Tightrope walk over Ariz. gorge draws 13M viewers

Aerialist Nik Wallenda near the end of his quarter mile walk over the Little Colorado River Gorge in northeastern Arizona on Sunday, June 23, 2013. The daredevil successfully traversed the tightrope strung 1,500 feet above the chasm near the Grand Canyon in just more than 22 minutes, pausing and crouching twice as winds whipped around him and the cable swayed. (AP Photos/Discovery Channel, Tiffany Brown)

Aerialist Nik Wallenda near the end of his quarter mile walk over the Little Colorado River Gorge in northeastern Arizona on Sunday, June 23, 2013. The daredevil successfully traversed the tightrope strung 1,500 feet above the chasm near the Grand Canyon in just more than 22 minutes, pausing and crouching twice as winds whipped around him and the cable swayed. (AP Photos/Discovery Channel, Tiffany Brown)

In this photo provided by the Discovery Channel, aerialist Nik Wallenda walks a 2-inch-thick steel cable taking him a quarter mile over the Little Colorado River Gorge, Ariz. on Sunday, June 23, 2013. The daredevil successfully traversed the tightrope strung 1,500 feet above the chasm near the Grand Canyon in just more than 22 minutes, pausing and crouching twice as winds whipped around him and the cable swayed. (AP Photos/Discovery Channel, Tiffany Brown)

Daredevil Nik Wallenda smiles during a news conference after crossing a tightrope 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River Gorge Sunday, June 23, 2013, on the Navajo reservation outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. Wallenda completed the tightrope walk that took him a quarter mile across the gorge in just more than 22 minutes. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Daredevil Nik Wallenda crosses a tightrope 1,500 feet above the Little Colorado River Gorge Sunday, June 23, 2013, on the Navajo reservation outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

LITTLE COLORADO RIVER GORGE, Ariz. (AP) ? Aerialist Nik Wallenda's tightrope walk over a gorge near the Grand Canyon drew nearly 13 million viewers to the live television broadcast.

The Discovery Channel said Monday that the quarter-mile stunt at the Little Colorado River Gorge was among the most highly viewed shows in the station's history.

It also prompted 1.3 million tweets Sunday, making it one of the top trending topics.

Wallenda took 22 minutes to cross the 2-inch-thick steel cable, 1,500 feet above the dry river bed. He did it without a harness or safety net.

The well-known daredevil contended with the wind and repeatedly called on God to calm the swaying cable.

He wore a microphone and two cameras, one that looked down on the river bed and one that faced straight ahead.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-06-24-Wallenda-Ratings/id-89d2fc05b4c14795a78afba649e08611

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Documents show IRS also screened liberal groups

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Internal Revenue Service's screening of groups seeking tax-exempt status was broader and lasted longer than has been previously disclosed, the new head of the agency acknowledged Monday. Terms including "Israel," ''Progressive" and "Occupy" were used by agency workers to help pick groups for closer examination, according to an internal IRS document obtained by The Associated Press.

The IRS has been under fire since last month after admitting it targeted tea party and other conservative groups that wanted the tax-exempt designation for tough examinations. While investigators have said that agency screening for those groups had stopped in May 2012, Monday's revelations made it clear that screening for other kinds of organizations continued until earlier this month, when the agency's new chief, Danny Werfel, says he discovered it and ordered it halted.

The IRS document said an investigation into why specific terms were included was still underway. It blamed the continued use of inappropriate criteria by screeners on "a lapse in judgment" by the agency's former top officials. The document did not name the officials, but many top leaders have been replaced.

Neither the IRS document obtained by the AP or a separate IRS list of terms that workers searched for, released by House Democrats, addressed how many progressive groups received close scrutiny or how the agency treated their requests. Dozens of conservative groups saw their applications experience lengthy delays, and they received unusually intrusive questions about their donors and other details that agency officials have conceded were inappropriate.

In a conference call with reporters, Werfel said that after becoming acting IRS chief last month, he discovered varied and improper terms on the lists and said screeners were still using them. He did not specify what terms were on the lists, but said he suspended the use of all such lists immediately.

"There was a wide-ranging set of categories and cases that spanned a broad spectrum" on the lists, Werfel said. He added that his aides found those lists contained "inappropriate criteria that was in use."

