USA
The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates for the second time this year when it meets Tuesday. Analysts believe the Fed's policy-setting Open Market Committee will ratchet up rates by a quarter-point to 1.5 percent, despite an unexpectly steep drop in job creation in July. (Some 32,000 nonagricultural jobs were created, but 230,000 had been forecast). In June, the Fed raised interest rates for the first time in four years, from 1 to 1.25 percent.
In a first for a presidential election, a team of international observers has been invited to monitor the Nov. 2 voting, according to State Department sources cited by CNN. "The US is obliged to invite us, as all OSCE countries should," said Urdur Gunnarsdottir, spokeswoman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The issue was hotly debated as part of a bill introduced by House Democrats, which passed when amended to exclude federal funding for any UN monitors.
Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry pledged support of native Americans and their treaties on the Western leg of a coast-to-coast campaign tour. He also said Sunday that neighborhwood watch groups should be established to increase national security. President Bush is scheduled to begin his own campaigning in New Mexico and Arizona, alongside US Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona.
Terry Nichols was to be sentenced to a second life sentence for his role in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. Nichols already is serving one such sentence for the deaths of eight federal law- enforcement officers killed in the worst act of domestic terrorism in US history. Monday's sentencing was for state charges of committing 161 murders.
Sixty percent of Americans look forward to jury duty and 75 percent disagree with the notion that it's a hardship to be dodged, according to results of a poll released Sunday by the American Bar Association. Even so, court records show low response rates for people summoned for jury duty. To help better align attitudes and action, the ABA is looking into ways of increasing compensa-tion to cover jurors' expenses for transportation, meals, and child care.
John Elway, who led his team to more victories (148) than any other quarterback in history, became the first member of the Denver Broncos inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame at ceremonies in Canton, Ohio, Sunday. Joining Elway were running back Barry Sanders, who rushed for 1,000 yards in each of his 10 seasons with the Detroit Lions, offensive lineman Bob Brown, and defensive end Carl Eller. Brown played for the Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, and Oakland Raiders; Eller for the Minnesota Vikings.
