WASHINGTON

HIGH COURT TO REVIEW DELAY’S TEXAS CONGRESSIONAL MAP

The Supreme Court said yesterday it would consider the constitutionality of a Texas congressional map engineered by Rep. Tom DeLay that helped Republicans gain seats in Congress.

The 2003 boundaries helped Republicans win 21 of the state’s 32 seats in Congress in the last election – up from 15. They were approved amid a nasty battle between Republican leaders and Democrats and minority groups in Texas.

The contentiousness also reached Washington, where the Justice Department approved the plan despite staff lawyers’ conclusion that it diluted minority voting rights. Because of past discrimination against minority voters, Texas is required to get Justice Department approval for any voting changes to ensure they don’t undercut minority voting. Justices will consider a constitutional challenge to the boundaries filed by various opponents.

– Associated Press

ACLU WARNS OF ‘HIDDEN’ PROVISION IN PATRIOT ACT BILL

The American Civil Liberties Union warned yesterday that a provision sandwiched in legislation to reauthorize the Patriot Act “could seriously damage the free speech rights of all Americans” by expanding the authority of the Secret Service.

The provision would give Secret Service agents broad power to arrest people who knowingly enter restricted areas at so-called national special security events, such as presidential inaugurations, national political conventions, and international summits. At the moment, it is only a federal crime to enter a secure area at such an event during or prior to the visit of a protected dignitary.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

BUSH SAYS RACE NOT A FACTOR IN KATRINA RESPONSE

President Bush said yesterday the federal government’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina was appalling, but was not the result of racial indifference to blacks hard-hit by the storm. “You can call me anything you want, but do not call me a racist,” Mr. Bush said.

In an interview with “NBC Nightly News,” Mr. Bush said he saw televised pictures showing the government’s faltering response to Katrina, and that his first thought was that there was a breakdown of communications between all levels of government after the August 29 hurricane.

“I heard, you know, a couple of people say … ‘Bush didn’t respond because of race because he’s a racist,’ or alleged that,” Mr. Bush said. “That is absolutely wrong. And I reject that.” – Associated Press

WEST

MICE ARE CREATED WITH HUMAN BRAIN CELLS

SAN FRANCISCO – Add another creation to the strange scientific menagerie where animal species are being mixed together in ever more exotic combinations. Scientists announced yesterday that they had created mice with small amounts of human brain cells in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Those mice were each born with about 0.1 percent of human cells in each of their heads, a trace amount that doesn’t remotely come close to “humanizing” the rodents.

– Associated Press