Werfel ordered a halt in the use of spreadsheets listing the terms ? called BOLO lists for "be on the lookout for? on June 12 and formalized their suspension with a June 20 written order, according to the IRS document the AP obtained. Investigators have previously said that the lists evolved over time as screeners found new names and phrases to help them identify groups to examine.

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee released one of the lists, dated November 2010, that the IRS has provided to congressional investigators. That 16-page document, with many parts blacked out, shows that the terms "Progressive" and "Tea Party" were both on that list, as well as "Medical Marijuana," ''occupied territory advocacy" and "Healthcare legislation."

Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, top Democrat on the Ways and Means panel, said he was writing a letter to J. Russell George, the Treasury Department inspector general whose audit in May detailed IRS targeting of conservatives, asking why his report did not mention other groups that were targeted.

"The audit served as the basis and impetus for a wide range of congressional investigations and this new information shows that the foundation of those investigations is flawed in a fundamental way," Levin said.

Republicans said there was a distinction. A statement by the GOP staff of House Ways and Means said, "It is one thing to flag a group, it is quite another to repeatedly target and abuse conservative groups."

George's report criticized the IRS for using "inappropriate criteria" to identify tea party and other conservative groups. It did not mention more liberal organizations, but in response to questions from lawmakers at congressional hearings, George said he had recently found other lists that raised concerns about other "political factors" he did not specify.

Democratic staff on Ways and Means said in a press release that they had verified that of the 298 groups seeking tax-exempt status that George's audit had examined, some were liberal organizations ? something George's report did not mention.

Many organizations seeking tax-exempt designation were applying for so-called 501(c)(4) status, named for its section of the federal revenue code. IRS regulations allow that status for groups mostly involved in "social welfare" and that don't engage in election campaigns for or against candidates as their "primary" activity, and it is up to the IRS to judge whether applicants meet those vaguely defined requirements.

Werfel's remarks came as he released an 83-page examination he has conducted of his embattled agency. The conclusions, which Werfel cautioned are preliminary, have so far found there was "insufficient action" by IRS managers to prevent and disclose the problem involving the screening of certain groups, but no specific clues of misconduct.

"We have not found evidence of intentional wrongdoing by anyone in the IRS or involvement in these matters by anyone outside the IRS," he told reporters.

The report found no indication so far of improper screening beyond the IRS offices, mostly in Cincinnati, that examine groups seeking tax-exempt status.

Werfel's report describes several new procedures the agency is installing to prevent unfair treatment of taxpayers in the future. They include a fast-track process for groups seeking tax-exempt status that have yet to get a response from the IRS within 120 days of applying. He is also creating an Accountability Review Board, which within 60 days is supposed to recommend any additional personnel moves "to hold accountable those responsible" for the targeting of conservative groups, Werfel's report said.

The top five people in the agency responsible for the tax-exempt status of organizations have already been removed, including the former acting commissioner, Steven Miller, whom President Barack Obama replaced with Werfel.

"The IRS is committed to correcting its mistakes, holding individuals accountable as appropriate" and establishing new controls to reduce potential future problems, Werfel told reporters.

IRS screening of conservative groups had sparked investigations by three congressional committees, the Justice Department and a Treasury Department inspector general.

Werfel's comments and report drew negative reviews from one of the IRS's chief critics in Congress, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.

Issa said the review "fails to meaningfully answer the largest outstanding questions about inappropriate inquiries and indefensible delays. As investigations by Congress and the Justice Department are still ongoing, Mr. Werfel's assertion that he has found no evidence that anyone at IRS intentionally did anything wrong can only be called premature."

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., whose panel is also investigating the agency, said the IRS "still needs to provide clear answers to the most significant questions ? who started this practice, why was it allowed to continue for so long, and how widespread was it? This culture of political discrimination and intimidation goes far beyond basic management failure and personnel changes alone won't fix a broken IRS."

Werfel had promised to produce a report within a month of taking over the agency.

Werfel said he briefed Obama and Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew on the report earlier Monday.

Werfel, initially named the IRS's acting commissioner, is now the agency's deputy principal commissioner because federal law limits the time an agency can be led by an acting official.

