Nuclear waste shipment’s path blocked by sheep, other protesters
GORLEBEN, Germany (AP) — A shepherdess hoping to block the transport of nuclear waste to a storage site in northern Germany herded her flock of 500 sheep and some 60 goats Monday across a road leading to the site — just one of hundreds of people hoping to stop the shipment from reaching its final destination Tuesday.
 
 
Vatican calls summit to discuss response to sex abuse scandal
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI has summoned cardinals from around the world to a daylong summit in Rome next week on the clerical sex abuse scandal and other issues facing the Catholic church, the Vatican said Monday.
 
The Vatican called the session “a day of reflection and prayer” that will also include discussions on threats to religious freedom and relations with other religions.
 
 
California officer shot, killed by truck driver during foot chase
 
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Police scoured a Southern California park for clues Monday as they searched for a truck driver accused of gunning down an officer who chased him into a park after what should have been a routine traffic stop.
 
Authorities said the gunman, wearing dark clothing, drove off in the cab of an 18-wheeler after a shootout with Riverside Officer Ryan Bonaminio, who had pulled him over because his truck was apparently involved in a hit-and-run accident near a state highway. The cab did not have a trailer attached.
 
 
Colorado man may go to court, face fines because of treehouse
 
GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — A Denver-area man might have to go to court to keep city officials from tearing down an elaborate backyard treehouse local officials say is hazardous.
 
Sculptor Duncan Foss of
Golden faced a deadline of 4 p.m. Monday to take down the treehouse or face legal action. Foss says he’s not taking down the hangout he built for his 11-year-old daughter.
City spokeswoman Karlyn Tilley says Golden’s chief building official will meet with the city attorney Tuesday. The city likely will issue a summons that could result in a fine.
 
Foss’s backyard structure consists of a rambling series of bright blue decks and elevated boardwalks. Local building officials consider it a hazard. Part of the treehouse burned in December because of an exploding tiki torch.
 
 
Capitol Christmas tree cut down, begins journey to Washington, D.C.
 
JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree is a secret no more. The 67-foot Engelmann spruce has been cut down and carefully loaded onto a flatbed trailer in western Wyoming.  A lighting ceremony in front of the Capitol is scheduled for Dec. 7.
 
 
Rally against higher ed cuts prompts extra security at Capitol
(AP) — Louisiana State Police are ramping up security at the state Capitol on Wednesday, when hundreds of people are expected to rally against higher education cuts.
 
Col. Mike Edmonson, head of the state police, says troopers are responding to threats of disruptions, skirmishes and building blockages that have been posted online.
 
Edmonson says a “very small number of people” have talked of trying to use the rally to create trouble, and he says he’ll have uniformed officers present to make sure the demonstration is peaceful for those seeking to protest recent and expected college budget cuts.
 
The rally, organized by students and faculty from the University of New Orleans, has been attracting interest from students and university staff around the state. Edmonson says he expects anywhere from 400 to more than 1,000 people to rally on the Louisiana Capitol steps.
 
 
Protesters interrupt Netanyahu’s New Orleans speech with banners
 
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hecklers interrupted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a prominent American Jewish group on Monday, the same day his government said it would move ahead with hundreds of new housing units in disputed east Jerusalem.
 
The five Jewish-American and Israeli protesters stood up and held banners denouncing the settlements. Sheriff’s deputies escorted them out to a chorus of shouts and boos, and they were released without charges. One audience member took a protest banner left behind and ripped it with his teeth.
 
Netanyahu accused the protesters of joining those who believe “Israel is guilty until proven guilty.”
 
“The greatest success of our detractors is when Jews start believing that themselves. We’ve seen that today,” the prime minister told the assembly.
 
The prime minister’s visit comes at a delicate moment in Mideast peacemaking, when the U.S. is working hard to get Israel to slow down settlement activity so that fledgling negotiations can have a chance.
 
Israel’s Interior Ministry sought to play down the significance of the new Jerusalem housing, saying actual construction could be years away. But the announcement cast a shadow over Netanyahu’s visit, during which he is conferring with U.S. officials over how to revive peace talks.
 
 
__
Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]