WASHINGTON – The Senate rejected an effort by Democrats on Thursday to give older Americans and the disabled more time to enroll in Medicare’s prescription drug benefit. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., offered an amendment to tax legislation that would have given Medicare beneficiaries until Dec. 31 to enroll without penalty. The current deadline is May 15. The amendment also would have allowed people to switch their prescription drug coverage to another plan if they were unhappy with current coverage.
Texas: GOP bank records sought
Prosecutors investigating former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on felony conspiracy and money-laundering charges are seeking bank records for the Texas Republican Party. District Attorney Ronnie Earle issued a subpoena Thursday ordering Frost Bank to produce monthly statements and signature cards from August 2002 to January 2003 for accounts connected to the party or the Texas Republican Congressional Committee. Earle contends DeLay and his associates tried to circumvent state law barring spending corporate money on most campaign expenses.
Georgia: Plans set for King funeral
Coretta Scott King will be given a public viewing in the rotunda of the Georgia Capitol at the governor’s invitation, her family announced Thursday in a measure of how far the South has come since the civil rights era. The King family announced funeral plans for the widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. that include a viewing at the Capitol on Saturday; another viewing on Monday at Ebenezer Baptist Church, King’s longtime pulpit; and a funeral in suburban Atlanta on Tuesday at the 10,000-seat New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, where the Kings’ youngest child, Bernice, is a minister.
Louisiana: Demolitions to begin
After being stymied by angry residents and a lawsuit, New Orleans on Thursday began sending demolition notices to the owners of homes wrecked by Hurricane Katrina that are blocking streets and sidewalks. The demolitions are deemed essential in the city’s rebuilding efforts, but they have become an emotional issue with some residents vowing to stand in the way of bulldozers. The city has also come under fire for targeting buildings some people contend might be salvageable.
Alabama: Official English loses
A judge ruled Thursday that offering driver’s license exams in a dozen languages is not in violation of a 1990 amendment to the state constitution, which declares English the official language of Alabama. The circuit judge said the amendment “makes English Alabama’s official language – not its only language.” His ruling came in a suit filed against the state by a nonprofit group called ProEnglish, which says the test should only be administered in English.
New York: Empire State suicide
A 21-year-old man jumped to his death from the Empire State Building, police said Thursday. Dovid Abramowitz had bought a ticket to the 86th-floor observation deck, but found his way to a vacant office on the 66th floor, where he jumped Wednesday afternoon, a police spokesman said. His body was discovered on a sixth-floor landing. More than 30 people have committed suicide at the building since it opened in 1931. Before Wednesday, the most recent was believed to have been in 2004, when a man jumped from the observation deck.
Wisconsin: Sex change face-off
A new Wisconsin law barring the use of state tax money for prisoner sex changes won’t stop four inmates from getting hormone treatments until at least August. The law took effect last week, but two groups have filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the inmates, challenging the statute as unconstitutional. A judge issued an injunction that prevents the state from stopping the treatments until he holds a hearing on Aug. 24. The law bars the state from using tax dollars for hormone therapy or gender reassignment surgery to treat prisoners for gender identity disorder.
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