WASHINGTON – Support for President Bush’s plan to create personal Social Security retirement accounts that might include stocks or mutual funds has dropped over the last month among Americans under age 30, according to a poll released Thursday. Young adults have been the strongest supporters of the proposal for months. Support among those 18-29 dipped from seven in 10 to just under half, according to the poll by the Pew Research Center for the People &the Press. A quarter of young adults now say they’re not sure how they feel about such personal accounts.
Texas: Bush itinerary expands
President Bush plans to visit the Netherlands and the former Soviet republics of Georgia and Latvia in May, along with a previously announced trip to Russia to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, a White House spokesman said Thursday. The May 6-10 trip will mark Bush’s fourth visit to Russia since entering office and his first to Latvia, the Netherlands and Georgia. Bush will arrive in Riga on May 6 for talks with Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga and will take part in a summit with leaders of the Baltic states of Estonia and Lithuania, he said.
Death toll rises in refinery blast
The death toll in a thunderous explosion at a BP refinery climbed to 15 Thursday as investigators tried to determine the cause of the worst accident in the nation’s gas and chemical industry in nearly 15 years. A worker who was thought to have checked out and left the Texas City refinery was instead found dead near the site of the fiery blast, a BP spokesman said. More than 100 people were injured Wednesday in the explosion, which a plant manager said happened during maintenance work in an area of the refinery that boosts the octane level of gasoline.
New Jersey: NTSB probes crash
A commuter jet that shot off a runway and crashed into a warehouse during a takeoff attempt last month may have been too nose-heavy, investigators said. The crash at Teterboro Airport on Feb. 2 injured 20 people, including the driver of one of two cars hit by the Canadair CL-600 as it hurtled across a busy highway. Wednesday, the National Transportation Safety Board said that the plane’s weight distribution may have contributed to the crash. Investigators found the jet’s center of gravity “to be well forward of the allowable limit,” but did not say why.
Georgia: Ex-hostage gets $70,000
The woman who said she gained the trust of suspected courthouse gunman Brian Nichols by talking about her faith while he held her hostage was presented with $70,000 in reward money Thursday for helping authorities capture him. Ashley Smith, a 26-year-old widowed mother of one, was held for seven hours by Nichols at her suburban Atlanta home March 12 before he let her go. She then made the 911 call that led to his arrest. “My life is testimony that God can use us even in the midst of tragedy and miracles do happen,” she said.
Judge overrules sheriff’s mass firings
A judge ruled Thursday that a suburban Atlanta sheriff had no right to fire 27 employees en masse when he took office in January. The Superior Court judge said the employees were protected under Clayton County’s civil service system. Sheriff Victor Hill had argued that the employees could be fired at will. The sheriff said he will appeal. “We’re going to look at this as round one,” he said. The employees have sued Hill, accusing him of racial, gender and age discrimination. Nineteen of them are white; Hill is black.
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