Hypeline World News Report

 WASHINGTON -Hypeline News- The Supreme Court has ruled that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights.

In a 6-3 ruling, this court has upheld Indiana’s strict photo ID requirement, which Democrats and civil rights groups said would deter poor, older and minority voters from casting ballots. Just in time for the Indiana’s Primary next week.

Its backers said it was needed to prevent fraud.

Justice John Paul Stevens said in an opinion The law “is amply justified by the valid interest in protecting ‘the integrity and reliability of the electoral process,’”and was joined by Chief

Justice John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy.Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas also agreed with the outcome, but wrote separately.

Justices David Souter,Stephen Breyer,Ruth Bader Ginsburg desented, just as they had in 2000.

Curently more than 20 states require some form of identification at the polls. Courts have upheld voter ID laws in Arizona, Georgia and Michigan, but struck down Missouri’s in the past.

The high court’s decision will spur efforts to pass similar laws in other states.

This voter ID ruling has lacked the conservative-liberal split that marked the 2000 case.

Police said Rival gangs opened  fire with rifles and automatic weapons on the streets of Tijuana early Saturday morning in a wild and bloody shootout which killed13 people and wounding several others in this latest incidence of drug related violence

Gunmen began firing on each other with rifles and automatic weapons in a light industrial area east of the city, according to authorities, leaving a trail of corpses, spent shell casings and bullet-riddled vehicles across Tijuana as the combatants gave chase to one another.

The initial confrontation on Boulevard Insurgentes, a major thoroughfare, the battle there raged for at least 10 minutes leaving abandoned vehicles, scattered weapons, broken glass, a blood-soaked bullet-proof vest and several corpses, including one with its head blown nearly off.

The shootout is just the latest in a spasm of drug-related violence that has gripped the border town this year. In the first four months of 2008, Tijuana has seen dozens of kidnappings, assaults and homicides, including children gunned down in the mayhem.

The motive for Saturday’s bloodshed is still unclear. Police said it could have been a falling out between factions of the so-called Arellano Felix narcotics cartel, which has long controlled the drug trade in this city. Or it could be another cartel trying to move in its turf. Some speculate that the killings may have been revenge by traffickers against suspected snitches.

Experts said the recent violence is linked to major offensives by authorities against organized crime drug traffickers, an operation that has strained delicate alliances between traffickers that had previously cooperated in the lucrative narcotics trade.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, in cooperation with state and local authorities, has sent hundreds of soldiers and federal police to Tijuana and other trafficking hot spots this year, an operation that has resulted in several high-profile arrests and seizures of caches of drugs and weapons.

Organized crime has responded with unprecedented ferocity to intimidate informants and police and to punish rivals they suspect of betraying them.

In January, gunmen stormed the home of Tijuana Deputy Police Chief Margarito Saldana Rivera, killing him, his wife and two daughters, the youngest age 12. A young couple and their 3-year-old son were slain the same week in what was believed to be a case of mistaken identity.

The situation in Tijuana has grown particularly volatile after a Mexican general this week publicly identified more than a dozen high-ranking public officials and law enforcement officers he alleges are in league with organized crime.

Gen. Sergio Aponte Polito made the claims in an open letter to the Tijuana daily newspaper Frontera, sparking controversy so heated that Tijuana Mayor Jorge Ramos appealed for calm.

Actor Wesley Snipes was sentenced on Thursday to three years in prison for failing to file tax returns ,this despite making a $5 million down payment on his outstanding tax balance, Snipes received the maximum jail time requested by federal prosecutors.

“The three-year sentence sends a loud and crystal-clear message to any would-be tax defier that if you engage in this illegal conduct, you can and will go to prison,” said Nathan Hochman, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s tax division.

The lead prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Robert O’Neill, repeated “The courts sent a really clear message that Americans must file and pay taxes,” he said. “If you have a legitimate dispute with the IRS, contact the IRS and dispute what you believe you’re due and owe. You can’t just totally fail to satisfy your legal obligation like Mr. Snipes did.”

Mr.Snipes went on trial in January for failing to file income taxes returns between 1999 and 2004, which he made an estimated $38 million starring in popular movies  (Passenger 57 ,White Men Can’t Jump,as well as the Blade Vampire Trilogy “. Prosecutors said that Snipes also fraudulently filed for $11 million in refunds on income taxes paid in 1996 and 1997.
Mr Snipes’ attorneys have argued that their client innocently fell victim to poor tax advice provided by his two co-defendants, Eddie Ray Kahn and Douglas Rosile.
Kahn and Rosile were both convicted in February on felony charges of tax fraud and conspiracy.

Kahn received 10 years ,while Rosile only 54 months, both were sentenced yesterday.

Mr.Snipes was convicted on three misdemeanor counts but was acquitted of serious felony charges, a verdict that was seen as a victory in the eyes of some tax protestors.
In his statement to the court, Snipes apologized for his “mistakes” but steered clear of acknowledging any intentional wrongdoing, according to observers.
“[Snipes] said he was sorry for his actions but he never used the word ‘crimes’ and he never used the word ‘tax,’” said Hochman, who was present when U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges announced the sentence in Ocala, Fla. “I think it’s an indication that Mr. Snipes, to this day, has not fully accepted responsibility for his actions.”In addition to the jail time, Snipes, 45, is being charged millions by the IRS for back taxes, penalties and interest. Defense attorney Linda Moreno declined to comment about her client’s sentence, but said that a notice of appeal will be filed within the next few days.Prosecutor O’Neill said he’s confident the ruling will stand.

“In my opinion that was an error-free trial,” he said. “In order to succeed in an appeal, you have to point to something that occurred in the trial that denied the individual due process of law. I
don’t see that happening.