In the Nation
Gibbs: Cheney is 2d to Limbaugh
WASHINGTON - Former Vice President Dick Cheney is the second-most-popular member of the "Republican cabal," behind only talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday.
Gibbs brushed off Cheney's criticism of President Obama's administration. Cheney told CNN Sunday that Obama's decisions were threatening the nation's safety.
Obama has reversed many of predecessor George W. Bush's executive orders, including how the country treats suspected terrorists. Gibbs said Obama was keeping the nation safe and dealing with problems that Bush's administration did not.
Gibbs said his sarcasm should not mask serious policy differences between Obama and the Bush-Cheney team. - AP
Station safe from junk, NASA says
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The International Space Station is safe from an orbiting piece of satellite junk and does not need to move out of the way, NASA said yesterday.
Mission Control assured commander Mike Fincke last evening that the debris would remain at a safe distance from the station. Earlier in the day, experts warned that the piece of junk might come within a half-mile of the station, and that the station might need to steer away.
The shuttle Discovery is closing in on the station for a linkup today. The piece of junk being tracked is about four inches and comes from a Russian satellite that broke up in 1981.
Last Thursday, the three station residents briefly took refuge in their emergency getaway capsule because of another piece of space junk that came too close. - AP
Army will focus on soldiers' stress
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. - The Army chief of staff said a new training program would begin soon to help soldiers become more mentally resilient against the stress of war.
Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said at Fort Campbell yesterday that the comprehensive soldier fitness program would focus on coping with stress, along with physical training.
The Army has been struggling to stem a rising number of suicides through prevention training. Eight Fort Campbell soldiers have killed themselves this year.
It is no secret that repeat deployments add to soldiers' psychological burden, Casey said. He said the program would start in about 60 days and follow up on Army-wide mandatory training on suicide prevention that was completed this month. - AP
Elsewhere:
A federal appeals court in New Orleans yesterday upheld a Texas law that requires public school students to observe a daily minute of silence in order to pray, reflect, or otherwise remain quiet.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty sent a letter yesterday to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger asking him to prevent Sara Jane Olson, a former radical and longtime fugitive, from returning to Minnesota to serve her parole. Olson, once known as Kathleen Soliah, is due for release today from a California prison, where she has been serving time for her role in 1970s attempted bombings and a fatal bank robbery.
