News Digest:
Friday, November 16, 2007 10:41 AM PST
IDAHO — State lawyers ask federal judge to dismiss closed primary lawsuit
BOISE (AP) — A federal judge said Thursday he’ll rule quickly on whether a group of conservative Republican activists can sue Idaho to force the state to close GOP primary elections to all but registered party members. At a hearing in U.S. District Court in Boise, many of Judge Mikel Williams’ comments focused on a possible resolution outside the courts. The 2008 Legislature, which meets starting in January, could still approve changes to the state’s election law before next May’s primary, Williams said.
The tenor of William’s questioning made the activists’ lawyer downbeat about his clients’ prospects.
OREGON
Officials say new cold bug killed 10 in U.S. and has touched Ore.
ATLANTA (AP) — A mutated version of a common cold virus has caused 10 deaths in the U.S. in last 18 months, health officials said Thursday. Adenoviruses usually cause respiratory infections that are not considered lethal. But a new variant has caused at least 140 illnesses in New York, Oregon, Washington and Texas, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The illness made headlines in Texas earlier this year, when a so-called boot camp flu sickened hundreds at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. The most serious cases were blamed on the emerging virus, and one 19-year-old trainee died.
STRANGE AMERICA
Wildlife workers hope doughnuts lure mystery animal from trees
MACCLENNY, Fla. (AP) — Whether the mystery critter roaming northern Florida is an orangutan, a ‘‘baby Bigfoot’’ or something else, wildlife officials think it might have a bit of Homer Simpson in it.
After a bear hunter said an animal that could be an orangutan stole jelly doughnuts from him, a wildlife investigator has tried to use sweet treats to lure the creature into the open in Baker County.
There have been several sightings of what witnesses have described as a ‘‘big orange ball of fur,’’ though officials have yet to confirm it’s an orangutan, said Karen Parker, a spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
