DETROIT — Ending a seven-month political soap opera that consumed the city, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty Thursday to two felonies related to his affair with a top aide and resigned from office. In an agreement with prosecutors, Kilpatrick, 38, pleaded guilty to two counts of obstruction of justice and will serve four months in jail. He also agreed to pay the city $1 million in restitution. He cannot hold public office during his five-year probation period, his law license will be revoked and he will give up his state pension. Kilpatrick said later that resigning was “the most difficult decision of my life,” and that “I take full responsibility for my actions, for the poor judgment they reflected.”
Louisiana: FEMA pays for rooms
A Federal Emergency Management official says Hurricane Gustav evacuees whose homes remain uninhabitable because of power outages, damage or for other reasons related to the storm can have their hotel costs paid by FEMA. An agency official said Thursday that the aid won’t be available for short-term evacuees who fled the storm, spent a few nights in a hotel and then returned home. Rather, it will be for Gustav-related “extended stays” in hotels.
D.C.: Red Cross runs in the red
The American Red Cross is borrowing money to cover its costs from Hurricane Gustav and will probably go deeper into debt as it prepares for three additional storms threatening the United States. A Red Cross vice president said the agency could spend more than $70 million feeding and sheltering victims of Gustav. It has raised only $5 million so far, and donations are trickling in slowly because the public seems to think there wasn’t much damage, he said.
New standards for lawn mowers
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday tightened emissions standards for new gas-powered lawnmowers, weed trimmers and boat engines, reducing the amount of smog-causing pollution these motors will be allowed to emit. In adopting long-delayed rules that will require small gas engines to have catalytic converters like those that have been installed in cars since 1975, the Bush administration overruled the initial objections of both engine manufacturers and their GOP allies in Congress, who argued that installing the devices in small engines could pose a fire threat.
Mexico suspends meat shipments
The government of Mexico has voluntarily suspended shipments of meat and processed poultry to the United States after U.S. officials raised concerns about the quality of Mexican food processing and inspections, an Agriculture Department official said Thursday. The department’s Food Safety and Inspection Service identified systemic problems with sanitation controls and recordkeeping during an annual audit that took place in Mexico between June 24 and July 31. The voluntary suspension began Aug. 29, a spokeswoman for the service said. About 2 percent of beef and poultry in the U.S. comes from Mexican producers.
Minnesota: Obama rakes in cash
Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign said it raised $10 million Thursday following the Republican National Convention speech by rival Sen. John McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. An Obama spokesman said Palin’s address, heavily laced with digs at Obama, prompted an outpouring of donations from more than 130,000 donors. “We’re up over the previous record and the number is still climbing the more Palin’s attacks are covered on cable and network news,” he said.
Illinois: Jesse Jackson in hospital
The Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized and undergoing tests Thursday after complaining of severe stomach pains. Jackson said he entered Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago on Wednesday after falling ill earlier in the week. Doctors told him he has viral gastroenteritis but were conducting more tests. The 66-year-old civil rights leader said he was feeling much better Thursday but wasn’t sure when he would be released. Gastroenteritis isn’t considered serious for most people.
Argentina: Commuters burn trains
Commuters are so frustrated by delays that some are setting fire to trains. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to quell protests in which passengers burned trains in at least two locations near Buenos Aires on Thursday. A spokesman for Buenos Aires Trains acknowledges the company has trouble meeting rush-hour demand for trains running west from the capital, despite a schedule that has trains leaving every eight minutes.
Japan: Monk destroys his temple
A Japanese monk trying to rid his temple of a hornet’s nest panicked when the hornets attacked him and dropped a torch, burning his temple to the ground, police said Thursday. The Buddhist monk had put lighted rags on a stick into the nest in the temple, but dropped it and ran when the hornets flew out and attacked him on Wednesday, a Niigata state police official said. The temple in Ojiya City was burned to the ground, along with the nest, he said.
From Herald news services
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