USA
A white police officer in Cincinnati was acquitted of all charges in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager that sparked the city's worst racial unrest in 30 years. Stephen Roach had been charged with negligent homicide and obstructing official business after he shot Timothy Thomas April 7. Judge Ralph Winkler, who heard the case without a jury, noted that Thomas failed to respond to an order to show his hands and ran instead.
The House voted 398 to 17 to support a $343 billion defense bill, boosting funds to fight terrorism by $400 million. The measure meets President Bush's overall request but siphons some money from his missile-defense program and allocates it to counterterrorism efforts. The Senate, so far, has been unable to vote because of attempts to attach other proposals to the defense bill.
Bush pushed for sweeping changes in airport security, including armed marshals on almost all commercial flights and possibly giving the government a larger role in overseeing airport security. Separately, the Justice Department said 20 people had been charged with fraudulently obtaining licenses to transport hazardous materials by truck. Some who sought the licenses may have ties to the hijackers, reports said. Meanwhile, the Pentagon called to duty an additional 1,940 National Guardsmen and reservists. It had already called 10,000 reservists and plans to summon as many as 35,500.
Billionaire media tycoon Michael Bloomberg (above) easily won New York City's Republican mayoral primary, while Democrats Mark Green and Fernando Ferrer were headed for an Oct. 11 runoff in a race thrown into turmoil by the World Trade Center disaster. Further complicating the race was the possibility that Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) might try to stay on to steer the city through its crisis. Current laws bar him from seeking a third consecutive term.
Oklahoma voters approved a bill that makes the state the first since 1986 to ban labor contracts requiring workers to pay union dues. The campaign pitted business and labor interests over the right-to-work issue. Supporters said workers should choose whether they want to support a union. Opponents said a ban would attract low-wage companies.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan finally announced he'll make a second comeback as an active player, three years after retiring from the Chicago Bulls. Jordan will play for the Washington Wizards through 2003 and donate his $1 million first-year salary to victims of the terrorist attacks. He had served as manager of the Wizards. He earlier left the game to pursue a baseball career.
