The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said Sunday he was ready to go to court if the White House resisted congressional subpoenas for information on the firing of federal prosecutors. At issue is whether the White House exerted undue political influence in the Justice Department’s firing of U.S. attorneys. “If they don’t cooperate, yes I’d go that far,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. He was asked in a broadcast interview whether he would seek a congressional vote on contempt citations if President Bush did not comply. That move would push the matter to court.
Obama fundraising outstrips Clinton
Sen. Barack Obama outraised Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton by $10 million in second-quarter contributions that can be spent on the Democratic presidential primary contest. Obama’s campaign on Sunday reported raising at least $31 million for the primary contest and an extra $1.5 million for the general election from April through June, a record for a Democratic candidate. Clinton’s campaign announced late Sunday that she had raised $21 million for the primary. With general election contributions added, aides said her total sum would be “in the range” of $27 million.
N.Y.: Missing soldier’s wife can stay
A woman whose soldier husband is missing in Iraq has gotten her green card after authorities threatened to deport her for entering the U.S. illegally. Yaderlin Hiraldo Jimenez, who is from the Domican Republic, walked out of a Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Buffalo, N.Y., on Friday with her permanent residency papers, her lawyer said. She has been living in Pennsylvania. Army Spec. Alex Jimenez of Lawrence, Mass., has been missing since his unit was attacked in Iraq on May 12.
California: Shuttle leaves atop a 747
A modified Boeing 747 jet carrying the space shuttle Atlantis took off Sunday from Edwards Air Force Base on a return trip to the shuttle’s launch site at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The jet made a planned stop at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Neb., Sunday afternoon for refueling and to check the connection between it and the shuttle, NASA spokeswoman Jennifer Tharpe said. NASA officials were monitoring the weather in Nebraska and in Florida, and the jet will not take off until this morning at the earliest, NASA spokeswoman Jennifer Tharpe said.
Utah: Wildfire forces evacuation
A wildfire that has scorched about 46 square miles in northeastern Utah and killed three people has prompted the evacuation of hundreds of people from nearby towns and forced authorities to close a national forest to the public. The fire started Friday morning north of Neola, and on Sunday morning crews had it about 5 percent contained. The fire began spreading into the Ashley National Forest on Sunday afternoon. The cause of the blaze has not been determined.
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