National Desk

WESTSCHWARZENEGGER, ACCUSER SETTLE LAWSUITGovernor Schwarzenegger of California and a movie stuntwoman who made sexual assault allegations against the former film star have agreed to settle a libel lawsuit she brought last year. No money will change hands, according to attorneys involved in the case.The stuntwoman, Rhonda Miller, filed suit last December, alleging that Mr. Schwarzenegger’s campaign aides smeared her by suggesting to the press that she had dozens of arrests and convictions on drug, prostitution, and larceny charges.While a Rhonda Miller who lived in the Los Angeles area does have a lengthy criminal record, it was apparently not the same woman who leveled the sexual harassment charges against Mr. Schwarzenegger. In July, a state judge dismissed the libel case, ruling that campaign officials appeared to have believed the allegations about Ms. Miller’s record when they made them on election eve.An attorney for Ms. Miller, Paul Hoffman, said his client agreed not to appeal because she would have been liable to Mr. Schwarzenegger’s legal fees under a special state law aimed at reducing litigation over public policy disputes.“It’s really a tremendous injustice,” Mr. Hoffman said. ” The system is just not working for ordinary people that want to get their reputation back,” he said.An attorney for the Schwarzenegger campaign said the system worked properly. “The libel case had no merit,” said the lawyer, Neil Shapiro.– Staff Reporter of the SunWASHINGTONHOUSE MOVES TO BLOCK NEW OVERTIME RULESIn a sharp rebuke of a new administration policy, the House moved yesterday to block the Labor Department from carrying out overtime rules that critics argued could deprive millions of workers of their overtime pay. The 223-193 vote in favor of blocking the rules defied the White House. A threatened veto applied to a massive spending bill, now on the House floor, if it contains any language tampering with the rules that took effect August 23.“This is one step in the legislative process. We are continuing to work with the Congress,” said a spokesman for President Bush, Trent Duffy.Democrats, united against the rules, were joined by 22 Republicans in voting for the amendment to a $142.5 billion health and education spending bill.The vote was Mr. Bush’s second election-season defeat in Congress in two days. On Wednesday the Senate disregarded a White House veto threat and voted to prohibit Mr. Bush from giving federal immigration jobs to private workers.– Associated PressMIDWESTCHICAGO MAYOR ANNOUNCES SURVEILLANCE INITIATIVECHICAGO – More than 2,000 surveillance cameras in public places would be tied into a network that would use sophisticated software to spot emergencies or suspicious behavior under a plan announced yesterday by Mayor Richard Daley.“Cameras are the equivalent of hundreds of sets of eyes. They are the next best thing to having police officers stationed at every potential trouble spot,” Mr. Daley said. Officials said the bulk of the cameras already are in use at O’Hare International Airport, on the city’s transit lines, and in public housing, parks, and schools, along with 30 police are using to try to curb violent crime. An additional 250 surveillance cameras still to be bought will raise the number available to more than 2,000. Locations for the new cameras have not been determined.The cameras would not all be continuously monitored. But software would be used to pick up out-of-the-ordinary activity on the video images. If the software picked up suspicious behavior, a staff member in the city’s Office of Emergency Management would be alerted and could then notify authorities. Mr. Daley dismissed privacy concerns, saying the cameras are only in public spaces.– Associated Press

National Desk

National Desk

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