Nation & World

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) John Brek   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Nation/World Briefly: Police ticketed drivers for not speaking English DALLAS — Over the past three years, police in Dallas have ticketed 39 drivers for not speaking English even though there is no law requiring drivers be able to do so. Amid growing public anger, police Chief David Kunkle announced last week that the citations would be thrown out and the officers who issued them would be investigated. The practice came to light when a Mexican immigrant, Ernestina Mondragon, went to the media with claims that she had been cited for being a “non-English speaking driver” during a routine traffic stop while driving her daughter to school. There is no such law in Dallas, although there is a federal statute that says commercial drivers must be able to speak English — a statute that Dallas police do not enforce. The charges of making an illegal U-turn and failure to present a driver’s license were dropped along with the citation for inability to speak English. Kunkle said at least six officers had charged 38 other drivers with not speaking English. Kunkle said all the charges would be dropped and people who had paid a $204 fine would be reimbursed. California: No prison for man who made Obama threat A La Mesa man who posted Internet messages about killing Barack Obama during last year’s presidential campaign has avoided federal prison. Walter Bagdasarian was sentenced Monday to 24 days of prison time already served, 60 days in a halfway house, two years of supervised release and a $500 fine. The 48-year-old man was convicted of posting threatening messages on a Yahoo Finance message board last October. D.C.: 52 children rescued in prostitution raids FBI officials say they have rescued 52 children in a series of raids around the country aimed at under-age prostitution, including four girls in the Portland, Ore., area. Authorities say the youngest victim nationally was just 10 years old. Montana: Gray wolf hunt ends Montana officials ended the first general wolf hunt in the southern part of the state on Monday, just a day after it started, when the number of animals killed exceeded the season quota for the region. Nine gray wolves had already been killed in a remote area north of Yellowstone National Park. An additional four wolves were shot in southern Montana after the general hunt got under way Sunday. The quota for that part of the state was 12 wolves. Florida: Madoff associate’s death wasn’t a suicide A man accused of making more than $7 billion off the investment schemes of jailed financial manager Bernard Madoff drowned after having a heart attack, authorities said Monday. Jeffry Picower, 67, was found Sunday by his wife at the bottom of a pool at their West Palm Beach home. Israel: Withholds water from Palestinians, report says In a report being released today, Amnesty International accuses Israel of pumping disproportionate amounts of drinking water from an aquifer it controls in the West Bank, depriving local Palestinians of their fair share. The London-based human rights group also said Israel has blocked infrastructure projects that would improve existing water supplies to Palestinians, both in the West Bank and those living in the Gaza Strip. Israeli officials deny the accusations. Water is a major point of contention between Israelis and Palestinians and is considered an issue that must be resolved before the two sides could make peace. Netherlands: Bosnian Serb is no-show at war crimes trial Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic boycotted his war crimes trial on its opening day Monday, claiming he did not have enough time to prepare his defense — even though he was indicted in 1995 and had known he would be tried since being captured more than 15 months ago. Judges declared that the trial will begin today “with or without” him. Karadzic, 64, is charged with two counts of genocide and nine more of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutors allege he masterminded Serb atrocities throughout Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war, including ethnic cleansing campaigns and massacres. From Herald news services READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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