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ACLU weighs in on Texas polygamist custody case

SAN ANGELO, Texas (CNN) — The Texas branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said it was concerned that the basic rights of the children and mothers connected to a Texas polygamist ranch were violated during a recent raid and custody hearing.

At the hearing Friday, Judge Barbara Walther ordered 416 children connected to the YFZ (Yearning For Zion) ranch kept in state custody.

Walther made her ruling after two days of testimony at the hearing, which was aimed at determining whether child welfare authorities properly removed the children from the sect’s Texas ranch. The judge said she found sufficient evidence for Texas Child Protective Services to retain custody of the children.

The ACLU said it had a representative at the court hearing and the organization was concerned about human rights violations.

While we acknowledge that Judge Walther’s task may be unprecedented in Texas judicial history, we question whether the current proceedings adequately protect the fundamental rights of the mothers and children, Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas, said in a written statement.

As this situation continues to unfold, we are concerned that the constitutional rights that all Americans rely upon and cherish — that we are secure in our homes, that we may worship as we please and hold our places of worship sacred, and that we may be with our children absent evidence of imminent danger — have been threatened, Burke said.

The group’s courtroom observer, Lisa Graybill, added: We recognize that this balancing act is difficult, but we are concerned that government may not be complying with the Constitution or the laws of Texas in the execution of its mandate, from how the raids were conducted to whether the current process protects basic rights.

The ACLU statement did not list any specific instances of human rights or constitutional violations, and ACLU representatives did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Child Protective Services spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner said her department is in the process of finding temporary placement for all the children. What we did was warranted and in the best interest of the children, she said. This is not about religion — this is about keeping children safe from abuse.

The hearing stems from an April 4 raid of the ranch, which authorities said was triggered by phone calls in late March from a 16-year-old officials referred to as Sarah. The caller said she had been beaten and forced to become a man’s spiritual wife.

On Thursday, child protection supervisor Angie Voss testified that she and other investigators encountered several pregnant teenagers at the YFZ ranch, which is in Eldorado, Texas, about 40 miles outside San Angelo. The girls called each other sister wives, Voss said, and believed it was acceptable to be spiritually united with a man at any age. It was the belief that no age was too young to be married, she said.

Members of the ranch have denied the girl, supposedly named Sarah Jessop Barlow, exists, and authorities have yet to find the caller. However, Texas Rangers are pursuing a Colorado woman as a person of interest regarding the phone calls that touched off the raid.

Authorities on Friday said a search of Rozita Swinton’s home in Colorado Springs resulted in evidence that possibly links her to phone calls made about the YFZ ranch. Swinton, 33, has been charged in Colorado with false reporting to authorities, but police said that the arrest was not directly related to the Texas case.
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Weekley wins second straight Verizon Heritage

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, South Carolina (AP) — Boo Weekley’s first Verizon Heritage victory was a surprising relief. His latest? A joyful celebration that was a year overdue.

Weekley successfully defended his title Sunday at Harbour Town, closing with an even-par 71 for a three-stroke victory over Anthony Kim (71) and Aaron Baddeley (71).

Last year, Weekley needed chips-ins on the 71st and 72nd holes to beat Ernie Els by a stroke on a Monday morning for his first PGA Tour victory.

On Sunday, Weekley strode up the 18th fairway with the win very much in hand and the gallery chanting, Boooo! Boooo!

I thought that you really won is when you stand there and pull the ball out of the hole and turn around to the crowd and say, ‘You know, hey, I am the champ,’ Weekley said. I chipped it in back to back last year, and I didn’t get to stand there and turn to the crowd and do the fist pump.

And Weekley was ready to oblige. He gave the gallery a thumb’s up as they loudly cheered, Boooo! He bowed to the fans and threw up his hands in triumph.

I wanted to do the moonwalk, the belly-roll, Weekley said.

Weekley took a three-shot lead into the final round and watched it grow by mostly staying trouble free, and seeing competitors struggle to try and catch up.

It was a lot easier than last year, wasn’t it? a smiling Weekley said to his group on the 17th hole after his routine par.

Kim trailed by three at the start and, paired with Weekley, was in the best spot to pressure the leader. But Kim’s chance at a first PGA Tour title disappeared with a double bogey on the par-4 ninth.

Jim Furyk, ranked ninth in the world, was the hardest charger early, cutting a six-stroke deficit in half with three birdies in the first five holes. Furyk, though, fell back with a bogey on the 11th.

He shot a 69 to finish fourth, his third top-five finish in the past four Verizon Heritages.

No one else, including former Verizon Heritage champs Baddeley and Stewart Cink, could make a run at Weekley.

I just struggled, Weekley said. I reckon everybody struggled.

Not that Weekley didn’t add his own pizazz to the round. He made bogey on No. 8 after botching a chip, then looked in trouble on the 10th with a difficult pitch over a bunker. And Weekley killed it — right into the cup for a birdie that put him up by five.

Weekley grinned as the gallery chanted his name over and over.

He did it again four holes later, slam dunking a 30-footer for birdie from the fringe that if it didn’t hit the cup might have rolled into the water off the edge of the peninsula green.

Well, it didn’t, Kim said.

Weekley earned $990,000, and a second straight invitation to the Masters. He tied for 20th at Augusta National to miss qualifying for 2009.

The even-par finishing round ended Weekley’s string of seven rounds here in the 60s.

Weekley’s the first with consecutive victories here since five-time winner Davis Love III in 1991 and 1992. The late Payne Stewart (1989, 1990) was the only other to go back-to-back in Harbour Town’s history.

Both those stars had played this tournament several times before that success. Weekley just teed it up here for the first time last year.

Perhaps more important for him, Weekley can revel in his Harbour Town title for another year.

He’s charmed the galleries with his Hee Haw demeanor in a country club world full of starched collars and hushed tones.

He proudly calls himself a redneck. He chews tobacco at times during his round. It’s just a habit, he says. It’s a bad one, but it’s a habit.

He says the winner’s trophy will probably sit in the barn for a few weeks until his new house is built. He’s thrilled to get a second plaid champion’s jacket. I can wear one on Saturday, one on Sunday, he said.

Weekley’s just as likely to rake a bunker or give a ball to a young fan — as he did to one adorable blonde pre-schooler during Saturday’s round — as to shoo away autograph seekers.

What would you expect from some one who got his nickname from Yogi Bear’s cartoon sidekick, Boo Boo.

It’s clear that Weekley knows Harbour Town better than your aa-ver-age golfer.

Although, how long he keeps going at it is anyone’s guess. The 34-year-old says the game’s too stressful. This golf is a crazy game. That’s why I only want to do it for so long and then get out of it, he said.

What would Boo do? Where you been? he asked. Huntin’ and fishin’ E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Source: Blasts reported in Yangon

(CNN) — Two bombs exploded Sunday in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar, a Western diplomatic source said.

The blasts were reported to have happened in downtown Yangon. There were no reports of damage or injuries, the source said, nor was it immediately clear what caused the explosions.

The secretive military junta that rules Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has recently warned of possible explosions, and several bombs have gone off in recent months. Four bombings in various parts of Yangon killed three people in January.

The junta has scheduled a May 10 referendum on a new constitution for the country, which came under sharp criticism from many nations for using force to suppress pro-democracy protests last year.

The United Nations has estimated that more than 30 people were killed and thousands more detained last September when Myanmar’s government crushed peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations, The Associated Press reported.

The nation has been in a political stalemate since 1990 when Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party won a general election. Suu Kyi was not allowed to take power by the military, which continues to tightly control the country. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.

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