SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court on Thursday refused to block a controversial Arizona law that shuts down businesses for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. The action by the three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for the statute to be enforced beginning Saturday. Passed overwhelmingly by the Arizona Legislature, the law places any company found to have knowingly hired an illegal immigrant on probation. If the company is found in violation of the law again, its business license is automatically revoked, ending its ability to operate in the state.
@3. Headline Briefs 14 no:Satellite debris delays launch
The launch of a rocket carrying a secret payload has been postponed to avoid possible space debris from the destruction of a spy satellite. The Atlas V rocket was supposed to blast off today from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California carrying a classified satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. But a launch hot line recording from the maker of the rocket said the launch won’t occur until sometime in March. The recording said the delay was “a precautionary measure.”
@3. Headline Briefs 14 no:Lawmakers select new speaker
California lawmakers elected Democrat Karen Bass as the next Assembly speaker on Thursday, making her the first black woman to hold the powerful position. “This is an amazing, amazing moment,” Bass, 54, of Los Angeles, said after the voice vote. “Thank you so much for your vote of faith and confidence in me as your next speaker.” Bass was elected to the 80-member chamber in 2004 and is known for writing legislation on child welfare and social justice issues.
@3. Headline Briefs 14 no:Police say shooting wasn’t random
A gunman who wounded five children and three adults at a South Los Angeles bus stop was aiming at a specific person and wound up shooting bystanders, police said Thursday. “There was a target,” a police captain said. Armed with a semiautomatic handgun, the man opened fire around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday at a busy intersection filled with shoppers, motorists and students. No one has been arrested but investigators had “promising leads,” he said.
N.J.: Plea in NFL stadium threats
A former Wisconsin grocery clerk pleaded guilty in Newark on Thursday to making bogus Internet postings warning of terrorist attacks against seven NFL stadiums in 2006. Jake J. Brahm admitted he posted false information that so-called dirty bombs would be detonated at stadiums having games on Oct. 22, 2006. Brahm, 22, had said the stadiums were in Seattle, Miami, Atlanta, Houston, Oakland, Cleveland and New York City. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Greece: 5.0 undersea earthquake
An earthquake of preliminary magnitude 5.0 rattled southern Greece on Thursday, seismologists said. No damage or injuries were reported. The undersea quake occurred at 6:54 a.m. off the southern city of Kalamata, about 175 miles southwest of Athens. The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the magnitude at 4.5. The southern Greek region has been jolted by more than a dozen quakes since the beginning of the year, the strongest recorded at magnitude 6.5 on Feb. 14.
Costa Rica: Airliner turns back
A Continental Airlines Boeing 737 en route to Newark, N.J., with 144 passengers on board returned for an emergency landing shortly after takeoff Thursday when a smoke detector went off in the cabin, aviation authorities said. No injuries were reported. After landing safely, the plane resumed its scheduled flight. Continental Flight 1797 reported the emergency at 10:30 a.m. local time, then returned minutes later to Costa Rica’s San Jose airport where it had taken off, an airport director said. Other flights were delayed while firefighters tried to determine what triggered the alarm.
Britain: 30 years for poisoning
A British woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for trying to kill her husband by lacing his food and wine with antifreeze. A judge at Stafford Crown Court in central England told 28-year-old Kate Knight on Thursday that she was guilty of a plot with “lethal intent and devastating consequences.” Knight was convicted last month of attempted murder for adding ethylene glycol to his curry and red wine on their seventh wedding anniversary in 2005. Prosecutors say she planned to use her husband’s death benefits to pay off her debts.
Spain: No charges in son’s bull run
Charges were dropped against a Spaniard who let his 10-year-old son participate in the running of bulls last year in Pamplona. The court in Pamplona ruled Thursday that Miguel Gomez, 28, was not derelict in his parental duties. Gomez did not run with the fighting bulls but joined the race after the bulls passed by. The man and his son trotted with a pack of oxen that followed the bulls. Gomez’s ex-wife filed charges accusing him of causing the boy psychological stress.
From Herald news services
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