Nation digest 03/08/05

Boeing CEO forced out by extramarital affair

CHICAGO -- Boeing Co. CEO Harry Stonecipher, brought back from retirement 15 months ago to boost the aerospace manufacturer's tainted image, has been forced out. In an announcement that left the exact circumstances behind the ouster unclear, Boeing said Monday the 68-year-old president and chief executive officer, who is married, had resigned at the board's request a day earlier for improper behavior while carrying on an affair this year with a female company executive.

Arms control expert to be ambassador to U.N.

WASHINGTON -- John R. Bolton, a tough-talking arms control official who rarely muffles his views in diplomatic niceties, was chosen Monday by President Bush to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Senate Democrats assailed the nomination, arguing that it didn't make sense for the president to pick a diplomat who has sometimes been critical of the world body at a time when mending fences with the international community was imperative. In his tenure, Bolton has angered officials in North Korea and China with his hard-edged approach. In fact, the Pyongyang government, furious with his comments, refused to negotiate with him.

Court limits ways judges may add prison time

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court further restricted federal judges' sentencing powers Monday, ruling that police reports and other unproven evidence cannot be used to tack on prison time. The 5-3 decision in a Massachusetts case puts into doubt judicial fact-finding involving a defendant's prior convictions when boosting sentences. That was the last exception to recent Supreme Court rulings banning enhanced sentences based on factors that had not come before a jury during trial.