Free Republic

The need for more transmission lines is apparent -- in the vast states where wind and other forms of renewable energy are produced, the energy is often hundreds of miles from where it would be consumed. The states, which along with local governments have long had authority over whether and where power lines get built, derided the plan as a move that would make it harder for local residents to weigh in. The proposed change has drawn the skepticism of at least one senator. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who helped write a 2005 law that initially expanded federal power over...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2007 – The new U.S. Africa Command, which President Bush announced today, will consolidate U.S. government efforts in Africa and the ability to work with partner nations, the officer in charge of the command’s transition team said today. The motivation behind creating AFRICOM, as it will be called, was the increasing importance of Africa strategically, diplomatically and economically, Navy Rear Adm. Robert Moeller, executive director of the U.S. Africa Command implementation planning team, said in an interview. “The view was that the time has come, in fact, with the increasing importance of the continent to the...

A federal panel of judges has consolidated 17 lawsuits throughout the United States filed against telecoms accused of assisting the Bush administration monitor Americans' communications without warrants. The Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred the cases to U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, who last month declined to dismiss a spying case against the federal government and AT&T Inc., according to an order released Thursday. The consolidated lawsuits also target Verizon Communications Inc., Bellsouth Corp. and their affiliates. The panel ruled 26 other lawsuits with similar allegations also may be moved to Walker, who took the bench in 1990 after being...