News Shorts
Buck October 16th, 2006 - 5:45 pmPoll: Support for Iraq war at all-time low
WASHINGTON (CNN) — A poll conducted for CNN over the weekend suggests support among Americans for the war in Iraq is dwindling to an all-time low. Just 34 percent of those polled say they support the war, while 64 percent say they oppose it.
Women led the opposition, with seven in 10 saying they oppose the war. Twenty-eight percent say they support it, which is the lowest support among women in any CNN poll taken since the invasion more than three years ago.
Support among men is stronger, with 40 percent supporting the conflict and 58 percent opposed to it.
This comes as the nation’s top general acknowledged the overall strategy in Iraq is under review. Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CNN that military plans, including the linchpin of U.S. exit strategy — reliance on Iraqi forces to take up the fight — is being reviewed.
FBI raids home of congressman’s daughter
MEDIA, Pennsylvania (AP) — The FBI raided the homes of Rep. Curt Weldon’s daughter and a close friend Monday as it investigates whether the congressman improperly helped the pair win lobbying and consulting contracts.
…Earlier Monday, Weldon called the investigation politically motivated and called the timing suspect. The Republican, who is locked in a tight re-election bid and has clashed with the Bush administration, denied wrongdoing and said he gave his daughter no special help. (Watch how the recent scandals have put the GOP under greater scrutiny Video — 1:31)
“What I find ironic, if there is an investigation, is that no one would tell me until three weeks before the election,” Weldon said at an appearance in Media. “This incident was 2½ years ago.”
Weierman confirmed that the six raids included Karen Weldon’s home in Philadelphia; the Springfield home of Charles Sexton, her business partner and the congressman’s close friend; and the office of their company, Solutions North America, in Media.
Federal investigators are looking into whether Weldon used his influence to help the company secure lobbying contracts worth $1 million from foreign clients, two people familiar with the inquiry told The Associated Press.
Attorney gets 28 months for aiding terrorists
NEW YORK (AP) — A firebrand civil rights lawyer who has defended Black Panthers and anti-war radicals was sentenced Monday to nearly 2-1/2 years in prison or helping an imprisoned terrorist sheik communicate with his followers on the outside.
The sentence, handed down at the end of a lengthy hearing, was far less than the 30 years prosecutors wanted.
Lynne Stewart, 67, smiled, cried and hugged supporters after U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl imposed the 28-month sentence.
The judge said Stewart was guilty of smuggling messages between the sheik and his followers that could have “potentially lethal consequences.” He called the crimes “extraordinarily severe criminal conduct.”
But in departing from federal guidelines that called for 30 years behind bars, he cited Stewart’s more than three decades of dedication to poor, disadvantaged and unpopular clients.
“Ms. Stewart performed a public service, not only to her clients, but to the nation,” Koeltl said.
The judge said Stewart could remain free while she appeals, a process that could take more than a year.
Nurse sues over ticket for anti-Bush bumper sticker
ATLANTA, Georgia (AP) — A woman who was ticketed for having an obscene anti-Bush bumper sticker filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday against a county in the state of Georgia and its officials.
Denise Grier, 47, of Athens, Georgia, got a $100 ticket in March after a DeKalb County police officer spotted the bumper sticker, which read “I’m Tired Of All The BUSH**.”
A DeKalb judge threw out the ticket in April because the state’s lewd decal law that formed the basis for the ticket was ruled unconstitutional in 1990.
Grier is seeking damages from the county for “emotional distress,” according to the lawsuit.
