USA

November 26, 2007

A US district judge in San Fran-cisco has agreed to a request from the Bush administration to stay proceedings in a dispute over penalizing businesses that hire illegal immigrants. The judge had put a government crackdown on hold and now the government has until March 23 to rewrite rules to enforce regulations requiring employers to fire workers if Social Security discrepancies aren't resolved.

Detroit's city council approved a plan to have Houston-based Synagro convert sewage sludge into fertilizer. Building the private plant could take three or more years. When finished, it will be less costly to run and far more environmentally friendly than the incinerators currently in use.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called for a Superior Court judge he appointed while governor of Massachusetts to resign after a convicted killer she freed on personal recognizance was arrested last week in Washington State and accused of murdering a young couple.

The regents of Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., will meet Monday and Tuesday to discuss the search process to find a new president after Richard Roberts, the son of the school's namesake evangelist founder, relinquished the post. He's been accused of misspending university funds but denies any wrongdoing.

NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Dan Tani spent seven hours in space Saturday finishing preparations needed to make the connection between the International Space Station and a permanent European lab to be attached in February.

Candace Jennings of Idaho City, Idaho, called Anna, an abused stray dog she adopted from an animal shelter, a hero after the pet awakened her as a fire engulfed the mobile home where they live. Anna then nudged Jennings toward the door when she became disoriented and crawled in the wrong direction.

Third-ranked Missouri stands to move up in the college football rankings after ruining the unbeaten season of No. 2 Kansas Saturday, 36-28. The Tigers will now face No. 10 Oklahoma, the only team to have beaten them, in the Big 12 Conference championship game. A win could put them in the national title game Jan. 7. Above, Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel passes during his three-TD, 361-yard performance against Kansas.