Paulose still under fire

US Attorney Rachel Paulose is still under fire and under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel. This division is from the Justice Department but answers directly to the White House. Paulose has been accused of creating a hostile work environment within the US Attorney Office in MN. Several of the attorneys within the office have resigned from the management role in the office. It was thought that she was hired strictly because of her alliance with the Bush administration. A former Justice Department testified in congress that that was not the case. This case raised questions as to the real reason former US Attorney Tom Heffelfinger. Heffelfinger however insists that he left on his accord and not because the White House pressured him to resign to make room for Paulose. Was he forced to resign in favor of Paulose? Congressman Keith Ellison is demanding answers.

Iranian Leader to address UN and Columbia University

The Leader of Iran spoke at the UN on Sunday. His visited has brought much protest. The NYPD and the State Department denied his request to lay a wreath at ground zero citing security reasons. The Secret Service is providing protection while he is in the United States. Iran is on the list of countries that are state sponsors of terrorism by the State Department. He is also expected to address Columbia University to the ire of some.

Flatiron Corp. to rebuild 35W bridge

MNDOT awarded the contract to rebuild the 35W bridge to Flatiron Corp. and which has several corporate entities. They were responsible for building a bridge in Florida in record time and a project in CA. The cost is estimated at $234 million. The contractor has said it will have the project done in 437 days. Several contractors have filed complaints that their projects were less expensive. MNDOT spokesman stated that price was not the only factor used to consider the contractor. They also were required to meet certain technical requirements as well as how fast the project could be done without comprising the integrity of the project. The contractor will be rewarded up to $25million for completing the project early.

Ramstad to retire from Congress

Congressman Jim Ramstad announced his resignation from Congress. His career began in the MN State Senate. Ramstad was known as a moderate who could work with both sides in Washington in a town full of political division. Republicans have held Minnesota's 3rd District for nearly 60 years. The district has trended more liberal in recent years. Ramstad also sat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.

US remembers 9/11

Gen. Patraeus grilled on Capitol Hill on Iraq

General Patraeaus report to Congress on the Progress of the Iraq War gained plenty of attention. The House Foreign Affairs Committee grilled the general as well as the ambassador on the succcesses and failures in Iraq. Today they testified in the Senate.

Pawlenty calls Special Session for flood relief

Gov. Tim Pawlenty ordered the Legislature into special session to provide relief to victims of the flood in Southeastern MN. FEMA has kicked in several million after the president declared it a federal disaster area. The state legislature is expected to provide an estimated $160million in state aid primarily in bonding. The legislature is not expected to address the issue of the bridge collapse because the governor and legislative leaders could not come to consensus on how to fund the projects.

APEC meets in Australia

Congress holds hearing on safety of bridges

The House Transportation Committee chaired by Jim Oberstar (D-MN) held a hearing today on the safety of bridges of America. Minneapolis Mayor RT Ryback testified on that comittee. Ryback supported the idea of raising the gas tax in order to pay for bridge repairs. Mary Peters, Transportation Secretary spoke on behalf of the Bush Administration and told the committee that there were other ways to pay for bridge repairs besides raising the gas tax such as rerouting current funds.

Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) to resign

After being caught in a sex sting at a Minneapolis airport and pleading guilty to a misdemeanor Senator Craig is expected to resign from his office on Sept. 30th. Senator Craig is expected to attempt to repeal his guilty plea but many legal experts say that is highly unlikely.

Nifong disbarred

An ethics hearing was held this week as to the fitness of Mike Nifong the DA for Durham, NC. The Ethics panel revoked his law license and determined that the DA put his personal ambitions above public service, lied about evidence and embarassed the legal profession. The North Carolina Attorney Generals office determined that not only was there not evidence for trial but that the Duke Lacrosse players did not commit the offenses that the DA had alleged in the indictment. Nifongs legal troubles are not over and he faces criminal and civil lawsuits. Some legal experts believe that there could be more cases like this and the only difference is that the defendants were able to hire defense attorneys to defend them. This was truly a a case of miscarriage of justice.

Libby sentenced

Lewis Libby was formally sentenced to 30 months in prison for lying about his role in the CIA leak of Valerie Plame even though the prosecutor did not find any wrong doing. Political analysts have speculated whether Libby will be pardoned by the president. Libby was the former Chief of Staff to VP Cheney. It was later learned that former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage was the original source of the leak.

Congressman indicted on corruption and bribery

LA Congressman William Jefferson (D-LA) was indicted by the Justice Department on 16 counts of corruption and bribery. This investigation has been a year long investigation in which Jefferson is accused of using his office for personal gain for himself and his family. Several of his aides are currently serving jail time as well. Controversy erupted when Jefferson's Capitol Hill office was raided by the FBI after numerous requests for cooperation failed. Jefferson was also re-elected despite the investigation. He was removed from key committees by the Speakers Office pending the investigation. The Ethics committee is expected to convene to consider the seriousness of the charges. Jefferson is not likely to be expelled from congress unless he is convicted. Another congressman from Ohio was recently expelled from congress for corruption and bribery convictions. He is currently serving prison time in PA.

Clash in Washington

Pres. Bush followed through on his threat to veto the war funding bill because it put a date certain which he objected to from the beginning. Congress attempted an override but failed to get the necessary votes to do so. This was classic political theatre. Both sides not budging to see who will blink first. Congress believing they have the public on their side and seeing a weekened White House figured to score political points. Bush is too far into the War in Iraq to pull out now and believes in the policy of a free Iraq long term to stabilize the Middle East. Continuing to tolerate the former Saddam regime after 9/11 was viewed as a potential threat to the United States. Since he has no political worries to worry about he could afford to take a hit. Democrats were counting on a disgruntled public that while wants to win the war is clearly agitated with the progress. Democrats needed to make sure that they opposed the policy as strongly as they could while also supporting the troops. If the public perceived this as being opposed to the troops they would have immediately backed off.

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.