President Will Veto Stem-Cell Bill

The White House reported that President Bush will veto another stem-cell-research bill that would subsidize research using human embryos, but he would sign an alternative that permits public funding for studies on embryos incapable of developing into fetuses. The Senate is expected to vote on both bills this week. The bill Bush opposes would lift his 2001 ban on federal funding for any new embryonic stem-cell studies. Bush says the bill allows human embryos to be destroyed, reports The Associated Press.

California Business Leaders 'Learn English'

Business leaders in Santa Ana, Calif., who are desperate for English-speaking workers but are based in a city with a high population of Spanish-speaking residents, have launched a $4.5-million campaign to persuade immigrant residents to learn English by offering free language classes at a community college and take-home study. More than three-quarters of Santa Ana's residents are Latino and less than 15 percent speak English at home. "Employers have been coming to us saying: 'Look, we don't have enough people to hire that speak English,'" said Dale Ward, executive vice president of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce. Read more.

PBS Nixes Moderate Muslim Film

"Islam vs. Islamists," a taxpayer-funded film that was to air on PBS, has been cancelled by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and PBS because the production team includes conservative columnist Frank Gaffney Jr., founder of the Center for Security Policy, say producers of the film. "The public ought to be allowed to see a film which PBS doesn't want them to see," said Gaffney. CPB spokesperson Michael Levy said the film has not been canceled but is a "work in progress." Read more.

Duke Lacrosse Charges to Be Dropped

The case against the University of Duke's lacrosse players appears to be finally over. The North Carolina Attorney General's office, which took over the case in January after the local district attorney was accused of ethics violations, said it would make an announcement today, and The Associated Press is reporting that the charges against the three Duke lacrosse players will be dropped. The three were indicted by a grand jury on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual offense last spring after a woman told police she was assaulted at a lacrosse-team party where she had been hired to perform as a stripper, states The Associated Press.

Activists Want LAPD to Ask People Their Immigrant Status

For nearly 30 years, Los Angeles' police officers have been prohibited from asking people their citizenship status, and now anti-undocumented-immigrant activists want that changed. A lawsuit endorsed by the Federal Immigration Reform Enforcement Coalition cites an obscure state code that appears to require local police to report to federal authorities the names of any undocumented immigrant arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking or possession, reports the L.A. Times. Los Angeles was the first major city to institute a "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward immigrant suspects, and other major cities followed suit. The concern among immigrant supporters is that if Los Angeles changes policy, so will other major cities, tells The LATimes.com.

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