Powell convinces N.C. senators on Iraq; Price hesitant
North Carolina's senators say the United States made a strong case to the United Nations for disarming Iraq, but some House members were uneasy about the possibility of war.
"I have long argued that Saddam Hussein is a grave threat and that he must be disarmed," Democratic Sen. John Edwards, a member of the Intelligence Committee, said after Powell's Wednesday speech. "Iraq's behavior during the past few months has done nothing to change my mind."
Republican Sen. Elizabeth Dole said Saddam Hussein has been given "12 years and 17 chances by the U.N. to show that he has destroyed his weapons of mass destruction."
"Engaging the military is a final option to pursue after all others have been exhausted, but if this course is taken, I believe America will be joined by a unified coalition of the willing, and the president and our troops will have my full support," Dole said.
Rep. David Price, a Democrat, said Powell made an effective case "as to the likely existence of Iraq's weapons program" but did not convince him that Iraq had strong ties to the terrorist organization al Qaeda.
Price cautioned that military action could draw attention away from threats posed by North Korea's nuclear program and al Qaeda terrorist cells.
Cigarette smugglers funneled profits to Hezbollah, feds say
Two men linked to a cigarette trafficking ring have been charged with funneling contraband profits to the Islamic-militant group Hezbollah.
Michigan residents Elias M. Akhdar, 30, and Hassan M. Makki, 41, were charged with trying to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars to the terrorist group, said U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Collins.
The two were among 11 people charged in an indictment with buying cigarettes in North Carolina and an Indian reservation in New York, then bringing them back to Michigan to be resold at a profit by taking advantage of tax differences.
Cigarette taxes are $12.50 per carton in Michigan and 50 cents per carton in North Carolina, and no cigarette taxes exist on the reservation.
The indictment unsealed Tuesday charges all 11 with conspiracy to commit a pattern of racketeering activity, including contraband cigarette trafficking, possession of counterfeit cigarette tax stamps, credit card fraud, money laundering, arson and witness tampering.
The indictment says the defendants would at times use fraudulent credit cards to purchase the cigarettes and then use counterfeit stamps to make it appear that Michigan taxes had been paid.
Labor leaders want to stop occupational safety cuts
A coalition of state labor leaders recognized the one-week anniversary of a fatal explosion at a Kinston factory by calling on state leaders to spare the state Labor Department from budget cuts.
The department oversees workplace safety programs through its occupational safety and health division.
"We cannot talk about balancing the budget of this state and do it on the backs of workers," said Alyce Gowdy Wright, acting director of the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Project. The Durham-based group advocates better working conditions.
John Baldwin, the chief of staff for labor secretary Cherie Berry, said the department's budget has been cut 13.5 percent in the past two years to $13.9 million. State budget writers have asked for proposed cuts of an additional 7 percent to 11 percent, Baldwin said.
State inspectors found 30 violations at the West Pharmaceuticals plant in October, including 22 that were considered serious. Labor Department officials and Wright say that number is typical for many of the state's factories.
Court negates death sentence for policeman's killer
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., overturned Wednesday the death sentence of Timothy Allen, who was convicted of killing state Highway Patrol Trooper Raymond Worley in 1985. Worley was shot to death during a traffic stop on Interstate 95 near Enfield, North Carolina.
The appeals court said both statistical and circumstantial evidence showed prosecutors had used their peremptory challenges to exclude blacks from the jury.
"The best and most direct evidence [of Allen's challenge] is evidence of whom the government chose to strike, because that is something over which the prosecutor has complete and undiluted control," the court wrote.
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