Charges dropped against 'Raging Grannies'

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Charges have been dropped against the "Raging Grannies," five women accused of trespassing after they tried to enlist at a military recruitment center to protest the war in Iraq, a city prosecutor said. The five women tried to enlist on July 13, saying they wanted to go to Iraq so their children and grandchildren could come home. Recruiters called police. Their group, dubbed the "Tucson Raging Grannies," includes members ranging in age from 65 to 81 -- decades older than the maximum age for recruits. They have protested at the center every week for three years. City Prosecutor Laura Brynwood said Friday the trespassing charges were dropped earlier this month because they would have been difficult to prove.

Breakaway unions plan strategy to revive labor

WASHINGTON -- Unions that broke away from the AFL-CIO hope to rebuild the tattered labor movement by targeting workers in growing industries such as health care, waste management and security. "We want to identify jobs that can't be shipped overseas," Teamsters president James Hoffa said in an interview Friday. The targeted industries, which also include food service and businesses that cater to retirees, account for 30 million to 45 million workers, said Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union. He said workers in these industries, which employ a large number of immigrants and minorities who do not have college degrees, aren't paid fairly for their work, Stern said.

Wildfire burns rural homes in Oregon

SELMA, Ore. -- A fast-moving wildfire burned five rural homes and forced the evacuation of at least 30 more near an area that had been struck by another wildfire just three years earlier. About 800 firefighters were called in Friday to beef up a crew of about 200 tackling the fire. The flames had already spread to 1,800 acres of dense forest in southwestern Oregon one day after the fire started, state Forestry Department spokesman Brian Ballou said. The cause of the wildfire was under investigation, Illinois Valley fire chief Harry Rich said.

-- From wire reports