WASHINGTON — A divided Federal Communications Commission has ruled that Comcast Corp. violated federal policy when it blocked Internet traffic for some subscribers and has ordered the cable giant to change the way it manages its network. The FCC by a 3-2 vote Friday enforced a policy that guarantees customers open access to the Internet. The commission did not assess a fine, but ordered the company to stop cutting off transfers of large data files among customers who use a special type of “file-sharing” software.
Senate approves Great Lakes pact
The Senate voted Friday to ratify a compact to prevent the diversion of water from the Great Lakes, quickly approving legislation sought by the region’s governors worried that thirsty places would covet one of the world’s largest sources of fresh water. The Senate passed the measure without objection, and it now awaits action in the House. The agreement, negotiated by eight Great Lakes states, prevents countries or remote states from tapping into the lakes from their natural drainage basin with rare exceptions.
Florida: IRS ‘hit’ sought, FBI says
Federal authorities say a central Florida construction company owner tried to hire a hit man to kill an IRS agent to avoid paying $300,000 in taxes. A U.S. Treasury agent said in an affidavit that Randy Nowak in June agreed to pay an undercover FBI agent $20,000 to kill the agent who was auditing him. Nowak thought the FBI agent was a hit man. The affidavit says Nowak also was afraid the government would find $4 million he had stashed in offshore bank accounts.
Iowa: Judge supports strip club
A judge has ruled in favor of a nude dancing club owner charged with violating Iowa’s indecent exposure law. The judge ruled Friday that prosecutors failed to prove the club wasn’t a theater. Iowa law allows nudity at theaters, museums and other venues devoted to the arts or theatrical performances. Fremont County’s attorney charged club owner Clarence Judy after a 17-year-old girl climbed on stage at Shotgun Geniez in the tiny town of Hamburg and stripped off her clothing.
Texas: Wire theft turns dangerous
A man who climbed to the top of a utility pole Friday in an effort to steal copper was jolted by a high-voltage wire and burned over 50 percent of his body, officials said. It took rescue workers more than an hour to free the badly injured man and take him down a fire truck’s extended ladder. Live TV coverage showed 51-year-old James Buster McKay’s shirt in tatters, his jeans mostly burned away from his body. His skin looked red, and he appeared to be in extreme pain. McKay apparently was trying to steal copper wire near Dallas, police said. He is under arrest on a felony charge of criminal mischief, officials said.
China: Military costs pass France
China’s defense spending is on track to reach $360 billion a year by 2020 if annual increases continue at their current pace, an analyst with defense consultancy Jane’s said Friday. That figure is still dwarfed by U.S. military spending, which amounted to $547 billion last year, but it would represent a significant increase over Beijing’s current official budget of about $59 billion. China’s publicly announced spending is roughly on a level with total military expenditure by Britain last year and slightly higher than that of France.
Germany: Lufthansa strike settled
Lufthansa reached an agreement with the ver.di union, signaling an end to a weeklong strike that resulted in numerous flight cancellations and delays, the airline and union said Friday. A ver.di negotiator said the strike, which began Monday, would end today. He said that the Cologne-based airline, Germany’s biggest, had agreed to a 5.1 percent pay raise, retroactive to July 1, for members of the ver.di union, which is largely comprised of ground staff. That will be followed by another raise of 2.3 percent on July 1, 2009. The company said the increase would cost the airline about $60 million for the remainder of this year and $155 million next year.
Spain: $84 million heroin bust
Spanish police said they have seized 700 pounds of heroin and arrested five people. A police statement Friday said four Turks and one Romanian were arrested in an operation at a sports marina in the northeastern port of Sitges, close to Barcelona. Police said the drugs seized Thursday had an estimated street value of $84 million. Police say it is the biggest heroin haul in Spain and one of the biggest in Europe.
Brazil: Bomb breaches prison wall
Officials said a bomb has exploded outside a maximum security penitentiary in southeastern Brazil and opened a hole in one of the prison walls. The Sao Paulo State Prison Affairs Department said none of the prison’s inmates escaped and that no one was hurt by the Friday morning blast at the Adriano Marrey Penitentiary on the outskirts of the city of Sao Paulo. Police said two men hurled “an explosive device” that opened a “large” hole in the prison wall. They ran away.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
