Headlines Package - September 4, 2008

• Detroit Mayor to Resign and Faces 4 Months in Jail 
• Thailand's PM Refuses to Step Down
• Iraq Invasion Documents Not a National Security Threat According to British Official
• Execution Date Set for Troy Anthony Davis in Georgia
• Bisphenol: A Debate Continues in California
• Chicago Public School Students End Boycott over School Funding Disparities

Detroit Mayor to Resign and Faces 4 Months in Jail

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pled guilty today to two felony
charges.  As part of a plea deal will resign within 14 days and give up
his pension benefits.  Kilpatrick will also spend four months in jail
and pay 1 million dollars to the city in restitution.  Kilpatrick was
charged with perjury after lying about an affair he had with a former
member of his staff.  He was then charged with felony assault for
shoving a police detective trying to serve a subpoena.  In court today,
the mayor admitted to lying under oath.

 

Thailand's PM Refuses to Step Down

Thailand's 73-year old prime minister Sumac Sundaravej announced
today he would not step down from his post – despite continuing calls
from protesters camped out on his office grounds.  But the Prime
Minister has agreed to hold a national referendum in October to end the
political crisis.  Critics blame Sundaravej for economic problems and
for not controlling a Muslim insurgency in the southern part of the
country.  Protests against the P-M have escalated, sometimes violently.
Attempts by Sundaravej to convince the army and police forces to
remove protesters have failed.  

Iraq Invasion Documents Not a National Security Threat According to British Official

In Britain a 3-year campaign by an investigative journalist using
the Freedom of Information Act has been successful in demanding the
release of secret government emails and memos. It's believed they show
how ministers made the case for an invasion of Iraq with false claims
that Saddam Hussein could attack with chemical weapons within 45
minutes. From London, Naomi Fowler reports:'

Execution Date Set for Troy Anthony Davis in Georgia

The State of Georgia has issued Death Row inmate Troy Anthony
Davis a death warrant, clearing the way for execution by lethal
injection on September 23.  Davis was convicted for the 1989 murder of
a Savannah police officer.  Nine witnesses testified at the trial that
they saw Davis pull the trigger.  But since then, seven of those
witnesses say they aren't sure who shot the officer.  Davis' lawyers
and Amnesty International USA, which is leading a grassroots effort to
grant Davis another trial, are now pinning their hopes on the Georgia
Board of Pardons and Paroles to step in once again and stay the
execution.  The Board did so on the eve of Davis' previous 2007
execution date.  Amnesty International says they are shocked and that
the death warrant amounts to an "appalling display of injustice."
Davis' final petition before the US Supreme Court is still pending.  

Bisphenol A Debate Continues in California

A new Yale study published in the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences shows that Bisphenol A – a chemical used to make
shatter proof plastic – causes mood disorders in primates.  And the
National Toxicology Program just released its own report saying they
have "some concern" Bisphenol A is linked to health and developmental
problems.  Despite the recent findings, the battle to ban the chemical
in baby bottles continues.   Francesca Rheannon of Corporate Watchdog
Radio reports.

Chicago Public School Students End Boycott over School Funding Disparities

Chicago public school students are back in their classrooms today
after a two-day boycott over unequal education funding.  Illinois State
Senator James Meeks, a pastor at the 24-thousand member Salem Baptist
Church of Chicago, organized the protest, originally calling for a
4-day boycott.  In Illinois, 70 percent of school funding comes from
property taxes and poorer districts are less funded.  The Illinois
governor said he would not meet to discuss the issue until the protest
ended.  Meeks' office says the meeting is being set up for early next
week.  Meeks is also tapping the business community – who organized
presentations at businesses around Chicago for the hundreds of striking
students – to help lawmakers and administrators devise a school funding
solution that is more equitable.  

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