USA

With midterm congressional elections just three months away, President Bush on Monday emphasized domestic issues during a trip to Miami. Hurricane preparedness, the economy, and port security topped his agenda.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) plan to lay the groundwork for a new transatlantic partnership aimed at setting overall caps for carbon dioxide emissions and rewarding businesses that develop greener technologies. President Bush has rejected the idea of ordering such cuts, but Schwarzengger called on California to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to 2000 levels by 2010. California was the 12th largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the world last year, bigger than most nations.

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday upheld a state law that prohibits convicted felons from voting while they are on parole, a ruling that will keep some 6,000 people from casting ballots this year. Colorado law denies felons the right to vote while they are serving their sentences, and the justices said in a unanimous opinion that parole must be considered part of a sentence. The ruling affirmed a lower court's interpretation of a 1995 state law.

The government is considering allowing over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill to women 18 and older – a surprise move Monday that revives efforts to widen access to the emergency contraceptive almost a year after it was thought doomed. The Food and Drug Administration notified manufacturer Barr Laboratories Inc. that it wanted to meet within seven days to iron out new steps the company must take in its three-year battle to sell the pill, called Plan B, without a prescription to at least some women.

Officials in the District of Columbia lengthened a nighttime curfew as they try to reduce a spike in crime that's been marked by a rise in juvenile arrests. Anyone 16 years old and younger found on the streets of the nation's capital any day between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. could be taken into police custody. Exceptions include children traveling through the city, home from work, or with an adult. Mayor Anthony Williams said the curfew, which replaces the midnight summer curfew that has been in place on weekdays for several years, will stand until Aug. 30, but he has the authority to extend it.

US stock prices fell Monday as investors worried about the lack of a cease-fire agreement in the Middle East and prospects of slower corporate profits as economic growth slackens.

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