WASHINGTON

JUDGE BLOCKS HOMELAND SECURITY WORKPLACE RULES

The Department of Homeland Security, after more than two years of work on new workplace rules, might have to scrap the plan after a federal judge questioned whether it protects union and employee rights. The rules, which were blocked by the judge in a ruling released Friday night, were scheduled to begin today. A spokesman for the department, Larry Orluskie, said officials would meet today and “consider next steps.” He said it would be premature to talk about an appeal or other options until government lawyers study the decision.

The workplace rules would have dramatically reduced the clout of unions in the department, which has about 160,000 employees. Bush administration officials see the proposed rules as a key to moving forward – and sidestepping union objections – to more ambitious changes that would affect how the employees are paid, promoted and disciplined. The changes are part of a regulatory package the administration devised after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The White House has insisted federal managers need more leeway in deploying workers and in negotiating with unions if they are to enhance national security.

But U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer found the Homeland Security plan “does not lead to enforceable contracts and thus fails to comply with the direction of Congress to ensure employee collective bargaining rights.” The ruling was hailed by labor groups, which have contended the White House is trying to gut union rights under the guise of creating more flexible pay and personnel systems.

– The Washington Post

FAKE BOMB DESTROYED AT MAYFLOWER HOTEL

A suspicious package, later found to be a fake explosive device, forced the evacuation of a historic Washington hotel yesterday afternoon and left businesses and streets in the surrounding area closed for hours.

The package was found on the ninth or 10th floor of the Mayflower Hotel shortly before 1 p.m. yesterday, a spokesman for the capital’s fire and emergency services department, Alan Etter, said.

Mr. Etter said law enforcement officials who first saw the item said, “This looks like the real deal.” The package was moved to the hotel’s basement before being disabled by bomb technicians, reportedly with a water cannon. They determined that the device contained no explosives, but had been designed to look like a genuine bomb, he said.

“If this had been a real bomb, we could have expected a building collapse. We could expected a mass-casualty incident,” Mr. Etter said. “This is why they established such a large safety perimeter.”

The FBI and local police launched an investigation into who planted the fake bomb. The target or motive was unclear, but buildings in the immediate vicinity of the hotel house the Washington bureaus of major news organizations, including ABC News and The New York Sun.

Guests were allowed to return to their rooms at the Mayflower at about 2:30 p.m., Mr. Etter said, but were forced out of the hotel again later in the afternoon after another suspicious package was spotted. That one turned out to be entirely innocuous, he said.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

MIDWEST

AMERITRADE EXEC TO RUN FOR SENATE

OMAHA, Neb. – Peter Ricketts, chief operating officer of the online brokerage firm Ameritrade, said he is entering the Republican primary race for the U.S. Senate seat held by Senator Nelson, describing himself an anti-abortion conservative. “I grew up with great values and tremendous opportunities,” Mr. Ricketts said. “I want my three kids and other people’s children to have the same opportunities that I had.”

Mr. Ricketts, 40 years old, faces two other candidates in the primary: former Nebraska Attorney General Donald Stenberg and former state Republican chairman David Kramer. Mr. Nelson, a Democrat up for re-election to a second term next year, is the only member of Nebraska’s congressional delegation who is not a Republican.

“I’m a conservative Republican,” Mr. Ricketts said Saturday. “We have to have a culture that respects life, that respects the unborn.”

Mr. Ricketts will leave his post at Ameritrade effective August 26, but he will continue to serve as vice chairman and a member of Ameritrade’s board of directors. His father, Joe Ricketts, is the company’s founder and chairman.

– Associated Press

WEST

WYOMING TOWN STRAINS TO HOUSE TORNADO VICTIMS

WRIGHT, Wyo. – Aid workers and volunteers descended on this small coal-mining town yesterday to offer help in the wake of a tornado that killed two people and left about 85 families homeless. Most were staying with friends or relatives. Officials said the town of 1,500 people did not have the apartment or motel capacity to house them.

“There’s some real issues about what we’re going to do with temporary housing or long-term housing,” said David King, Campbell County emergency management coordinator. The tornado struck with just five minutes warning late Friday afternoon, cutting a quarter-mile wide path through a mobile home park on the northwest side of town.

Etienne Iriberry Sr., 53, was killed after his home was hit, and Connie L. Allen, 97, died later at a hospital. About a dozen people were injured.

Authorities said more than 80 homes at a mobile home park were destroyed or damaged to the point they are uninhabitable. Dozens of other homes sustained less severe damage.

A team from the Federal Emergency Management Agency arrived yesterday to assess damage and discuss federal aid with city leaders.

– Associated Press

SOUTH

TWO JAIL ESCAPEES NABBED IN FLORIDA

COCOA BEACH, Fla. – Two men who escaped from a South Carolina jail while awaiting sentencing on federal bank-robbery charges have been arrested on a Florida beach after a three-week manhunt, authorities said yesterday.

Ted Evan Doughty and Daniel Ryan Pilson, both 21, were arrested late Saturday by Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies and federal agents after a car they were believed to have stolen was spotted in front of a surf shop, FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said in Miami. Authorities said the men escaped July 22 or 23 from the Lexington County Detention Center. Lexington County officials have said that a corrections officer was negligent, and the unidentified officer has been fired. The arrests ended a three-week chase that led authorities from Lexington, S.C., to Charlotte, N.C., to Chesapeake, Va., and Jupiter, Fla. The men stole cars and switched license plates to avoid capture, the FBI said.

Authorities said the men robbed four banks from July to October in 2004. They pleaded guilty to three robberies in a plea bargain; charges stemming from a fourth robbery were dropped.

– Associated Press