June 2006 in the United States

__NOTOC__ This page deals with current events in the United States, its insular areas, and other American interests.

June 30, 2006 (Friday)

*The United States military orders an investigation into claims that five US soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment raped Iraqi woman Fakhriya Taha Muhasen and then murdered her and her husband and daughters aged 7 and 15 in Mahmoudiyah. One of them admitted the crime. [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/4015022.html (Houston Chronicle)] [http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/special_packages/iraq/14950779.htm (Lexington Herald-Leader)]

June 29, 2006 (Thursday)

* Former Governor of Alabama, Don Siegelman, convicted of bribery and conspiracy. [http://www.wtvm.com/Global/story.asp?S=5096710&nav=8fap (WTVM)] * The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes up over 215 points as a result of the Federal Reserve saying that it would consider the overall economy, and direction of inflation, as they set the interest rate. The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the 17th consecutive time to 5.25% due to ongoing concerns about inflation. [http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/29/D8II27UO1.html (Associated Press)] [http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=%5EDJI (Yahoo)] [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/29/business/web.0629fed.php (International Herald Tribune)] * The Supreme Court of the United States rules in "Hamdan v. Rumsfeld" that the U.S. Administration has no authority to try detained prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay by military tribunal, and rules that the proceedings violate the Geneva Convention. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5129904.stm (BBC)] * Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) panel recommends FDA-approved human papillomavirus vaccine for girls at age 11 or 12. [http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/0629hpv.html (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)]

June 28, 2006 (Wednesday)

*The Supreme Court of the United States, with a 5-4 vote, upholds the 2003 Texas congressional redistricting map, which was challenged as a violation of the Voting Rights Act through gerrymandering. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/28/AR2006062800660.html (Washington Post)] *The United States Senate approves former Goldman Sachs executive, Henry Paulson, to be the next Secretary of the Treasury. [http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/06/29/senate_backs_paulson_for_treasury/ (Boston Globe)] * Up to 200,000 people in the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania area are ordered to evacuate their homes due to the rising level of the Susquehanna River. 46 of 67 of PA's counties are under a state of emergency. Flooding is also occurring in a surrounding states, including New York, where Governor George Pataki states "This is the worst flooding by far I’ve seen in my 12 years as governor." [http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.55131.html (CBS News Alert)] [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201297,00.html (FOX News)]

June 27, 2006 (Tuesday)

* The most recent attempt in the United States to adopt a flag desecration amendment fails in the Senate by one vote. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/27/flag.amendment.ap/index.html (CNN)]

June 26, 2006 (Monday)

* The United States Supreme Court ruled that forcing a defendant to use a defense attorney other than their chosen counsel is a reversible error. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/washington/27scotus.html (NY Times)] The court also rejected a Vermont campaign contribution limit in Randall v. Sorrell [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/washington/27campaign.html?hp&ex=1151380800&en=54c1b9c04ec604fb&ei=5094&partner=homepage (NY Times)] , and agreed to decide whether the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide must be regulated as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/27/washington/27environ.html?_r=1&oref=slogin (NY Times)] . * President George W. Bush criticises disclosure of program to monitor financial transactions by suspected terrorists as "disgraceful". White House Press Secretary Tony Snow has also stated that news organizations, including the New York Times, should think if "the public's right to know, in some cases, might override somebody's right to live..." [http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/26/bush.terroristfinancing.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest (CNN)] [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060626-3.html (White House Press Briefing)]

June 25, 2006 (Sunday)

*The world's second richest man, Warren Buffett, pledges to donate approximately $37 billion USD in shares to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, effectively making it the largest charitable organization in history. [http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/25/magazines/fortune/charity1.fortune/index.htm (Fortune)] [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/26/business/26buffett.html?ei=5094&en=11261864a8d424a2&hp=&ex=1151294400&adxnnl=1&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1151291367-MiPgvjR2owx710xCMlEn9Q (NYT)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5115920.stm (BBC)]

June 24, 2006 (Saturday)

June 23, 2006 (Friday)

*Director of the United States Missile Defense Agency, Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry A. Obering III, stated that he is "very confident" any North Korean missile headed towards the United States would be destroyed mid-flight by interceptor missiles if approved by the President. [http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/23/D8IE6M3G1.html (Associated Press)] *U.S. President George W. Bush has issued an executive order stating that he will limit taking of private property by the federal government and that it must "benefit... the general public...and not merely for the purpose of economic interest of private properties..." [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/06/20060623-10.html (White House Press Release)] *A United States warship is reported to have shot down a missile in the Pacific, in a test of their now operational sea-based missile defense system. [http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/22/060623001445.r0o3j49z.html (AFP)]

