DeLay tries again to speed his case
Austin, Texas In a last-ditch effort to secure a speedy trial, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s attorneys asked Friday for the state’s highest criminal court to dismiss charges against him or order a lower court to try him immediately.
The money laundering and conspiracy case against the Republican congressman has been on hold while prosecutors appeal a judge’s dismissal of some of the charges.
DeLay attorney Dick DeGuerin took the case to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals a day after a lower appeals court denied his request that the case be sent back to the trial court or expedited through the appeals process.
DeLay has been pressing for a quick resolution to his case so he can regain his post as majority leader before his colleagues call for new leadership elections next month.
The congressman is accused of illegally funneling corporate campaign contributions to GOP candidates for the state Legislature. Under Republican House rules, he was forced to step down when he was indicted in September.
DeGuerin said he asked the criminal appeals court for an expedited ruling, which he speculated could come as early as Tuesday.
Teen gets $440,000 in bullying case
Tonganoxie, Kan. A small-town teenager who was bullied for years by classmates because they believed he was gay was awarded $440,000 in a settlement, his lawyer said.
The settlement Thursday ended a long-running battle between the Tonganoxie School District and 18-year-old Dylan Theno, who sued in May 2004 claiming he was harassed with homophobic slurs from seventh grade until he quit school his junior year.
Under the terms, the school district and its insurance company will pay Theno $440,000, said his attorney, Arthur Benson.
“I expect this case will have profound effects nationwide in dealing with schoolyard bullying and harassment,” Benson said. “Insurance companies will have a very powerful economic incentive to see that districts’ anti-harassment policies are aggressive and effective.”
A federal jury in August had found in Theno’s favor, but the district appealed and a judge ordered a federal mediator to try to settle the dispute.
Theno, who testified that he isn’t gay, recently earned his GED and attends a vocational technical school in Kansas City.
2006’s arrival pushed back – by one second
Washington 2006 has been postponed. But not for long.
A leap second will be inserted in the world’s clocks just before midnight – Greenwich Mean Time – on New Year’s Eve, the U.S. Naval Observatory reported Friday.
That means 4 p.m. PST, Dec. 31, will occur one second later than it would have otherwise.
Leap seconds are needed occasionally because modern atomic clocks measure time with great accuracy, while the rotation of the Earth can be inconsistent.
The rotation of the Earth has been slowing down, so leap seconds keep the clocks and the Earth from getting out of synch with one another.
This will be the 23rd leap second that has been inserted since 1972 when an international timekeeping agreement was signed, according to the observatory. The last one was inserted seven years ago.