Tuesday, October 31, 2006

ACLU Sues to Block City's Immigrant Law

ALLENTOWN, Pa. -- Advocates for immigrants sued the city of Hazleton on Monday, seeking to block an ordinance that would impose steep fines on landlords who rent to people living in the country illegally.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the ordinance and a companion measure set to take effect Wednesday violate the Constitution because they trample on the federal government's exclusive power to regulate immigration.

The laws would impose heavy fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants, deny business permits to companies that employ them, and require renters to register and buy a renter's permit at City Hall.

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· SAN DIEGO -- A second Marine charged with kidnapping and murdering an Iraqi man in Hamdaniyah has agreed to plead guilty to lesser charges, his lawyer said. Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Jackson, 23, is the third service member to make a plea deal in the case. Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman have been charged with murdering Hashim Ibrahim Awad, 52.

· ATLANTA -- Sheriffs in several Georgia counties have temporarily agreed not to enforce the state's sex-offender law against nine elderly and disabled men who faced eviction from their residences under the law. The consent orders are in place until a judge rules on the constitutionality of the law, which sets limits on where offenders may live, work or loiter.

· CINCINNATI -- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit put on hold a decision that suspended Ohio's identification requirements for absentee voting, meaning voters applying for the early ballots must continue giving proof of their ID. A lawyer for the plaintiffs said he would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

· APEX, N.C. -- The Oct. 5 fire that prompted the evacuation of thousands of people early this month may have started where chemicals, such as pool-chlorination tablets, were stored, investigators from the U.S. Chemical Safety Board said.

· PINEVILLE, W.Va. -- One coal miner was killed when a mine shuttle car moved unexpectedly and struck him and another man, who was seriously injured, officials said. It was the 43rd mining-related death this year and the 22nd in West Virginia.

· LAS VEGAS -- Authorities have reopened their investigation into a cocktail waitress's assertion that Rep. Jim Gibbons (R), who is running for Nevada governor, assaulted her in a parking garage. The case had been closed after the woman dropped charges, but she has changed her mind, her attorney said.

· TUCSON -- More than 40 people were arrested in connection with a family-run smuggling ring that brought hundreds of illegal immigrants into the country, officials said. Eleven suspects remained at large.

· CENTENNIAL, Colo. -- A 32-year-old man convicted of sexually assaulting teenagers was sentenced to 508 years in prison. Zuri-Kye McGhee was convicted in August of 63 counts, including sexual assault on a child with a pattern of abuse. Authorities said he targeted 18 boys and one girl ages 13 to 15, using his youthful looks to befriend them before sexually assaulting them. Soldad McGhee, his mother, is accused of helping him in some cases; she is scheduled to stand trial in February.

-- From News Services