California farmers submit water plans
FRESNO, Calif. – Dozens of farmers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta submitted plans Monday to the state saying they intend to plant less thirsty crops and leave some fields unplanted to meet voluntary water conservation targets amid the relentless California drought, officials said.
The farmers – with the strongest water rights in the state – devised the plans as part of a deal struck last month that would spare them deeper mandatory cuts by the state in the future.
Under the agreement, they must submit plans for using 25 percent less water, fallowing 25 percent of their land, or other strategies to achieve the necessary water savings. Officials hope the deal can become a model for other farmers around the state.
At least 120 farmers in the delta east of San Francisco had filed plans and more were expected to submit proposals before the midnight deadline, said Michael George, delta watermaster for the State Water Resources Control Board.
Former House speaker in court
CHICAGO – Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert is set to make his first court appearance in his hush-money case Thursday, when he is expected to enter a plea before a federal judge who previously donated $1,500 to the then-Illinois congressman’s re-election campaign.
The arraignment for Hastert, a Republican who was once second in line to the U.S. presidency, comes a week after a grand jury indictment alleged he agreed to pay $3.5 million to ensure someone from the Illinois town where he taught and coached stayed quiet about “prior misconduct” by Hastert.
The office of U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin confirmed the arraignment date, then told The Associated Press later Monday that Durkin could not comment on any aspect of the case, including whether he might recuse himself.
The indictment charges Hastert, 73, with one count of evading bank regulations by withdrawing $952,000 in increments of less than $10,000 to skirt reporting rules. He also is charged with lying to the FBI about the reason for the unusual withdraws. If convicted, Hastert faces a maximum five-year prison sentence on each count.
Airport security to get a revision
WASHINGTON – Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Monday directed the Transportation Security Administration to revise airport security procedures, retrain officers and retest screening equipment in airports across the country.
Johnson’s directives come after the agency’s inspector general briefed him on a report analyzing vulnerabilities in airport security – specifically, the ability to bring prohibited items through TSA checkpoints.
Johnson would not describe the results of the classified report, but said he takes the findings “very seriously.”
Mother: Son OK after release in Yemen
SALT LAKE CITY – The mother of an American hostage released by Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen says her son suffered a back injury and is still in shock, but he’s doing well considering the ordeal.
Freelance journalist Casey Coombs, 33, is stable in a hospital in Oman and is expected to return to Seattle in the coming days, said his mother, Jill Hammill. She found out Sunday that her son was freed after being taken by rebels on May 17.
She’s shocked and overjoyed, Hammill said.
Coombs was one of several Americans being held by Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen. He has been freed following mediation by Omani authorities, State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said.
Associated Press
