Posted 7-6-08

NewsRoom Shorts

NewsRoom Agency
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DC Will Need New Rules Following Gun Ban Decision

The nation's capital will likely have to draw up new rules governing the ownership of handguns within the city limits after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its ban on handguns last week.

The guidance is likely needed before many residents feel comfortable in buying a handgun, say local gun dealers who are still reluctant to sell handguns to prospective new owners who live inside Washington, D.C.

Currently the city is scrambling to draft new regulations since the June 26 Supreme Court ruling.

"There's nothing we can do until we know what they will do," Dale Metta, who manages a gun shop just outside the District of Columbia limits in Maryland, told The Associated Press.

Metta has turned away scores of handgun buyers from D.C. until the city issues new rules, AP reported.

Calif. Wildfires Straining State Resources

Hundreds of wildfires that continue to burn in California are straining the state's resources as crews struggle to contain the largest blazes.

"The firefighters are stretched thin, they are exhausted," and some have gone days without sleep, said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as he visited a command post in Santa Barbara Saturday.

The fires, most ignited by lightening during a storm two weeks ago, have torched 800 square miles of land throughout California.

The blazes have destroyed 69 homes and led to the death of one firefighter, who suffered a heart attack while digging fire lines.

Some 1,400 fires have been contained but another 330 are still out of control, authorities said.

Obama: Media Response to Iraq Remarks Overblown

Sen. Barack Obama said the media's response to remarks he made regarding Iraq were overblown, and he reaffirmed he would the war if elected.

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee was in St. Louis speaking to a mostly black group of churchgoers, where he talked about "active faith" as an obligation for religious Americans to help effect societal change.

When speaking to reporters, Obama said he was surprised at how the media has "finely calibrated" his latest comments about Iraq.

In North Dakota on Thursday, Obama said, "I'll ... continue to refine my policy" on Iraq after an upcoming trip there.

"I was a little puzzled by the frenzy that I set off by what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement," he said. "I am absolutely committed to ending the war."

Republicans and others say the statement was an indication Obama was softening his position on Iraq.

"We are all absolutely committed to ending this war, but on Thursday Barack Obama's words indicated that he also shared John McCains commitment to securing the peace beforehand," said Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for GOP nominee-in-waiting Sen. John McCain.