June 22, 2006 (Thursday)

*San Jose, California, mayor Ron Gonzales and an aide have been indicted by a criminal grand jury. Gonzales surrendered to the Santa Clara County Sheriff. ( [http://www.nbc11.com/news/9411922/detail.html NBC] ) *The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation raids terror suspects in Miami, Florida, with seven arrests made. The detainees are charged with terrorism conspiracy, in connection of being in the early stages of planning attacks against Chicago's Sears Tower "(pictured)" and possibly FBI and government buildings in the Miami area. [http://www.kyw1060.com/pages/49468.php? (Associated Press)] [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200677,00.html (FOX News)] [http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/23/miami.reax/index.html (CNN)] * United States and coalition forces have found 500 pre-1991 chemical weapons since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A Pentagon official has stated that the weapons were degraded beyond the point of use, but the report states they remain a danger and are still potentially lethal. [http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/06/22/060622055545.07o4imol.html (AFP)] [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200499,00.html (FOX News)]

June 21, 2006 (Wednesday)

* The United States Marine Corps announces that it will be charging 7 Marines and 1 sailor with charges including murder in relation to the death of a civilian in Iraq on April 26. [http://www.nbc5.com/news/9404359/detail.html?rss=chi&psp=nationalnews (NBC] )]
*Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Episcopal bishop of Nevada, and the new leader of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, has said that homosexuality is not a sin. [http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,19535812%255E663,00.html (Melbourne Herald Sun)]

June 20, 2006 (Tuesday)

*2006 NBA Finals "Game 6:" Miami Heat 95, Dallas Mavericks 92. Dwyane Wade scores 36 points and has 10 rebounds as Miami wins its first NBA championship in franchise history in six games, and is named Finals MVP. Dirk Nowitzki has 29 points and 15 rebounds for Dallas. Four Miami players have over 10 rebounds (Wade, Udonis Haslem, Antoine Walker and Shaquille O'Neal). The title is the fourth in the 2000's for O'Neal, the other three from 2000 to 2002 with the Los Angeles Lakers.
* "The Washington Post", under the Freedom of Information Act, obtains the transcript of an investigative interview with Donald Rumsfeld. The U.S. Secretary of Defense cited poor memory, loose office procedures, and preoccupation with "the wars" as the reasons he did not know how his department nearly squandered $30 billion leasing several hundred tanker aircraft from Boeing. [http://www.rawstory.com/showarticle.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fwp-dyn%2Fcontent%2Farticle%2F2006%2F06%2F19%2FAR2006061901090_pf.html (The RawStory)] [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/19/AR2006061901090.html (Washington Post)]
* Iraqi officials have unconfirmed reports that they have found the bodies of the two U.S. soldiers the American military began looking for at the beginning of this week. The bodies of PFC Kristian Menchaca of Houston, Texas, and PFC Thomas Lowell Tucker of Madras, Oregon showed several signs of torture. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13432770/?GT1=8211 (MSNBC)] [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/20/soldiers.missing/index.html (CNN)]
* : David Safavian, former George W. Bush White House official, is convicted of four felony counts of lying and obstruction related to his dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/06/20/lobbyist.probe.ap/index.html (CNN)]

June 19, 2006 (Monday)

* The Carolina Hurricanes win ice hockey's Stanley Cup in game seven of a best of seven series for the first time defeating the Edmonton Oilers 3-1. [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/cup/2006-06-19-edmonton-carolina-game-7_x.htm?csp=34 ("USA Today")] , [http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/stanleycup2006/storyview.html?/story/stanleycup2006/national/2006/06/19/oilers-hurricanes-nhl-final-seven.html (CBC)]
* Kathleen Blanco, the Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana, calls in the Louisiana National Guard to patrol the streets of New Orleans following six deaths on the preceding weekend. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-new-orleans-national-guard,1,5434262.story?track=rss ("Chicago Tribune")] [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5498894 (NPR)] [http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1150785007311680.xml&coll=1 (Times-Picayune)]
* The United States Army charges three soldiers with murder in relation to the deaths of three men in custody in Iraq. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-06-19-army-charges_x.htm?csp=34 ("USA Today")]
* Big city police chiefs and mayors in the United States are reluctant to enforce Federal immigration laws. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-06-19-immigration-enforcement_x.htm?POE=NEWISVA (USA Today)]
* National Crime Victimization Survey statistics released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics show an 85% drop in rape since the 1970s, though these results are in dispute by some criminologists. [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/3981492.html (Houston Chronicle)]
* U.S. Supreme Court rules that 9-1-1 calls can be admitted as evidence in domestic violence cases, however statements made during crime scene investigations cannot be admitted. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/washington/20scotus.html?_r=1&oref=slogin (New York Times)]

