Joy, disappointment greet gun ban reversal
WASHINGTON, June 26 (UPI) -- Jubilation and disappointment characterized reaction Thursday to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Washington's stringent gun laws.
"For this first time in the history of our Republic, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was and is an individual right as intended by our Founding Fathers," Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, said in a statement.
Libertarian candidate Bob Barr also praised the decision, saying in a statement the decision "will go down as one of the Supreme Court's most important rulings on behalf of liberty."
Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, a Democrat, expressed disappointment with the decision, The Washington Post reported.
"More handguns will lead to more handgun violence," Fenty said at a news conference.
The District of Columbia now must come up with new regulations for the process of registering handguns, which the high court said can be kept in homes for self-defense.
Likely Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, noting he believed the Second Amendment protects individuals' right to bear arms, said the majority opinion "acknowledged that this right is not absolute and subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe."
The ruling "will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country," the Illinois senator said on his Web site.
Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which favors tighter gun control, said the ruling does have a silver lining.
While the majority opinion said handguns can't be banned, it allows governments to impose restrictions on ownership, Helmke told the Post.
The National Rifle Association said the decision "vindicates individual Americans ... who have always known that this is their freedom worth protecting."
U.S. to delist N. Korea as terror sponsor
WASHINGTON, June 26 (UPI) -- The United States will lift some sanctions against North Korea, now that Pyongyang has taken steps toward denuclearization, a White House aide said Thursday.
President George W. Bush announced two actions in response to North Korea's declaration of its nuclear program, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters. Bush issued a proclamation lifting some sanctions against North Korea under the Trading with the Enemy Act, and he notified Congress of his intent to remove North Korea from being listed as a state sponsor of terrorism within 45 days.
The sanctions being removed affect some financial transfers by the North Korean government, commerce and shipping, Hadley said.
"These (sanctions) will expire so far as they look to the Trading with the Enemies Act as the statutory basis for their being imposed," he said.
However, two other prohibitions will remain in effect through an executive order Bush signed Thursday, Hadley said. They concern U.S. entities interacting with ships under the North Korean flag and freezing certain assets that were frozen in 2000.
"We appreciate the declaration, obviously, that North Korea has provided to China today," the adviser said.
However, the administration remains concerned about issues such as nuclear capability and nuclear weapons proliferation that will be addressed through the verification and monitoring process, Hadley said.
Iraqi bombings kill 36, injure 100-plus
BAGHDAD, June 26 (UPI) -- At least 36 people died Thursday in two bombing incidents in the northern city of Mosul aimed at targeting local government officials.
Those targeted in particular included the Awakening Councils of Sunni tribal chieftains, who have collaborated with American forces against Sunni insurgents, The New York Times reported.
The group was meeting in a tent in the town of Garma in Anbar Province when the bomb exploded.
"As usual we entered the tent at 9 a.m.," said Hilal Abdullah Ali, a senior sheik from the Albu Alwan tribe. "At around 10:30 there was a big explosion. I heard the person sitting next to me say 'he exploded himself on us.'"
An Iraqi Interior Ministry official said a suicide bomber in Anbar province attacked municipal council headquarters in Karma, killing 18 people and wounding 25 others, CNN reported. Among the dead were Karma's administrative director, three police officers and three sheiks attending a meeting.
Officials said it was the third attack in a week against a local branch of the U.S.-backed Iraqi government.
In Mosul, another 16 people died and 85 were hurt in two bombings near a busy market in the center of the city, officials said.
Schwarzenegger wants no fireworks
SACRAMENTO, June 26 (UPI) -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Thursday urged Californians to give up July Fourth fireworks displays this year because of fire danger.
The governor talked about fireworks during a visit to Big Sur, where thousands of acres have been burned, California National Public Radio reported.
"Don't buy the fireworks. Don't go out and play with fireworks because it's just too dry and too dangerous to do those things," Schwarzenegger said.
The fires also fouled the air in the San Francisco area. In Sonoma County, north of San Francisco Bay, air quality was unhealthy Thursday.
"It's really the worst air quality we've had in several years," Jenny Bard, assistant director of communication and advocacy for the American Lung Association of California, told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat.
Organizers of the Western States Endurance Run decided late Wednesday to cancel the event, scheduled to start Saturday, because of the health risks, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
By Thursday, more than 1,000 fires had been reported, the Chronicle said, most sparked by lightning during storms last weekend. They had spread through 200 square miles.
The Walker Fire in Lake and Colusa counties was a major smoke producer. Officials said Thursday it was only 10 percent contained.
In Stanislaus National Forest, firefighters have been drawing water directly from the Tuolumne River, using it as a giant pumper truck. Pat Kaunert, a spokesman for the national forest, told the Modesto Bee it has burned more than 1,000 acres and was about 5 percent contained.
