USA
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday that Ohio residents had no right to sue the state over $300 million in tax breaks it offered to DaimlerChrysler Corp. The incentive was used to encourage the automaker to build a new plant in Toledo. In an unrelated case, the justices refused to block Sue Ellen Carvin, a gay woman in Washington State, from seeking parental rights to a child she had helped raise with her partner. Carvin and her partner broke up in 2001, and she now must prove her "de facto parent" status to exercise any custody over the 11-year-old girl.
The State Department formally restored normal US diplomatic relations with Libya Monday, ending years of being placed on a US list of states sponsoring terrorism. Improved relations began three years ago when the north African nation voluntarily dismantled its nuclear weapons program.
Increased US exports to communist Vietnam, one of Asia's fastest-growing markets, are expected following an agreement between the two countries announced by trade representatives Sunday. The deal paves the way for Vietnam to join the World Trade Organization by lowering tariffs on US industrial and farm products. The development is considered a major step in normalizing relations.
President Bush and Australian Prime Minister John Howard are expected to discuss military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the nuclear standoff with Iran during a White House meeting Tuesday.
Accident statistics identify young men driving pickup trucks on rural roads as among the chief nonusers of seat belts, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The finding was shared Monday as the national "Click It or Ticket" campaign to encourage buckling up began its two-week run. Although seat-belt use has reached record levels, about 48 million people still don't make it a habit, study data show.
Qualifying runs for the Indianapolis 500, on May 28, were pushed back until next Saturday after rain wiped out the first weekend for making the 33-car starting grid. Danica Patrick, who finished fourth as a rookie last year, turned in a practice run of 222.720 miles per hour, about 5 m.p.h. slower than the fastest cars.
