Boris Yeltsin dies

The first freely elected President of Russia Boris Yeltsin died yesterday.

Campus deals with bomb threat

A few days after one of the deadliest shootings in US history the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus went underlock down after a threatening note was found in a bathroom. University officials said they had no choice but to lockdown the school and cancel classes afte the incident out at Virgina Tech.

Supreme Court upholds ban on partial birth abortion

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision ruled that the law that was passed by congress in 2003 was legal. Justice Anthony Kennedy writing for the majority said that the proponents did not make a sufficient case to warrant lifting the ban. Proponents say the ruling pushes womens rights back significantly and will allow states to put further restrictions on abortions and womens rights. Right to Life advocates claimed victory saying that the court made the right decision by following the constitution and protecting the unborn.

No deal yet on Iraq

Bush and congressional leaders met today to try and hammer out a deal to continue funding for the troops. However there was no progress made. Democrats claimed that they had made concessions with the White House. Bush said that he did not want a deadline for troop withdrawal and promised to veto the bill when it reaches his desk. Democrats will likely not have enough votes for a override so the bill will likely be renegotiated in conference committee.

NC Attorney General dismisses charges against Duke players

The North Carolina Attorney General in a press conference today declared that all charges related to the alleged rape by Duke students were going to be dropped. This after it was earlier learned that Mike Nifong the Durham city prosecutor mishandled the evidence. The Attorney General's office was brought in after it was determined that the city prosecutor was no longer effective in bringing the case forward and that there was not enough evidence and that the prosecutor was operating under prejudicial conduct. Nifong had been accused of using the rape case to ensure his re-election as city prosecutor. A member of congress from NC has asked the Justice department to investigate whether the college students civil rights were violated.

Congress and White House at odds over war funding

The White House and Congress continued to exchange volleys as the president vowed to veto a war funding bill that contains pork and a timetable which Bush says will hamstring the generals in the field. Congress said that it is trying to create accountability and that they have a constitutional right and obligation to get answers to questions they say that the previous congress failed to do. Congress also said that they are also doing the will of the people which they accuse the president of failing to do.

Twins stadium deal almost done

After passing a bill through the legislature and signed by the governor the Twins stadium has hit a hurdle. the Board of the Hennepin County has been negotiating with the owners of the would be site of the proposed outdoor stadium. the County voted to take the land by eminent domain and agreed to pay $13.35 million. The owners of the current space dispute that saying that the land is worth much more than that. A court appointed panel is expected to take oral arguments and issue a ruling. The Twins have stated that they are willing to pay additional costs for land aquisition although they did not elaborate on how much. The rest of the funding is expected to come from a county sales tax. The open air stadium is scheduled to be open for the 2010 season.

Red light camera overturned

The MN State Supreme Court sustained a District courts ruling that the red light camera ordinance by the City of Minneapolis was unconstitutional. It stated that the owners were assumed to be the violators and that the goverment did not provide a way for the offender to defend their actions. The City of Minneapolis failed in its attempt at the legislature to get an a exception in state law. State law requires an officer to be present to issue such a citation. The city ordinance is likely to be ruled unconstitutional because of the 4th Amendment due process clause.

Iran to release British sailors

After a 13 day standoff with Britain, Iran has agreed to turn over 15 British sailors. Iran claimed that the British sailors had entered into territory that is in Iran. Some experts believed that this was a trap by Iran to gain concessions. Iran claims that they were in Iranian territory. However the British said that according to their maps they were in Iraq territory. Iran currently has a dispute with the UN regarding its nuclear program. The price of oil dropped on the news.

Supreme Court rules against Gitmo detainees

The US Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Gitmo detainees to get acess to the federal court system. The court did not elaborate on the reason behind their decision. This decision did not address a previous ruling that allows the congress to determine the formulation of military tribunals by the administration.