The world at a glance . . . United States

San Diego

Shark kills swimmer: A great white shark attacked and killed a triathlete swimming in the waters off San Diego last week, causing authorities to close eight miles of beach for days. Retired veterinarian David Martin, 66, was swimming about 150 yards offshore from Solana Beach, 20 miles north of San Diego, when the shark attacked, severing his legs. He died from blood loss minutes after being pulled from the water. Shark expert Ralph Collier, who assisted in Martin’s autopsy, said two shark’s tooth fragments recovered from Martin’s legs indicated that the shark was 15 feet to 16 feet long. “We think it was mistaken identity,” said marine biology professor Richard Rosenblatt, who was called to the scene. “A human swimmer is not

too unlike a seal.”

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Tucson

‘Virtual fence’ scrapped: The U.S. said this week it would scrap the $20 million electronic “virtual fence” along the Arizona-Mexico border, after Border Patrol agents said it didn’t deter illegal crossings. The Homeland Security Department approved the Boeing-designed fence in February, as part of a plan to erect new barriers along 700 miles of the border. A week later, however, the Government Accountability Office told Congress that the 28-mile-long virtual fence—which was supposed to integrate surveillance cameras, satellite tracking devices, and computer software at a heavily trafficked border crossing south of Tucson—“did not fully meet user needs.” Border agents said that thousands of migrants were able to scramble across the border before the agents could respond to electronic alerts. Arizona Democratic Rep. Raul Grijalva called the fence “a half-baked political response” to voter anger about immigration, rather than a well-thought-out solution.

Sierra Madre, Calif.

Heat fuels wildfires: Wildfires fed by record-breaking heat raged in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles this week, forcing the evacuation of about 1,000 people and threatening scores of houses in the town of Sierra Madre. Authorities suspect arson in the blaze, which spread rapidly as temperatures in the area soared above 90 degrees for three days straight. The mountains’ rocky terrain complicated fire-fighting efforts. “It’s very steep, very rugged, a lot of rocks, a lot of thick brush that’s probably 20 or 30 years old,” said fire official Marc Peebles.

Dallas

Innocent man freed: A prisoner who’d served 27 years of a life sentence for murder was freed from prison this week after DNA tests proved he was innocent. James Lee Woodard, 55, who has served more years than any other inmate cleared by DNA testing so far, became the 31st convicted prisoner cleared by such testing in Texas. He had been convicted of the rape and murder of a 21-year-old woman based on the testimony of two eyewitnesses, but DNA testing of semen found in the victim proved Woodard hadn’t committed the crime. “No words can express what a tragic story yours is,” state District Judge Mark Stoltz told Woodard in ordering his release.

Washington, D.C.

Voter ID law upheld: The Supreme Court this week voted 6–3 to uphold an Indiana law that requires voters to show state or federal identification before being allowed to cast a ballot. In the majority opinion, the justices wrote that although Indiana had showed “no evidence” that people were illegally impersonating registered voters, the ID requirement was not an undue burden. Conservative justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Samuel Alito said in their concurring opinion that requiring ID was “non-discriminatory” and needed no further justification. Voting-rights groups decried the ruling, saying the ID requirement was aimed at discouraging voting by the poor, who sometimes lack driver’s licenses and other government-issued ID.

New York City

Cardinal rebukes Giuliani: Former New York Mayor and Republican presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani broke an agreement with church authorities when he took Communion during a Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI, New York’s Cardinal Edward Egan said this week. An angry Egan said that Giuliani agreed in 2000 not to receive Communion, the Roman Catholic Church’s highest sacrament, “because of his well-known support of abortion.” But Giuliani took Communion at an April 19 Mass celebrated by the pope at New York City’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Egan demanded a meeting with Giuliani “to insist that he abide by our understanding.” A Giuliani spokeswoman said a meeting would be arranged, but that Giuliani’s faith “is a deeply personal matter and should remain confidential.” The cardinal’s statement did not mention Giuliani’s three marriages.