Long Conference: The Supreme Court yesterday announced it would hear a case over whether lethal injection constitutes “cruel and unusual punishment" and a case from Indiana that questions a state law requiring prospective voters to provide a government-issued photo identification at polling places, reports the Legal Times’ Tony Mauro. The disputes were two of 17 cases the Court agreed to hear after sifting through a mound of petitions that accumulated over the summer.
Strike Ends: The United Automobile Workers union struck a deal with General Motors early this morning, ending a two-day strike that highlighted the turmoil the U.S. auto-making industry (NYT, WSJ, WaPo). The agreement, while tentative, included a memorandum of understanding to create a union-managed trust fund for retiree healthcare. Work will resume this afternoon, but the UAW pledged to return to the picket lines if the agreement isn't ratified.
Thin Skin: A day after telling the world that there are no homosexuals in his country and women there are afforded unparalleled freedoms, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad vowed to continue his nation’s uranium-enrichment program, declaring that “the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed,” the WaPo reports. A bit tetchy after all those jokes, are we?
Italian Connection: The WSJ reports Bill Clinton’s relationship with a carousing Italian businessman could throw dirt on Sen. Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid. Douglas Band, Bill Clinton’s handler, helped young Raffaello Follieri secure millions in investments from Clinton’s associates to launch a business buying and redeveloping Roman Catholic Church properties. Now, the investors want their money back, claiming Follieri used the money to finance a Manhattan penthouse, five-star meals and private jets.
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