___

Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher and Henry C. Jackson contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/documents-show-irs-screened-liberal-groups-224239890.html

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Dakar Fashion Week targets city's working class

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) ? Organizers of Dakar Fashion Week have staged a show in a working-class suburb as part of a bid to democratize high fashion.

The show on Friday night attracted thousands of residents, who offered vocal, real-time assessments of the clothes on display while cheering loudly for the more famous models.

Organizer Adama Ndiaye, who launched Dakar Fashion Week 11 years ago, said she hoped the project would further her dream of making high fashion as accessible to the working-class as it is for the wealthy.

The show was part of a six-day event featuring 18 designers, seven from Senegal and others from as far away as Germany and Brazil. Shows were scheduled to be held in three different locations throughout Dakar.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dakar-fashion-week-targets-citys-working-class-145325716.html

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Light up: Casper repeals smoking ban for bars

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) ? Not all of America is moving toward banning smoking indoors and out. Months after prohibiting it, Casper, Wyo., is now telling smokers that it's OK to light up in some public spaces.

The City Council voted 5-4 Tuesday to repeal part of an indoor smoking ban in effect since September. The vote lifted the ban for bars, but kept it in place for restaurants.

Bar owners had complained they were losing business to competitors in two nearby towns that allowed smoking. Repeal supporters also said it was an example of government getting too involved in civic life, citing New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's efforts to ban super-sized soft drinks.

"Just like what Mayor Bloomberg has done, or tried to do, with sugared drinks. It's just not going to stop unless somebody stands up and says, 'Wait a minute,' and 'Let's use some common sense here,'" said Pat Sweeney, owner of a hotel with a bar now smoke-free because of the ban.

There have been efforts in recent years to overturn smoking bans.

In North Carolina, a legislative committee last month approved a bill that would have prevented local communities and community colleges from enacting smoking bans stricter than in state law. Health advocates said the measure would have overturned local bans on smoking in certain outdoor areas.

The measure didn't meet a key deadline and failed to advance.

Last year, voters in Springfield, Mo., had a chance to repeal a year-old smoking ban enacted there. They voted against repeal by an almost 2-to-1 margin.

Casper is a rare example of a ban ? albeit a partial one ? being repealed. A new crop of City Council members elected last fall made the difference. Three of the four new members voted for the changes.

"The more liberal side of our populace is trying to get too much into touchy-feely and government control of everything," said one of the new councilmen, Steve Cathey.

Proponents of amending the ordinance said the changes apply to relatively few businesses. They include only about half a dozen bars. Most of Casper's dozens of other bars are within restaurants or already prohibited smoking before the ban took effect.

Smoking now will also be allowed in nursing homes (one nursing home in town had a designated smoking area that was closed) and areas of industrial shops and auto service centers not open to the public.

The changes take effect June 28 but could be short-lived if opponents gather 2,465 valid signatures to put the matter before voters.

"It's unfortunate because a new council came in and they listened to a small group of people and didn't listen to the majority of the people," said Pam Evert, a local anti-smoking organizer.

People on both sides of the issue said they expect a successful petition drive and a hard-fought campaign to win over their fellow citizens.

"They're trying to socially engineer us," said Sweeney. "And a lot of us have had enough."

___

Associated Press writer Christopher Kardish in Raleigh, N.C., contributed to this report.

___

Follow Mead Gruver at https://twitter.com/meadgruver

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/light-casper-repeals-smoking-ban-bars-130218864.html

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Kerry trip starts with tough Syrian, Afghan issues

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Secretary of State John Kerry begins an overseas trip plunging into two thorny foreign policy problems facing the Obama administration: unrelenting bloodshed in Syria and efforts to talk to the Taliban and find a political resolution to the war in Afghanistan.

Midway through his two-week trip to at least seven countries, Kerry also will try to make progress on an elusive peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians and will visit India, the world's biggest democracy and a rising power often viewed as a counterweight to China. He ends his trip attending a Southeast Asia security conference in Brunei.

Kerry lands Saturday in Doha, Qatar, where representatives of 11 nations in the so-called Friends of Syria group will discuss how to coordinate military and other aid to rebels trying to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad and "change the balance" on the ground, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday.

