Overwhelming vote on U.S. attorneys
WASHINGTON, March 20 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate voted 94-2 Tuesday to strip U.S. President George Bush of the power to bypass the confirmation process for U.S. attorneys.
Only two Republicans, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Christopher Bond of Missouri, opposed the measure, The New York Times reported. The overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate suggests that the bill is likely to pass the U.S. House of Representatives by a veto-proof margin.
The Justice Department has said it will not oppose the bill, which removes a provision in the USA Patriot Act allowing the president to name U.S. attorneys without confirmation. It would restore the old system, which allowed the attorney general to fill vacancies with interim appointees for up to 120 days.
The Patriot Act bypass received little notice until the flap about the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys. The Justice Department claims that thousands of e-mail messages turned over to Congress late Monday show that the eight were fired for performance reasons, not politics, CNN reported.
"The department did not remove the U.S. attorneys for improper reasons, such as to prevent or retaliate for a particular prosecution in a public corruption matter," Justice Department spokeswoman Tasia Scolinos said.
But House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said the pile of paper delivered Monday night won't stop his committee from investigating the matter.
"This investigation has uncovered serious charges of misleading Congress, obstructing justice and abuse of power," he told CNN. "We are prepared to press ahead to get to the bottom of this growing scandal, using subpoenas if necessary."
Missing Boy Scout found alive in woods
MCGRADY, N.C., March 20 (UPI) -- A 12-year-old Boy Scout was found Tuesday after three days on his own in the North Carolina woods, hungry and thirsty but otherwise fine.
Michael Auberry of Greensboro, N.C., was only 1 1/2 miles from the place where his Boy Scout troop had been camping in Doughton Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway, CNN reported. He was discovered after a search dog picked up his scent.
"He is alive," ranger Tina White said. "We're all smiling now."
White said he appeared to be suffering from some dehydration.
Michael stayed in camp Saturday while the other Scouts went on a hike. But he vanished after they returned for lunch.
Searchers were worried because temperatures in the area were around freezing at night. But Michael was wearing a heavy coat and boots.
The Boy Scouts had also been trained to use dead leaves for a covering if they needed to keep warm.
U.S. agency raps BP on Texas plant blast
HOUSTON, March 20 (UPI) -- BP PLC's "organizational and safety deficiencies at all levels" caused a fatal March 2005 accident at a Texas refinery, a U.S. safety agency said Tuesday.
Despite repeated warnings about mechanical integrity problems, "the combination of cost-cutting, production pressures and failure to invest caused a progressive deterioration of safety at the refinery," U.S. Chemical Safety Board Safety Board Chairwoman Carolyn Merritt said.
A March 23, 2005 explosion and fire killed 15 contract workers and injured 180 others at BP's Texas City, Texas, refinery, near Houston, in the worst U.S. industrial accident since 1990.
Following the report's release, BP repeated its apologies and said it had worked to ensure those who were injured and the families of those who died received fair compensation "without the need for lengthy court proceedings."
The company strongly disagreed with some CSB findings, but said it would "give full and careful consideration" to the report's recommendations.
The CSB report, which followed a report by an 11-member panel chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, also criticized the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration for having "an insufficient number of qualified inspectors" to guarantee refinery safety.
Cheney back at hospital
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE, March 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney entered George Washington Hospital Tuesday for a follow-up on the blood clot he developed on his trip to Asia.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said the hospital visit was "not a scheduled appointment but it is also not an emergency appointment."
Cheney suffered a deep vein thrombosis and was treated on his return from Asia.
Snow, during the daily press briefing aboard Air Force One en route to Kansas City, Mo., for the president's appearance at a hybrid auto plant, said there was no immediate word on when Cheney would be back at his desk.
Britain admits issuing fake passports
LONDON, March 20 (UPI) -- The British Home Office admits that each year it has issued some 10,000 fraudulent passports, including nine to a man since convicted of terrorism.
Dhiren Barot, who was arrested in 2004, obtained seven passports in his own name and two under aliases, The Evening Standard reported. He obtained the duplicates by claiming he had lost his passport.
Barot, a member of al-Qaida, is serving a 40-year prison sentence for planning a "dirty-bomb" attack and attacks with parked cars loaded with gas cylinders.
Salaheddine Benyaich, a Moroccan national convicted of involvement in a lethal series of bombings in Casablanca, got two passports by using someone else's identity, the newspaper said.
The Home Office report told The Evening Standard that in recent years about 16,500 fraudulent passport applications have been made each year with one-third of the applicants caught.
The department plans a new system for those applying for a passport for the first time. They will have to go through a 20-minute interview in which they will be asked about places where they have lived, relatives, credit history and other checkable information.
