Boring but important

Visitor logs must be revealed

The Secret Service’s White House visitor logs are public records, a federal judge ruled this week, ordering the Bush administration to release information about visits by nine conservative religious leaders. A liberal advocacy group had requested the records, but the White House claimed they were protected by executive privilege. Judge Royce Lambert rejected that argument, saying the logs did not reveal the content of executive deliberations. The White House may appeal.

Death penalty ban

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Becoming the first state to abolish capital punishment in more than 40 years, New Jersey has replaced its death penalty with a mandatory sentence of life without parole. Gov. Jon Corzine, a Democrat, said eliminating the death penalty “best captures our state’s highest values and reflects our best efforts to search for true justice.” New Jersey last executed a prisoner in 1963, though polls show that a majority of New Jersey citizens support capital punishment.