June 18, 2006 (Sunday)

*The "Washington Post" reveals that the current United States administration turned down an Iranian attempt to settle disagreements about recognizing the right of existence of Israel and alleged Iranian support of terrorism in 2003. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/17/AR2006061700727.html (Washington Post)]
* According to an investigative report by Ron Suskind, Al-Qaeda was 45 days from launching a gas attack on the New York City subway when it was called off by Osama bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri, in 2003. [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060618.wsuskind0618/BNStory/International/home (Globe and Mail)] , [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13393641/ (MSNBC)]

June 17, 2006 (Saturday)

June 16, 2006 (Friday)

* The U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove Rep. William J. Jefferson, a congressman from New Orleans, Louisiana, at the center of a bribery investigation, from his seat on the Ways and Means Committee, long considered a plum assignment. [http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/3101001.html (The Advocate)]
* Delphi Corporation a bankrupt auto parts manufacturer with close ties to General Motors announced that it has reached an agreement in three-sided negotiations with GM and with the International Union of Electrical Workers on a buy-out plan similar to one it already has in place with another key union, the United Auto Workers.

June 15, 2006 (Thursday)

*United States President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument as the world's largest marine reserve. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5083974.stm (BBC)]
*U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito breaks tie in 5-4 in "Hudson v. Michigan", allowing evidence admitted in cases where police did not knock when executing a search warrant. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/06/15/scotus.search/ (CNN)]

June 14, 2006 (Wednesday)

June 13, 2006 (Tuesday)

*U.S. Supreme Court, in its decision of "Hill v. McDonough", allows challenge of constitutionality of lethal injection. [http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0606130141jun13,1,6574249.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed (Chicago Tribune)]
*In "House v. Bell", the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that new DNA forensic evidence is permissible during post-conviction appeals for death row inmates. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061200469.html (Washington Post)]
*US President, George W Bush, makes a surprise 5 hour visit to Iraq to meet with newly named Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki, President of Iraq Jalal Talabani, national political leaders and U.S. troops. The visit was kept a secret from al-Maliki until five minutes before they met. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13163803/ (MSNBC)]
*The South Central Farm in Los Angeles, California, reportedly the largest urban farm in the United States, is raided by the LAPD, with assistance from the Los Angeles Fire Department. [http://la.indymedia.org/] [http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/05/24/46822.php] [http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/05/24/18251311.php]
* Preliminary Uniform Crime Reports statistics for 2005, released by the FBI, show a significant rise in violent crime in the United States, with murders up 4.8%. Notable increases occurred in Milwaukee, Houston, St. Louis, and Philadelphia, while other cities including Miami, Dallas, and San Diego saw a reduction in their murder rate. [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/13/us/13crime.html?_r=1&oref=slogin (New York Times)]

June 12, 2006 (Monday)

June 11, 2006 (Sunday)

*The United States military finds its soldiers innocent of any wrongdoing in the Ishaqi incident involving the deaths of 11 Iraqi civilians. [http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/us-clears-force-of-slaying-iraqi-family/2006/06/03/1148956584244.html (The Age)]

June 10, 2006 (Saturday)

*Three prisoners commit suicide at Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in protest against the internationally criticized conditions at the camp. Human rights organisations express concern. [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/3959337.html (Houston Chronicle)] , [http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10386049 (New Zealand Herald)] , [http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/06/11/guantanamo.suicides/ (CNN)] , [http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-06-11T030958Z_01_N10232278_RTRUKOC_0_UK-SECURITY-GUANTANAMO.xml&archived=False (Reuters)]

June 9, 2006 (Friday)

June 8, 2006 (Thursday)

**According to an aide to Iraq's prime minister Nuri al-Maliki, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and one of the world's most wanted men, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed by a U.S. air raid. Al-Zarqawi's body was retrieved and visually identified by known scars, tattoos and fingerprints. [http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/08/iraq.al.zarqawi/index.html (CNN)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5058304.stm (BBC)]
**First Lieutenant Ehren Watada, 28, publicly refuses to go to Iraq, saying it would make him party to war crimes. [http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-06-07T233127Z_01_N07236850_RTRUKOC_0_US-IRAQ-USA-OFFICER.xml (Reuters)] [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/9599C40D-EA35-44CC-BC97-E1BD6518865C.htm (Aljazeera)] [http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=2049982&page=1 (ABC)] [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,198566,00.html (FOX)]
* The U.S. House of Representatives definitively rejects the concept of Net neutrality ( [http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6081882.html ZDNet] )

