NATION BRIEFS

ARIZONA: State education accused of violating student rights

Two federal investigations have found that Arizona is violating the civil rights of some students who are not native English speakers by denying them access to special programs for English learners. In one case, the U.S. Education and Justice departments concluded that Arizona is inappropriately classifying students as fluent in English when tests show they are not. In the other case, investigators found that the state is not identifying thousands of students who might struggle with English because it replaced a three-question survey with a single vague question. Arizona could lose millions in federal funding if officials don't fix the system. State schools chief Tom Horne said the test is developed by contractor. "I'll let our testing people talk to their testing people, and if they agree that anything should get changed in the test then we'll change it," Horne said.

WASHINGTON: DEA calls for lawsuit over Calif. marijuana bill

President Barack Obama sued to keep Arizona from writing its own immigration laws. Now, every former Drug Enforcement Administration boss is asking whether he'll do the same to stop California from legalizing marijuana. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, all nine former DEA administrators said legalizing pot presented the same threat to federal authority as Arizona's immigration crackdown. The letter raises questions about when the federal government should wade into debates over state laws. While Obama has made immigration an important issue for his administration, steering the debate over legalizing marijuana has not been a focus. Proposition 19, on the November ballot in California, would allow adults to possess up to one ounce of marijuana. Local governments would be allowed to tax its sales. Obama's drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, has said he opposes the measure, but the former DEA administrators in Democratic and Republican administrations say the Justice Department should forcefully come out against it before the election. And if it passes, the former administrators say, Obama should sue. Before Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a tough immigration law in April, Obama called it misguided. In July, the administration sued the state, saying only the federal government can set immigration policy.

WASHINGTON: Rep. defends awarding scholarships to relatives

U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop of Georgia says he did nothing wrong when he awarded a scholarship to his stepdaughter, a niece and an aide's future wife in 2003 through the nonprofit Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. Bishop told a South Georgia TV station Friday that the nonprofit foundation's rules barring lawmakers from giving scholarships to relatives weren't in place at the time. Foundation records show Bishop also gave scholarships in 2003 and 2005 to a niece by marriage. Another of the congressman's 2003 recipients is the spouse of longtime Bishop aide Kenneth Cutts, though a campaign spokesman says the two weren't married at the time. The scholarships were first reported by Politico.

WASHINGTON: Suicide prevention coalition launched

Struggling with sharp increases in suicides among U.S. military forces, the Pentagon is joining a new national effort to reduce the number of Americans who take their own lives. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that it was a tragedy to see soldiers, sailors and other service members return from the battlefield only to die from what he called "this scourge." Gates and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius launched the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention. The coalition of public and private groups is dedicated to reducing suicides across the U.S. population. More than 1,100 members of the armed forces killed themselves from 2005 to 2009, and suicides have been rising again this year.