Tuesday, May 4, 2010;
A03
OHIO
Ex-convict Traficant files for House race
James A. Traficant Jr., who served nearly two decades in Congress and seven years in prison for corruption, filed petitions Monday to run as an independent in his northeast Ohio home turf.
The seat is currently held by Democrat Tim Ryan, who once worked for Traficant and beat Traficant when the incumbent ran for reelection from prison.
Traficant, 68, told the AP on Monday that he believes he can win in the Democratic stronghold despite the fact that he has no money or campaign staff. "Maybe it's time money doesn't dictate an election," he said. Though he has made recent appearances at tea party events throughout northeast Ohio, Traficant said he is not a tea party candidate.
-- Associated Press
CALIFORNIA
Schwarzenegger reverses on drilling
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday withdrew his support of a plan to expand oil drilling off the California coast, citing the massive oil spill that resulted from a drilling rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.
Speaking at a news conference near Sacramento, the governor said: "You turn on the television and see this enormous disaster, you say to yourself, 'Why would we want to take on that kind of risk?' "
The Republican governor had proposed expanding oil drilling off the coast of Santa Barbara County to help close the state's $20 billion budget deficit.
Schwarzenegger said he would find another way to plug the state's budget deficit.
-- Associated Press
Obama declares disaster in Boston area: President Obama has signed an emergency disaster declaration offering federal help as Massachusetts grapples with the effects of a major water main break last week. The break led Gov. Deval Patrick (D) to issue a boil order for about 2 million people in the Boston area. The 10-foot wide pipe has been repaired, but health officials say testing must be finished before tap water in Boston and about 30 other communities is approved for drinking.
Militia members out of jail until trial: Nine members of a Michigan militia will be released from jail pending trial after a federal judge on Monday harshly criticized the government's claim they had conspired to overthrow the U.S. government. The decision is a significant defeat for federal authorities, who arrested members of a southern Michigan group called the Hutaree in March. The government "need not wait until people are killed before it arrests conspirators," U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts said. "But the defendants are also correct: Their right to engage in hate-filled, venomous speech is a right that deserves First Amendment protection."
Man sentenced in infamous hit-and-run: A Connecticut man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday for a 2008 hit-and-run accident that sparked outrage because video showed bystanders ignoring the 78-year-old victim. Luis Negron, 34, was sentenced in Hartford Superior Court on what would have been the 80th birthday of the victim, Angel Arce Torres. Negron pleaded guilty in February to manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident.
New bullying law signed in Mass.: Massachusetts Gov. Deval L. Patrick (D) signed a bill Monday cracking down on school bullies and requiring teachers to report bullying to principals. It was passed after the suicides of two students who were said to be victims of intense harassment, including 15-year-old Phoebe Prince, who killed herself in January.
-- From news services
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