June 7, 2006 (Wednesday)

*A constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage is killed when it fails to gain the three-fifths majority required for cloture in the United States Senate. 49 Senators voted for the motion, and 48 voted against. This also fell far short of the two-thirds majority that would have been required for passage. [http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2048806 (ABC News)]
* The Vera Institute of Justice published a commission report that criticizes current U.S. policy towards incarceration as costly and ineffective, and calls on to Congress to address problems of violence, insufficient mental health treatment, and health care in prisons. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/07/AR2006060702050.html (Washington Post)] [http://www.prisoncommission.org/report.asp (Commission on Safety and Abuse in America’s Prisons)]

June 6, 2006 (Tuesday)

* The house of Jason Grimsley, was searched as part of the ongoing BALCO steroids probe. Grimsley, a relief pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks, asked for and received an unconditional release from the team the next day. [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/diamondbacks/2006-06-07-grimsley-released_x.htm (USA Today)]

June 5, 2006 (Monday)

June 4, 2006 (Sunday)

* CBS News announced that one of its correspondents, Kimberly Dozier, will remain in Germany for further treatment and recuperation at least until Tuesday -- she was critically injured by a roadside bomb, which killed two cameramen, one U.S. soldier, and one Iraqi interpreter. [http://wjz.com/topstories/topstories_story_155115522.html (CBS)]

June 3, 2006 (Saturday)

*The United States military finds its soldiers innocent of any wrongdoing in the Ishaqi incident involving the deaths of 11 Iraqi civilians. [http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/us-clears-force-of-slaying-iraqi-family/2006/06/03/1148956584244.html (The Age)]
* In response to his million dollar bill gospel tracts being seized from The Great News Network by the United States Secret Service, Ray Comfort, founder of Living Waters Publications, states that he will refuse to turn over his supply of tracts without a warrant. [http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=50497 (WorldNetDaily)]

June 2, 2006 (Friday)

* The UK Independent newspaper reports that a great-grandson of Apache leader Geronimo has appealed to US President Bush to help recover the remains of his famous relative. The remains were purportedly stolen over 90 years ago by a group of students including the President's grandfather, and employed in ceremonies by Skull and Bones, a secret society at Yale University. [http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article622744.ece (Independent)] [http://www.yalealumnimagazine.com/issues/2006_05/notebook.html (Yale Alumni Magazine)] [http://www.newwest.net/index.php/city/article/8438/C110/L110 (Newwest.net)] [http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/09/geronimo.bones.ap/index.html (CNN)] [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/02/world/europe/02masri.html (NYT)]
*Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., writing in "Rolling Stone" magazine, accuses George W. Bush and his Republican Party of widespread voting fraud during the 2004 Presidential Election. [http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10432334/was_the_2004_election_stolen (Rolling Stone)] [http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002612100 (Editor and Publisher)]

June 1, 2006 (Thursday)

*Extraordinary renditions. The Bundesnachrichtendienst (German intelligence agency) declares that it had known of Khalid El-Masri's seizure 16 months before Germany was officially informed of his mistaken arrest in the name of the War on Terror. Germany had previously claimed that it did not know of el-Masri's abduction by the CIA and his stay in the Salt Pit in Afghanistan until his return to the country in May 2004
* A report issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers admits their responsibility for 2005 levee failures that flooded the majority of New Orleans, Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5861284,00.html (AP)] [http://www.nola.com/weblogs/nola/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_nolaview/archives/2006_06_01.html (Full report via NOLA.com)]
*The United States Department of Homeland Security reveals that it plans to reallocate anti-terrorism funding to cities across the nation. Funding to New York City and Washington, D.C. is cut, while funding in cities such as Omaha, Nebraska and Los Angeles, California increases. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office calls the report's statement that there are no "national monuments or icons" in New York City "outrageous." [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/01/washington/01security.html?_r=1&hp&ex=1149134400&en=ab4b708b86dc4bc0&ei=5094&partner=homepage&oref=slogin (NYT)]

News collections and sources

* .
* - This has much of the same material organised in a hierarchical manner to help encourage in our news reporting.