Breaking News From Malecia

Prime Minister William Jackson has this to say.

[censored]

This is because the Junta has not allowed the PM to speak.

Time jump to Monday at noon

Cue network chimes, MBC NEWS logo is on the screen

Announcer: From MBC World Headquarters in New Gradif, this is MBC News at noon with Daria Thomas.

Cut to shot of female anchor behind a news desk.

DT: Good Afternoon, I'm Daria Thomas. Our top story today is the Whitewash trial which has just got under way in Shiloh D.M. We go live to Jacqui Lefevre, who is outside the federal courthouse there. Jacqui?

Screen splits with Daria on the left and Jacqui on the right.

JL: Thanks Daria. Opening arguments were presented today but not before some last minute maneuvering by defense attorney Holly Lange. She made a verbal motion to dismiss all charges which the judge quickly denied.

DT: What was her motion based on?

JL: Her motion was based on the prosecution failing to disclose evidence. Specifically, the video tape that they entered as an exhibit. But Judge Williamson quickly reminded Ms. Lange that under the rules of Federal Criminal Procedure, the exhibits have to be discounted by the opposing attorney after the jury has had a chance to see the exhibit.

DT: What can you tell us about the judge, Jacqui?

JL: Daria, Judge Karl Williamson is a graduate of the University of Commeford, and attended Law School at Langdell Hall at University of North Mykyr. He was a prosecutor and then a defense attorney. After the new courts bill was passed establishing a federal judiciary, he was one of the first judges appointed. Many legal observers say he is an odds on favorite for the new Supreme Court, which is expected to open in two weeks. As you know, 8 of the nine justices have been appointed, and Executive Mansion sources say that Judge Williamson will be the ninth.

DT: Well apparently, it will be after a verdict is rendered in this trial.

JL: That's true.

DT: Anything else this morning?

JL: Only that in her opening statement, Ms. Lange said that CEO Eric White is no longer overseeing day to day operations of Whitewash, and in fact has been the CEO in name only for over a year. Many observers expect the defense to point the finger at Whitewash's COO Andrea Dinozzi.

DT: OK Jacqui, thanks.

JL: Thanks Daria

Single shot of Daria

DT:Jacqui will be back tonight at 6 with more from Shiloh with Roger Coakley. In other news, the Tannenberg threat....

Shiloh, D.M.-- The General Assembly's Senate Oversight Committee on Homeland Security voted to end discussions on the controversial National Registration Act, and to refuse to allow the bill to come to full vote on the Senate floor.

The proposed legislation, backed by the group "Malecians for a safer Malecia," would have required the government to set up a national database and for all Malecians to carry I.D. cards issued by a proposed new agency under the supervision of the Malecia Homeland Security Department.

Ron Mann, spokesman for the Workers Party, and Michelle Baumann, spokeswoman for the Freedom Party, were both pleased at the news. Though at odds on most legislation before the Assemble, both were happy to see the bill's demise. In a joint press conference, Mr. Mann said that the bill, "made George Orwell seem less like fiction. I was stunned that the bill lasted in committee this long. I am all for a safe Malecia, but not at the expense of our constitutional freedoms."

Michelle Baumann added, "we were pretty sure this bill would have never made it to the President's desk. If it did, we highly doubt that President Ennis would sign legislation that would have usurped the people's constitutional right to privacy, as annunciated in section 4."

While the section 4 language in the constitution gives a citizen the "absolute right to privacy in a citizen's person, place, papers and possessions," Malecians for a safer Malecia spokesman Myron Lemon said that, "We believe this law was drafted so as to not violate section 4 and we are confident it would have stood up to any constitutional scrutiny tests the Supreme Court may have applied."

Legal commentators were less confident, with one saying that, "As I understand it, the cards would have essentially had chips in them, theoretically enabling the government to track citizens 24/7. I think that may have been enough for the law to be overturned."

Malecians for a safer Malecia are hopeful that after the gerenal elections this fall, a new National Registration Bill will be drafted and submitted to the G.A. However, with the bill's main sponsor, Representative Richard Aziz retiring in December, it is unlikely the bill will be submitted during the next session.

From: Malecia League of Voters
Contact: Kim Paton, Press Secretary

The Malecia League of Voters is announcing that the second of three debates will be conducted this week. The debate will take place on Friday October 1 at 8:15 PM in Port Chester, Upper Milling. The debate will be held at the War Memorial Auditorium. Coverage of the event will be provided by MBC radio network, and will be carried live over the MBC television network; the MBS television network, and MCN.

The T.V. screen goes to black in the middle of a program. The MBC logo appears and the words "Special Report" appear below the logo.

Announcer: We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming for this special report. From the Executive Mansion in Shiloh, President David Ennis.

D.E.: Good afternoon. I address you today to inform you of the attack on our nation by terrorists in the Port of Arnsas. As has been reported throughout the day, terrorists attempted to detonate a device containing radioactive material in an attempt to poison our water and our air. I am happy to report to you that the nuclear material was almost completely removed from the device before detonation occurred. While a small amount of the material did escape containment when the bomb exploded, I have been assured by scientists and professors from the Nuclear Emergency Response Agency and our top universities, that the exposure is no more than the average person would receive during a chest X-ray.

