World/Nation briefs
<p>The memorial pools of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum are seen in this overhead view, Monday,at the World Trade Center site in New York. September will mark the 10th anniversary of the attacks of Sept 11, 2001. The pools are located where the twin towers once stood.</p>
Supreme Court blocks Wal-Mart bias lawsuit
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court blocked the largest sex-discrimination lawsuit in U.S. history on Monday, siding with Wal-Mart and against up to 1.6 million female workers in a decision that makes it harder to mount large-scale bias claims against the nation's other huge companies, too.
The justices all agreed that the lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. could not proceed as a class action in its current form, reversing a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. By a 5-4 vote along ideological lines, the court also said there were too many women in too many jobs at Wal-Mart to wrap into one lawsuit.
"Because respondents provide no convincing proof of a companywide discriminatory pay and promotion policy, we have concluded that they have not established the existence of any common question," Justice Antonin Scalia said in his majority opinion.
Theodore Boutrous Jr., Wal-Mart's lawyer, said the decision also would affect pending class-action claims against Costco and others. Companies as varied as the big Wall Street firm Goldman-Sachs & Co., electronics giant Toshiba America Inc., and Cigna Healthcare Inc. also face class-action claims from women they employ.
Obama, aides mull Afghanistan drawdown
WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will announce the critical next steps in America's decade-long war in Afghanistan on Wednesday, outlining both a plan to start bringing thousands of U.S. troops home next month and a broader withdrawal blueprint aimed at giving Afghans control of their own security in 2014.
But even as Obama finalizes those plans, there are deep divisions in his administration, with military leaders favoring only a gradual reduction in troops but other advisers advocating a significant decrease in the coming months.
Administration officials say Obama is still working through the details on how many troops will start leaving Afghanistan in July, his self-imposed deadline for beginning the drawdown. He is considering a range of options presented to him last week by Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan.
"He's finalizing his decision. He's reviewing his options," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Monday.
Obama is expected to make Wednesday's announcement in Washington. On Thursday, he will visit troops at Fort Drum, the upstate New York military base that is home to the 10th Mountain Division, one of the most frequently deployed divisions to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Syrian president vows reform; protests continue
BEIRUT - Syria's president promised a national dialogue Monday to consider political reforms, but his vague overtures to a pro-democracy uprising fell flat as protesters took to the streets shouting "Liar!" and demanding his ouster.
In only his third public appearance since the revolt erupted in March, Bashar Assad returned to a now-familiar refrain: He blamed the unrest on "saboteurs," offered modest potential reforms, but gave no sign he'd move toward ending the Assad family's political domination.
He clearly intends to try to ride out the wave of protests, showing the steely determination that has kept the Assads in power for 40 years. But the mobilized opposition appeared to be digging in as well, bracing for a showdown in one of the deadliest uprisings of the Arab Spring.
"We want only one thing: Toppling the regime!" read one banner among marchers in several cities Monday.
Arizona wildfire spreads toward Sierra Vista
PHOENIX - Authorities in southern Arizona on Monday were going through neighborhoods to tally the damage from a wildfire that was pushed by fierce winds into a heavily-populated area, burning homes and businesses.
Officials say the fire came off a mountain Sunday afternoon into the outskirts of Sierra Vista and forced about 3,000 residents of 1,700 homes to flee. The evacuations brought the total number to about 10,000 people from 4,300 homes forced out by the Monument fire.
The blaze began June 12 and had destroyed 44 homes before Sunday. Among the confirmed losses Sunday was a popular Mexican restaurant. Officials expected to get a confirmed count of the losses by midday, said Carol Capas, a spokeswoman for the Cochise County Sheriff's Office.
"I can't speculate right now," Capas said Monday. "We really need to wait and see."
- The Associated Press