The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Washington, D.C.- Controversial legislation to allow oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge looks likely to pass in the U.S. House of Representatives after the failure of a Democratic move to stop it. On Wednesday night, Republicans defeated an amendment that would have taken the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling plan out of a broader energy bill. The vote was 231-200. There's no guarantee that the drilling plan will go any further, however. Two times in the past four years, the Senate has quashed measures allowing drilling after the House of Representatives approved them. Republicans say the drilling is necessary because the nation is becoming too dependent on imported oil from volatile countries around the world. They also point to the need to find new sources of oil to deal with rising prices for crude. The refuge area could produce a million barrels a day, sponsors of the bill said. Vatican City - Two days after taking over as the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI became reachable by the click of a mouse Thursday. The former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's new e-mail address is [email protected] in English. Visitors to the Vatican's official website are now able to click on an icon to speed-send a prayer, opinion or problem to Benedict. The first pope to be accessible by e-mail was John Paul II, Benedict's immediate predecessor.
