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World
Iraqi government at odds with U.S.-funded militias
BAGHDAD – A key pillar of the U.S. strategy to pacify Iraq is in danger of collapsing because the Iraqi government is not absorbing tens of thousands of former Sunni Muslim insurgents who joined U.S.-allied militia.
American officials have credited the militias with undercutting support for the group al-Qaida and bringing peace to large swaths of the country. Under the program, the U.S. pays each militia member around $300 a month and promised them jobs with the Iraqi government.
But the Iraqi government has brought only a handful of the more than 100,000 militia members into the security forces. Officials are making it clear they don’t intend to include most of the rest.
Cuban punk rocker on trial
MIAMI – Cuban punk rocker Gorki Aguila is bolder than any other performance artist in modern Cuban history.
His lyrics blasting the Cuban dictatorship are so strong, the Miami Herald can’t print too many of them.
In a case that has drawn attention around the world, the 39-year-old rocker went on trial Friday on charges of “pre-crime social dangerousness.” These charges could send him to jail for up to four years.
County defends youth
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Colusa County, Calif., has come to the defense of the youths who created the controversial “Waldo Watermelon Seed” caricature for the county’s State Fair exhibit.
The character was removed Wednesday after a local African-American couple said the image evoked negative stereotypes of African Americans.
“We are saddened that the fine work of these young men is now cast under a cloud of unintended racism,” said Senior Deputy County Council Margaret Kemp-Williams.
National
McCain picks Palin
DAYTON, Ohio – By unexpectedly choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate Friday, Presidential hopeful John McCain appears to be gambling that the excitement and energy she brings to the ticket will outweigh her obscurity and inexperience.
In her brief, meteoric political career, Palin, 44, rose in 16 years from a small-town council member to become Alaska’s first woman governor, always running as a “good government” reformer, a tax-and-budget cutter and an anti-abortion social conservative.
Her biggest asset to the McCain ticket will be her historic role as a woman, an aspect mentioned by nearly every Republican praising her appointment.
Local/BSU
Nampa motorcyclist dies
A motorcycle rider died Saturday morning in a crash in south Nampa.
Nampa Police reported that the accident, which occurred about 7:40 a.m., involved both the motorcycle and a pickup. Officers said the pickup was traveling north on Midland Boulevard and the motorcycle was traveling west on Dooley Lane when the bike collided with the pickup.
Officers from the Nampa Police Departments traffic unit responded to investigate the crash.
The driver of the motorcycle, a 37-year-old Nampa man, died at the scene. The operator of the pickup was the only occupant and he was not injured.
Police said failure to yield the right-of-way and speed were contributing factors in this crash. There is no indication of alcohol use, investigators said.
Gun trial ends with hung jury
Magistrate Judge Thomas Watson declared Canyon County Commissioner David Ferdinand’s airport gun case a mistrial Friday evening after jurors deadlocked and couldn’t reach a decision.
Because the six-person jury at the Ada County Courthouse failed to reach a unanimous verdict, the case will be retried at a later date. This has yet to be determined. Ferdinand declined comment after Watson’s decision.
“I think we’re hung up over what was intended and whether a person is guilty whether they intended (something or not),” one juror said. She said the jury was split by either 5-1 or 4-2 on its final decision.
What the?
Anyhow, his intentions were good
A man in Lock Haven, Pa., was in debt to his bail bondsman who got him out of jail after he was charged with burglary.
The man had to pay up or go back to the slammer, but he didn’t have the money. He decided to rob a bank.
But four wives just aren’t enough
Sayed Ragab al-Sawirki, an Egyptian businessman, was sentenced to seven years of hard labor for being married to five different women at the same time. Men in Egypt are legally entitled to only four wives.
ARBITER STAFF