BALTIMORE - A sketchy threat to blow up vehicles full of explosives prompted authorities Tuesday to close one of the busy tunnels underneath Baltimore's harbor and partially shut down the other. One person who may have been connected to the threat was arrested on immigration charges, a law enforcement official said.
Traffic was allowed to resume by early afternoon after being diverted for nearly two hours, but the FBI continued to investigate.
The four-lane Baltimore Harbor Tunnel was closed around midday, and the eight-lane Fort McHenry Tunnel was reduced to one lane in each direction. The tunnels, both about 1.4 miles long, carry traffic between Washington and the Philadelphia and New York City areas.
Shortly before the tunnels were reopened, authorities made about a half-dozen raids in the Baltimore area, said city Police Commissioner Leonard Hamm.
An average of 70,000 vehicles a day went through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel in 2004. The Fort McHenry Tunnel averaged 116,000 vehicles a day.
Senate drops food stamp cuts in budget debate
WASHINGTON - Food stamp recipients won a surprise reprieve while corporations with large pension enrollments took it on the chin Tuesday when Senate panels began trimming $35-billion from federal spending.
Low-income college students received a $6-billion increase in grants while senators from traditional dairy states girded for a battle to extend a payment program for dairy farmers.
The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee was unable to produce an agreement between the conservative and moderate factions of his committee over $10-billion worth of curbs in Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., dropped more than $500-million in food stamp cuts from a farm and food subsidy measure. The cuts could have meant a loss of benefits for 300,000 working families.
Federal court blocks new Georgia voting law
ATLANTA - A federal judge Tuesday blocked Georgia from enforcing a new state law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls.
In issuing the preliminary injunction, U.S. District Judge Harold Murphy said the law amounts to an unconstitutional poll tax because the state is not doing enough to make ID cards available to those who cannot afford them.
The requirement "is most likely to prevent Georgia's elderly, poor and African-American voters from voting," Murphy wrote. "For those citizens, the character and magnitude of their injury - the loss of their right to vote - is undeniably demoralizing and extreme."
So far, the law has been used only for local elections. The injunction could prevent its use during municipal elections Nov. 8.
Voter and civil rights groups sued over the new law, which eliminates the use of other forms of voter identification, such as Social Security cards, birth certificates or utility bills. Supporters, including Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue, argued that the measure would help prevent fraud.
A driver's license with a photo is sufficient under the law. But those who do not have a license must obtain a state ID card, which can cost up to $35. The governor said such cards would be given free to those who cannot afford the fee.
