The News in 2 Minutes

From The Associated Press

Thousands re-registered for presidential primary

PHOENIX — Thousands of Arizona independent voters changed their registrations in time to participate in the state’s Feb. 5 presidential primary, with more becoming Democrats than Republicans.

Figures from the state’s two most populous counties indicate that more than 11,000 independents re-registered with a party in the run-up to the primary election voter registration deadline of midnight Jan. 7. Of those who re-registered from independent, five of eight registered as Democrats.

Maricopa and Pima counties include the Phoenix and Tucson areas, respectively, and together account for three-quarters of Arizona’s nearly 2.7 million voters. Maricopa County has more Republicans than Democrats, while smaller Pima County has the opposite.

Only registered Republicans and Democrats can participate in next month’s Arizona presidential primary.

The surge of registration changes was obviously due to independents’ desire to cast ballots in the presidential primary. News media coverage of the approaching Jan. 7 deadline was a factor, officials said.

Pima County had roughly 4,600 independents re-register as either Democrats or Republicans between Dec. 1 and Jan. 7, according to figures provided by Rodriguez.

Judge dismisses Nevada caucus challenge

LAS VEGAS — A union with ties to Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton failed in court Thursday to prevent casino workers from caucusing at special precincts on the Las Vegas strip.

The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge James Mahan was presumed to be a boost for Clinton rival Barack Obama in the Democratic presidential caucuses Saturday because he has been endorsed by the union representing many of the shift workers who will be able to use the precincts.

“State Democrats have a First Amendment right to association, to assemble and to set their own rules,” Mahan said.

Nevada’s Democratic Party approved creation of the precincts to make it easier for housekeepers, waitresses and bellhops to caucus during the day near work rather than have to do so in their neighborhoods.

NYSE agrees to acquire American Stock Exchange

NEW YORK—The New York Stock Exchange said Thursday it agreed to acquire its smaller rival, American Stock Exchange, for $260 million in stock.

The deal, which will later include the proceeds from the sale of Amex’s Lower Manhattan headquarters a few blocks from the NYSE’s Wall Street home, gives NYSE Euronext a second U.S. license for an option exchange. It would make the NYSE the No. 3 U.S. options marketplace.

The NYSE has been looking to move further into the options business.

Word of the deal follows months of speculation over the fate of the Amex, which has struggled with lost market share, even among popular products such as exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. An ETF is a security that tracks an underlying benchmark much like an index mutual fund but that trades like a stock on an exchange.

Chertoff says new rules mean longer lines

WASHINGTON, D.C. — New border crossing rules to take effect at the end of the month will initially mean longer lines for those entering the country, including returning Americans, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday. But he said the rules are necessary to prevent another Sept. 11-style attack.

Critics of the effort need to “grow up,” Chertoff said in an Associated Press interview.

Starting Jan. 31, a driver’s license and oral declaration of citizenship will no longer be enough to enter the United States for Americans and Canadians age 19 and older. People will have to present proof of citizenship, usually in the form of a passport or a birth certificate. A driver’s license is not proof of citizenship.

Chertoff said longer lines at the border in the early days of the new policy are inevitable. “Until people get the message, there will be some delays,” he said.

But he added that should change once people get used to the new system, and border agents will be flexible in applying the new rules at the beginning.