USA
A lawsuit against Sudan's government in the deaths of 17 sailors killed more than six years ago on the USS Cole in Yemen entered the trial phase Tuesday in Norfolk, Va. The sailors' families seek $105 million in damages from Sudan for allegedly offering material support to the terrorists who blasted a hole in the Cole's hull in Aden harbor.
Retail sales registered only a 0.1 percent uptick in February, as severe winter weather kept shoppers away from the malls, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. Auto sales, however, grew 0.9 percent.
Bush administration spokeswoman Dana Perino said Monday that White House counsel Harriet Miers floated the idea of firing all 93 federal prosecutors in 2004 as a means of starting a new term with a fresh slate. The dismissal of eight prosecutors last December has led to charges by Democrats that their removal was politically motivated. Perino said the White House stands by the Justice Department assertion that the dismissals were made for "performance and managerial" reasons.
Veteran Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson has ordered a broad review of 1,400 VA hospitals and clinics, media reports disclosed Monday. In an internal memorandum, Nicholson said he was compelled to act by "recent events," a reference to the care crisis at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where three high-level Pentagon officials have been forced to step down.
About one-third of the 104,000 soldiers who sought government healthcare after serving in Iraq or Afghanistan between 2001 and 2005 were diagnosed with at least one mental health problem, a Veterans Affairs study released Monday said.
New Mexico banned cockfighting Monday, leaving Louisiana as the only state that permits it. In the so-called sport, roosters with razors attached to their claws fight, often to the death, as spectators bet on the outcome.
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called homosexual acts immoral in an interview Monday with the Chicago Tribune and said the military shouldn't condone them. He added, however, that he supports the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that allows gays in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation private.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its newest class of stars during ceremonies in New York Monday: the Ronettes, vocalist Patti Smith, hip-hop act Grandmaster Flash, and the bands R.E.M. and Van Halen. The hall itself is in Cleveland.
