WASHINGTON — Customs and Border Protection spokesman Lloyd Easterling said 69 miles of the fence along the U.S.-Mexico border still must be built to meet the goal set during the Bush administration. He said 601 miles of the project had been completed as of a week ago. In December, then President-elect Barack Obama said he wanted to evaluate border security operations before he considers whether to finish building the fence under his administration.
GOP falls short on kids health bill
The Senate defeated an effort Tuesday by Republicans to make it harder for states to extend government-sponsored health insurance to children of legal immigrants. By voice vote, senators rejected an amendment that would have required states to extend health coverage to the vast majority of other low-income children first before covering legal immigrants. The vote came amid debate on legislation to boost spending on the State Children’s Health Insurance Program by $31.5 billion.
Specter to support Holder for AG
Eric Holder’s confirmation as attorney general was assured Tuesday when Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he will support confirmation. No Republican has come out against Holder. However, several criticized him sharply for his role in some pardons by former President Bill Clinton, and the failure to recommend an independent counsel’s investigation of Democratic fundraising during the Clinton administration. Holder served as the No. 2 Justice Department official under Clinton.
California: Christian school can expel lesbians, appeals court says
A California appeals court has ruled that a Christian high school in Wildomar can expel students because of an alleged lesbian relationship. The 4th District Court of Appeal on Monday upheld California Lutheran High School’s right as a private, religious organization to exclude students based on sexual orientation. Two girls sued after they were expelled from the Wildomar school in 2005, claiming they were discriminated against.
Florida: No Caylee doll after all
A Florida promotions company has backed off plans to sell a blonde-haired doll bearing the name of slain toddler Caylee Anthony. Showbiz Promotions, based in Jacksonville, had planned to sell its Caylee Sunshine doll for $29.99. But Jaime Salcedo says the company reversed course after reviewing public response to the doll. Other items bearing the doll’s name remain available. Salcedo says the proceeds will go to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Caylee’s mother, Casey, has been charged with killing the Orlando girl, who was 2 when she disappeared.
Mexico: Remittances see first drop
The money sent home by Mexican migrants fell in 2008 for the first time on record, Mexico’s central bank said Tuesday, part of a global trend that could worsen as emigrants from developing countries lose jobs in the global financial crisis. Remittances, Mexico’s second-largest source of foreign income after oil, plunged 3.6 percent to $25 billion in 2008 compared with $26 billion for the previous year, the central bank said. The percentage drop is nearly twice what the government had expected for the year.
Japan: Whaling ban may ease
The International Whaling Commission may ease its ban on commercial whaling to allow Japan to hunt whales off its coast in return for killing fewer whales in the Antarctic, officials said Tuesday. Japan would be allowed to conduct commercial whaling in local waters in exchange for reducing the number of whales it kills in the Antarctic for scientific research — up to 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales this season. The proposal did not specify how many whales Japan would be allowed to kill.
Iceland: New government in works
Iceland’s center-left Social Democratic Alliance Party was chosen Tuesday to form a new government with the Left-Green movement after the collapse of the conservative government amid deep economic troubles. President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson made the decision after Prime Minister Geir Haarde, who had led the island nation since 2006, was toppled Monday by angry protests over the country’s slide into economic ruin.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
