Washington in brief

High court asked to act in Senate race

WASHINGTON -- Urging the justices to stage a repeat of their intervention in the 2000 presidential election, New Jersey Republican Senate candidate Doug Forrester on Thursday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the New Jersey Supreme Court's order allowing Democrats in that state to replace Sen. Robert Torricelli on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Forrester's application portrayed the New Jersey justices as a runaway court that rewrote state election law in violation of the Constitution and federal law, as the Florida Supreme Court was accused of doing in the case of Bush vs. Gore. It said the high court must plunge once again into politics to prevent chaos and unfairness in an election that could decide control of the Senate.

Inquiry finds no defect in popular police cruiser

A 10-month federal investigation ended Thursday without finding a defect in the Ford Crown Victoria police cars linked to the fiery deaths of a dozen officers.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the car exceeds federal standards for fuel system safety and the rate of fires was not much greater than with Chevrolet Caprice police cars.

Each of the 12 officers' deaths since 1983 involved a Crown Victoria gas tank catching fire, often after being hit in the rear in a high-speed crash.

Congress passes measure to keep government open

Congress voted Thursday to keep the government open for another week as Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for a pre-election impasse that has kept lawmakers from finishing any of their budget work.

By a 404-7 roll call, the GOP-led House approved a bill financing agencies through Oct. 11. The Democratic-run Senate approved the measure by voice vote.

Congress has finished none of the 13 bills that funnel money to schools, the Pentagon or other programs for the federal budget year that started Oct. 1.

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