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Judge Brown Moves Toward Confirmation for Nomination
Parties divided over two-year
filibuster barring final vote
(A P) - The Senate on Tuesday
ended a tw o-year filibuster o f Cali­
fornia judge Janice Rogers Brown,
clearing for final vote her nom ina­
tion to the U.S. Appeals Court.
R epublicans have argued that
Brown was worthy o f co nfirm a­
tion to a court that many call the
second most im portant in the na­
tion. one also view ed as a step­
ping stone to the Suprem e Court.
Brown would be the second A fri­
can A m erican woman to sit on
that court, which decides im por­
tant governm ent cases involving
separation of pow ers and the au­
thority of federal agencies.
T h e C o n g r e s s io n a l B lack
C au cu s arg u es Brow n has un­
accep tab le records in cases in ­
volv in g racial and ethnic d is­
crim ination.
"Ms. Brown rejects the civil
Last month. Senate centrists
rights rem edies Congress has e n ­ struck a deal to confirm Brown
acted and that the courts have and two other controversial nom i­
approved," said U.S. Rep. Melvin nees to avoid a fight over the
L. Watt (D -N C) and CBC chair­ judicial filibuster. Because of that
deal, as many as four of Bush’s
man.
O ther D em ocrats have been nom inees to the regional U.S.
blocking Brown because they see A ppeals C ourts could be con­
her as a conservative judicial ac­ firm ed before the end o f the week.
tivist who ignores the law in tavor
Controversial judge Janice
o f her own political views. They
Rogers Brown is headed
are critical of her record as a jurist
toward confirmation for the
who supported lim its on abortion
U.S. Court o f Appeals.
rights and corporate liability and
(AP Photo)
opposed affirm ative action.
Washington Election Jobless N um bers Reach 10 Percent
Rate for blacks doubles
Dispute Resolved
that of white population
(AP) - A judge on Monday up­
held W ashington's 2004 guberna­
torial election, rejecting Republi­
cans’ bid to nullify the 129-vote
victory of Democratic Gov. Chris­
tine Gregoire.
Chelan County Superior Court
Judge John Bridges denied Repub­
lican claims that election errors, il­
legal voters and fraud stole the
election from GOP candidate Dino
Rossi.
Republicans were seeking a new
election in November. Rosi con­
ceded after M onday’s verdict and
said he would not appeal to a higher
court.
Bridges' ruling came afteratw o-
week trial that turned over rocks in
election departments around the
state, exposing flaws and quirks
that usually don’t matter because
the results usually aren’t so close.
Rossi won the first count by 261
The U.S. Department of Labor said the jobless
rate for black Americans totaled 10.1 percent in
May, more than double the 4.4 percent for white
Americans.
“I am confident that the actual rate is even
higher because many African Americans have
simply stopped looking for jobs,” said U.S. Rep.
I l ’e J J n r t l a n b
Gov. Christine Gregoire
votes, then watched his lead shrink
to 42 in a machine recount. In a
hand recount of nearly 3 million
ballots, Gregoire won by 129 votes,
and her margin was the smallest in
p e rc e n ta g e
te rm s o f any
governor’s race in the nation’s
history.
with a friend. If someone goes
down, call 911. Any information
you can give paramedics about
the situation can help save a life,
specifically what drugs a person
has taken. Use precautions if you
have been clean for awhile (e.g.
jail, detox, hospital, or you just cut
back yourself). Your tolerance
level may have changed and you
may want to use a smaller amount.
D on’t mix drugs. Mixing heroin,
alcohol, and other drugs can be
deadly. Take control o f your own
drug preparation and intake-dif­
ferent people have different toler­
ance levels, what is fine for one
person might be lethal for another
Do a tester shot - some batches
are stronger than others.
(O b s e r v e r
Established 1970
White mobs
called terrorists
of their day
(AP) - Justice may finally be
served ... a little. The great-great
granddaughter of a black South
Carolina farmer who was killed by a
white mob nearly a century ago will
be on hand next week when the
Senate belatedly apologizes for fail­
ing to pass anti-lynching legisla­
tion.
Doria Dee Johnson, an author
and frequent lecturer on the sub­
ject of lynchings, says she will be in
the chamber Monday when the
(AP) — Michael Jackson was
optimistic Tuesday as he awaited
a decision by the jury in his child
molestation and conspiracy case,
the Rev. Jesse Jackson said.
“ M ichael is very w ell e m ­
braced through all o f this by his
s u p p o r te r s th r o u g h o u t th e
w orld,” the pop sta r’s friend told
reporters outside the courthouse
in Santa M aria, C alif.
Inside, the jury of eight women
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States is fighting a war against ter­
rorism, was a good time to apolo­
gize for the past and “remind our­
selves that terrorism existed in the
United States in different ways.”
According to Johnson, her great-
great grandfather owned 427 acres
o f cotton land and was a commu­
nity leader, starting a school for
black children and a union for black
farmers.
He was arrested after he accused
a white buyer of cheating him by
giving him less for his cotton than
white farmers were receiving. Be­
tween 200 and 400 local residents
and government officials hanged
him from a pine tree and riddled his
body with 200 bullets, she said.
and fourm en was in its second full
day of deliberations on the 10-
count indictment against Michael
Jackson.
T he 4 6 -y e a r-o ld sin g e r is
charged w ith m olesting a 13-
year-old cancer survivor in 2003,
giving the boy alcohol and c o n ­
spiring to hold his fam ily captive
to get them to rebut a docum en­
tary in w hich Jackson appeared
w ith the boy and said he let c h il­
dren into his bed but it was non-
sexual.
