The nation in brief

LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The net benefit will be more money in Americans’ pockets, with greater

investment in the private economy instead of the federal government.”

Rick Perry,

Texas governor and Republican presidential

candidate, on his proposed tax overhaul offering an optional 20 percent flat tax on income Article, 3A

Congress honors first black Marines

WASHINGTON - The nation’s first black Marines received a rare national tribute Tuesday as the House voted 422-0 to award the Montford Point Marines with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor given by Congress.

In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the Marine Corps to accept blacks. The Marine Corps was the last military branch to do so.

The black Marines received their basic training adjacent to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, where conditions were harsh. The black Marines were not allowed to enter Camp Lejeune unless accompanied by a white officer. In the few times they participated in training exercises, they could not eat until the white Marines had finished. They were routinely passed over for promotions.

“People forget they were fighting two wars - both foreign and domestic,” Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., said.

About 19,000 men trained at Montford Point between 1942 and 1949. Most have since died. Eugene Groves, a staff sergeant who fought in Korea, was one of four Montford Point veterans on hand for the vote Tuesday. The lawmakers gave the four a standing ovation.

Largest U.S. nuclear bomb disabled

AMARILLO, Texas - The last of the nation’s most powerful nuclear bombs has been taken apart in Texas.

Technicians at the Pantex Plant near Amarillo removed the uranium Tuesday from the last of the nation’s largest nuclear bombs, a Cold War relic known as the B53.

The bomb put into service in 1962 was 600 times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, that killed as many as 140,000 people at the end of World War II.

Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman watched workers take the bomb apart. He said it’s “a milestone accomplishment” and a step toward President Barack Obama’s mission to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

The nation’s largest nuclear bomb now is the 1.2-megaton B83. The B53 was 9 megatons.

Boehner: Hold off on Russia WTO bid

WASHINGTON - House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that the Obama administration shouldn’t consider Russia’s decades-long bid to join the World Trade Organization until Moscow settles its border dispute with ex-Soviet state Georgia.

In a speech to a conservative think tank, the Ohio Republican said Russia has displayed an inclination to “restore Soviet-style power and influence,” using its wealth of natural resources as a political weapon.

Boehner pressured the administration to rethink its “reset” policy with Russia, and he questioned the U.S. role in the border fight weighing heavily on Russia’s bid to join the WTO by year’s end.

“The administration should resolve this stalemate in a manner that respects the territorial integrity of Georgia,” Boehner said. “Then - and only then - will movement on the WTO question be worth considering.”

White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said the administration “remains unwavering in its commitment to Georgia’s territorial integrity.”

Russia is the largest economy still outside the WTO, which regulates trade among 153 member states, despite being in talks to join since 1993.

SAT cheating prompts security review

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - A security company run by the former director of the FBI has been retained to review security on standardized testing procedures after an SAT cheating scandal on New York’s Long Island, officials with the nonprofit organizations behind the tests said Tuesday.

The officials from the College Board and Educational Testing Service made the announcement at a hearing of the New York state Senate’s subcommittee on higher education. The Educational Testing Service administers the SAT on behalf of the Princeton, N.J.-based College Board.

Sen. Kenneth LaValle, the subcommittee chairman, convened the hearing after seven current or former students at Great Neck North High School were arrested last month. Authorities said six of the students had a college student who had attended the high school take their exams for them in a quest for better scores.