WASHINGTON — The Obama administration says the Supreme Court should let the corruption trial of ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich move forward.
Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal told the high court on Friday that he sees no reason for a delay.
The trial of Blagojevich and his brother, Robert Blagojevich, is scheduled to begin Thursday.
Rod Blagojevich’s lawyers want the justices to rule first in pending cases about the constitutionality if the federal honest-services fraud law, because it’s the basis of some of the charges he faces. Requests to delay the trial already were denied by lower court judges. Blagojevich pleaded not guilty to charges that include scheming to sell or trade President Barack Obama’s former Senate seat.
Hawaii: State bans shark fins
Hawaii has become the first state in the nation to ban shark fins. Gov. Linda Lingle on Friday signed a bill prohibiting the possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fins, which are used in pricey Chinese dishes. Exceptions will be made for researchers who have obtained a permit from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. Lawmakers hope the new law will help prevent overfishing and extinction of sharks harvested for their fins. Many Chinese consider shark fins to be a delicacy, served in high-end Chinese restaurants in soup and as fillets in gravy.
D.C.: Indian suit extended
A lead plaintiff for Indian landowners involved in a class-action lawsuit against the government says participants have agreed to extend the deadline for resolving the case until June 15. Lack of movement on Capitol Hill appeared to place the $3.4 billion settlement in jeopardy. But the House approved it on Friday as part of a package of tax cuts and benefit extensions. Elousie Cobell, of the Blackfeet Tribe, said the extension gives the Senate an opportunity to do the same after its Memorial Day recess. Cobell announced the agreement Friday — the day a federal judge previously had set as the deadline for congressional action. Plaintiffs say the government breached its responsibility to manage assets belonging to American Indians. The settlement would result in recovery payments for more than 300,000 Indians.
California: U.S.-German observatory sees ‘first light’
A new U.S.-German infrared observatory mounted in highly modified Boeing 747SP has made its first in-flight night observations. NASA said Friday that the jet carrying the 100-inch-diameter telescope achieved the milestone on Wednesday during a six-hour flight from its base in Palmdale. The joint NASA and German Aerospace Center project is called the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy. It will allow observations at altitudes above most of the atmospheric water vapor that plagues ground-based telescopes. NASA said the stability and precision pointing of the met or exceeded expectations. Images from the flight showed Jupiter with heat pouring out from its interior through holes in its clouds.
Guatemala: Volcano erupts
Explosive eruptions shook two huge volcanos in Central and South America on Friday, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes and disrupting air traffic as ash drifted over major cities. Guatemala’s Pacaya volcano started erupting lava and rocks Thursday afternoon, blanketing the country’s capital with ash and forcing the closure of the international airport. A television reporter was killed by a shower of burning rocks when he got too close to the volcano, about 15 miles south of Guatemala City.
Canada: Honorary citizenship for the Aga Khan
Canada has granted honorary Canadian citizenship upon the Aga Khan, a billionaire philanthropist and spiritual leader of 20 million Muslims worldwide. The Aga Khan was in Toronto on Friday to launch the development of a $285 million cultural center for Ismaili Muslims and the Aga Khan Museum for Islamic Art and Culture.
Rwanda: U.S. lawyer arrested
An American lawyer helping defend a Rwandan presidential hopeful against charges that include promoting a genocidal ideology was arrested Friday and charged with genocide denial, police said. The U.S. National Lawyers Guild demanded Peter Erlinder’s immediate release and said the government was trying to hamstring the legal defense of Victoire Ingabire, an opposition leader running against President Paul Kagame in Aug. 9 elections.
From Herald news services
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