Supreme Court Rules War Crimes Tribunals Are Illegal; Plan To Reduce Diesel Emission At The Ports Of Long Beach And Los Angeles; Tensions Escalate In Gaza; There Ought to be a Word for That
Supreme Court Rules War Crimes Tribunals Are Illegal
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Bush overstepped his authority in ordering military war crimes trials for Guantanamo Bay detainees. The ruling, a strong rebuke to the administration and its aggressive anti-terror policies, was written by Justice John Paul Stevens, who said the proposed trials were illegal under U.S. law and international Geneva conventions. The case focused on Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni who worked as a bodyguard and driver for Osama bin Laden. Larry Mantle talks about the ruling with Chapman University School of Law professor John Eastman, Charles S. Doskow, Charles Doskow, Dean Emeritus and professor at University of La Verne College of Law, and Congresswoman Jane Harman.
Plan To Reduce Diesel Emission At The Ports Of Long Beach And Los Angeles
A plan to significantly reduce air pollution at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach over the next five years was presented yesterday. The San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan calls for cutting particulate matter emitted from ships, trains, trucks, terminal equipment and harbor craft by 50 percent within five years, according to officials with both agencies. Measures also will be taken to reduce smog-forming nitrogen-oxide emissions by more than 45 percent by 2011. If the plan is successfully implemented, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could be the cleanest in the world. Larry Mantle talks with KPCC reporter Rachael Myrow, Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn and Paul Johansen of the Port of Los Angeles.
Tensions Escalate In Gaza
The Israeli army bombed a Hamas training camp in Gaza and sent warplanes flying low over the home of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Israeli fighter jets also knocked out electricity and water for most of the Gaza Strip's 1.3 million residents. These actions are intended to pressure the Hamas-led government in Gaza to release an Israeli soldier being held captive by the Palestinians. Larry Mantle talks with LA Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief Laura King about the escalating situation.
There Ought to be a Word for That
How often have you thought there ought to be a word to describe something but there isn't? Well, there's a new word book that does just that. Larry talks with author Barbara Wallraff about "Word Fugitives:" words that don't exist, but should.