RALEIGH, N.C. — A longtime North Carolina state employee has chosen to retire instead of lowering flags to honor former Sen. Jesse Helms, saying in an e-mail that the late conservative had a “doctrine of negativity, hate and prejudice.” U.S. and state flags flew at half-staff Monday and Tuesday following an order from Gov. Mike Easley. Helms died Friday. The director of the state Standards Laboratory — which calibrates equipment for measurements such as the weight of medicines or trucks on a highway — told his staff to ignore the directive. He sent workers an e-mail saying he didn’t think it was appropriate.
New York: An apology for Obama
The Rev. Jesse Jackson apologized Wednesday for making crude remarks about presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., that were picked up during an interview with Fox News on Sunday. The civil rights leader apparently did not know that his microphone was on when he whispered the comments as he prepared for an interview on “Fox &Friends.” “Barack, he’s talking down to black people,” Jackson said in a short clip the network aired Wednesday on “Special Report With Brit Hume.” Hume reported that Jackson also “threatened to cut off a certain part of Obama’s anatomy.”
California: Inmates file lawsuit
State prisoners with hepatitis C aren’t getting the health care they need, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday that adds to complaints about the medical treatment of California inmates. The filing in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles estimates that as many as 40 percent of the state’s inmates are infected. About 30,000 are expected to report difficulty getting adequate care, which is why the suit seeks class-action status, the prisoners’ lawyer said.
High school will correct yearbook
A high school principal in suburban Covina said this week that her school would order reprints of a yearbook page that attributed fake names to members of the Black Student Union and other classmates, an incident that sparked anger in the Charter Oak High School community. The decision, made after a meeting Monday between administrators and BSU members and their families, followed weeks of investigation into how names such as “Tay Tay Shaniqua,” “Crisphy Nanos” and “Laquan White” were wrongly attributed to BSU members in a yearbook photo.
D.C.: AMA apologizes for racism
The American Medical Association is set to issue a formal apology today for its historic antipathy toward black doctors, expressing regret for transgressions, including barring black physicians from its ranks for decades and remaining silent during battles on legislation to end racial discrimination. The apology marks one of the rare times a major national organization has expressed contrition for its role in discrimination that black people have experienced in the United States.
Zimbabwe: Warning of crackdown
Zimbabwe’s regime plans a renewed crackdown on opposition leaders, parliamentarians and activists in coming days, according to ruling party sources. Despite increasing international pressure on President Robert Mugabe, the sources warned that political violence is likely to intensify. The crackdown would be aimed at pressuring the opposition to accept a government of national unity led by Mugabe, senior ruling party sources said.
Canada: Deserter gets reprieve
A National Guardsman who refused to redeploy to Iraq was granted a last-minute reprieve from deportation to the United States on Wednesday when Canada’s Federal Court said he could stay while it decides whether to hear his case. Sgt. Corey Glass, 25, was the first Iraqi war deserter from the U.S. to face imminent deportation from Canada. Glass, who had already moved out of his Toronto apartment and was set to return to the U.S. and possible jail time, was ecstatic. “This is great news,” he said. “It buys a lot of time.”
Ireland: Radar glitch at Dublin
More than 200 flights at Dublin Airport were delayed, diverted or canceled Wednesday after air traffic controllers deemed their radar system too malfunction-prone to operate safely. The Irish Aviation Authority barred aircraft from landing at Ireland’s largest airport for about two hours after the radar system failed to display the call signs that normally identify each incoming aircraft. The chaos left thousands of passengers scattered at other airports throughout Ireland.
Poland: WWII arms cache found
A huge cache of undetonated World War II ammunition and explosives was found near a public beach and is being destroyed, an official said Wednesday. The explosives came to light when a mushroom picker found bullets sticking out of the ground in a forest near Swibno, an official said. The stockpile included about 155,000 pounds of undetonated explosives buried by German troops, and 20,000 pieces of other explosive material, including detonators and ammunition, he said.
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