2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 14, 2005 NATION/WORLD Roberts responds to questions about abortion, WASHINGTON (AP) - Supreme Court nominee John Roberts jousted with Democratic senators yesterday at his confirmation hearing to be chief jus- tice, dodging their attempts to pin down his opinions on abortion, voting rights and other legal issues. Roberts said he felt the landmark 1973 ruling legalizing abortion was "settled as a precedent" and that the Constitution provides a right to privacy. Questioned by the lone woman on the panel, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Roberts referred to the "settled expectations" of society three decades after the abortion decision. But when senators pressed for details on his opinions - even to the point of interrupting his answers - Roberts said repeatedly that he shouldn't address some issues that could come before the Supreme Court with him as chief justice. At one point, Sen. Joe Biden, (D- Del.), who has indicated he may run for president in 2008, accused Roberts of "filibustering." "Go ahead and continue not to answer," said Biden. Later, he interrupted Rob- erts and when criticized, insisted, "His answers are misleading, with all due respect." "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! They may be misleading but they are his answers," said Sen. Arlen Specter, (R- Pa.), the Judiciary Committee chairman. Roberts - who had noted that Biden earlier would have heard an entire answer if he hadn't interrupted - kept his cool. .pvac "With respect, they are my answers and with respect, they are not mislead- ing," he said. Senators questioned President Bush's choice to succeed the late William Rehnquist on abortion, privacy, voting rights and the balance of power between the branches of government. Roberts frequently answered through the prism of legal precedent but declined to address specifics. The heart of the abortion ruling is "settled as a precedent of the court, enti- tled to respect under principles of stare decisis," the concept that long-estab- lished rulings should be given extra weight, Roberts said. Still, review and revisions have been the hallmark of the high court on issues from integration to gay rights, and Rob- erts indicated that groundlbreaking cases can draw a second look. "If particular precedents have proven to be unworkable, they don't lead to predictable results, they're, difficult to apply, that's one 'factor supporting reconsideration," Roberts said. If confirmed, the 50-year-old Rob- erts would be the youngest chief jus- tice in 200 years, with the power to shape the high court for decades. Democrats and Republicans see no major obstacles to his winning Senate approval and joining the other justices when the new term begins Oct. 3. In his answers on abortion, Roberts focused on a 1992 Supreme Court rul- ing in Casey v. Planned Parenthood, NEW ORLEANS City airport reopens commercial flights The New Orleans airport reopened to commercial flights yesterday for the first time since Hurricane Katrina struck more than two weeks ago, and the port was back in operation, too, as a battered New Orleans struggled to get up and running again. The slow signs of recovery came amid promises from the White House and FEMA to learn from their mistakes and intensify their efforts to help the victims. Northwest Airlines Flight 947 from Memphis, Tenn., landed around midday with about 30 people aboard, far fewer than the jet could hold. Those aboard included emergency workers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some carried only a few belongings in plastic bags and gym bags. Among those returning to New Orleans was Steven Kischner, who said the mood aboard the plane was "eerie." BEIJING Six-nation talks on nudear program resume Tl.. TT-+-A 0+-+ .. -A A .--L, L --.. ...«. .. A- ...... 4. a '« ^" IPOTO Chief Justice nominee John Roberts gestures while testifying on Capitol Hill yes- terday at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. referring to that as a precedent-setting case in addition to the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. In the Pennsylvania case, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the core hold- ings of Roe v. Wade and ban states from outlawing most abortions. The court said states could impose restrictions on the procedure that do not impose an "undue burden" on women. "It reaffirmed the central holding in Roe v. Wade," Roberts said. Bush originally nominated Roberts to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the court's crucial swing vote who announced her plans to retire in July. Within days of Rehnquist's death on Sept. 3, Bush tapped Roberts to be chief justice. Egypt- Gaza RAFAH, Egypt (AP) - Egyptian troops allowed elated Palestinians to flood across the border from Gaza for a second day yesterday, heightening Israeli concerns that the crossing will become more porous and allow weapons to make their way to militants. Palestinian and Egyptian commanders decid- ed to close the Gaza-Egypt border by evening today, said Jamal Kaed, the Palestinian security commander of southern Gaza. