Slaughterhouse operators charged

The owner and managers of the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant were charged Tuesday with more than 9,000 misdemeanors alleging they hired minors and had children younger than 16 handle dangerous equipment such as circular saws and meat grinders.

Two employees were also charged in federal court. The state and federal charges are the first against operators of the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, where nearly 400 illegal immigrant workers were arrested in May in one of the largest immigration raids in U.S. history.

The complaint filed by the Iowa attorney general’s office said the violations involved 32 illegal-immigrant children under age 18, including seven who were younger than 16.

Aside from handling dangerous equipment, the complaint says children were exposed to dangerous chemicals such as chlorine solutions and dry ice.

washington

U.S. unprepared for hit, group says

Seven years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the federal government has made only limited progress toward preventing a catastrophic nuclear, biological or chemical attack on U.S. soil and combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction abroad, according to a report card to be issued today by 22 former U.S. officials.

The bipartisan Partnership for a Secure America gave the United States an overall grade of C. The government received in total three D’s, eight C’s and seven B’s in areas such as sustaining support of foreign scientists and governments, integrating programs to prevent nuclear terrorism and strengthening multilateral law enforcement efforts.

The group urged the next president to appoint a Cabinet-level White House coordinator with the authority to direct counterproliferation plans, programs and funding “from day one.”

The panel was co-chaired by Lee H. Hamilton, D, former congressman and vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, and Warren Rudman, R, former senator and co-chairman of a 2001 blue-ribbon commission on terrorism.

Border fence runs short on funds

The Bush administration needs an extra $400 million to complete its fence along the country’s southwestern border, and government investigators say that may not even be enough to finish construction by the end of this year.

To complete the 670-mile fence – already half built – the administration has asked Congress to approve the use of $400 million set aside for other programs, mostly surveillance technology projects along the U.S.-Mexico border, Jayson Ahern, the deputy commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, said Tuesday.

Higher costs of fuel, steel and labor have led to the $400 million shortfall, Ahern said.

“If we run out of money, unfortunately the construction will have to stop,” he said.