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D.C. pushes gun ban toward Supreme Court

By TIMES WIRES
Published July 17, 2007

WASHINGTON - District of Columbia officials said Monday they plan to petition the Supreme Court in an attempt to keep the city's 30-year-old ban on most handguns. A federal appeals court panel struck down the law in March, rejecting the city's argument that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applied only to militias. The full appeals court refused to reconsider the decision in May. If the high court takes up the case, it would mark the first time in 70 years that justices will consider the breadth of the Second Amendment.

McCain campaign aides walk away

John McCain's top communications aides and several staffers in Iowa and South Carolina quit on Monday, the latest departures to hit the Republican as he struggles to rebound from financial and political woes. The press office moves were all but certain following the departures last week of campaign manager Terry Nelson and chief strategist John Weaver; several of those in the communications office had ties to Nelson.

Level of secrets is questioned

There were 20.5-million decisions to classify government secrets last year, and a report to the president found shortcomings in the process. The Information Security Oversight Office said more than 1 in 10 documents it reviewed lacked a basis for classification, "calling into question the propriety" of the decisions to place them off limits to public disclosure.

[Last modified July 17, 2007, 00:48:41]