Washington in brief

White House delays poetry event

The White House postponed a poetry symposium out of concerns it would be politicized after some poets said they wanted to protest military action against Iraq.

The symposium on the poetry of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman had been scheduled for Feb. 12. No new date has been announced for the event, to be held by first lady Laura Bush.

Mrs. Bush, a former librarian who has made teaching and early childhood development her signature issues, has held a series of White House symposiums to salute America's authors.

But the poetry symposium quickly inspired a nationwide protest. Sam Hamill, a poet and editor of the highly regarded Copper Canyon Press, declined the invitation and e-mailed friends asking for antiwar poems or statements, receiving more than 1,500.

Huge deal reached on age bias

More than 1,700 retired public safety officers in California will share a record $250-million in a settlement of an age-discrimination lawsuit they brought against a state retirement fund, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The EEOC, which enforces the nation's anti-discrimination laws, said it was the largest settlement reached in its 38-year history. The workers will share a $50-million payment within the next year and will receive the rest of the money in the form of higher pension payments in the future.

The lawsuit was brought by injured police officers who allege that the pension fund awards benefits for injured workers based upon the age at which they are hired, rather than strictly on the severity of the injuries, which the officers view as a violation of age discrimination laws.

Conservative judge nominee clears panel

Senate Republicans on the Judiciary Committee put their new, narrow majority to work Thursday, approving Miguel Estrada, a 41-year-old conservative, to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

The action came on a 10-9 vote, with all the Republicans voting to support President Bush's nominee, and all the Democrats voting to reject him.

The nomination moves to the full Senate for final approval, where the Republicans have a two-seat majority. Democrats could filibuster the nomination.

Estrada, a member of the law firm that represented Bush in his successful Supreme Court fight for the presidency, is considered a potential Supreme Court nominee should a vacancy occur while Bush is in the White House. The D.C. appeals court has provided three of the current Supreme Court justices.

U.S. to rejoin world fusion project

The United States plans to jump back into a long-range international collaboration to develop fusion energy as a commercial power source, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Thursday.

Abraham made the announcement during a visit to the country's premier fusion research lab in Plainsboro, N.J.

Japan, Canada, the European Union, the Russian Federation, China and now the United States plan to build a $5-billion fusion reactor, called the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor.

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