Bush told Cheney to disclose intelligence
President Bush declassified sensitive intelligence in 2003 and authorized its public disclosure to rebut Iraq war critics, but he did not specifically direct that Vice President Dick Cheney’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, be the one to disseminate the information, an attorney knowledgeable about the case said Saturday.
Bush merely instructed Cheney to “get it out” and left the details to him, said the lawyer, who spoke on condition of anonymity. The vice president chose Libby and communicated the president’s wishes to his then-top aide, the lawyer said.
The new information about Bush and Cheney’s roles came as the president’s aides have scrambled to defuse the political fallout from a court filing Wednesday by the prosecutors in the complex, ongoing investigation into whether the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame was disclosed to discredit her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, an Iraq war critic.
St. Paul, Minn.
Student sues SAT for incorrect score
A high school senior whose SAT was incorrectly scored low is suing the board that oversees the exam and the testing company that was hired.
The lawsuit, filed late Friday in Minnesota, is the first since last month’s announcement that 4,411 students got incorrectly lower scores and that more than 600 had better results than they deserved on the October test.
It names the nonprofit College Board and the for-profit Pearson Educational Measurement, which has offices in Minnesota.
The lawsuit, filed by attorneys for an unidentified high school senior in Dix Hills, N.Y., seeks class action status. Lawyers want to allow anyone who took the test in October except those who got a marked-up score to join the lawsuit.
The suit also seeks unspecified damages, an order requiring adjustment of the inflated scores and a refund of the test fee.
Test-takers whose scores were made too low had their results corrected, but the College Board has declined to fix the inflated scores. That has angered some college officials who say the scores could unfairly influence admissions and scholarship decisions.
Denver
Transit board OKs contract with union
The executive board of the city’s mass transit system unanimously approved a new labor contract Saturday, clearing the way for bus and train service to resume by the work week.
“We are going to be back in full service Monday morning,” said Scott Reed, spokesman for the Regional Transportation District.
The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1001 approved the contract Friday with an 82 percent majority.
Although the latest deal was worth the same as previous offers – $15.3 million – workers will get more of it in the first part of the three-year contract, officials said.