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Teacher in Student Sex Case Held on Bond Sunday, 26 February 2006 LAURENS, S.C. -- A former fifth-grade teacher accused of having sex with her 11-year-old student was ordered held on $100,000 bond Saturday. Prosecutors had wanted Wendie A. Schweikert, 36, jailed without bond, saying she was a danger to the community and a flight risk. Schweikert was arrested Friday on two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor after the boy's mother accused the teacher of having sex with him at school at least twice, said Laurens Police Chief Robin Morse. The former teacher admitted in a statement to having sex with the boy, Morse said. Schweikert, who resigned from her job at E.B. Morse Elementary School on Friday, did not speak during the hearing, and did not have an attorney. The boy's mother tried to tell the judge how shaken her son was, but was choked back by tears. The boy "wanted his mother to tell the court he was scared," prosecutor Jerry Peace said. "He is terrified that the defendant will get out on bond." A man who answered the door at Schweikert's home Saturday would not comment. Laurens is in northwestern South Carolina.

Cheney was drunk when he shot lawyer Saturday, 25 February 2006 Secret Service agents guarding Vice President Dick Cheney when he shot Texas lawyer Harry Whittington on a hunting outing two weeks ago say Cheney was "clearly inebriated" at the time of the shooting. Agents observed several members of the hunting party, including the Vice President, consuming alcohol before and during the hunting expedition, the report notes, and Cheney exhibited "visible signs" of impairment, including slurred speech and erratic actions. According to those who have talked with the agents and others present at the outing, Cheney was drunk when he gunned down his friend and the day-and-a-half delay in allowing Texas law enforcement officials on the ranch where the shooting occurred gave all members of the hunting party time to sober up. We talked with a number of administration officials who are privy to inside information on the Vice President's shooting "accident" and all admit Secret Service agents and others say they saw Cheney consume far more than the "one beer' he claimed he drank at lunch earlier that day. "This was a South Texas hunt," says one White House aide. "Of course there was drinking. There's always drinking. Lots of it." Read more... Feds say Beach's math exam for police recruits is discriminatory Wednesday, 15 February 2006 VIRGINIA BEACH — The U.S. Justice Department has found that the math portion of the Virginia Beach Police Department’s entrance exam discriminates against black and Hispanic applicants. In a letter to the city released Wednesday, the Justice Department said its findings were based on results of a math test administered to all entry-level police officers. The Justice Department said it will sue the city if Virginia Beach does not take appropriate measures to end discrimination and provide “sufficient remedial relief” to previous job applicants. On Wednesday, city officials said they do not discriminate and the math portion of the exam assesses job-related skills. Police Chief A.M. “Jake” Jacocks Jr. said the city will cooperate with the Justice Department and will not act until it discusses the findings with federal officials. No date has been set. The hiring practices of the city’s police and fire departments were called into question in 2004 after a study showed a disparity between the racial composition of its population and its police and fire departments. Read more...