USA
In naming Michael Chertoff the new Homeland Security chief on Tuesday, President Bush described Tom Ridge's replacement as "a key leader on the war on terror." Chertoff headed the Justice Department's criminal division from 2001 to 2003 and currently serves as a federal appellate court judge in Philadelphia. Bernard Kerik, New York's former police chief, originally was named as Ridge's successor, but he withdrew last month, citing immigration problems with a housekeeper.
As more heavy rain fell on southern California, a huge mudslide killed at least three people Monday in La Conchita, a coastal hamlet 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Eight others were injured and still more residents were unaccounted for. Because of dangerous conditions, authorities called off rescue workers at one point from searching through the mud and debris, which had piled up 30 feet high. Since last Friday, many areas had received more than 20 inches of rain.
On opening day of the Army's criminal case against Spc. Charles Graner Jr., the alleged leader in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, defense attorney Guy Womack said that piling naked detainees into human pyramids and leading them by a leash were acceptable methods of prisoner control. The defense said Graner would take the stand in the case, which is being tried in Fort Hood, Texas, and asserted that Graner was "doing his job." Prosecutors, meanwhile, showed new videos and photos of degrading treatment in Iraq, which a fellow reservist testified Graner had joked about.
Saying that "cruise-control spending is out-of-control spending," California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) unveiled a $111.7 billion no-new-taxes budget for the state Monday. He proposed closing a $9 billion deficit by borrowing. Schwarzenegger also is pushing constitutional amendments that would impose a spending cap among other restraints. If lawmakers don't act, the governor has promised he'll go to voters in a special election this summer.
Former Vermont governor and Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean was expected to announce Tuesday that he will run for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, CNN reported. Dean would join six other candidates seeking to succeed Terry McAuliffe.
