Railroad regulators issue cellphone ban

Los Angeles

Federal regulators issued an emergency order Thursday banning use of cellphones and other electronic devices by rail workers, a day after investigators said a commuter-train engineer was text messaging moments before a deadly crash last month.

Violators could be fined or removed from their jobs under the Federal Railroad Administration rule, which comes as the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates why Metrolink engineer Robert Sanchez ran through a red light and into a freight train, killing 25 people.

Preliminary evidence released Wednesday by the NTSB appeared to rule out that he was unconscious at the time and could show that Sanchez, who was among the dead, was distracted at the time of the crash, experts said.

Dallas

HPV-vaccine rule called unfair

An expensive cervical-cancer vaccine is required by young female immigrants before they can become legal U.S. residents, a rule that immigration advocates said is unfair.

Federal officials recently added the Gardasil vaccine to a list of vaccinations that immigrants must have before they can obtain green cards. The cervical-cancer vaccine is required of females ages 11 to 26.

The vaccine protects against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus, or HPV, which causes cervical cancer and genital warts.

Gardasil, given in three shots over six months, costs about $400. That puts an added burden on green-card applicants already paying more than $1,000 in fees and hundreds of dollars for mandatory medical exams, advocates say.

The change, effective July 1, could affect tens of thousands of immigrants annually. Other required vaccines include routine childhood vaccines such as for measles, mumps and chickenpox. The other new vaccines required are for rotavirus, hepatitis A, meningitis and shingles for those older than 60.

Arkansas City, Kan.

Mayor says sorry for blackface parody

The mayor of a Kansas town appeared in blackface as part of a drag-queen beauty contest but apologized after a meeting with NAACP officials.

Arkansas City Mayor Mel Kuhn won the weekend fundraiser, in which he appeared in dark makeup and used a vulgar term as his character name. The fundraiser was for Court Appointed Special Advocates, which supports foster children.

Kuhn's apology, posted on the Web site of the Wichita branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, came after a meeting Wednesday with officials from the organization. "I am sincerely sorry and I sincerely apologize for the offensive nature of my actions," Kuhn said. He did not return calls Thursday.

also

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 66, confirmed Thursday that he's pushing for changes that would allow him to seek a third term, saying he wants to handle unfinished city business including the "unprecedented challenges" brought on by the financial meltdown. The current law limits the mayor to two terms.

Seattle Times news services