Possible tsunami debris in Wash.
Possible tsunami debris in Wash.
SEATTLE
Kayakers surveying Washington state’s most remote beaches for debris from last year’s Japanese tsunami say they believe they have found part of a house, along with pieces of a washing machine, laundry hamper and child’s toilet bowl.
Three kayakers with the Ikkatsu Project wrote in a report this week that they found the remnants June 12 as they worked their way up a beach near the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula, about 120 miles west of Seattle.
They discovered a lumber pile mixed in with driftwood and seaweed. The lumber’s dimensions were metric, and some of it was stamped with a serial number they traced to a mill in Osaka — the Diawa Pallet Housou Co., the kayakers wrote.
Romney ‘thoroughly vetting’ Rubio for VP
HOLLAND, Mich.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Tuesday that his campaign is “thoroughly vetting” Marco Rubio as it searches for a running mate despite reports that the Florida senator is not being considered.
ABC News and The Washington Post cited unnamed advisers in reporting that Rubio, R-Fla., wasn’t on the short list for the No. 2 spot on the GOP ticket.
“I can’t imagine who such people are, but I can tell you this: They know nothing about the vice presidential selection or evaluation process,” Romney told reporters in Michigan. “The story was entirely false. Marco Rubio is being thoroughly vetted as part of our process.”
Likelihood of contempt vote rises
WASHINGTON
A Republican House committee chairman said Tuesday he is prepared to follow through on a contempt vote against Attorney General Eric Holder unless the Justice Department provides Congress with documents on a flawed gun-smuggling probe.
The likelihood of a contempt vote today rose after Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Holder failed to reach agreement in a 20-minute meeting at the Capitol.
“If we receive no documents, we’ll go forward,” Issa told reporters.
Holder told reporters he would not turn over documents on the gun-smuggling probe called Operation Fast and Furious unless Issa agreed to another meeting.
Quran-burning case
WASHINGTON
A U.S. military investigation is recommending that as many as seven U.S. troops face administrative punishments, but not criminal charges, in the burning of Qurans at a U.S. base in Afghanistan in February, The Associated Press has learned.
U.S. military officials said the classified report and recommendations for disciplinary action against the service members involved were delivered to the Pentagon more than a week ago. They have been turned over to the Army and Navy secretaries. No final decisions have been made.
Fort Hood suspect barred from court
FORT HOOD, Texas
An Army psychiatrist charged in the deadly 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood was barred from military court by the judge Tuesday because he still has a beard.
Maj. Nidal Hasan was told that he couldn’t attend any more hearings or his upcoming murder trial unless he shaves. The judge, Col. Gregory Gross, initially warned Hasan that he was violating Army regulations at a hearing earlier this month. That was the first time Hasan showed up in court sporting a beard.
Lead defense attorney Lt. Col. Kris Poppe told the judge that Hasan grew the beard as a “deeply sincere” expression of his faith and because he has a premonition he will die soon.
Associated Press