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said in a televised speech later yesterday that he would take immediate steps to impose order in chaotic Gaza. Security forces have failed to prevent scaveng- ing and looting of abandoned Israeli settlements, including key greenhouses that were bought for the Palestinians by Jewish donors for $14 mil- lion. "We have one law for everyone and no one is above the law. We are not going to tolerate chaos after today," Abbas said, although he did not say how his security forces would improve their per- formance. As Abbas spoke, hundreds of Hamas gunmen paraded through the streets of the near- border opens for business by Jebaliya refugee camp. Gazans have gone on a shopping spree in Egyptian towns since the Israeli withdrawal, hauling home suitcases and boxes full of cheap cigarettes, food, fish and other goods. Others searched out relatives they haven't seen for years in Rafah, which is divided in two by the border. Some Gazans went as far as el-Arish, 24 miles west of Rafah, and were seen dining at seaside restaurants in the Mediterranean town. Israeli forces withdrew from the border early Monday, ending their 38-year occupation of the Gaza Strip. Under a deal with Israel, Egypt deployed hun- dreds of troops to guard the border and prevent smuggling into Gaza. Thousands of Palestinians clambered over the walls along the border Monday and continued to move back and forth freely yesterday. Egyptian forces said they were temporarily opening the frontier to allow the Palestinians to celebrate and reunite with relatives. Kaed said Palestinian security forces will start preparations to close the crossing by evening today, setting up roadblocks near the border to prevent cars from reaching the area. A Palestin- ian bulldozer tried to fill a gap in the high wall that Gazans had been slipping through. Closing off all the side routes that Palestin- ians have found in the past two days may prove difficult. Gazans and Egyptians went back and forth without records, making it ever harder to sort out who belongs on what side of the border. Zalman Shoval, a foreign policy adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said Egypt's failure to stop the border crossings was a cause of concern. "One would like to hope that what happened there was just a one-time failure by the Egyptian troops to do what is expected of them. But if this continues Israel will have to ask the multinational force (in the Sinai) to be a great deal more active in supervising the Egyptian compliance in the commitment it made with Israel," he said. "The great danger is that both people and arms could be smuggled under the unwatchful eyes of the Egyptians - that was the whole purpose of coming to this agreement," Shoval said. The United States and North Korea were at odds over the communist nations demands for peaceful atomic power, as officials gathered in Beijing yesterday for talks on ending the North's nuclear weapons program. Participants in the six-nation talks are working on a statement of principles lay- ing the groundwork for stopping the North's nuclear programs. The latest round of talks broke for a recess early last month after a record 13 days of talks failed to yield an agreement. But sticking point has emerged over the North's demands for a civilian nuclear program - something Washington has strongly resisted, saying the communist state's past record proves it can't be trusted with any nuclear program. Yesterday the head of North Korea's delegation said his country won't tolerate any obstructions to its right to a peaceful nuclear program, China's official Xinhua News Agency reported. BAGHDAD Militant with ties to al-Qaida captured U.S. forces along the Euphrates River attacked the insurgent stronghold of Haditha early yesterday, capturing a militant with ties to al-Qaida in Iraq and kill- ing four others, the military said. The assault on Haditha followed a recent offensive to retake Tal Afar, another northern town, which U.S. commanders said netted more than 400 suspected mili- tants. The Iraqi military said its troops had detained 36 others, including a Yemeni citizen, just south of Tal Afar. In southern Iraq, a roadside bomb exploded near a convoy of Iraqi security guards and foreign contwract workers outside Basra, killing four people, police said. While one Iraqi official said the four dead were Americans, U.S. officials were unable to confirm the report. UNITED NATIONS Envoys try to reach agreement on U.N reform With the U.N. summit a day away, negotiators tried to agree yesterday on a watered-down plan for reforming the United Nations, having abandoned many of the sweeping changes recommended by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. More than 160 presidents, prime ministers, kings and their entourages are descending on New York for today's summit opening. But it appeared less likely that the 191 U.N. member states would reach consensus on a document enabling the world body to tackle the major global issues of the 21st century. - Compiled from Daily wire reports CORRECTIONS A story in Wednesday's edition of the Daily should have said that Ben Royal is an organizer for BAMN, not a campus advisor. A story in Monday's edition of the Daily should have said that Salman Rushdie received the Booker Prize in 1993, not 2003. Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@michigandaily.com. 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com Q1 e soar JASON Z. 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