Rob Reiner resigns from commission
Complaining of personal political attacks, Hollywood director Rob Reiner resigned Wednesday from a statewide preschool commission he helped create.
His organization, the California First 5 Commission, has been under scrutiny for its spending practices.
Two weeks ago, Reiner dismissed suggestions that he step down as chairman of the commission, which has collected nearly $4 billion in tobacco taxes to fund early childhood programs. But Reiner called Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger over the weekend and resigned, Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said.
Critics accused the commission of a conflict of interest after it spent $23 million in state money on an ad campaign that coincided with Reiner’s promotion of a preschool ballot initiative.
Washington
Legislator, officer scuffle at Capitol
Rep. Cynthia McKinney and a police officer scuffled Wednesday after the Georgia Democrat entered a House office building unrecognized and refused to stop when asked, according to U.S. Capitol Police.
McKinney, a sixth-term congresswoman who represents suburban Atlanta, struck the officer according to one account, a police official said, adding there were conflicting accounts. No charges were filed.
McKinney issued a statement Wednesday night saying she regretted the confrontation.
Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said only that senior officials have been made aware of the incident and are investigating.
Alexandria, Va.
Moussaoui jury starts deliberations
The jury in the Zacarias Moussaoui trial began deliberating Wednesday whether he is eligible for the death penalty because he didn’t tell the FBI what he knew of the Sept. 11 terrorist plot.
Prosecutors argued his silence kept the plot under wraps and thus allowed it to succeed. Defense attorneys said a dysfunctional federal law-enforcement system never would have stopped the hijackers anyway.
Both sides agreed that Moussaoui was a liar and a manipulator – but disagreed on what points they thought he should be not be believed.
Detroit
Two indicted in bungled trial
A former federal prosecutor and a State Department official were indicted Wednesday on charges of conspiring to conceal evidence during a botched terrorism trial that proved a major embarrassment for the Bush administration.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard G. Convertino, 45, and State Department Regional Security Officer Harry Raymond Smith III, 49, were charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false declarations.
The indictment stemmed from the prosecution of four North African immigrants accused of operating a terrorist cell in Detroit. The case was the nation’s first major terrorism trial after the 2001 attacks, and it was hailed by the Bush administration at one point as a victory in the war on terrorism.