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

Nation in brief: Casey confirmed for Army post

The Spokesman-Review

The Senate handily confirmed Gen. George Casey as the next Army chief of staff Thursday by a bipartisan 83-14 vote.

Casey had been top U.S. commander in Iraq since July 2004, but President Bush replaced him with Army Gen. David Petraeus as part of an overhaul of his Iraq policies and his team of top U.S. officials in the Middle East.

Despite their opposition to Bush’s war strategies, Democrats defended Casey while Republicans who support Bush’s policies accused the general of mismanaging the conflict.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Casey should be held accountable for giving Congress rosy assessments of the war.

“I have questioned in the past and question today a number of decisions and judgments that General Casey has made in the past two and a half years,” said McCain. “During that time, conditions in Iraq have gotten remarkably and progressively worse.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo.

Fire extinguished at chemical plant

Firefighters doused the last flames and watched for hot spots Thursday at a chemical distribution plant that was devastated by fire a day before.

Robert Garner, senior vice president of environmental affairs for plant owner Chemcentral Corp., said an environmental team was ready to begin its investigation in tandem with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Evacuation orders remained in effect Thursday for people within a half-mile of the site.

Fire Chief Richard Dyer said it appeared that a chemical was released and ignited, which set off additional explosions. The chemical may have been polybutene, which is used in a variety of products, including liners for cereal boxes, Garner said.

Officials said tests had found no threat to human health from the fires.

WASHINGTON

Edwards says he won’t fire bloggers

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Thursday he was personally offended by the provocative messages two of his campaign bloggers wrote criticizing the Catholic Church, but he’s not going to fire them.

Edwards issued a statement and answered questions about the fate of Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwen, two days after the head of the conservative Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights demanded they be fired for messages they wrote before working on the campaign.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League that counts 350,000 members, criticized Edwards for not firing the bloggers. Donohue demanded the bloggers’ firing Tuesday, citing posts that the women made in the past several months criticizing the church’s opposition to homosexuality, abortion and contraception, sometimes using profanity.

Atlanta

Church says gay pastor must quit

A disciplinary committee of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America ruled Thursday that a gay pastor in Atlanta must give up his pulpit, saying it was reluctantly enforcing a “bad policy.”

Following a five-day church trial last month, seven of the committee’s 12 members voted to remove the Rev. Bradley Schmeling, 44, from the clergy as of Aug. 15. The committee set that date to give the denomination an opportunity to reconsider its policies on homosexuality at its next general assembly, Aug. 6-12 in Chicago.

The 4.9 million-member ELCA allows gay men and lesbians to serve as ordained clergy as long as they remain sexually inactive. Schmeling notified his bishop last year that he was in a committed, monogamous relationship with Darin Easler, a former ELCA pastor who has since joined the United Church of Christ, which welcomes gay clergy. The bishop brought charges.