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Guard headed back to New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS - Acting at the mayor's request, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said Monday she would send National Guard troops and state police to patrol the streets of New Orleans after a bloody weekend in which six people were killed.

"The situation is urgent," Blanco said. "Things like this should never happen, and I am going to do all I can to stop it."

One hundred National Guardsmen with law enforcement experience and 60 state police officers were to be sent to the city Tuesday. Up to 200 more troops would be deployed after that, said Denise Bottcher, the governor's spokeswoman.

Mayor Ray Nagin asked for as many as 300 National Guardsmen and 60 state police officers.

It was the first time the National Guard has been used for law enforcement in the United States since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Nagin had sought the troops after five teenagers in a sport utility vehicle were shot and killed in the city's deadliest attack in at least 11 years. He said troops should be posted in heavily flooded neighborhoods to free police to concentrate elsewhere.

Blanco said she was talking with New Orleans police Chief Warren Riley about his exact needs.

Riley assured residents that the Guard was "not coming in and taking over the city."

South Dakota's tough new abortion law goes to voters

PIERRE, S.D. - Voters will have the final say on South Dakota's new law that bans almost all abortions.

Secretary of State Chris Nelson said Monday that the law's opponents had collected enough signatures to put a question on the Nov. 7 ballot asking voters if the law should go into effect as planned or be dumped.

The law, among the strictest in the nation, bans the procedure in all cases except when necessary to save a woman's life, with no exceptions for rape or incest.

Supporters hoped it would prompt a court challenge that would give the U.S. Supreme Court an opportunity to overturn its 1973 Roe. vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

Instead of challenging it in court, opponents gathered enough petition signatures to put the question directly to voters.

Presbyterians are open to changes in the Trinity

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The divine Trinity - "Father, Son and Holy Spirit" - could also be known as "Mother, Child and Womb" or "Rock, Redeemer, Friend" at some Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) services under an action Monday by the church's national assembly.

Delegates to the meeting voted to "receive" a policy paper on gender-inclusive language for the Trinity, a step short of approving it. That means church officials can propose experimental liturgies with alternative phrasings for the Trinity, but congregations won't be required to use them.

"This does not alter the church's theological position, but provides an educational resource to enhance the spiritual life of our membership," legislative committee chair Nancy Olthoff, an Iowa laywoman, said during Monday's debate on the Trinity.

The assembly narrowly defeated a conservative bid to refer the paper back for further study.

A panel that worked on the issue since 2000 said the classical language for the Trinity should still be used, but added that Presbyterians also should seek "fresh ways to speak of the mystery of the triune God" to "expand the church's vocabulary of praise and wonder."

Episcopal Convention debates gay bishops

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Episcopal General Convention debated another defining vote Monday in the wake of electing Katharine Jefferts Schori, its first female presiding bishop: whether the church should temporarily bar gays from becoming bishops to preserve Anglican fellowship.

Delegates began considering a moratorium at the request of world Anglican leaders, who remain angry over the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop - V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

But the session ended before any vote could be taken on prohibiting homosexual bishops. Debate was scheduled to resume this morning, one day before the convention ends.

Legislation that the deputies adopt goes to the House of Bishops for final approval.

Drone test could lead to new crimefighting phase

LOS ANGELES - In what could be the shape of things to come in crimefighting, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department plans to test an unmanned, remote-controlled surveillance plane.

Officials with the nation's largest sheriff's department said it is believed to be the first field test of drones by local police in a major U.S. urban area.

Much lighter and smaller than military drones, and only a fraction of the cost, the aircraft is not much bigger than a model airplane and will initially be limited to scanning rooftops for break-ins and finding lost children or hikers.

The department could eventually put 20 aircraft into service, expanding their use to searching for suspects on the run and monitoring hostage situations, among other things. One drone costs $20,000 to $30,000. In contrast, a helicopter and the necessary fuel, maintenance and manpower cost millions.

[Last modified June 20, 2006, 07:09:05]