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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Judicial showdown heads for airwaves

Compiled from wire reports The Spokesman-Review

Washington A group with strong Republican ties intends to spend $1.5 million on TV commercials to help Senate GOP leaders in a showdown over President Bush’s judicial nominees.

The group, Progress for America, “also will run $350,000 worth of radio ads on Christian stations,” according to a memo describing the plans.

Democrats blocked 10 of the president’s first-term appellate court nominees by filibuster, a tactic that requires supporters to post 60 votes to ensure a final vote. Bush renominated seven of the 10 after he won re-election.

Democrats say they are prepared to block some or all of them again on grounds they are too conservative to warrant lifetime appointments to the bench. Republicans have responded by threatening to use their majority to ban judicial filibusters.

Two teens survive six days lost at sea

Southport, N.C. Two teens lost at sea for six days without food or fresh water have been spotted by fishermen more than 100 miles from where they started out, clinging to their small sailboat.

The boys quenched their thirst with seawater and slipped into the ocean to cool off, but sharks chased them back onto the boat. At night, they used one wet suit to keep warm.

Troy Driscoll, 15, and his friend, 17-year-old Josh Long, were spotted Saturday about seven miles off Cape Fear, N.C. – more than 100 miles from where they had left Sullivans Island, S.C., on April 24. They were sunburned, dehydrated and exhausted but in pretty good shape.

The teens had set out on a 14-foot Sunfish on a blustery day when the National Weather Service had warned that small boats should stay off the water.

Patrol boats search for body of Boy Scout

Cape May Point, N.J. Rescue teams searched waters along the southern New Jersey coast Sunday for the body of a Boy Scout who fell off a whale-watching boat.

Rough conditions forced police and Coast Guard boats to suspend the search around midday, but investigators did find a piece of clothing on the propeller that might have belonged to the boy, police said.

The search is to continue today.

Nicholas Johs, 14, of Staten Island, N.Y., fell Saturday when he and other troop members were jumping up and down on the boat in time with the waves, witnesses told police.

One of the passengers threw Johs a life preserver, but the youth could not reach it. Another passenger dived into the 49-degree water to try to rescue him but had to turn back.

Troop members were not wearing life vests, police said.