LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We all know the weather is unpredictable and we could have a sudden, last-minute change.”
Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen,
as those involved in oil-spill cleanup efforts in the Gulf kept watch on a tropical depression that hit Mexico on Sunday Article, this page Senate’s Byrd, 92,
ailing in hospital
WASHINGTON - Sen.
Robert C. Byrd, who holds the record as the longest serving member of Congress, was seriously ill Sunday in a Washington-area hospital, his office said.
The 92-year-old West Virginia Democrat has been in the hospital since late last week, his office said in a statement. At first Byrd was believed to be suffering from heat exhaustion and severe dehydration, the statement said, but other conditions developed. His condition was described as serious.
In November, Byrd broke the record for congressional service that had been set by Democrat Carl Hayden of Arizona, who served in the House and Senate from 1912 to 1969.
Byrd has been in frail health in recent years and was hospitalized three times in 2009. He uses a wheelchair, but was present in March and voted “yes” for passage of the health-care overhaul.
Obama aims to sell wireless spectrum
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration is seeking to nearly double the wireless communications spectrum available for commercial use over the next 10 years, an effort that could greatly enhance the ability of consumers to send and receive video and data with smart phones and other hand-held devices.
President Barack Obama will sign a presidential memorandum today that aims to make available for auction some 500 megahertz of spectrum that is now controlled by the federal government and private companies, administration officials said Sunday. Most of that would be designated for commercial use in mobile broadband and similar applications, though aspects of the plan will require congressional approval.
The effort embraces recommendations made by the Federal Communications Commission in its National Broadband Plan, which was released in March and encourages the expansion of high-speed wireless broadband services.
Proceeds from the auctions would go in part to finance the construction of improved communications systems for police, fire and other public-safety agencies.
Blagojevich calls hopeful to testify
CHICAGO - U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias said Sunday that he has been subpoenaed to testify at the corruption trial of ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The first-term Illinois treasurer, a Democrat who’s locked in a race for President Barack Obama’s old Senate seat with Republican Congressman Mark Kirk, said he was subpoenaed by Blagojevich’s defense team.
Giannoulias has said he introduced a friend of Obama’s to Tom Balanoff, an official with the Service Employees International Union. The friend, Valerie Jarrett, purportedly was Obama’s choice to replace him in the Senate after he was elected president.
Prosecutors have said Blagojevich sought favors from the White House in return for Jarrett’s appointment and delivered the message through Balanoff.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 06/28/2010