The scene outside the court­
house was much calm er than on
Monday, when the pop star’s fa­
ther showed up and news media
and fans surged around him.
Rev. Jackson, who has been a
M ic h a e l J a c k so n c o n fid a n t
throughout the trial, was asked
why he came to the courthouse
during deliberations.
“If M ichael’s friends did not
stand up for him in a public way,
you would ask, ‘Where are they?” ’
he said.
“Through all of this Michael
remains am azingly optimistic - A,
declaring his own innocence, B,
declaring his confidence in the
jury,” Rev. Jackson said.
News photographers angle for position as members o f the
media await a verdict in the Michael Jackson child molestation
trial in front o f the Santa Barbara County Courthouse in Santa
Maria, Calif., Tuesday. (APphoto)
Pentagon Details Mishandling of Quran
(AP) — The Pentagon on Friday confirm ed for
the first tim e that a U.S. soldier deliberately kicked
aG uantanam o Bay prisoner’s M uslim holy book in
violation o f the m ilitary’s rules for handling the
Q uran.
In other confirm ed incidents, prison guards
threw w ater balloons in a cell block, causing an
unspecified num ber o f Q urans to get wet; a g u a rd ’s
urine splashed on a detainee and his Q uran; an
interrogator stepped on a Q uran during an interro­
gation; and a tw o-w ord obscenity was w ritten in
English on the inside cover o f a Q uran.
The findings are am ong the results o f an inves­
tigation last m onth by Brig. G en. Jay Hood, the
com m ander o f the detention center in C uba, that
was triggered by a N ew sw eek m agazine report —
later retracted — that a U.S. soldier had flushed
one G uantanam o Bay d e ta in e e 's Q uran dow n a
toilet.
The story stirred w orldw ide controversy, and
the Bush adm inistration blam ed it for deadly dem ­
onstrations in A fghanistan.
Last w eek. H ood disclosed that he had co n ­
firm ed five cases o f m ishandling o f the Q uran, but
he refused to provide details. A llegations of Q uran
desecration at G uantanam o Bay have led to anti-
A m erican passions in many M uslim nations, a l­
though Pentagon officials have insisted that the
problem s were relatively m inor and that U.S. com ­
m anders have gone to great lengths to enable
detainees to practice their religion in captivity.
Hood said last week that he found no credible
evidence that a Q uran was ever flushed dow n a
toilet. He said a prisoner who was reported to have
com plained to an FBI agent in 2002 that a m ilitary
guard threw a Q uran in the toilet has since told
H o o d 's investigators that he never w itnessed any
form o f Q uran desecration.
lo p t)
)
As a trade ally ot the
Ener, /T ru s t
sored by Sens. Mary Landrieu, D-
La., and George Allen, R-Va., notes
that nearly 200 anti-lynching bills
were introduced in the first half ot
the 20th century and that seven
presidents between 1890 and 1952
petitioned Congress to end lynch­
ing. But nothing got through the
Senate.
The nonbinding measure apolo­
gizes for this failure and expresses
“most solemn regrets of the Senate
to the descendants of victims of
lynching.”
Landrieu, in an interview, said
lynching and mob violence were
“an American form of terrorism"
documented in at least 46 states.
She said that now, when the United
Muslim holy book kicked
and splashed with urine
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Senate is expected to approve a
resolution expressing remorse for
not stopping a crime that took the
1 ives of at least 4,742 people, mostly
blacks, between 1882 and 1968.
Johnson, from Evanston, 111.,
said her family “lost property and
family solidarity that still affects us
today” when Anthony Crawford, a
wealthy cotton farmer, was killed in
1916 by several hundred residents
of Abbeville, S.C.
Senate filibusters in the past
blocked House bills and presiden­
tial requests to pass anti-lynching
legislation, she said. “It will be nice
to have an apology from that same
body,” she said.
The Senate resolution, spon­
Jury Deliberates Michael Jackson Molestation Case
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Watt said even more alarming is that Presi­
dent Bush doesn’t seem to be taking any
steps to reverse the ongoing trend.
“We call on the President, once again, to
show his personal commitment to closing
these disparities and call on him to rally the
country behind the persistent and unfin­
ished business of closing these disparities,”
Watt said. “Only then can ourcountry realize
its full potential and honor its commitment to
provide equal opportunity for all.”
Senate to Give Overdue Apology for Lynchings
Heroin Overdose Warning
T h e M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty
Health D epartment has recently
been made aware of seven fatal
heroin overdoses in a 7-day pe­
riod in the Portland metro area.
It is important to note that while
this cluster is of concern, the medi­
cal exam iner’s office has con­
firmed that there are less heroin
overdoses overall.
In je c tin g d ru g s has m any
risk s, o v erd o sin g being one,
and abstaining from drug use is
the best way to elim inate the
risk o f overdose. H ow ever, we
do know that there are m essages
we can give people that access
our services to help prevent a
fatal overdose.
These measures include: Fix
Melvin L. Watt, D-N.C., chairman of the Con­
gressional Black Caucus.
“The possibility of obtaining a job and
developing economic security remains out of
reach for too many African Americans and
this negatively impacts every aspect of life,”
Watt said. “Unemployment makes it impos­
sible to have access to health care, widens the
opportunity gap in education and makes it
impossible for individuals to achieve their full
potential.”
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