Nevertheless, we are taking every precaution and distributing Potassium Iodide pills to all citizens who want them. A distribution schedule and a directory of centers where the pills will be available will be released later today. Locations west of the detonation will not be receiving the pills, as the prevailing winds have already carried the material east of the blast area.

Unfortunately, the news is not all good. 50 lives were lost today during the effort to locate and defuse this device. That number includes 39 members of NERA, as well as 11 members of the Counter Terrorist Division. I feel much the same way that I imagine all of you feel on this matter. I do not take their deaths lightly, nor will I allow this attack to go unaddressed.

The MBI, in cooperation with local authorities, is investigating as we speak to determine how the terrorists managed to coordinate and carry out today's attack. They will not rest until the perpetrators of this deed are brought to justice.

While the investigation continues, I encourage you all to show the courage and determination that is the hallmark of Malecia. We have endured far worse than this at a far greater price and we have prevailed. We lost nearly 4 million people to a horrific civil war and we prevailed. We suffered through the aftermath of that conflict and its economic fallout and we prevailed. Do n

To those behind this attack, I present this simple warning. You can hide for now, but you can't hide forever. We will find you and you will pay for the murders of the Malecians that you committed today.

Last, to Malecians everywhere, I ask that you take a moment tonight to think of the 50 brave souls who gave their lives in the service of their country.

Thank You.

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Shiloh, D.M.- The President and the Secretary of Defense will formerly dedicate the Malecia War Memorial in Shiloh on New Year's Eve. The memorial, designed and constructed by the same people who designed and constructed the U.S. World War II Memorial, will feature a miniature model of the former capital building, which was heavily damaged during the Malecia Civil War. The building was demolished after the war, when engineers ascertained that it was too heavily damaged to be repaired.

The memorial will be at the center of the Shiloh Green, a large park in the middle of the capital that contains several other monuments. The park will soon feature a statue dedicated to Robert John Wilkes, a retired diplomat who was killed while trying to mediate a conflict in Greater New Tannenberg.

Expected to be in attendance are emissaries from throughout the 10000 Islands and leaders of both houses of the General Asembly. The dedication will begin at noon, January 31.

by

Shiloh, D.M.- After a trial that lasted nearly six months, the trial of Matthew Smith and Andrea Dinozzi, co-defendants in the government's case against Whitewater Corporation, concluded late last night.

Both defendant's were convicted on the majority of counts lodged against them, but the most serious charge, treason, was not proved by the prosecution. The judge, citing the Federal Rules of Evidence when granting the defendants' motion to dismiss those charges, stated that the investigator's mishandled the evidence and he was left with little choice but to grant that motion.

Nevertheless, the prosecution was able to prove the lesser charges, including the Graham Act, which makes it illegal for any Malecian to engage in foreign policy without being a duly authorized appointee of the People.

Sentencing will take place next week. Each candidate faces a potential sentence in excess of 80 years if they are sentenced to the maximum amount allowable under the law.

Cue network chimes

Announcer: This is the MBC News at Noon. Reporting to day from Shiloh, Daria Thomas.

DT (looking up from her desk to the camera): Good afternoon. Our top story today is from right here in Shiloh where hundreds of anti-war demonstrators have gathered outside the General Assembly Building to protest the involvement of Malecia in the Koenigfaste crisis. (Scene cuts to protestors, who are gathered behind a police barricade).

DT: Shiloh police have set up a 100 foot buffer zone around the G.A. building, with assistance from Malecia Park Police and the Federal Protective Service. The protestors' leader, Manuel Da Silva, spoke today with MBC's Cal Hendrickson.

Cut to interview with the words "recorded earlier" superimposed on the bottom of the screen.

CH: Mr. Da Silva, thanks for meeting with us.

MD: Thanks, Cal.

CH: So why are you set against the war?

MD: This is Kannex's war, Cal. Malecia has no business backing an empire that does not share our democratic tradition. Treaty or not, Malecian lives are being lost in the cause of Imperialism.

CH: What about the junta? Are you saying we should allow soveriegnity to be violated just because we may disagree with the sovereign's politics?

MD: I'm saying the junta is not our problem.

Cut back to DT.

DT: That was Cal Henmdrickson earlier with protest leader Manny Da Silva. We'll be back after a short break.

President signs Emergency Military Spending Bill

Shiloh, D.M.-

The President signed an emergency spending bill this morning to grant the Defense Department the Authority to expand the armed forces and purchase additional weapons and vehicles, including ships and planes.

The move comes in the wake of the ongoing strife in Kannex and the apparent collapse of the Agagsian government in that country. Kannex had been experiencing domestic unrest following the Koenigfaste war, which cost the Kannexians thousands of lives and left the military in a state of disarray.

Among other things, the 10 billion taco bill authorizes a 30% increase in troop strength, authorization for new ship construction, and contracts for expanding the helicopter and fixed wing complements of the 4 armed service branch. Money has also been earmrked for the two intellignece agencies that serve the military, the Defense Intelligence Service and the Malecia Intelligence Service.

Bases deactivated 5 years ago will be brought back on line, particularly on the Malecia west coast. The bill also calls for stepped up production of materiel such as oil and food curently imported from East Aprica.