Paige Wassel
Editor-in-Chief
Supreme Court to consider case on pledge to flag: On Tuesday, the Supreme Court agreed to consider in this session whether it is Constitutional for public schools to require students to pledge allegiance to the flag with the inclusion of the phrase "under God." The Pledge of Allegiance case was brought to national attention in June 2002 when the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco, ruled that the phrase "under God" made the pledge unconstitutional. According to a
New York Times article, "The Federal District Court in Sacramento initially dismissed a lawsuit brought by Michael A. Newdow, an atheist who said he did not want his daughter exposed daily in her elementary school classroom to ‘a ritual proclaiming that there is a God.’" The plaintiff then appealed the case to the Ninth Circuit Court where the Federal Court's decision was overturned. The Ninth Circuit Court later revised its opinion to say that the pledge was unconstitutional in the public school context. The Supreme Court has said "that it would address only the public school question, not the constitutionality of the pledge as a general matter," according to the article.Trial of sniper suspect gets underway: John A. Muhammad stood before the Prince William County Circuit Court on Tuesday and entered a plea of "not guilty" to each of the four charges of murder that were read against him. Muhammad, 42, was implicated in the 10 sniper killings committed in the Washington D.C. area last fall, and his accomplice Lee Malvo, 18, is scheduled to go to trial in mid-November. The two men were arrested in Maryland, but Attorney General John Ashcroft chose Virginia as the site of the first trials because of its harsher penalties for such crimes. According to a New York Times article, "Since 1976, Virginia has executed 89 inmates, second only to Texas, compared with 3 by Maryland, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center." Also this week, Muhammad's attorneys and the prosecutor will be starting to select the 12-member jury that will decide the death penalty charges against Muhammad.
China sends man into orbit: On Wednesday morning, the Chinese spacecraft Shenzhou 5, or "The Divine Vessel," was launched into space from the Gobi Desert carrying one astronaut. The spacecraft is expected to orbit the earth around 14 times before returning home, a trip that takes approximately 21 hours. If the mission is successful, China will become the third nation to send man into space, an accomplishment the United States and Russia achieved around 40 years ago. The mission also holds political significance to the Chinese government who are hoping it will inspire a feeling of nationalism in Chinese citizens and support China's position as a world power. The Chinese astronaut Lt. Col. Yang Liwei, 38, was quoted as saying, "I will not disappoint the motherland. I will complete each movement with total concentration. And I will gain honor for the People's Liberation Army and for the Chinese nation."
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Compiled by Paige Wassel with information from the New York Times