Senators complain about recall policy
DETROIT – Two U.S. senators are questioning why the nation’s auto safety regulators are letting car companies recall vehicles only in limited regions when a safety problem could happen anywhere.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., cited a dangerous problem with air bags as an example of how the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has let some automakers limit recalls to a few high-humidity states while others have done nationwide recalls for the same problem.
In air bags manufactured by Japanese parts supplier Takata Corp., inflators can rupture, causing metal fragments to fly out when air bags are inflated in crashes.
Some automakers have done regional recalls in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the agency says the “absolute humidity” is higher than other states.
Gay marriages begin in conservative Idaho
BOISE, Idaho – Gay couples started to marry in one of the most conservative states in the nation Wednesday as more than 100 same-sex couples gathered early at the Boise courthouse and counted down the seconds before the clerk’s office opened.
The couples cheered and streamed inside at 9 a.m. as Idaho became the latest state to recognize gay marriages in a burst of court rulings nationwide.
North Korea touts human-rights record
UNITED NATIONS – North Korea on Wednesday circulated a draft U.N. resolution praising its own human-rights record in a rare effort to counter the international community’s growing condemnation of the way it treats its people.
In a closed meeting, dozens of diplomats sat in silence after the North handed out copies, said it has “nothing to hide” and invited questions and comments.
China, Pyongyang’s top ally, finally broke the silence and said it strongly opposes resolutions that interfere in a country’s internal affairs and hurt mutual trust. The European Union and Japan have teamed on a separate resolution that sharply criticizes North Korea’s human-rights record.
Associated Press
