National News for Oct. 14 – 26

This is not original reporting. All information has been compiled from The Washington Post. Silver Chips Online posts this news summary to provide readers with a forum for discussion.

Atlanta, GA
Oct. 24- Civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King III and Al Sharpton called for an economic boycott for Nov. 2. The boycott is intended to protest the Justice Departments lax response to hate crimes, according to King.

Malibu, CA
Oct. 21- Over 2,000 people have fled from their homes in Southern California as wildfires ravaged the area. The blaze is expected to continue for two to three more days until the powerful Santa Ana winds calm. Right now the fire is completely uncontained and at the mercy of the wind according to acting Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich.

Washington, D.C.
Oct. 24- Disagreement over missile defense has come to light within the Bush Administration. President George W. Bush wants to establish a missile defense system in Europe to defend the U.S. against a possible attack by Iran on U.S. allies. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates disagrees, saying that such a system is not needed until a definite threat has been presented.

Oct. 21- The House of Representatives failed to achieve the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's veto of the renewal to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The proposed bill would cost $35 billion more and would raise the revenue by increasing the federal tax on tobacco from 39 cents to $1 per pack.

Oct. 20- Homemade explosive devices (IEDs) are expected to be a growing threat in the United States according to the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff, describes IEDs as the terrorists' "weapon of choice."

Los Angeles, CA
Oct. 21- California will sue the Environmental Protection Agency for the right to pass its own standards for vehicle emissions that are stricter than the national regulations. In 2005 California requested a waiver to require stricter regulations on greenhouse gas emissions for the 2009 models but the waiver has not yet been granted, according to a spokesman for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Aaron McLear.

Hennepin County, MN
Oct. 15- Idaho Senator Larry E. Craig appealed a judge's decision not to allow him to withdraw his guilty plea for his alleged involvement in a sex sting in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Craig insists that he is the victim of profiling and will not resign. The motion may take as long as six months to process. Meanwhile, Craig did not step down as originally planned on Sept. 30 and now plans to finish out his term until January 2009. For now Craig will focus on clearing his name in the Minnesota courts and in front of the Senate ethics committee.

Oslo, Norway
Oct. 14- Former vice president Al Gore, as part of a United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work with raising awareness about global warming. Gore has dedicated much time to motivating individuals and governments to fight climate change. Gore also won the best documentary Oscar for his film "An Inconvenient Truth" about the same topic.