Cross Country
Shuttling Back Into Outer Space
Since the Columbia disintegrated during re-entry in 2003, shuttle missions have been fraught with tension. So NASA officials were especially relieved that last week's launch of the Discovery went smoothly.
But not without a few nerve-racking moments. A tiny slice of foam, about the size and weight of a crust of bread, fell off one of Discovery's fuel tanks. NASA leaders ultimately decided to give the green light, resulting in the shuttle's first-ever Independence Day launch from Cape Canaveral. A few days later, some 220 miles over Spain, Discovery docked with the international space station. By the time the shuttle returns to Earth next Monday, astronauts will have completed three space walks and six days of shuttling cargo onto the orbiting outpost.
Separating the Threat From Hype
Since 9/11, law enforcement officials have felt they've had to chase down every hint of a terrorist plot. Meanwhile, critics argue that some of the plots have been overhyped. Those complaints may arise again after the announcement that authorities had disrupted a terrorist network planning to attack the New York-New Jersey transportation system.
Behind the scenes, sources said, a lot of illustrative bickering occurred. The FBI wanted to call the plan a "plot," while officials at the Department of Homeland Security argued against using the term, saying the suspects had really not progressed very far. One government official noted that the alleged plotters had no specific target in mind, although transit officials said the PATH train tunnels from New Jersey to Manhattan were mentioned. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said they had "not reached anything close to operational."
But that doesn't mean there was no threat. Damage can be done without fancy planning or special expertise. "Mixing a bomb in a bathtub," noted Homeland Security czar Michael Chertoff, "does not take rocket science."
Ken Lay's Complex Legacy
The good some men do dies with them, while the evil lives on. That, it seems, is likely to be the legacy of Enron founder Ken Lay, who died of a sudden heart attack last week in Old Snowmass, Colo. His Horatio Alger-like rise from poverty to the corporate elite, his civic-minded generosity, and his improvements to energy markets have been overshadowed by what a jury found to be his criminal deception of investors and employees.
Lay's criminal conviction seems likely to be set aside since he died in the midst of his appeal, and his family may be allowed to keep more of his millions. But dozens of Lay's former associates still face daunting prospects. Former right-hand man Jeffrey Skilling is appealing his conviction but is scheduled to be sentenced this fall. And the government's Enron Task Force continues to pursue other cases as well.
A Bad Week for Gay Marriage
When Massachusetts legalized same-sex marriage in 2003, gay-rights activists hoped other states would follow. But last week, the cause suffered two more in a string of setbacks, in Georgia and, most significantly, New York. The Empire State high court in Albany said that denying same-sex couples the right to marry does not violate the state constitution. The Georgia Supreme Court upheld a voter-approved gay-marriage ban. The two rulings come amid a voter backlash leaving gay marriages legal only in Massachusetts. At least 19 states have amended their constitutions to ban gay marriage. Proposed constitutional amendments have failed in Congress, and most cases have been based on state law, ruling out Supreme Court intervention.
What a Long, Strange Trip
Jim Dillinger was eight years removed from his National Guard service when the letter from the Defense Department arrived at his home in Mount Orab, Ohio, in May 2004. It said he was being called to active duty in Iraq because he was still a member of the Individual Ready Reserve--retired soldiers who agree for a time to be eligible to return to active duty. Dillinger thought his service obligation was over. But the Army said he was part of a "stop loss" program instituted after 9/11 that extended active-duty eligibility. So Dillinger dutifully reported, leaving wife Tammy and the three kids, and spent almost a year in Iraq as part of a combat engineer unit.
Oops. Now it turns out Dillinger shouldn't have had to go to Iraq at all. After returning, he began to suspect something was amiss, and months later, a clerical error was discovered; Dillinger should have been discharged in April 1999. In May, his discharge finally came through. And in June, Dillinger received calls from officials at the Army Human Resources Command, who said the Army was sorry for any inconvenience the error might have caused.
With Alex Kingsbury, Kit R. Roane, Chitra Ragavan, Scott Michels and Associated Press
This story appears in the July 17, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.