USA
Federal investigators said six sea lions found dead last weekend at a Columbia River dam had not been shot as initially reported. Necropsy results shared Wednesday turned up no gunshot wounds in the carcasses, but officials indicated they have not ruled out human involvement. Sea lions swim upriver to prey on salmon, whose numbers are dwindling. Fisheries personnel are trying to address the problem.
Sales reports issued Thursday showed some of the nation's largest retailers, especially discounters and wholesale clubs, enjoyed a little relief in April after months of dismal sales. Wal-Mart and Costco stores were among the top performers.
More than 70 prominent evangelical pastors and theologians urged Christian conservatives Wednesday to not let their faith become an ideology. A 19-page "Evangelical Manifesto" urges moving beyond "single-issue politics." The position paper was not supported by many right-leaning Christian activists.
The Rev. Al Sharpton was arrested in New York Wednesday on disorderly conduct charges, along with 215 other people participating in a "pray-in" to protest the acquittal of three detectives in the 50-bullet shooting death of an unarmed black man. Sharpton was quickly released, but he indicated that the traffic-blocking protest was a preview of similar actions designed to encourage federal authorities to investigate the shooting.
The Energy Department unveiled its revised plan Wednesday to spread up to $1.3 billion among several smaller clean coal-power plants rather than funnel it all into one plant in Mattoon, Ill. The FutureGen project will rely on technology that captures carbon emissions and permanently stores them underground.
The PGA Tour presented golfing great Jack Nicklaus with a lifetime achievement award Wednesday at its headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. He was presented with a silver cup and a portrait in recognition of his 73 tour wins, his many charitable efforts, and for being "an ambassador of the game."
President Bush's daughter, Jenna, will marry Henry Hager, the son of Virginia Republican Party chairman John Hager, Saturday in a private ceremony at the Bush family ranch in Crawford, Texas. The couple plans to live in Baltimore, where she will teach and he will work for Constellation Energy.
