Nation in brief

Ala. facility begins destroying weapons

ANNISTON, Ala. - Most people paid no attention Saturday when the Army fired up its first chemical weapons incinerator located near a residential area to destroy two rockets loaded with enough sarin nerve agent to wipe out a city.

Workers wearing protective gear loaded the 61/2-foot-long rocket onto a conveyor belt and sent it into a sealed room, where it was drained of 1.2 gallons of the deadly chemical and chopped into eight pieces.

Those pieces were fed into an 1,100-degree furnace, producing slag that will be trucked to a hazardous waste landfill in western Alabama. The sarin was directed to a holding tank, to be held until there is enough to burn in a large batch, probably in late October.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California is the first state in the nation to ban two forms of flame-retardant chemicals known to accumulate in the blood of mothers and nursing babies.

The legislation was signed Saturday by Gov. Gray Davis, but the ban doesn't take effect until Jan. 1, 2008. Manufacturers have said they need the time to find alternatives to the chemicals, commonly used to coat furniture, electronics, plastic and foam products.

Studies show North American women have the highest levels of the chemicals, known as PBDEs, in the world, nearing levels shown to damage memory, behavior and learning in laboratory mice.

DETROIT - Democratic presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt accepted the Teamsters union's formal endorsement Saturday.

Standing in a grassy area close to Teamsters Joint Council 43 headquarters near downtown Detroit, the Missouri congressman told several hundred Teamsters holding Gephardt signs and American flags that he is the best candidate to bring back jobs lost under President Bush.

AUSTIN, Texas - Thousands gathered Saturday to rally against a Republican push to redraw state congressional lines.

"The people of Texas said "no' once (Republicans) started drawing the maps," said protester Ginger McGilvray. "They said "no' with a strong voice and they didn't listen, so here we are . . . to show that we mean it."

Between 2,000 and 4,000 protesters rallied at the Capitol and cheered relatives of the 11 Democrats holed up in an Albuquerque, N.M., hotel. Their absence has brought the Senate to a standstill.

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush brought in his most prolific fundraisers for a private barbecue Saturday.

The Bush campaign shuttled in about 350 people, each of whom had helped collect $50,000 by June 30 for his 2004 campaign. Their reward: personal attention from Bush and from Karl Rove, his top political adviser, at the nearby Hickey Broken Spoke Ranch.

FROZEN GROUND BEEF: Ellison Farms meat with establishment code EST. 8934. Cause: May be contaminated with E. coli bacteria. Injuries/deaths: Two sick in Colorado. Action: Return to point of purchase. Call: 1-800-582-5284.

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