NATIONAL BRIEFS
WASHINGTON: Racial divide in pardons
White criminals seeking presidential pardons over the past decade have been nearly four times as likely to succeed as minorities, ProPublica has found. Blacks have had the poorest chance of receiving the president's ultimate act of mercy, according to an analysis of previously unreleased records. Current and former officials at the White House and the Justice Department said they were surprised and dismayed by the racial disparities. The review of applications for pardons is conducted almost entirely in secret. ProPublica's review examined what happened after President George W. Bush decided to rely almost entirely on recommendations of career lawyers in the Office of the Pardon Attorney.
New payroll tax proposal
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will unveil a new proposal Monday to extend a tax cut for American workers, a Democratic ally said Sunday. Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) said on "Fox News Sunday" that Reid will announce the details of a plan that would extend a cut in the payroll taxes used to pay for Social Security. He said "it will be paid for" and will represent a compromise between the dueling plans Republicans and Democrats voted on last week.
KENTUCKY: Church stops biased ruling
An eastern Kentucky church under a firestorm of criticism since members voted to bar mixed-race couples from joining the congregation overturned that decision unanimously Sunday. Stacy Stepp, pastor of the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Pike County, told The Associated Press the vote by nine people last week was declared null and void after it was determined that new bylaws can't run contrary to local, state or national laws. The issue came up at the tiny all-white Appalachian church after the daughter of church secretary Dean Harville visited with her boyfriend, who is from Africa, and the two sang for the congregation. A resolution to bar mixed-race couples was voted upon, and Harville was told then that his daughter and her friend were no longer allowed to sing at the church.
'It's depressing, it's frustrating' A Newsday investigation revealed that Grumman Aerospace knew toxic chemicals were leaking into the ground in Bethpage. Newsday Associate Editor Paul LaRocco and Deputy Editor David Schwartz explain.
'It's depressing, it's frustrating' A Newsday investigation revealed that Grumman Aerospace knew toxic chemicals were leaking into the ground in Bethpage. Newsday Associate Editor Paul LaRocco and Deputy Editor David Schwartz explain.
