US admits error to Supreme Court

The Justice Department, in an unusual admission, acknowledged yesterday that government lawyers should have known that Congress had recently made the rape of a child a capital offense in the military and should have informed Supreme Court justices, who were considering whether the death penalty was a constitutional punishment for the crime. "We regret that the department didn't catch the 2006 law when the case of Kennedy v. Louisiana was briefed," the department's public affairs office said in a statement. In that case, decided June 25 by a vote of 5 to 4, the court ruled that the Constitution prohibits the death penalty for the rape of a child. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy's majority opinion was partly based on the conclusion that because child rape was a capital offense in six states, and not under federal law, the death penalty for the crime did not meet the "evolving standards of decency." (New York Times)

The government said yesterday that it is ending a moratorium on applications to build solar plants on public lands. The Bureau of Land Management made the announcement after public opposition to its original decision, reached at the end of May. The bureau had first wanted to do a comprehensive review of environmental impacts from such plants. The bureau now plans to keep processing the applications it has for 125 solar projects on about 1 million acres in the West. (AP)

BIG SUR - Authorities ordered most of the remaining residents of this scenic coastal community to leave yesterday because a wildfire, one of more than 1,100 in California, had jumped a fire line and was threatening more residences. New mandatory evacuation notices were issued for a 16-mile stretch along Highway 1, bringing the total length of the evacuated area to more than 25 miles, emergency officials said. The evacuation affects nearly 850 residents. The blaze has destroyed 16 houses and charred about 81 square miles of forest since it was started by lightning June 21 in Los Padres National Forest. The wildfire was only about 3 percent contained, authorities said. (AP)

PHILADELPHIA - Three Philadelphia tour guides are challenging a city ordinance that will require them to pass a history test and be licensed. Mayor Michael Nutter signed the law in April, and it goes into effect in the fall. Supporters say it will ensure that guides don't distribute misinformation in a city that is home to some of the country's most historic sites, including the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. But in a lawsuit filed yesterday, three guides say the law violates their free speech rights. They say their tours are accurate and they should not have to ask the government's permission to earn a living. (AP)