WASHINGTON — Nineteen senators, including five from Washington state, Idaho and Alaska, asked the Department of Homeland Security on Monday to delay new border-crossing rules that will mean longer lines and stiffer demands for identification for people entering the United States from Canada.
In a letter to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff, the senators said commerce will be stifled and lives disrupted if federal officials go ahead Thursday with plans to end the practice of allowing people to enter after showing a document, such as a driver’s license, and declaring their nationality.
“I understand the need for greater scrutiny of those coming over our northern border,” said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. “But this new requirement will only make a bad situation worse. Creating this policy now … will frustrate citizens and won’t provide any new security assurances.”
The plan’s only certainty is that “it will slow traffic and commerce over our northern border,” Murray said.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., did not sign the letter, but a spokeswoman said her office was drafting its own letter emphasizing the need for stronger northern border security.
Bush signs bill with troop pay raise
President Bush on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes a 3.5 percent pay raise for troops, retroactive to Jan. 1, and addresses his concerns about exposing Iraq to costly lawsuits. Democrats revised the measure to allow Bush to grant immunity to Iraq in the provision that would have guaranteed that victims of state-sponsored abuse can sue foreign governments in court and collect judgments by seizing its assets inside the United States.
Agriculture secretary confirmation
The Senate confirmed Edward Schafer as secretary of agriculture with no objections Monday. The former North Dakota governor was confirmed by unanimous consent.
California: Reprieve from rain
Skies were clearing Monday over waterlogged California after a week of downpours and heavy snowfall that led to five deaths but only minor flooding and slides. Experts said hillsides in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties charred by last year’s wildfires remained at risk for landslides. Thousands of power outages were reported throughout Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Illinois: Fundraiser’s bond revoked
A Chicago judge revoked the $2 million bond Monday for indicted businessman Antoin “Tony” Rezko, who has raised thousands of dollars for Barack Obama and Illinois politicians. U.S. District Judge Amy J. St. Eve said she grew concerned after learning Rezko received $3.5 million from a company in Lebanon; he had claimed that he had no income. St. Eve said she feared Rezko could be a flight risk. Rezko has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud, attempted extortion and money laundering, and is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 25.
N.Y.: Man sold artifacts on eBay
A state archivist was charged Monday with stealing hundreds of artifacts — documents representing “the heritage of all Americans,” according to the history buff who found some of them on eBay — to pay his household bills. Daniel Lorello, 54, is accused of taking the rare items from the New York State Library, including Davy Crockett Almanacs, Currier and Ives lithographs and the 1865 railroad timetable for Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train. Authorities believe he hawked them for tens of thousands of dollars, using much of that to pay off his daughter’s credit card debt.
N.J.: Murder conviction overturned
A man who admitted dismembering his girlfriend and cooking her head in a pot had his murder conviction overturned Monday by the New Jersey Supreme Court. Trial errors cast doubt on the fairness of the jury’s verdict against George Jenewicz for the 1998 murder of Eunice Gillens, the state’s highest court ruled in a 5-2 decision. Jenewicz testified that he shot her in self-defense following a fight and dismembered her in a panic. He said he put her head in a pot to boil away her features.
Brazil: Wants to build nuclear sub
Brazil is seeking to buy military technology from France that could help it become the first country in Latin America to have a nuclear submarine, the Defense Ministry said Monday. Brazil’s defense minister went to France last week to discuss the possible purchase of a diesel-powered Scorpene class submarine. The Defense Ministry declined to confirm a report, published Monday by the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, that Brazil would buy the submarine for $600 million, paid over 20 years at an annual interest rate of 2.4 percent.
Pakistan: Hostage students let go
Gunmen held dozens of students and teachers hostage for five hours at a school in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, but authorities allowed the captors to flee without punishment to avoid bloodshed, a tribal negotiator said. None of the hostages were hurt. Kidnapping for ransom is common in Pakistan, particularly in the northwest, and police said the gunmen were criminals seeking profit rather than militants.
Lebanon: Violence warnings
A top Shiite cleric warned Monday that violence in Beirut could spin out of control, a day after seven protesters died in rioting in the city’s southern suburbs. What started as an angry protest by government opponents against electricity rationing degenerated into street violence and clashes with troops. The violence was confined to mainly Shiite areas, and the army deployed in what appeared to be an attempt to prevent the unrest from spreading to nearby Sunni Muslim and Christian areas.
From Herald news services
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