NATIONWIDE

TEACHERS LOCAL ALLOWED TO JOIN AFL-CIO

A deal is in the works to allow locals of the 2.7 million-member National Education Association to join America’s largest labor federation, the AFL-CIO. The proposed agreement could help the AFL-CIO rebound from the defection last year of several major unions, including the Teamsters and the Service Employees International Union.

Under the arrangement, National Education Association locals could participate in local labor councils and have a vote in AFL-CIO affairs. They would also pay dues to the struggling labor federation.

AFL-CIO leaders are expected to take action on the proposed arrangement during meetings in San Diego next week.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

SOUTHWEST

ARMY RESERVIST ACQUITTED IN LAST TRIAL IN AFGHANISTAN ABUSE CASE

FORT BLISS, Texas – A military jury deliberated for only 15 minutes yesterday before acquitting the last of 11 Army reservists from an Ohio unit who had been charged with abusing prisoners at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

Sergeant Alan Driver kissed a photo album with pictures of his children after the verdict was read. He was the fifth of 11 soldiers from the Cincinnati-based 377th MP Company to be cleared of abusing detainees.

Sergeant Driver was accused of being one of several soldiers who beat a detainee known as Habibullah, who the Army says died of his injuries. Driver was also accused of throwing a shackled and handcuffed prisoner, Omar al-Farouq, against a wall.

“I just did my job,” Mr. Driver said after hugging his wife and parents. “We were put in a difficult situation with minimal training and did the best with what we had.”

Sergeant Driver’s attorney, Captain Michael Waddington, had argued that prosecution witnesses had no credibility. He showed jurors a receipt indicating that al-Farouq, a former Al Qaeda operative, was released from the jail in good condition on September 20, before the time prosecutors alleged Sergeant Driver threw him against a wall.

– Associated Press

EAST

ABC CAMERAMAN LEAVES HOSPITAL; WOODRUFF IMPROVING

ABC cameraman Doug Vogt, injured with anchorman Bob Woodruff in an Iraqi roadside bombing on January 29, has checked out of Bethesda Medical Center, ABC News said yesterday.

The more seriously hurt Mr. Woodruff, recovering from head wounds and other injuries at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., is being slowly brought out of sedation, said ABC News President David Westin.

“Despite the fact that he continues to be mildly sedated, Bob has been out of bed in a chair and his physical strength continues to impress his entire team,” Mr. Westin said. “We’ve come some distance, but we still have a long way to go.”

– Associated Press

LIKE HER HUSBAND, CLINTON LOOKS TO CARVILLE AND BEGALA

ALBANY, N.Y. – Senator Clinton has turned to two of the masterminds behind her husband’s 1992 presidential victory – James Carville and Paul Begala – to raise money needed to keep her in the Senate and possibly help finance a White House run of her own.

Calling Messrs. Carville and Begala “the dynamic duo of American politics,” Ms. Clinton’s campaign spokeswoman Ann Lewis said she was glad to have them helping out. “They know how to fight and they know how to win.”

– Associated Press

WEST

STUDENT SHOT AT OREGON HIGH SCHOOL, SUSPECT CAPTURED

ROSEBURG, ORE. – A teenager shot and wounded another student at school Thursday, then fled to a restaurant, where he put the gun to his head before surrendering, police said.

The shooter, who police said was a 14-year-old freshman, was arrested shortly after the attack at Roseburg High.

The school went into lockdown after the shots were fired about 7:45 a.m.

The victim, identified as Joseph Monti, 16, was shot twice in the abdomen and once in the chest. A bullet also grazed his left elbow, said Kathleen Nickel, spokeswoman for Mercy Medical Center. He “is doing very well, better than can be expected considering the bullet wounds,” said hospital CEO Vic Fresolone. He said surgeons had repaired intestinal damage caused by the most serious of the wounds.

– Associated Press