U.S. pilots and soldiers taken prisoner and tortured by Iraqis during the Persian Gulf War of 1991 lost their legal battle to hold Iraq liable Monday, when the Supreme Court turned away their final appeal.
The justices heeded the advice of the Bush administration and let stand an appeals court ruling that threw out a nearly $1 billion verdict won by Gulf War POWs two years ago.
The court's refusal to hear the case spares the administration from having to go before the Supreme Court to argue against American POWs who were tortured.
The 17 ex-POWs had sued the Saddam Hussein regime under the terms of a 1996 anti-terrorism law that opened the courthouse door to claims from Americans who had been injured or tortured at the hands of \state sponsors of terror.'
By the time the ex-POWs had won their claim in court, the United States had invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam's regime. The Bush administration went to court seeking to nullify the monetary award they had won.
A Mexican man was apprehended for smuggling 845 pounds of bologna and 100 pounds of cheese over the Mexican-American border, the Department of Homeland Security reported Monday. The bologna, divided into 80 large rolls and contained in 14 suitcases, was discovered during a routine baggage inspection at a checkpoint north of Las Cruces, N.M.
The man allegedly wanted to sell the bologna at a swap meet, as prices for bologna in the United States can be three to four times those in Mexico. A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson said the discovery of the bologna could prevent various medical problems, as most Mexican bologna is not eligible for sale in the United States and could pose the risk of classical swine fever.
After he was stopped, the man voluntarily surrendered the fixings and continued on his way.
A man was arrested Sunday and charged with injury by negligent handling of a dangerous weapon for allegedly stabbing his girlfriend in an argument, according to a Madison Police Department press release.
Timothy Cline and his girlfriend were allegedly involved in an argument on the 100 block of N. Butler St. when Cline produced a knife and allegedly attempted to destroy a jacket his girlfriend was wearing. Cline reportedly believed the jacket belonged to another man, and in attempting to destroy it, allegedly stabbed his girlfriend in the arm.
Cline's girlfriend was treated for the wound and released from a Madison hospital, according to the release.
