Nation/world roundup
Senate emerges from closed session on Iraq
WASHINGTON -- Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday, questioning the intelligence that President Bush used to justify the war in Iraq and accusing Republicans of ignoring the issue.
"They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why," Democratic leader Harry Reid said.
Bush outlines $7.1B flu-fighting strategy
WASHINGTON -- President Bush outlined a $7.1 billion strategy Tuesday to prepare for a possible worldwide super-flu outbreak, aiming to overhaul the vaccine industry so eventually every American could be inoculated within six months of a pandemic's beginning.
Such a huge change would take years to implement -- Bush's goal is 2010 -- and his plan drew immediate fire from critics who said it wouldn't provide enough protection in the meantime. States, too, got an unpleasant surprise, ordered to purchase millions of doses of an anti-flu drug with their own money.
Judge removed from DeLay's criminal case
AUSTIN, Texas -- In a courtroom victory for Rep. Tom Delay, the judge in the campaign-finance case against the former House Republican leader was removed Tuesday because of his donations to Democratic candidates and causes.
A semi-retired judge who was called in to hear the dispute, C.W. Bud Duncan, ruled in Delay's favor without comment. Duncan ordered the appointment of a new judge to preside over the case.
Researchers say levees had design flaws
NEW ORLEANS -- The engineers who designed the flood walls that collapsed during Hurricane Katrina did not fully consider the porousness of the Louisiana soil or make other calculations that would have pointed to the need for stronger levees with deeper pilings and wider bases, researchers say.
At least one key scenario was ignored in the design, say the researchers, who are scheduled to report their findings at a congressional hearing Wednesday: the possibility that canal water might seep into the dirt on the dry side of the levees, thereby weakening the embankment holding up the flood walls.
GOP senator discourages Alito filibuster
WASHINGTON -- Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is "clearly within the mainstream" and shouldn't be filibustered, declared a Republican who helped fashion a plan limiting parliamentary roadblocks for judicial nominees.
Sen. Mike DeWine, who met with President Bush's latest high court choice Tuesday, warned Democrats he would side with GOP leaders to eliminate the judicial filibuster if the minority party uses it against the judge.
Pentagon: Top al-Qaida operative escaped
FORT BLISS, Texas -- A man once considered a top al-Qaida operative escaped from a U.S.-run detention facility in Afghanistan and cannot testify against the soldier who allegedly mistreated him, a defense lawyer involved in a prison abuse case said Tuesday.
From wire reports. E-mail news@thesantaclara.com.