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The Obama administration accused a federal judge Tuesday of sowing “fear and confusion” among illegal immigrants, potentially scaring them away from signing up for President Obama’s deportation amnesty by demanding immigration officials submit names of tens of thousands of migrants who’ve already enrolled. Justice Department lawyers also asked Judge Andrew S. Hanen not to force thousands of attorneys to take remedial ethics classes — an order the judge issued two weeks ago after he concluded that the administration intentionally and repeatedly misled him by implementing part of the amnesty, even as they assured the court it wasn’t in operation yet....

CNN Films canceled a planned documentary about Hillary Clinton on Monday after the project’s director abruptly dropped out of the project and said the Clinton camp had pressured people not to talk to him. Charles Ferguson, who had been tapped earlier this year to direct the film, wrote in a piece published on The Huffington Post that he decided to scrap the documentary because potential interview subjects refused to be interviewed. He blamed pressure from Clinton aides and supporters as well as the Republican National Committee, which banned CNN from hosting any 2016 presidential primary debates over the film —...

A Hollywood film company was planning to set a movie with a Jewish theme in Skåne in southern Sweden but changed its mind due to concerns over anti-Semitism in Malmö. The Öresund Film Commission, a Swedish-Danish cooperation helping foreign film companies seeking to film in the Öresund region, received an email from the Hollywood firm in February which raised concerns over the safety of the Jewish community, according to a report in the local Sydsvenskan daily. ”Only problem I see with this project... is the huge problem that this being a Jewish story and that the Simon Wiesenthal center in

Shell Oil announced Thursday that it's abandoning efforts to drill in icy waters off Alaska’s northern coast this year, a decision that prompted Alaska's senators to accuse the Obama administration of blocking access to large domestic supplies. The company’s plans to drill in Arctic waters have long been under attack from environmental groups. The Interior Department, after the BP oil spill, halted the oil giant’s plan to drill in 2010. Now the company – which is awaiting air quality permits and Interior’s permission – is throwing in the towel on 2011 too. The Houston Chronicle reports:

Comedienne Joan Rivers ditched a gag about Michelle Obama from her routine - because she feared she'd be accused of racism. The comedy legend wrote a joke about US President Barack Obama's wife, poking fun at her dress sense and comparing her to former First Lady Jackie Onassis by dubbing her "Blackie O". But she backed out of using the line on her chat show for US network E! - to avoid criticism that the joke was racially-motivated. Rivers tells Britain's Independent Magazine, "I was going to compare her to Jackie O, but call her Blackie O."

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Thursday shelved a Bush-era plan for an Eastern European missile defense plan that has been a major irritant in relations with Russia. He said a redesigned defensive system would be cheaper and more effective against the threat from Iranian missiles. "Our new missile defense architecture in Europe will provide stronger, smarter and swifter defenses of American forces and America's allies," Obama said in an announcement from the White House. "It is more comprehensive than the previous program, it deploys capabilities that are proven and cost effective, and it sustains and builds upon our commitment...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration signaled Wednesday that it would scrap a controversial Bush-era rule that set stricter limits for smog but fell short of scientific recommendations. In a notice filed Wednesday in a federal appeals court, the Justice Department says there are concerns that the revision made by the Bush administration does not adhere to federal air pollution law. The Environmental Protection Agency will propose revised smog standards to protect health and the environment in late December. "This is one of the most important protection measures we can take to safeguard our health and our environment," said EPA...

SAN FRANCISCO - Trash collectors in San Francisco will soon be doing more than just gathering garbage: They'll be keeping an eye out for people who toss food scraps out with their rubbish. San Francisco this week passed a mandatory composting law that is believed to be the strictest such ordinance in the nation.

It sounds almost too good to be true: add a few bugs to food scraps and waste water to generate clean hydrogen fuel. But over the past few years, researchers have been gradually working toward this promising scheme for producing hydrogen.Now, with the help of an unassuming stainless-steel brush, microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) have taken another step forward. The steel brush can be used to replace the expensive platinum normally employed in the electrolysis cell's cathode, slashing costs by more than 80 percent.Hydrogen is an appealing, environmentally friendly fuel because burning it creates only water as a waste product. MECs...

TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey: We're Not So Good With Slogans. The state has jettisoned "Come See For Yourself," its second attempt at a tagline in less than a year. It was the product of a statewide contest set up by then-acting Gov. Richard J. Codey last fall, after he rejected a consultant's offering: "We'll Win You Over." State tourism officials said legal issues led them to scrap the latest slogan, explaining that West Virginia and other states previously used "Come See For Yourself." "We are proceeding without the slogan. We will revisit the next steps at the end of...

NEW YORK The Buffalo News is getting rid of its afternoon edition to focus solely on its morning editions, Publisher Stanford Lipsey said today. The changes are scheduled to take effect May 1 in Niagara County and Spring 2007 in Erie County. This change is likely to have the biggest effect on Buffalo News delivery staff, but Lipsey said none of the independent contractors said they would drop their route after hearing the news. The earlier delivery time will undoubtedly make it more difficult for those independent contractors to employ youth delivery staff, as a New York law prohibits minors...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The state has scrapped plans to reopen a private prison in Bakersfield, a week after a state senator called for an investigation into the deal. California Department of Corrections officials announced the sudden reversal Thursday, saying a dip in the inmate population made the prison unnecessary. CDC officials closed three minimum-security private prisons in December 2003, saying the number of prisoners had dropped significantly. By the end of last year, prison officials concluded the population was again rising. A decision was made to work on no-bid contracts with two firms to reopen the Mesa Verde Community...

US Democratic Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, who had hoped to replace George W. Bush as president yesterday, instead sat in the cold and clapped as the Republican began a second four-year term. Iowa Democratic Senator Tom Harkin patted Senator Kerry on the back shortly before the inauguration Senator Kerry had hoped would be his. As Mr Bush delivered his inaugural address, Senator Kerry, about 10m away on the steps of the US Capitol, joined other lawmakers and the crowd in repeated applause. Senator Kerry looked relaxed, at times wistful. He frequently smiled, able to hide any disappointment over what...

SACRAMENTO – Budget negotiations disintegrated Thursday as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he was casting out the past two months of deals and starting from scratch with the budget he proposed in May. The turnaround comes two weeks after the governor and legislators said they were closing in on a "handshake deal." "There's no budget. There is only our May Revise," Schwarzenegger said at an impromptu news conference, where he declared himself a "warrior" and vowed to negotiate until 2006 to get the budget he wants. His statement followed increasingly bitter rhetoric from both Democrats and Republicans, who are blaming one...

New York Dem Party Scraps 9/11 Ad Thursday, August 22, 2002 NEW YORK — The state Democratic Party has scrapped plans to air a Sept. 11-related television ad in which party leaders were to recite the Gettysburg Address, a spokeswoman said yesterday. The plan had called for running the ad the day before and day after the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony dominated by Republicans. "Any Democratic advertising plans were always in the very early conceptual stages and now have been discontinued," said Serena Torrey, spokeswoman for the state Democratic Committee. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he was calling leading Democrats...