Wisconsin

State senator recalled

Voters threw state Sen. Gary George out of office Tuesday, making the Milwaukee Democrat the second senator in Wisconsin history to be removed in a recall election.

State Rep. Spencer Coggs, another Milwaukee Democrat, defeated George in a ballot that featured only two candidates. Coggs will be the only candidate in the Nov. 18 general election, almost assuring him of winning the seat.

George, who has been a Wisconsin senator for 23 years, fought the recall drive in court every step of the way, asking a trial court, appeals court and the state Supreme Court to stop or delay it. They all refused, although George’s appeal still is pending before the Supreme Court.

George’s opponents started the recall effort this spring after he sided with Republicans in a vote to override Gov. Jim Doyle’s veto of a bill that would have given lawmakers final say over gambling compacts with American Indian tribes. The override effort failed.

Washington, D.C.

Anti-war protests planned

Anti-war groups are planning their largest demonstrations since after the start of the war in Iraq, with thousands expected at rallies Saturday in Washington and San Francisco.

Protesters are expected from 140 cities in the United States and Canada, organizers said Tuesday. They hope to foment public pressure that will force withdrawal of U.S. troops.

With Congress poised to authorize $87 billion for Iraq’s reconstruction, “Now more than ever it is critical that we stand united in our effort to turn this all around,” said Leslie Cagan, an organizer for United for Peace and Justice.

Washington, D.C.

Lawmakers sympathetic to box-cutter smuggler

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats criticized federal authorities for prosecuting a 20-year-old college student who the FBI says acknowledged smuggling box cutters and other banned items onto commercial planes.

Nathaniel Heatwole of Damascus, Md., could spend up to 10 years in prison if convicted of taking a dangerous weapon aboard an aircraft. According to an FBI affidavit, Heatwole told the Transportation Security Administration he carried the items on planes to alert authorities to holes in aviation security.

“I don’t think he had criminal intent,” said Pelosi, D-Calif. “I think what he was trying to do was to show how exposed we are and what our vulnerability was, and he tried to tell TSA — he gave a trail to them. Maybe he should do some community service.”

United Nations

Israeli barrier condemned

The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution demanding that Israel halt construction of a barrier jutting deep into the West Bank and dismantle the section already built.

The vote late Tuesday was 144 in favor, 4 opposed and 12 abstentions.

The United States, which vetoed a Security Council resolution last week that would have declared the barrier illegal, voted against the General Assembly resolution. There are no vetoes in the 191-member world body and its resolutions are not legally binding, but they are considered a reflection of international opinion.