The Obama administration has instructed military prosecutors at Guantanamo Bay to seek a 120-day suspension of legal proceedings. One of the first cases to go on hold was that of Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen accused of killing an American soldier in Afghanistan when Khadr was 15. It is unclear whether any other ongoing trials will be postponed, as three of five defendants are representing themselves and not certain to agree to Obama’s request. (Washington Post)
In another one of his first actions as the new president, Barack Obama issued an order to all federal agencies to stop the enactment of any new regulations until the administration can review them. It will take much longer to undo regulations put in place by the Bush administration before Obama was sworn in. In its final months, the Bush administration issued numerous orders weakening environmental protections and workplace safeguards among other things.(Associated Press)
Embattled Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich missed a second deadline Tuesday to file a response to impeachment charges. The Senate will assume a plea of “not guilty” and proceed with impeachment hearings. The tardiness of Blagojevich’s response may be related to the resignation from the impeachment case of his defense team, one member of which referred to the impeachment as a “lynching” and the outcome as a “forgone conclusion.” (Associated Press)
A memo from 2007 written by the Majority Leader of the Tennessee state House of Representatives details two instances of sexual harassment committed by the Speaker of the House. Rep. Kent Williams (R) denies any allegations of harassment, although Rep. Susan Lynn (R), the alleged victim of the incidents, says that the memo describes events accurately, including one during which Rep. Williams offered that he would “give a weeks pay just to see you [Rep.Lynn] naked.” (Nashville Post)
Missing Florida investment manager Arthur Nadel has at least one thing left to be proud of — a 2003 article in The Wall Street Digest, an industry newsletter, touting him as “America’s Top Ranked Money Manager.” The article goes on to give a positive report and praise Nadel’s “unusual success.” Nadel has allegedly duped investors of $350 million. (Reuters)
Gary Becker, the mayor of Racine, Wisconsin, resigned yesterday under the cloud of six charges related to his alleged attempts to have sex with a 14-year-old girl. Becker was caught in an internet sting operation last week and was arrested outside the mall where he intended to meet the minor. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Disqus Conversations
Click here to read the Disqus Commenting FAQ.