Nation briefs 07/02/03

Government to seek rehearing in Moussaoui case

WASHINGTON -- The government said Tuesday it will ask a federal appeals court to take a stand now -- not later -- on terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui's right to question a captured al-Qaida leader.

In a written brief, prosecutors strongly objected to a ruling last week in Richmond, Va., where a three-judge panel said the government prematurely sought an appellate ruling on the issue.

While the skirmishing is focused on the appeals court's jurisdiction, the underlying issue is whether the government can be forced to produce the witness for questioning by Moussaoui, an acknowledged al-Qaida member.

If the government loses, the Bush administration may decide that Moussaoui's case should move from a civilian court to a military tribunal, where rules may favor protection of national security over a defendant's right to favorable witnesses.

Six states start fiscal year without budget

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- For the third consecutive time, California began the new fiscal year Tuesday without a state budget after lawmakers were unable to break a partisan impasse over spending and taxes.

Five other states also took their budget deliberations to the June 30 deadline without reaching a final agreement.

Lawmakers in Oregon, New Hampshire and Connecticut approved short-term spending plans allowing government to operate while debate continued. Residents in Nevada also began the year without a new budget but the government continued to operate.

On Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey signed a $24.1 billion budget after days of wrangling among lawmakers, agreeing to a plan that raises taxes on everything from casinos to billboards.

Some long-term budget forecasts worsen

WASHINGTON -- A liberal advocacy group and an investment bank are projecting federal deficits over the next decade exceeding a staggering $4 trillion.

In a study to be released today, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the cumulative shortfall through 2013 will be $4.1 trillion. That assumes Congress will enact a new prescription drug benefit, extend a series of recently enacted tax cuts that would otherwise expire, and approve other tax reductions and spending increases that many believe are inevitable.

During that period, annual deficits would never dip below $325 billion and would hit $530 billion in 2013, the liberal center said. The highest deficit ever was $290 billion in 1992.

"Acting now to reduce future deficits will make the burden imposed on future generations noticeably smaller than if we wait five, ten or more years to act," wrote Richard Kogan, author of the center's study.

Two weeks ago, the investment banking firm Goldman Sachs used many of the same assumptions to project deficits over the same period totaling $4.5 trillion. Its forecast -- which it also attributes to the weak economy and the likelihood of election-year spending increases next year -- includes projected deficits of $425 billion this year and $450 billion in 2004.

Conservatives and another Wall Street firm said such estimates are unreliable and probably overstated.

Government objects to freeing terrorism suspect without bail

WASHINGTON -- The Justice Department is urging a federal judge to reverse a decision that would allow release without bail of a Maryland man charged with trying to join an anti-India terrorist group.

In court papers filed Tuesday, the government contends that Masoud Ahmad Khan, 31, is a danger to the community and a flight risk because he allegedly holds a stockpile of weapons and has trained with firearms in an effort at "undertaking violent Islamic jihad" with the Lashkar-e-Tayyaba organization.

Khan is charged along with 10 other men in a 41-count indictment brought by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va. It alleges they conspired to join the group by training with weapons in the United States and Pakistan.

-- From wire reports