Washington, D.C.

Ethics stalemate ends

Leaders of the House ethics committee broke through a months-long stalemate over staffing Thursday, making it possible to investigate Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

The evenly divided committee, which investigates member misconduct, has been shut down all year by partisan bickering.

Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., and senior Democrat Alan Mollohan of West Virginia negotiated the agreement.

Under the agreement, the two aides could not even convey policy directives to the professional staff without the approval of the two leaders.

“We are pleased to resolve this issue and are committed to standing up the committee, with a full complement of professional nonpartisan staff as soon as possible,” the two said in a joint statement.

Texas

Cattle confined at ranch linked to mad cow case

Cattle will not be allowed to leave the Texas ranch that produced the nation’s first homegrown case of mad cow disease, and government officials will work to find animals related to the sick cow, authorities said Thursday.

None of those “animals of interest” have yet been identified. If found, the cattle will be killed and tested, Texas animal health officials said.

The 12-year-old beef cow was born, raised and used for breeding at the same ranch and had never left the property, authorities said. They would not identify the ranch or the size of the herd.

Agriculture officials announced Wednesday that the cow had tested positive last fall for the brain-wasting disease. The cow, a “downer” that could not walk, never made it into the nation’s human food supply. The animal was sent to a pet food plant in Waco, Texas.

South Dakota

Judge blocks abortion law from taking effect

A federal judge on Thursday blocked a South Dakota abortion law from taking effect, tentatively ruling that the statute is an unconstitutional violation of doctors’ free speech.

The law would have required abortion doctors, starting Friday, to tell women that abortion ends the lives of “human beings” and poses medical and psychological risks.

U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier of Rapid City ruled that Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, which sued the state, has shown it has a good chance of prevailing in court.

The judge also said the proposed law discourages doctors from expressing views that contradict the state’s message. A hearing is set for October on Planned Parenthood’s request for a permanent order barring the state from implementing the law.

State lawyers had argued Wednesday that the required information is medically accurate and supported by science.

Washington

Army says it’s unlikely to meet recruiting goals

The Army’s top general told Congress on Thursday that the Army is at “serious risk” of not making its recruiting goals for the year, as military officials pressed lawmakers for increased bonuses to attract new soldiers.

One Pentagon official, who requested anonymity, said the Army’s hierarchy already realized it would not make the goal of 80,000 recruits this year and the only question was how many thousands short it would be. The Army is about 7,800 recruits short now, with three months left in the recruiting year.

The last time the service failed to meet its recruiting number was 1999.

“The Army’s (recruitment mission) of 80,000 is at serious risk, and recruiting will remain challenging for the remainder of 2005 and well into the future,” Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army’s chief of staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Schoomaker and other officials acknowledged that the war in Iraq had hampered recruitment, as parents, coaches and teachers have persuaded the young to avoid the military.