Bush okays sonar exercises, Recruiting standards down

Bush okays sonar exercises

President Bush this week signed an order exempting the Navy from a court injunction against conducting sonar exercises off the California coast. A coalition of environmentalist groups had sued the Navy, claiming that the ships’ use of high-powered sonar harms marine mammals. But the Bush administration contends that the sonar exercises are vital to national security. Supporters of the sonar ban say they’ll challenge the presidential order in federal court.

Recruiting standards down

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The percentage of Army recruits with a high school diploma fell to a new low in 2007, a new study found. Slightly more than 70 percent of recruits have a diploma, 20 percentage points less than the Army’s goal of 90 percent, according to the National Priorities Project, an anti-war group. Army officials acknowledged that the service had lowered its standards to meet aggressive recruiting goals and that the percentage of high school graduates is down. But they said the percentage of graduates was close to 80 percent.