Earlier this month, President Barack Obama announced that in addition to nonlethal aid, the United States would begin sending arms and ammunition to the rebels, who are engaged in a tough fight against Assad's better-equipped air and ground forces. That announcement came after Assad's military dealt the rebels serious setbacks and a U.S. intelligence assessment claimed the regime had used chemical weapons ? a "red line" for the Obama administration.

On Thursday, Kerry went to Capitol Hill to brief members of Congress on the two-year civil war that has claimed an estimated 93,000 lives. The meeting in Doha also aims to gain momentum for starting peace talks in Geneva to end the crisis.

Obama's deputy national security adviser, Ben Rhodes, said that as long as there's a conflict, there remains a need to find a framework for a dialogue because ultimately the Syrian opposition and some parts of the government are going to have to find a political solution. Geneva is the only framework that exists right now.

"We are trying to find a way for the Russians to play some type of constructive role and to stay engaged in the process," Rhodes said, referring to Moscow's continued support of Assad's government.

Kerry arrives in Qatar ahead of planned U.S. talks with representatives of the Taliban at a new political office they opened this week in Doha. The secretary himself was not expected to meet with the Taliban, but other U.S. officials are to sit down with members of the militant group in coming days. The discussions would be the first U.S.-Taliban talks in nearly 1 1/2 years.

The way the Taliban unveiled their new political office, however, angered Afghan President Hamid Karzai. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, the Taliban hoisted their flag and a banner emblazoned with "Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan." That was the name the Taliban used when they were in power more than a decade ago and made it appear that the office was an embassy and rival to the Afghan government.

The U.S. said it was disappointed with the rollout, which the administration believes was a Taliban game of one-upmanship. In response, Karzai halted negotiations with the U.S. on a bilateral security agreement governing America's future military footprint in his country and said he would not send members of his peace council to Doha to talk with Taliban representatives. Kerry called Karzai twice this week to allay his concerns.

The diplomatic rift temporarily delayed James Dobbins, the U.S. special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, from leaving for Doha, but State Department officials say he will hold talks with the Taliban there in coming days. It's unclear if Afghan officials will be talking with the Taliban in Doha following the group's discussions with the Americans.

In India, Kerry will be giving a policy speech and meeting with officials to discuss economic, trade, energy, climate change, education and security and counterterrorism issues. It will be his first visit to India as secretary of state. Talks in New Delhi also are to address India's cooperation with Pakistan's new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistan and India are nuclear-armed archrivals, but while they have fought three major wars since their partition in 1947, they have taken steps to improve relations in recent years.

Kerry also is to hold meetings with officials in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and Israel.

In Saudi Arabia, senior State Department officials told reporters in a pre-trip briefing that Kerry would talk about how the U.S. can address concerns over extremists inside Syria, the intervention of foreign fighters from Iran and from Hezbollah. U.S. officials estimate that 5,000 Hezbollah members are fighting alongside Assad's regime, while thousands of Sunni foreign fighters are also believed to be in Syria ? including members of Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaida affiliate that is believed to be among the most effective rebel factions.

___

Associated Press writer Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-trip-starts-tough-syrian-afghan-issues-074720292.html

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Calgary flooding forces 75,000 from homes

CALGARY, Alberta (AP) ? Flooding forced the western Canadian city of Calgary to order the evacuation of its entire downtown Friday, as the waters reached the 10th row of the city's hockey arena.

Overflowing rivers washed out roads and bridges, soaked homes and turned streets into dirt-brown waterways around southern Alberta. Police say as many as four people might have died. A spokesman for Canada's defense minister said 1,300 Army soldiers from Edmonton were being deployed to the flood zone.

About 350,000 people work in downtown Calgary on a typical day. However, officials said very few people need to be moved out, since many heeded warnings and did not go to work Friday.

Twenty-five neighborhoods in the city, with an estimated population of 75,000, have already been evacuated due to floodwaters in Calgary, a city of more than a million people that hosted the 1988 Winter Olympics and serves as the center of Canada's oil industry.

Outside the city, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said two men were seen floating lifeless in the Highwood River near the hard-hit community of High River on Thursday, but no bodies have been found. They also say a woman who was swept away with her camper has not been located. And it wasn't clear whether a man who was seen falling out of a canoe in the High River area was able to climb back in.

