LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“It’s almost too delicious to believe, my
friend, that you are in the Rotunda of our Capitol, the centerpiece of our democracy as an elected member of parliament.”
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
to Burma democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who accepted the Congressional Gold Medal, which she was awarded in 2008 while under house arrest for her peaceful struggle against military rule in Burma Article, 2AEndeavour’s Houston stop bittersweet
HOUSTON - Waving American flags and space-shuttle toys, hundreds of people lined the streets and crowded the airport Wednesday as they watched space shuttle Endeavour touch down in Houston on its way to be permanently displayed in California.
Houston, home to Johnson Space Center, lost its bid for a shuttle after the White House retired the fleet last summer. Instead, Houston got a replica that used to be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“I think it’s a pretty rotten deal, basically,” said Scott Rush, 54, of Crystal Beach, Texas. “The one we’re getting is a toy. An important toy, but a toy nonetheless.”
Earlier Wednesday, hundreds gathered in Cape Canaveral, Fla., to bid Endeavour farewell. The shuttle, which is riding piggyback on a jumbo jet, was to spend the night in Houston before continuing its journey to Los Angeles International Airport, where it’s scheduled to land Friday.
In mid-October, Endeavour will be transported down city streets to the California Science Center.
This is the last flight for a space shuttle. Atlantis will remain at Kennedy for display. Discovery already is at the Smithsonian Institution, parked at a hangar in Virginia since April.
Arrest made in bomb threat at LSU
BATON ROUGE - Police have arrested a suspect in the bomb threat that led to the evacuation of the Louisiana State University campus earlier this week.
LSU Police Capt. Cory Lalonde said officers arrested William Bouvay Jr., 42, of Baton Rouge late Tuesday after an investigation by multiple law-enforcement agencies.
Lalonde said Bouvay was not an LSU student and appeared to have no connection to the campus. He did not know what the suspect’s motive might have been.
No explosives were found on the campus, which was evacuated after the threat was called in.
Investigators don’t think Bouvay is connected to threats made last week at college campuses in Texas, North Dakota and Ohio.
Medicare Advantage to cost bit more
WASHINGTON - Monthly premiums for popular private insurance plans through Medicare are slightly increasing next year, the Obama administration said Wednesday.
Average monthly premiums for Medicare Advantage plans will rise by $1.47 in 2013 to $32.59, said deputy Medicare administrator Jonathan Blum. When premiums and out-of-pocket costs such as co-payments are combined, Medicare estimates that beneficiaries will actually spend less on average.
Since the number is an average, some beneficiaries will see their premiums and cost-sharing go up; others will see a decrease. Senior citizens can shop around for a better deal during open enrollment season, which starts Oct. 15.
Nearly 1.5 million more senior citizens are expected to join the plans for next year, continuing a strong growth trend. That would take total enrollment to 14.5 million, approaching 30 percent of all Medicare beneficiaries.
Republicans dismissed Wednesday’s news, saying the effect of Medicare cuts is being temporarily masked by an $8 billion bonus program the administration started last year.
350,000 Chicago pupils back in class
CHICAGO - Chicago children returned to school Wednesday, less than a day after teachers ended a sevenday strike that disrupted the daily routines of thousands of families.
The strike stranded roughly 350,000 students and left many parents scrambling to arrange alternative care for children even as the district kept more than 140 schools open for several hours a day for meals and activities.
Union delegates voted overwhelmingly Tuesday evening to suspend the walkout after reviewing a proposed contract settlement with the nation’s third-largest school district. They said the offer wasn’t perfect, but that it included enough concessions on proposed new teacher evaluations, recall rights for laid-off teachers and classroom conditions.
The contract will now be submitted to a vote by the union’s full membership of more than 26,000 teachers and support-staff members.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 09/20/2012