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Ralph Nader selects a Green running mate

WASHINGTON - Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader announced Monday that he has selected one of the Green Party's best-known activists to be his running mate.

Nader tapped Peter Camejo, a 64-year-old businessman who twice ran as the Green Party's candidate for governor of California, to be his vice presidential candidate. "Camejo shares my concern for economic and social justice, as well as the urgent need to protect the environment," Nader said in a statement Monday.

The announcement, which came just days before the Green Party selects its presidential candidate, will likely boost Nader's efforts to win the group's backing, said some political observers.

Nader has been endorsed by the Reform Party. He twice ran for president with the Green Party's nomination before announcing earlier this year that he would strike out on his own. He said he would not accept the Greens' presidential nomination, because he does not want to be too closely associated with any party. But Nader said he would accept its endorsement, a less formal expression of support that could give him access to the party's ballot lines in 22 states and the District of Columbia.

His decision has deeply divided the Green Party between those who support the longtime consumer activist and those backing a little-known party activist named David Cobb. The party is expected to make its decision this weekend.

EAGLE, Colo. - Kobe Bryant returned to court Monday for a two-day hearing that included sharp arguments over how to instruct the jurors who will decide whether the NBA star is guilty of sexual assault.

Attorneys on both sides said they could be ready for trial as early as the last week in August, though the judge did not immediately set a trial date. The issue of consent has emerged as a key battleground in the case.

WASHINGTON - Legislation heading for the president's signature would begin to crack down on property owners who make repeated flood damage claims that sometimes far outstrip the value of the property.

The new procedure, targeting a fraction of the 4.5-million policyholders in the National Flood Insurance Program, would force repeat claimants to accept flood mitigation efforts, move, or face significantly higher premiums.

The House on Monday voted by voice to extend the life of the program, founded in 1968 to help people in flood-vulnerable areas get reasonably priced insurance, until September 2008. The Senate passed the bill last week.

These repetitive loss properties are defined as those with two or more claims of more than $1,000 over the deductible within a 10-year period. The new loss mitigation pilot program applies to an even smaller group, some 6,200 properties nationwide.