Foley Resigns Over Sexually Explicit Messages to Minors
Saying he was “deeply sorry,” Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned from Congress today, hours after ABC News questioned him about sexually explicit internet messages with current and former congressional pages under the age of 18.
A spokesman for Foley, the chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, said the congressman submitted his resignation in a letter late this afternoon to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
Hours earlier, ABC News had read excerpts of instant messages provided by former male pages who said the congressman, under the AOL Instant Messenger screen name Maf54, made repeated references to sexual organs and acts. . .
WASHINGTON — The Senate set the stage Thursday for a vote by week’s end on a bill to wall off 700 miles of the U.S. border from Mexico, but a lastminute push by senators concerned about the severe shortage of agricultural workers could derail the measure’s progress.
Senators agreed, by a vote of 71-28, to limit debate on the House-passed measure — a tally that many see as an indicator of the outcome of a final vote, which could come as early as today.
But a surprise move by Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) to add a guest worker program for agricultural workers has complicated matters. . .
Demonstrators close Century Blvd.
A publicity stunt to unionize hotel employees working near LAX drew about 1,500 demonstrators to Century Boulevard, which was shut down during rush hour.
Organized by Unite Here – a union that represents more than 450,000 workers in hotels, casinos and restaurants nationwide – protesters wore T-shirts emblazoned with slogans like “I am a human being” and chanted for higher hourly wages.
Union officials have tied immigration to their struggle, saying they want to boost their own ranks by organizing nonunion workers at hotels near Los Angeles International Airport. They say the largely immigrant work force earns about $10 less an hour than union workers doing the same jobs in other big cities.
“Immigrants work in several industries that pay at poverty levels. We don’t want anybody at poverty levels. That’s our motivation,” said Maria Elena Durazo, secretary and treasurer of the Los Angeles Federation of Labor, which oversees all unions in Los Angeles County, totaling some 845,000 workers. . .
Suit seeks grilled chicken warning
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (UPI)—A Washington group filed suit against seven national restaurant chains, saying their California stores must warn that their grilled chicken has carcinogens.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a non-profit preventive medicine and research group, said Thursday it filed the suit in California Superior Court in Los Angeles against the chains, claiming they violated the state’s requirement that businesses post a warning if they expose patrons to carcinogens. The group wants such a warning included on the restaurants’ menus.
The group said grilled chicken sold by the chains contains “PhIP,” a carcinogenic compound included on California’s list of cancer-causing substances. The group said it sent chicken samples to a lab for testing and they were found to contain the carcinogen. . .
