WASHINGTON — As demonstrations swirled outside, Supreme Court justices signaled on Monday they are ready to confront without delay the keep-or-kill questions at the heart of challenges to President Barack Obama’s historic health care overhaul. Virtually every American will be affected by the outcome, due this summer in the heat of the election campaign.
March Madness is unde rway. Baseball season begins in two weeks. Clearly, it must be time for a column about the law of … football? Indeed, football is the sport making legal news right now both for the penalties it has just imposed on teams for violations of a non-existent salary cap in 2010 and, even more so, for the penalties that it is about to impose on teams for running a “bounty” system. The latter is more critical, and, though law enforcement officials in cities like New Orleans, Buffalo and Washington have already declined to become involved, it is the latter that also likely crossed the line into being criminal.
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — In the violent underground novel Absolved, right-wing militia members upset about gun control make war against the U.S. government. This week, federal prosecutors accused four elderly Georgia men of plotting to use the book as a script for a real-life wave of terror and assassination involving explosives and the highly lethal poison ricin.
BUXTON, N.C. — A monstrous Hurricane Irene tightened its aim on the Eastern Seaboard on Thursday, threatening 65 million people along a shore-hugging path from North Carolina to New England. One of the nation’s top experts called it his “nightmare” scenario. The Category 3 storm with winds of 115 mph — the threshold for a major hurricane — would be the strongest to strike the East Coast in seven years, and people were already getting out of the way.
WASHINGTON — Is there ever really a good time for the president to go on vacation? President Barack Obama’s summer getaway to Martha’s Vineyard has reignited a seemingly annual debate. Given the demands of the job and the always-looming possibility of an unexpected crisis at home or abroad, the political perils of a presidential vacation never seem to go away. This summer, the vacation dilemma is compounded by the country’s urgent demand for jobs, the debt crisis that’s left Washington with a hangover and the public’s frustration with political gridlock.
DES MOINES, Iowa — Ron Paul, once seen as a fringe candidate and a nuisance to the establishment, is shaping the 2012 Republican primary by giving voice to the party’s libertarian wing and reflecting frustration with the United States’ international entanglements.
Sometimes when you look for a book, DVD or other item at the Delaware County District Library, you may find that the title is already checked out to another library customer. While we diligently try to satisfy the demand for specific titles by purchasing multiple copies, the library’s budget (and shelves!) simply will not accommodate buying enough copies of bestselling books or blockbuster movies for every customer who would like to check it out. I hope, though, that you are familiar with the much-used “hold” or “reserve” service at the Delaware County District Library.
NEW ORLEANS — While scientists have been battling to keep a ravenous, invasive fish species out of the Great Lakes, some worry that spring floods along the Mississippi River may be spreading the Asian carp downstream.