The world at a glance . . . United States

Phoenix

Ex-spokesman turns on Bush: Former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, in a surprisingly scathing memoir due out next week, says President Bush “veered terribly off course,” was not “open and forthright on Iraq,” and took a “permanent campaign approach” to governing at the expense of candor and competence, Politico.com reported this week. McClellan, who served as Bush’s spokesman from July 2003 to April 2006, writes that Bush “convinces himself to believe what suits his needs at the moment.” After Hurricane Katrina, for instance, he “spent most of the first week in a state of denial,” McClellan says. McClellan, 40, was one of Bush’s earliest and most loyal aides, and his critique caught administration insiders off guard. The White House called McClellan “disgruntled,’’ while former Bush advisor Karl Rove said his former ally sounded like a “left-wing blogger,” adding, “If he had these moral qualms, he should have spoken up about them.”

Atlanta

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Good news on obesity: The nation’s childhood-obesity rate, which has been climbing for two decades, may have peaked, government scientists said in a report released this week. The study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses survey data gathered from thousands of schoolchildren from 1999 to 2006. The data shows that 16 percent of children ages 2 to 19 are obese. Although that’s far higher than the 5 percent rate that prevailed in the 1960s and 1970s, it hasn’t increased since 1999. Some experts said schools and parents are apparently doing a better job emphasizing healthier eating habits and more exercise. “After 25 years of extraordinarily bad news about childhood obesity,” said Dr. David Ludwig of Children’s Hospital in Boston, “this study provides a glimmer of hope.”

Waterloo, Iowa

Illegal immigrants jailed: The Bush administration’s crackdown on illegal immigrants took a markedly tougher turn last week, when 260 people rounded up in a workplace sweep were quickly sentenced to five months in federal prison for identity fraud. Those sentenced were among 389 workers arrested in a May 12 raid on the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa. Most were immigrants from Guatemala who pleaded guilty to charges of using fake documents to get their jobs. In California, workplace raids over the past three weeks have netted more than 900 illegal immigrants suspected of committing various crimes. Half of those arrested have already been deported.

Washington, D.C.

A boost for veterans benefits: A majority of Senate Republicans last week voted for a GI benefits bill opposed by the Bush administration and GOP presidential candidate John McCain. The bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Jim Webb and Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel, both Vietnam veterans, would sharply increase education benefits for recent veterans. Attached to a $165 billion Iraq war funding bill, the measure passed by a 75–22 margin. The Senate bill must now be reconciled with a House version that omits the education provisions. Critics of the bill have raised concerns that the education aid could serve to encourage people to leave the all-volunteer military, thus hurting America’s military preparedness in a time of war.

Lyman, S.C.

Spill alarms locals: A truck left a 13-mile-long trail of toxic chemicals along several South Carolina roads this week, leading local officials to warn residents to keep children and pets away from the spill. Authorities said they were close to identifying the truck that had dumped the chemicals, which they said appeared to be electroplating waste, formed when an object such as a car bumper is refinished. The acidic substance left a reddish, easily visible stripe along the roadways, and authorities warned that it could cause burns if touched. “Our big concern is that kids waiting for buses stay away from it,” said local environmental official Thom Berry. Federal environmental officials are investigating.

Bathroom break

The lone toilet aboard the International Space Station went on the blink this week, and NASA officials aren’t certain they can send the parts needed to repair it aboard next week’s scheduled flight of the space shuttle Discovery. The Russian-built toilet’s liquid-collection system works only sporadically, so the space station’s three astronauts are using a backup system that employs bags. The toilet’s solid-waste system is still functioning. NASA wants to add spare parts for the toilet to Discovery’s payload, but engineers worry that the addition might disturb the shuttle’s delicate weight distribution. “Like any home anywhere, the importance of having a working bathroom is obvious,” said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel.