Funeral for Helms to be held today

RALEIGH - Mourners gathered yesterday at a North Carolina church to view the body of Jesse Helms, the longtime former senator who died on the Fourth of July. The conservative leader was placed in the sanctuary of Hayes-Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh, where he worshipped for decades. A funeral is planned for 2 p.m. today in the church, followed by a private burial. Helms was elected to the Senate in 1972 and rose to become a powerful committee chairman who often forced Democrats into voting on such polarizing social issues as school busing and flag burning. (AP)

NEW YORK - A judge has rejected an effort by some families of Sept. 11 victims who wanted to reclaim World Trade Center debris from a landfill and create a cemetery for it. US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein said yesterday that not every wrong can be addressed through the courts. "The grave harm suffered by the plaintiffs in this case is undeniable. But the jurisdiction of a court is limited," he said. The lawsuit against the city had asked that the debris, which might contain human remains, be moved from the now-closed Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island to land across the street that could be made into a cemetery. (AP)

Faced with growing international pressure, the Pentagon is changing its policy on cluster bombs and plans to reduce the danger of unexploded munitions in the explosives. The policy shift, which is outlined in a three-page memo signed by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, would require that after 2018, more than 99 percent of the bomblets in a cluster bomb must detonate. Limiting the amount of live munitions left on the battlefield would lessen the danger to civilians. Also, by next June the Defense Department will begin to reduce its inventory of cluster bombs that do not meet the new requirements. The plan comes a month after 111 nations, including many of America's key NATO partners, adopted a treaty outlawing current designs of cluster munitions. (AP)