in the arm, a senior law-enforcement official told the Los Angeles Times. Several people helped the guard wrestle the gunman to the ground and disarm him.

The Associated Press reported that the suspect was Floyd Lee Corkins II, 28, of Herndon, Va.

Combined dispatches