Augusta Chronicle, The

Court Ruling Limits Intregration

The decision A half-century after the Supreme Court outlawed segregated schools, sharply divided justices clamped new limits Thursday on local school efforts to make sure children of different races share classrooms.

Georgia Water: Waste Not, Want Not

... Too much out West More rain fell Thursday in flood-weary parts of Texas, where evacuations were under way and residents were bracing for even more of the constant downpours that have killed 11 people in recent days.

Car Bombings Resume, Killing 25

BAGHDAD - A spate of four car bombs that struck various parts of Baghdad within a 24-hour period Wednesday and Thursday seemed to mark an end to what had been a lull in such attacks. The most spectacular of the blasts struck a crowded bus terminal in the Bayaa neighborhood during the morning rush hour Thursday. At least 25 people were killed, most of them waiting for rides to work. About 40 minibuses were incinerated, police reported.

Bill Falls Short in Senate; Issue Likely Dead for Year

WASHINGTON - President Bush's immigration plan to legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants while fortifying the border collapsed in the Senate on Thursday, crushing both parties' hopes of addressing the volatile issue before the 2008 elections. The Senate vote was 46 to 53 in favor of limiting the debate - 14 short of the number needed to clear the way for the bill to pass.

Decision Rejects Integration Method

WASHINGTON - A half-century after the Supreme Court outlawed segregated schools, sharply divided justices clamped new limits Thursday on local school efforts to make sure children of different races share classrooms. The court voted 5-4 to strike down school integration plans in Louisville, Ky., and Seattle, a decision that imperiled similar plans that hundreds of cities and counties use voluntarily to integrate their schools.

Today in History

1776 The Virginia state constitution was adopted, and Patrick Henry was made governor.

Court Ruling Won't Affect County Magnet Schools

Richmond County's magnet schools can continue to use race in their admissions policies - for now. On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against voluntary, race- based student assignment plans in Seattle and Louisville, Ky., school systems.

Gene Swap Changes Species

WASHINGTON - Talk about identity theft: Scientists changed one species of bacteria into another by performing a complete gene swap. It's a step in the quest to one day create artificial organisms, part of a bigger project to custom-design microbes that could produce cleaner fuels. But the way it was performed, dubbed a "genome transplant," has genetics specialists buzzing.

The Nation

HealthSouth's ex-CEO, ex-governor get prison MONTGOMERY, ALA. - Former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy got nearly seven years Thursday in a bribery and corruption case that the judge said damaged public trust in state government.

U.S. Still has Positive Image in Africa

LAGOS, Nigeria - Uncle Sam has some African fans. As first lady Laura Bush tours the world's poorest continent, a new report charting global attitudes shows America's image sagging - but not in Africa, where the Stars and Stripes symbolize strength and wealth.

In Other News

Growth in Augusta For the first time this century, Augusta's population grew from one year to the next, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's latest annual estimates. The city has been hemorrhaging residents, losing an estimated 2.7 percent of its population over the past six years after the 2000 official census count.

On the Campaign Trial

McCain scoffs at idea he's quitting WASHINGTON - John McCain dismissed the notion Thursday that he would drop out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination because he's lagging in fundraising and the polls.

Convicted Bomber Wins Nod for Appeal

EDINBURGH, Scotland - A judicial commission said Thursday that a Libyan agent imprisoned in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie should be granted an appeal so new evidence that he was wrongly convicted can be considered. Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, 55, is serving a life sentence in Scotland for the 1988 bombing, which killed all 259 people on the plane and 11 on the ground. Among the dead were 179 Americans. The Court of Appeal in Edinburgh will now decide whether an appeal...

Today in History

Agriculture Sprouted Simultaneously in South America and the Middle East

WASHINGTON - Agriculture was taking root in South America almost as early as the first farmers were breaking ground in the Middle East, new research indicates. Evidence that squash was being grown nearly 10,000 years ago, in what is now Peru, is reported in Friday's edition of the journal Science.

Political Divisions Show Even in Children's Games

BAGHDAD - Every evening, as I drive into our street, a pleasing sight greets my eyes. For after 7 p.m. - and as soon as the sun's heat abates a little - all the young people in the neighborhood flee the heat of their homes and pour out onto the street to play, chat or work in their gardens. But one day this week something was out of accord.

More From the Court

WASHINGTON - Manu-factur-ers will have more leeway to set minimum prices at the retail level without violating antitrust laws under a Supreme Court ruling that could hurt consumers and small merchants. By allowing minimum price agreements, the court's 5-4 decision on Thursday could lead to higher prices, dissenting justices said. The ruling could also make it harder for new retailers to enter the market, according to consumer advocates, because most innovative retailers begin as lower-cos...

Bush Rejects Subpoenas, Cites Executive Privilege

WASHINGTON - President Bush, in a constitutional showdown with Congress, claimed executive privilege Thursday and rejected demands for White House documents and testimony about the firing of U.S. attorneys. His decision was denounced as "Nixonian stonewalling" by the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Trapped Firefighters Survive Flames in Heat-Resistant Tent

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - When a patchwork of small wildfires exploded into an inferno, two young firefighters had only seconds to react. The pair had been battling fires along the California-Nevada state line when the trees around them burst into flame.

Court Ruling Limits Intregration

The decision WASHINGTON - A half-century after the Supreme Court outlawed segregated schools, sharply divided justices clamped new limits Thursday on local school efforts to make sure children of different races share classrooms.