In downtown Calgary, water was inundating homes and businesses in the shadow of skyscrapers. Water has swamped cars and train tracks.

The city said the home rink of the National Hockey League's Calgary Flames flooded and the water inside was 10 rows deep.

"I think that really paints a very clear picture of what kinds of volumes of water we are dealing with," said Trevor Daroux, the city's deputy police chief.

At the grounds for the world-famous Calgary Stampede fair, water reached up to the roofs of the chuck wagon barns. The popular rodeo and festival is the city's signature event. Mayor Naheed Nenshi said it will occur no matter what.

About 1,500 have gone to emergency shelters while the rest have found shelter with family or friends, Nenshi said.

Nenshi said he's never seen the rivers reach so high or flow so fast, but said the flooding situation was as under control as it could be. Nenshi said the Elbow River, one of two rivers that flow through the southern Alberta city, has peaked.

The mayor suggested that levels on the Bow River ? which, in Nenshi's words, looked like an ocean ? would remain steady for the rest of the day as long as conditions didn't change.

Police urged people to stay away from downtown and not go to work.

The flood was forcing emergency plans at the Calgary Zoo, which is situated on an island near where the Elbow and Bow rivers meet. Lions and tigers were being prepared for transfer, if necessary, to prisoner holding cells at the courthouse.

Schools and court trials were cancelled Friday and residents urged to avoid downtown. Transit service in the core was shut down.

Residents were left to wander and wade through streets waist-deep in water.

"In all the years I've been down here, I've never seen the water this high," resident John Doherty said.

"I've got two antique pianos in the garage that I was going to rebuild and they're probably under water," he said. "We're shell-shocked."

Alberta Premier Alison Redford promised the province would help flood victims put their lives back together and provide financial aid to communities that need to rebuild. The premier said at a briefing that she had spoken to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who travelled to Calgary and promised disaster relief. Harper met with the premier and mayor.

Redford urged people to heed evacuation orders, so authorities could do their jobs. She called the flooding that has hit most of southern Alberta an "absolutely tragic situation."

The premier warned that communities downstream of Calgary had not yet felt the full force of the floodwaters.

It had been a rainy week throughout much of Alberta, but on Thursday the Bow River Basin was battered with up to four inches (100 millimeters) of rain. Environment Canada's forecast called for more rain in the area, but in much smaller amounts.

Calgary was not alone in its weather-related woes. Flashpoints of chaos spread from towns in the Rockies south to Lethbridge.

More than a dozen towns declared states of emergency. Entire communities, including High River and Bragg Creek, near Calgary, were under mandatory evacuation orders.

Some of the worst flooding hit High River, where an estimated half of the town's residents experienced flooding in their homes.

Military helicopters plucked about 30 people off rooftops in the area. Others were rescued by boat or in buckets of heavy machinery. Some even swam for their lives from stranded cars.

Further west, in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, photos from the mountain town of Canmore depicted a raging river ripping at house foundations.

___

Associated Press writer Rob Gillies contributed from Toronto.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/calgary-flooding-forces-75-000-homes-222623755.html

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Federal nullification efforts mounting in states

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) ? Imagine the scenario: A federal agent attempts to arrest someone for illegally selling a machine gun. Instead, the federal agent is arrested ? charged in a state court with the crime of enforcing federal gun laws.

Farfetched? Not as much as you might think.

The scenario would become conceivable if legislation passed by Missouri's Republican-led Legislature is signed into law by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon.

The Missouri legislation is perhaps the most extreme example of a states' rights movement that has been spreading across the nation. States are increasingly adopting laws that purport to nullify federal laws ? setting up intentional legal conflicts, directing local police not to enforce federal laws and, in rare cases, even threatening criminal charges for federal agents who dare to do their jobs.

An Associated Press analysis found that about four-fifths of the states now have enacted local laws that directly reject or ignore federal laws on marijuana use, gun control, health insurance requirements and identification standards for driver's licenses. The recent trend began in Democratic leaning California with a 1996 medical marijuana law and has proliferated lately in Republican strongholds like Kansas, where Gov. Sam Brownback this spring became the first to sign a measure threatening felony charges against federal agents who enforce certain firearms laws in his state.

