LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“While some level of administrative
costs are certainly necessary, we believe they have gotten out of hand.That is going to change.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius,
on new rules requiring insurers to spend $4 out of $5 they collect in premiums on patients Article, this page
N. Korea facility called ‘not crisis’
WASHINGTON - North Korea’s claim of having built a new uranium enrichment facility has potentially serious implications for U.S. national security but is not a crisis and may be nothing more than a “publicity stunt,” the State Department said Monday.
“We will assess the potential implications of a North Korean enrichment capability; we are doing due diligence” before deciding how to respond, department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.
“This reinforces, however, our long-standing concern about North Korea’s clandestine uranium enrichment activities. We will not be drawn into rewarding North Korea for bad behavior.
“They frequently anticipate doing something outrageous or provocative and forcing us to jump through hoops as a result. We’re not going to buy into this cycle,” Crowley added. “That said, this obviously is an issue of concern - not a crisis.”
Meanwhile, a U.S. special envoy said talks among six nations, including the U.S., to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs won’t resume while the reclusive state works on a new uranium enrichment facility.
U.S. special envoy on North Korea Stephen Bosworth made those comments today in Tokyo during a trip to Asia, which included South Korea.
Tom DeLay trial
moves to jurors
AUSTIN, Texas - The fate of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is now in the hands of a jury.
Jurors in DeLay’s money laundering trial in Austin began deliberating Monday after more than three hours of closing arguments.
In their final pitch to jurors, prosecutors said the former Republican lawmaker gave his blessing to a scheme to use his political action committee to illegally channel $190,000 in corporate donations into 2002 Texas legislative races through a money swap.
DeLay’s attorneys countered that he didn’t commit a crime because no corporate money was sent to Texas candidates. His attorneys said the swap was legal.
The once powerful but polarizing Houston-area congressman faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Hate crimes drop
from year before
WASHINGTON - The number of hate crimes and victims declined in 2009 compared with the previous year, the FBI reported Monday.
Of more than 6,000 hate crime offenders, more than six in 10 were white while nearly two in 10 were black.
Nearly half of the hate crime in 2009 were motivated by racial bias, nearly 20 percent by religious bias and more than 18 percent by sexual-orientation bias, the FBI said.
More than half the reported hate crimes against individual people were assaults, said the FBI. One out of a hundred hate crimes involved murder or rape.
There were 6,604 hate crimes reported last year, down from 7,783 in 2008.
There were 8,336 reported victims, down from 9,691 in 2008. The victim totals include not only individuals but also businesses, religious buildings and other institutions.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 11/23/2010