State – Federal judge temporarily blocks Florida welfare drug test law
Orlando-based federal judge Mary Scriven temporarily blocked Florida’s drug-testing law for welfare applicants Oct. 24. Scriven said the law violates the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bans unreasonable searches and seizures.
Scriven ruled in response to a lawsuit filed on behalf of Luis W. Lebron, a Navy veteran, who applied for welfare benefits but refused the drug test. Lebron is a 35-year-old University of Central Florida student and single father who applied with the Florida Department of Children and Families to help raise his son.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s drug-testing law began July 1 for applicants of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. About 7,000 passed the drug test, 1,600 refused the test, and 32 failed the test, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Source: Associated Press
Nation – Eight NYPD officers arrested for gun-smuggling ring
Eight New York Police Department officers were arrested in a sting operation for allegedly smuggling illegal guns, cigarettes and other contraband in New York City in an Oct. 25 FBI investigation.
“The defendants participated in schemes involving the illegal interstate transportation of goods carrying a street value in excess of $1 million,” according to the criminal complaint by the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.
Five of the officers arrested are active-duty officers, and three are retired. The officers worked in the Brooklyn borough, and most were from the same precinct.
The NYPD and one of its employee unions declined to comment on the charges.
Source: New York Daily News
World – Libyans bury Gaddafi in secret location
Ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was buried in an unmarked desert location Oct. 25, five days after his capture and death. Gaddafi’s body was kept in cold storage for public display before being taken to the burial site in the early morning.
The National Transitional Council, the current de facto government of Libya, would not reveal the location of the burial site. The council feared it could be vandalized or become a shrine for loyal Gaddafi supporters.
Gaddafi ruled Libya for 42 years and engaged in an eight-month civil war against Libyan rebels who ousted him. He was captured Oct. 20 as he tried to flee his hideout in his hometown of Sirte.
His cause of death is unknown, but a video has been released showing a mob beating Gaddafi after his capture.
Source: Reuters