Some states, such as Montana and Arizona, have said "no" to the feds again and again ? passing states' rights measures on all four subjects examined by the AP ? despite questions about whether their "no" carries any legal significance.

"It seems that there has been an uptick in nullification efforts from both the left and the right," said Adam Winkler, a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles who specializes in constitutional law.

Yet "the law is clear ? the supremacy clause (of the U.S. Constitution) says specifically that the federal laws are supreme over contrary state laws, even if the state doesn't like those laws," Winkler added.

The fact that U.S. courts have repeatedly upheld federal laws over conflicting state ones hasn't stopped some states from flouting those federal laws ? sometimes successfully.

About 20 states now have medical marijuana laws allowing people to use pot to treat chronic pain and other ailments ? despite a federal law that still criminalizes marijuana distribution and possession. Ceding ground to the states, President Barack Obama's administration has made it known to federal prosecutors that it wasn't worth their time to target those people.

Federal authorities have repeatedly delayed implementation of the 2005 Real ID Act, an anti-terrorism law that set stringent requirements for photo identification cards to be used to board commercial flights or enter federal buildings. The law has been stymied, in part, because about half the state legislatures have opposed its implementation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

About 20 states have enacted measures challenging Obama's 2010 health care laws, many of which specifically reject the provision mandating that most people have health insurance or face tax penalties beginning in 2014.

After Montana passed a 2009 law declaring that federal firearms regulations don't apply to guns made and kept in that state, eight other states have enacted similar laws. Gun activist Gary Marbut said he crafted the Montana measure as a foundation for a legal challenge to the federal power to regulate interstate commerce under the U.S. Constitution. His lawsuit was dismissed by a trial judge but is now pending before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

"The states created this federal monster, and so it's time for the states to get their monster on a leash," said Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1997 that local police could not be compelled to carry out provisions of a federal gun control law. But some states are now attempting to take that a step further by asserting that certain federal laws can't even be enforced by federal authorities.

A new Kansas law makes it a felony for a federal agent to attempt to enforce laws on guns made and owned in Kansas. A similar Wyoming law, passed in 2010, made it a misdemeanor. The Missouri bill also would declare it a misdemeanor crime but would apply more broadly to all federal gun laws and regulations ? past, present, or future ? that "infringe on the people's right to keep and bear arms."

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter in late April to the Kansas governor warning that the federal government is willing to go to court over the new law.

"Kansas may not prevent federal employees and officials from carrying out their official responsibilities," Holder wrote.

Federal authorities in the western district of Missouri led the nation in prosecutions for federal weapons offenses through the first seven months of the 2013 fiscal year, with Kansas close behind, according to a data clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

Felons illegally possessing firearms is the most common charge nationally. But the Missouri measure sets it sights on nullifying federal firearms registrations and, among other things, a 1934 law that imposes a tax on transferring machine guns or silencers. Last year, the federal government prosecuted 83 people nationally for unlawful possession of machine guns.

So what would happen if a local prosecutor actually charges a federal agent for doing his or her job?

"They're going to have problems if they do it ? there's no doubt about it," said Michael Boldin, executive director of the Tenth Amendment Center, a Los Angeles-based entity that promotes states' rights. "There's no federal court in the country that's going to say that a state can pull this off."

Yet states may never need to prosecute federal agents in order to make their point.

If enough states resist, "it's going to be very difficult for the federal government to force their laws down our throats," Boldin said.

Missouri's governor has not said whether he will sign or veto the bill nullifying federal gun laws. Meanwhile, thousands of people have sent online messages to the governor's office about the legislation.

Signing the measure "will show other states how to resist the tyranny of federal bureaucrats who want to rob you of your right to self-defense," said one message, signed by Jim and Arlena Sowash, who own a gun shop in rural Stover, Mo.

Others urged a veto.

"Outlandish bills like this ? completely flouting our federal system ? make Missouri the laughingstock of the nation," said a message written by Ann Havelka, of the Kansas City suburb of Gladstone.

___

Follow David A. Lieb at: http://www.twitter.com/DavidALieb

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/federal-nullification-efforts-mounting-states-070843059.html

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