NewsJune 2, 2005
Nation briefs 6/2/05
Lotions, soaps won't carry organic label; Florida strikes deal to avert coastal drilling ; 7-year-old suspected in death of infant sibling; Philly can't fire Muslim firefighter over beard
Lotions, soaps won't carry organic label
WASHINGTON -- Those wanting a lotion, soap or lip balm free of chemicals and synthetics had better read the fine print. The Agriculture Department is taking its round, green "USDA Organic" label off personal care products and cosmetics. When it created the seal in 2002, the primary intent was to certify the organic claims made by food producers, such as that meat came from animals raised without antibiotics and not confined indoors, or that vegetables were grown without pesticides. But the department also opened the door to making a wide range of other products eligible for the label: cosmetics and personal care items, pet food, dietary supplements, textiles like cotton T-shirts and fish.
Florida strikes deal to avert coastal drilling
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- After a 15-year legal battle, Gov. Jeb Bush and the Cabinet approved a $12.5 million deal Wednesday to prevent oil drilling in Florida's coastal waters. Coastal Petroleum, the company that holds the last of the offshore drilling leases the state issued in the 1940s, will receive the money in exchange for dropping efforts to drill along the state's west coast. Barring a reversal by the legislature, oil rigs will be indefinitely banned from Florida waters that extend about 10 miles into the Gulf of Mexico. Bush applauded the agreement, and said he hopes the state's protections would eventually extend some 100 miles out to sea -- far into federal waters. A federal moratorium on drilling in those waters is up for review in 2007.
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7-year-old suspected in death of infant sibling
TAMPA, Fla. -- A 7-year-old boy beat his baby half-sister to death with his fists, feet and a two-by-four because he was jealous of the attention the girl was receiving and because she would not stop crying, police said Wednesday. The State Attorney's Office is deciding whether to file charges against the boy in an attack that rattled even veteran homicide detectives. "The veteran detectives who worked on this case have never seen a case with someone as young as a 7-year-old show so much violence and so little remorse," Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said. The attack occurred May 22 in Tampa, where the boy had been visiting his father. Seven-month-old Jayza Laney Simms was dead on arrival at the hospital where her parents rushed her. The boy confessed to killing his sister a week later when detectives confronted him with evidence, McElroy said.
Philly can't fire Muslim firefighter over beard
PHILADELPHIA -- A Muslim firefighter who refuses to shave his beard on religious grounds cannot be fired while his legal case unfolds, a city judge ruled in a test of the state's religious freedom law. The Philadelphia Fire Department, like most big-city departments, prohibits beards and mustaches, citing safety reasons. Facial hair, the department says, can prevent firefighters from getting a seal when they wear respirators. Firefighter Curtis De Veaux agreed to shave when he joined the department two years ago. But as his faith deepened, he decided he was no longer willing to, he said Wednesday.
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