New York’s attorney general is one of six asking that the threat of terrorism and earthquakes be considered when nuclear power plants apply for relicensing.

It’s been an issue in the application for the Indian Point nuclear power plant in Buchanan. It wants to renew its license for 20 years.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission now looks at environmental issues and the age of the plant, but not terrorism threats. Terrorism is evaluated on a continuing basis, according to the commission.

Last night, Elliot Spitzer announced he was giving up on his plan to give illegal immigrants drivers’ licenses.

Today, U.S. Hillary Rodham Clinton finally said exactly what she thought of the idea.

“As President, I will not support drivers’ licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration including border security and fixing our broken system,” she said  in a statement.

PHOTO: U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., is interviewed by The Associated Press, following a campaign stop at a United Auto Workers regional conference at the Grand River Center in Dubuque, Iowa, Monday. (AP Photo/Mark Hirsch)

Over the summer I wrote about two small tourist cabins installed on Park Avenue.

The sculptures, because that’s what they are, stand on the median between 52nd and 53rd streets.

They were created by Donna Dennis, who grew up in Rye and is a professor of sculpture at Purchase College.

They had been scheduled to come down last month, but now can be seen until Dec. 2.

Here’s a photograph of one of the cabins this summer. I wonder how it will look in snow.

“Med school can be a real killer”

That’s the headline of a flyer produced by the Committee to Abolish the Dog Lab at New York Medical College.

The committee is trying to convince the college to stop using live dogs in its physiology course, and switch to simulators instead. New York Medical College is the only medical school in New York state that continues the practice. (The dogs are killed at the end of the lab.)

The college is reviewing its policy and expects a decision within three weeks.

I wrote about the issue in my column today.

If you want more information about the committee, here’s a phone number: 914-835-5161.

Tomorrow night at Maryknoll, two Sing Sing Prison chaplains will talk about their visit to Rwanda last spring and the country’s Peace and Reconciliation Commission.

The Rev. Petero Sabune from Rwanda and the Rev. Ron Lemmert will be joined by a Rwandan genocide survivor, Dativa Nyangezi Ngaboyisonga. She is a warden at a prison in the capital, Kigali, where more than half of the 6,000 inmates have been convicted of participating in the genocide.

The evening begins at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers Center, 55 Ryder Road, Ossining.

CORRECTION: The Rev. Sabune is from Uganda.

Falling flags on Veterans Day. Ouch.

Watch the video here.

PHOTO: Clinton signs an autograph following a Veterans Day event on Sunday at the convention center in Waterloo, Iowa. (AP Photo/Brian Ray)

Bernard Kerik was indicted Friday on 16 counts of conspiracy, tax fraud and lying to the White House.

Wearing a navy pinstripe suit, a red tie and a U.S. flag pin in his lapel, he pleaded not guilty and vowed to fight the charges.

His supporters meanwhile have formed The Bernard Kerik Legal Defense Trust to help him.

“Having incurred legal fees in the course of the Bronx and federal investigation and paid a substantial financial penalty when he settled the Bronx case, and having had his business impacted by the intense publicity, he is not in a position to fund a proper defense to this federal case,� reads a section about the trust on its Web site.

There’s another section on Kerik’s heroism and distinguish service, which mentions his nomination for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security but not his reasons for withdrawing his name. And photos of Kerik with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Gov. George Pataki and President George Bush.

For everyone who doubts Rudy Giuliani can win over the country’s evangelicals, there’s this: Today, he got endorsed by the Rev. Pat Robertson.

It’s a huge endorsement for the former mayor. He’s at odds with conservative Christians over abortion rights especially and other evangelicals have threatened to back a third-party candidate if he gets the Republican nomination.

But those are the leaders. I don’t know what ordinary church-goers will do. Earlier this year, I wrote a column about support Giuliani seemed to have among some people who identified themselves as evangelicals, many of whom said security was their top issue.

And here’s the start of Robertson’s statement today: “To me, the overriding issue before the American people is the defense of our population from the bloodlust of Islamic terrorists.”

He goes on to talk about massive government waste, crushing federal deficits, nuclear arms in the hands of North Korea and Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, Pakistan, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The only allusion to abortion? The selection of future justices of the Supreme Court and lower court judges.

Giuliani has pledged to appoint “strict constructionists� along the lines of Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito.

PHOTO: Pat Robertson endorses Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani today. Robert, a prominent Christian leader and social conservative: “Rudy Giuliani took a city that was in decline and considered ungovernable and reduced its violent crime, revitalized its core, dramatically lowered its taxes, cut through a welter of bureaucratic regulations, and did so in the spirit of bipartisanship which is so urgently needed in Washington today.” (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has updated her views on drivers’ licenses and illegal immigrants. Is it clearer? I leave it up to you.

On licenses for illegal immigrants, Clinton now says it depends on the state

By BETH FOUHY, Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Pressed anew on whether she supports granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday it depends on the state.
In a CNN interview, Clinton, a New York senator, reiterated her support for governors who must contend with large populations of undocumented workers in the absence of federal immigration reform. She then was asked whether she thinks it is a “good idea� for governors to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.
“It depends upon what state they’re in. It depends upon what they think the risks are,� Clinton said. “A governor of New York that has a lot of immigrants, many of whom we know are not there legally, has to worry about security. A governor of another state where that’s not a problem doesn’t.�

Clinton was widely criticized after a televised debate last week when she hedged an answer on whether she supported New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s effort to grant licenses to illegal immigrants. Clinton said she understood why governors are forced to take such steps but said she didn’t necessarily agree with the policy.
She has struggled since then to clarify her stance on the matter, which is widely unpopular in most states, including New York. Eight states, including conservative Utah, do not require proof of citizenship to obtain a driver’s license.
Clinton campaign aides say she generally supports the concept of granting licenses to illegal immigrants, in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform.
“This issue has been so politicized and I understand that because you can score points,� Clinton told CNN, adding that she felt the matter didn’t lend itself to a 30-second answer in a debate format.

PHOTO: Sen. Hillary Clinton boards the CNN Election Express in Iowa today

…like me who are not old enough to vote?”

You may have heard of them, the Scholastic Kids Press Corps, a team of student reporters ages 10 to 14, covering the race to the White House.

Before you dismiss the whole thing as cute, consider this question:

“There is currently a lot of debate about illegal immigrants being able to apply for a driver’s license in my state. Governor Spitzer is currently recommending 3 different driver’s licenses including one for illegal immigrants. What is your position on this?â€?

That was suggested by one of the young reporters, 13-year-old Shannon Kaupp from upstate New York, before the debate last week in Philadelphia.

The very same question U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton stumbled over.

The students also wanted to know why President Bush had not been impeached, given his low approval rating, what the candidates would do to make schools safe from gangs and violence, and whether they would set a date for American troops to leave Iraq.

So be on the lookout for these kids. They wear red polo shirts, and they’ll be covering the debates and the caucuses and the primaries, and interviewing the candidates themselves.

I’ll be writing about them later this month.

PHOTO: Democratic candidate for President John Edwards poses with some of the kid reporters at a rally in Davenport, Iowa, last month. (Photo by Leigh Ann Schroeder)