National monuments undefended, Sonar dispute deepens

last updated 8 January 2015

National monuments undefended

The police force responsible for protecting national icons such as the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument is failing at its mission, a federal watchdog said this week. A report by Earl Devaney, inspector general of the Interior Department, which oversees the U.S. Park Police, lists several incidents of lax security at national monuments. In one case, a large suitcase was left unattended at the Washington Monument for several

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Sonar dispute deepens

A federal judge this week ordered the Navy to comply with a law limiting

the use of sonar, extending a bitter dispute between environmentalists

and the Bush administration. Citing national security, President Bush last

month signed an order exempting the Navy from a federal law banning sonar in waters off Southern California. But Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled that the White House was not justified in ignoring the law; the administration plans to appeal. Environmental groups say that sonar damages the brains and hearing of whales.