WASHINGTON

HIGH COURT APPROVES PADILLA’S TRANSFER TO CIVILIAN COURT

The Supreme Court agreed yesterday to let the military transfer accused “enemy combatant” Jose Padilla to Miami to face criminal charges in what was at least a temporary victory for the Bush administration. The justices overruled a lower court, which had attempted to block the transfer as part of a rebuke to the White House. The high court said it would decide later whether to consider the inmate’s argument that President Bush overstepped his authority by ordering Padilla’s indefinite detention in 2002. It granted the Bush administration’s request for a transfer in a one-page order and said Padilla’s broader appeal would be considered “in due course.” “That’s fine. It’s great,” one of Padilla’s lawyers, Donna Newman, said. “Both things are good. I don’t think it’s a bad day for us.” Padilla’s jailing as an enemy combatant for the past three and a half years has been the subject of multiple court rulings and criticism by civil rights groups.

– Associated Press

MIDWEST

LYNN SWANN TO RUN FOR PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR

PITTSBURGH – Former Steelers star Lynn Swann declared his candidacy for Pennsylvania governor yesterday in the city where he made his name in professional football. He told the Associated Press in an interview yesterday afternoon that he made up his mind to run in the fall, after spending months weighing support at events around the state. Mr. Swann, a Hall of Fame receiver and longtime TV football commentator, faces three other candidates in seeking the Republican nomination for governor – his first run for political office. The winner of the May 16 primary would likely face Democratic Governor Ed Rendell, who is expected to seek a second four-year term. If successful in his first bid for political office, Swann would become Pennsylvania’s first black governor. His announcement came as no surprise: His political committee has been raising money for his campaign for nearly a year.

– Associated Press