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UPI NewsTrack TopNews
Emergency war spending fails in House
WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- House Republicans, accusing Democrats of "political games," blocked passage Thursday of a bill to fund military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Democratic leadership had broken the war spending bill into three parts, expecting that Republicans would have little choice but to vote for the appropriations section, the Washington Post reported. Anti-war Democrats rejected that section while voting for measures that set policy limits on the Bush administration and to pay for expanded veterans' benefits as well as unrelated spending.
Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio asked Republicans to vote present, and 131 GOP members followed his lead.
"We're playing political games on the backs of our troops," Boehner said.
President George W. Bush has said he would veto any bill that includes either the policy measures -- a timetable for troop withdrawal and a requirement that Iraq begin funding its own reconstruction -- and the other spending.
The Senate Appropriations Committee released a war spending bill similar to the House one, The Hill reported, including the policy measures and veterans benefits.
The emergency appropriation would bring the total cost of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq to $752 billion, with most of the money spent in Iraq.
Senate sends farm bill to president
WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate passed a $307 billion farm bill Thursday in a veto-proof 81-15 vote.
President George W. Bush is expected to veto the measure, The New York Times reported. But the five-year measure passed the House 318-106 Wednesday, more than enough support an override.
Bush asked for cuts in subsidies to big farmers, arguing that they are not needed at a time when grain prices are at record highs. He charges that the bill is "full of gimmicks."
He faces revolt from within his own party.
"I know there is a veto threat from the White House," Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C. "If the president decides to follow through I will be there voting to override him because we need this update for our nation's policies."
The farm bill combines federal subsidies for agriculture with spending on nutrition programs for the poor, especially food stamps.
Mo. mom charged in online hoax
LOS ANGELES, May 15 (UPI) -- A federal grand jury in Los Angeles Thursday indicted a Missouri woman involved in an online hoax that ended in the suicide of a teenage girl.
The indictment charged Lori Drew of O'Fallon, Mo., with three counts of obtaining protected information used to cause emotional distress to Megan Meier and one count of conspiracy, the Los Angeles Times reported. Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles took on the case on the theory that Drew defrauded MySpace, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., when she pretended to be someone else online.
Meier, 13, hanged herself in 2006 after receiving messages of rejection from someone she thought was a 16-year-old boy. Missouri prosecutors said they could find no grounds to bring a case against Drew, a neighbor of the girl and her family.
"I just want some justice after all this time," Ron Meier, Megan's father, said. "For the first time in as long as I can remember, I actually have hope."
Drew's lawyer said one of the first issues he will raise is why the charges were being brought in California.
After Missouri prosecutors decided in December the evidence did not meet standards for bringing charges of harassment, stalking or endangering the welfare of a child, Drew's attorney said her life had been ruined for something she did not do.
Calif. Supreme Court upholds gay marriage
SACRAMENTO, May 15 (UPI) -- The California Supreme Court Thursday upheld 4-3 same-sex marriage, saying the city and county of San Francisco may issue marriage licenses to gay couples.
In a 172-page opinion, the seven-member court ruled there is no California law limiting marriage to a man and woman.
The court likened bans on same-sex marriages to interracial marriage bans, which have been determined unconstitutional.
"In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation
," Chief Justice Ronald M. George said in writing for the majority.
"We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians ..."
In his concurring and dissenting opinion, Justice Marvin R. Baxter said the decision goes too far.
"Nothing in our Constitution, express or implicit, compels the majority's startling conclusion that the age-old understanding of marriage -- an understanding recently confirmed by an initiative law -- is no longer valid," Baxter wrote.
The ruling stemmed from six cases that were consolidated before the court.
Copyright 2008 by United Press International
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