The Week
Blair Wins by a Hair
British Prime Minister Tony Blair last week won a historic third term, but it was a bruising battle that left his ruling Labor Party hobbled. It lost dozens of seats in the 646-member House of Commons, which could make it tough for the American-style pol to push through big, new initiatives. Blair, 52, ran on Britain's strong economy. The main opposition, the Conservative Party, picked up about three dozen seats, and the third-party Liberal Democrats made gains by turning the race into a referendum on Blair's character and support for the Iraq war--unpopular among most Brits. The Lib Dems, who opposed the war, hit Blair for his kinship with President Bush, accusing him of lying about the reasons for the war. Still, Blair, who says this is his last bid, managed to eke out the win because most Brits believe they're better off today. And so, America's closest ally is safe: Blair and Bush, BFF (Best Friends Forever).
The Road to Hell Is Paved With Good...
The pictures of Pfc. Lynndie England in Abu Ghraib--leading one naked prisoner by a leash and standing over another with a cigarette dangling from her mouth--made her the face of the prison-abuse scandal. A plea deal in place last week would have sent her to prison, probably for less than the 10-year sentence handed to ringleader Pvt. Charles Graner. But a military judge threw out the plea after Graner, called by the defense, testified that England, 22, didn't know that what she was doing was wrong. Graner, believed to be the father of England's baby, was apparently trying to help. Instead, he ended up sinking the deal. The reason: Military rules preclude people from pleading guilty if they didn't know at the time that their actions were wrong. "[Y]ou can't plead guilty and then say you're not," said the judge, Col. James Pohl. FYI: England seemed to harbor less charitable feelings toward Graner--now married to another soldier implicated in the Abu Ghraib scandal--suggesting that a courtroom artist add horns and a goatee to his picture. The case now goes back to square one; charges will probably be refiled and a new investigation launched.
Meantime, the Pentagon last week demoted Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, the officer in charge at Abu Ghraib, to the rank of colonel. Karpinski, the highest-ranking soldier punished in the scandal, was cited for dereliction of duty and for an unrelated charge of shoplifting a $22 bottle of perfume in 2002.
Many, Many Happy (Tax) Returns
No economist worth his salt is predicting a surplus, but the latest federal budget numbers do give at least a glimmer of hope that the nation's massive deficit is narrowing. The Treasury Department announced last week that it will repay $42 billion in federal debt for the April-to-June quarter instead of borrowing $12 billion--thanks in large part to higher-than-expected individual tax payments to Uncle Sam. "It's certainly good news," says Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Fla. "We've had good growth in the housing market, so some of this may be capital gains from home sales." But relying on capital gains to balance the budget is risky business. Brown notes that a dip in capital-gains receipts after the stock market sank earlier this decade contributed to current budget problems. Similarly, a cooling-off in the sizzling housing market could add to today's fiscal woes.
One sign that even the feds don't think new surpluses are around the corner: Treasury also said it's considering whether to again issue 30-year bonds.
More Fallout From The Vioxx Mess
The head of Merck & Co. resigned last week in the wake of allegations that the drugmaker continued to aggressively hawk Vioxx even after discovering serious heart risks linked to it. Raymond Gilmartin, 64, abruptly quit on the same day that congressional investigators released documents showing that Merck told its sales teams to keep mum on Vioxx's possible dangers during pitches to doctors and to deflect specific queries about risks by focusing on the arthritis Rx's upside. Vioxx was pulled from shelves in September, after a clinical trial found that patients who took it were more likely to have heart attacks and strokes than those on a placebo.
The action blackened Merck's rep and cost the company billions in sales, stock value, and legal fees.
Oil for Food, A Recipe for Trouble
Republicans have been screaming for months that Paul Volcker, who's leading the United Nation's independent inquiry into the oil-for-food scandal, was too cozy with Secretary General Kofi Annan to weigh in objectively. Last week, they may have gotten some ammunition. Robert Parton, one of the inquiry's lead investigators, turned over a raft of documents to a House panel investigating what went wrong. The program was designed to help Iraqi residents but ended up padding the pockets of several key players. Parton says he didn't have a choice, because Congress subpoenaed him; the U.N. calls that a smokescreen, noting that Parton had diplomatic immunity and had signed a confidentiality agreement. Either way, the documents could be explosive.
Parton and another investigator resigned from Volcker's commission last month, reportedly because they thought Annan was being given a free pass.
Those Funny Little Plants
An environmental group last week called on Congress to fork over $150 million more in fiscal year 2006 to the National Park Service, saying that it's woefully underfunded and has had to divert what limited cash it has to battle a threat from drug traffickers growing marijuana in hidden swaths of federal parkland. The National Parks Conservation Association, in a new report, says rangers found more than 44,000 marijuana plants growing in federal parks last year, with an estimated street value of $176 million. The No. 1 hot spot for pot: Sequoia National Park, home of the mighty redwoods in California. "Our national parks should be a refuge for visitors and a safe haven for wildlife and other treasures, "NPCA's Tom Kiernan said in a statement, "but that is not always the case. "NPCA says limited funding and antidrug efforts have forced parks to neglect things like fixing up historic sites.
Talk about enjoying the great outdoors!
Sis, Boom, Bah, Longhorn Style
Once upon a time, high school cheerleaders were all about pompoms and synchronized jumping jacks. But cheerleading has come a long way since the days of chirpy robots all in a row. Today, sideline routines are often flashy combos of slick gymnastics and hip-hop. The crowds love 'em, but Texas lawmakers are another story. The Texas statehouse--in a made-for-TV- movie moment--last week OK'd a measure, 85 to 55, that bars sexy cheers and authorizes the Texas Education Agency to punish schools that allow undefined "overtly sexually suggestive" routines. "It's ridiculous," says Democratic state Rep. Senfronia Thompson. "We have pertinent issues down here to deal with . . . and here we are wasting our time with 'One, two, three, four, we can't shake it anymore.' " She says that there was no "outcry" but that bill sponsor Rep. Al Edwards, also a Democrat, was upset by cheerleaders, as he put it, "shaking their behinds, breaking it down."
What are they supposed to do--just stand there?
This story appears in the May 16, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.