NPR 2008-03-22

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From NPR News in Washington, I'm Barbara Kline.

The State Department is apologizing to all three presidential candidates for security breaches¹ by contractors³ and a State Department trainee⁴. Spokesman Sean McCormack today acknowledged passport files were accessed without permission several times over the past year. NPR's Michele Kelemen has more.

After news emerged that two State Department contractors were fired and one disciplined for looking into Obama's passport file, department officials looked for more unauthorized breaches. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack says the contractor² who was disciplined in one Obama incident also looked into Senator McCain's file. And last summer when the State Department was scrambling⁵ to clear a backlog⁶ of passport applications, one trainee checked out Clinton's file instead of following the teacher's advice to type in the name of a family member to see how the system works. "That person was admonished⁷, " McCormack says. The files contain the original applications for passport or renewals⁸. The State Department is looking into whether there was any political motivation behind the breaches. Michele Keleman, NPR News, Washington.

Former Democratic presidential contender Bill Richardson endorsed⁹ Barack Obama for his party's nomination¹⁰ today. The New Mexico governor joined Obama at a rally in Oregon where he called on Americans to elect a "once-in-a-lifetime leader" and praised Obama for his speech this week on race in America. The nation's only Hispanic Governor Richardson could bring more Latino support to Obama. 

A federal appeals court has thrown out a lawsuit¹¹ filed by a Democratic activist¹² in Florida against the National Democratic Party. The lawsuit charged the DNC violated the constitutional rights of Florida voters when it stripped the state of its delegates to the national convention. From Miami, NPR's Greg Allen reports.

A three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta sentenced an opinion that the lawsuit was interesting and raised potentially significant questions regarding constitutional protections of the right to vote. But the judges said the plaintiff, Victor Dimaio, had not shown that the DNC decision stripping Florida of its delegates caused him an actual injury and that he lacks standing¹³ to bring the case. The judges didn't rule on the merits of Dimaio's case however, leaving open to Florida Democrats¹⁴ the possibility of a further legal challenge. The National Democratic Party announced it was stripping Florida of all its delegates to the national convention after the state held the January primary earlier than allowed under party rules. Michigan is in a similar situation. With the Democratic nominating contest still tight, whether and how the delegates from those two states are awarded is vital to the campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

The Pentagon says the outgoing head of US Central Command Admiral William Fallon will not testify in front of Congress next month on the situation in Iraq. Fallon resigned his command earlier this month after a magazine reported he opposed the White House's position on Iran. Some members of Congress had requested to hear from Fallon. The Pentagon says its decision to turn down the request has nothing to do with his views on Iran or his unexpected resignation.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation has closed a bridge in the city of Saint Cloud for safety reasons. The bridge has a similar design as the one that collapsed¹⁶ last year in Minneapolis. From Minnesota Public Radio Tom Weber has details.

The bridge carries about 31,000 cars a day over the Mississippi River in Saint Cloud. It's also a steel truss bridge just like the one that collapsed about 70 miles downriver last year in Minneapolis. Minnesota's transportation commissioner¹⁷ says inspectors¹⁸ found bending in the Saint Cloud bridge's gusset plates. That's key, because weak gusset plates have been cited as a factor in the Minneapolis bridge collapse¹⁵ and both bridges were designed by the same company. Gusset plates hold beams together where they come together at one point. The Saint Cloud bridge was inspected last year after the Minneapolis disaster in part because its design is almost the same, but no deficiencies were found at that time. For NPR News, I'm Tom Weber, in Saint Paul.

The National Weather Service has issued more flood advisories¹⁹ and warnings for the nation's mid-section from Arkansas through Ohio. After several days of heavy rain, even more is expected to fall this weekend as rivers in many areas continue to rise.

I'm Barbara Kline, NPR News, in Washington.