Washington: 7 added to U.S. list of drug kingpins

President Bush Friday added seven men three of them Mexican citizens to the United States’ list of overseas drug kingpins targeted with special sanctions.

“This action underscores our determination to do everything possible to fight drug traffickers,” White House deputy press secretary Scott McClellan said.

Under the 1999 Drug Kingpin Act, the identified drug traffickers and their related businesses are denied access to the U.S. financial system and all trade and transactions involving U.S. companies and individuals.

Twenty-four individuals were already subject to the law’s sanctions.

Washington: 16-hour rule for pilots approved by court

The government can limit pilots to working 16 hours a day, an appeals court ruled Friday in rejecting an appeal by the airline industry.

In a ruling that pilots said would bring greater airline safety, a federal appeals court embraced the Federal Aviation Administration’s view that unscheduled delays should be counted in the 16-hour limitation.

“Since 1985 airlines have interpreted this as allowing them to schedule pilots to be on duty indefinitely when they incur lengthy delays,” Richard Rubin, whose questions to the FAA led to the agency’s ruling in the pilots’ favor, said in an interview.

Two airline industry groups, the Air Transport Assn. and the Regional Airline Assn., contested the FAA’s ruling.

The industry groups said the 16-hour limitation should be based on flight schedules. The FAA said it should be based on flight conditions.

Rubin said airlines now would have to schedule pilots “more realistically to provide a buffer so that they can absorb delays.”