WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has launched an investigation into whether former Interior Secretary Gale Norton illegally used her position to steer lucrative oil leases to Royal Dutch Shell PLC, the company she works for now, officials with both departments said. The criminal investigation is focused on a 2006 decision by the Interior Department to award three oil shale leases on federal land in Colorado to a Shell subsidiary. Oil from the leases could eventually earn the company hundreds of billions dollars.
Obama media blitz skips Fox
President Barack Obama is sat down for interviews with five television networks Friday, a highly unusual schedule even for a president who regularly uses the media to get his message across. Obama will be taping interviews with ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and Univision that will be shown during the networks’ Sunday morning talk shows. The only network missing from the lineup is Fox. Obama also is visiting David Letterman on Monday, the first appearance ever by a sitting president on Letterman’s “Late Show.”
Crew set for final shuttle flight
NASA’s chief astronaut will shut off the lights on America’s space shuttle program. NASA announced Friday the crew for the last scheduled space shuttle mission, targeted for next September. It will be on the space shuttle Discovery and bring equipment to the international space station. NASA chief astronaut Steven Lindsey will command the flight. The veteran crew includes pilot Eric Boe, Benjamin Drew, Timothy Kopra, Michael Barratt, and Nicole Stott. Boeing is a prime contractor for the shuttle program.
Florida: Bomb threat on plane
A threatening note forced a Boston-bound airplane to return to a Miami airport about 40 minutes after takeoff, but nothing suspicious was found. An airport spokesman said a flight attendant found a note in one of the plane’s bathrooms Thursday night that said explosives might be on board. American Airlines Flight 1640 had departed Miami International Airport around 9:30 p.m. An FBI spokesman said the word “bomb” was in the note.
Vermont: Foreign volunteers
The president of Macedonia said 80 soldiers from his country are ready to serve in Afghanistan alongside soldiers from the Vermont National Guard — if the Pentagon gives the go-ahead. President Gjorge Ivanov attended a briefing Friday at the Vermont National Guard headquarters in Colchester to discuss some of the details of the proposal. Since 1995, the Vermont National Guard has mentored the Macedonian military, which is hoping to join NATO. Ivanov said his military has met NATO standards.
California: Inferno burnt pot
The wildfire that has ravaged a national forest near Los Angeles has burned one plant species that authorities are happy to see go: marijuana. The fire destroyed an untold number of marijuana plantations in the Angeles National Forest, a growing hub for pot-growing operations in California. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office said three marijuana cultivation areas identified just before the fire are believed to have burned and many more are assumed to have been destroyed.
Alaska: Top bid for Palin feed
A chance to have dinner with former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has swelled the coffers of an organization that aids wounded veterans. The top bid for dinner with Palin, the former Alaska governor, was $63,500. The auction ended Friday afternoon. Palin offered the dinner as part of a charity auction on eBay for the Ride 2 Recovery program, which supports wounded veterans through cycling programs. All told, more than $95,000 was raised.
Greece: Pot farm in median
A man has been arrested for allegedly growing marijuana in the median strip of the country’s main highway. The pot plants weren’t little seedlings, nor were they well-concealed. Police said the 35-year-old was caught Thursday in the middle of a six-lane highway linking Athens with Thessaloniki, harvesting 42 marijuana plants up to 5.9 feet tall. A small quantity of dried pot was found in his home, as well. Police said the marijuana had been planted in a 3-foot wide median about 43 miles south of Thessaloniki. The arrest was announced Friday.
From Herald news services
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