 Scripps Howard News Service October 07, 2005
President Bush nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court to replace Sandra Day O'Connor. Social conservatives objected to Miers, saying Bush should have picked someone more like Justices Antonin Scalia or Clarence Thomas. Bush said he was confident of her conservative views and judicial philosophy, although later he conceded that he had never had a substantive discussion with his longtime associate about such matters as abortion. DeLay indicted again A grand jury indicted Rep. Tom DeLay again, accusing the Texas Republican and two aides of campaign money-laundering. DeLay called his second indictment in as many weeks "an abomination of justice." The first indictment, also centered around possible illegal corporate campaign contributions, forced DeLay to surrender his position as House majority leader. Nobel Prizes awarded Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency won the Nobel Peace Prize for trying to stop the spread of nuclear weapons through diplomacy with Iran and North Korea. The Nobel Committee's decision was viewed as a rebuke to the Bush administration, which opposed ElBaradei's appointment to another term. Americans John L. Hall and Roy J. Glauber and German Theodor W. Haensch won the Nobel Prize in physics for their work in applying modern quantum physics to the study of optics. Through their observations, laser and Global Positioning System technologies have been improved. Americans Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock and Yves Chauvin of France won the prize in chemistry for showing how to create drugs in a more environmentally friendly way. Twenty killed in boat's capsizing A boat capsized on New York state's Lake George, killing 20 elderly tourists on a fall-foliage tour. Police blamed the capsizing on a wave from a passing boat and a sudden shift of passengers' weight on the boat's long benches. The owner of the boat could face a fine as low as $25 for failing to have enough crew members on board, police said. Twenty-eight people on the boat survived. Terror threat against New York subways A terror threat prompted New York police to heighten security on subways. The threat reportedly raised the prospect of explosives hidden in a baby stroller. Police searched for bombs in commuters' bags and briefcases. Mayor Michael Bloomberg called it the most specific terrorist threat that New York officials have ever received. High court considers assisted suicide New Chief Justice John Roberts heard his first major case, which presented the issue of whether Oregon's physician-assisted-suicide law is constitutional. Roberts sharply questioned a lawyer arguing for the law. The court is deciding whether the federal government has the power to block doctors from helping terminally ill patients end their lives. Rainstorms kill 250 in Central America Relentless rain in Central America triggered floods and mudslides, killing about 250 people. Hurricane Stan, which made landfall on Mexico's Gulf coast, helped bring the rainstorms in Central America. In Guatemala, a mudslide buried homes and killed 15 people near the tourist destination of Lake Atitlan. Tammy brings heavy rain Tammy - the 19th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season - came ashore in north Florida and brought torrential rain and gusty winds to Georgia and the Carolinas. Tammy tied the 2005 hurricane season as the second-busiest since record-keeping started in 1851. The record for tropical storms and hurricanes in one year is 21, set in 1933. Submit A Letter to the Editor
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