Austin Morning News with Mark, Ed and Sam

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3/9/2010 Court to rule in military funeral protest case By MARK SHERMAN The Associated Press Monday, March 8, 2010; 3:42 PM WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is entering an emotionally charged dispute between the grieving father of a Marine who died in Iraq and the anti-gay protesters who picket military funerals with inflammatory messages like "Thank God for dead soldiers." The court agreed Monday to consider whether the protesters' message, no matter how provocative or upsetting, is protected by the First Amendment or limited by the competing privacy and religious rights of the mourners. The justices will hear an appeal from a Marine's father to reinstate a $5 million verdict against the protesters after they picketed outside his son's funeral in Maryland four years ago. Members of a Kansas-based church have picketed military funerals to spread their belief that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality. Link to full story Read Full Story
3/9/2010 Obama launches attack on health insurance companies By Amy Goldstein and Scott Wilson Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, March 9, 2010 The White House is mounting a stinging, sustained broadside against health insurance rate increases as President Obama and his aides enter what they hope will be the final stretch of a year-long political war over health-care reform. Obama and his health secretary staged a two-pronged attack Monday in a stern letter to health insurance chief executives and a speech in which the president castigated insurance companies 22 times. "How much higher do premiums have to rise," he demanded, "before we do something about it?" The messages are part of a strategy that Obama and those around him have begun to employ lately, to ratchet up the pace and the populist appeal of their rhetoric against the health insurance industry. The barbed tone moves far beyond that of the 2008 presidential campaign, when Obama began to say that medical coverage should be accessible and affordable for more Americans. Link to full story Read Full Story
3/9/2010 Former congressman Massa says Democrats set him up over health care By Paul Kane Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, March 9, 2010 Conservative activists rallied Monday to the side of a liberal New York Democrat who had resigned from the House, after he charged that his party's leaders had conspired to oust him over his opposition to President Obama's health-care legislation. Eric Massa's resignation Monday came after an ethics investigation into his conduct, and allegations of sexual harassment of staffers, became public. And his remarks on a Sunday radio show were only the latest in a series of explanations of why he was leaving the House. Nevertheless, conservative blogs touted his accusations against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) as the latest evidence of Democrats' bare-knuckled political machinations to get a health-care bill to Obama's desk. Link to full story Read Full Story
3/9/2010 Court awards bullied student $800,000 BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER In what experts say could be a landmark decision, a Michigan school district has been ordered to pay $800,000 this week to a student who claimed the school did not do enough to protect him from years of bullying, some sexually tinged. This week's jury verdict against Hudson Area Schools puts districts on notice that it's not enough to stop a student from bullying another. There needs to be a concerted effort to stop systemic bullying, too. Essentially, the federal court ruling says schools can be held responsible for what students do, if there is a pattern of harassment or if they don't do enough to provide a safe environment. Link to full story Read Full Story
3/9/2010 Sen. John Cornyn says Texas only 'marginally' Republican By TOM BENNING / The Dallas Morning News tbenning@dallasnews.com WASHINGTON – Sen. John Cornyn called Texas only “marginally” Republican this morning, less than a week after a primary that drew the most GOP voters in at least 30 years. Cornyn offered that analysis of the Texas political landscape as he fielded questions about the possibility of a special election in the event Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison resigns before her full term ends in 2012. "Texas is still a marginally red state, although that will be tested by Bill White, who is a serious contender for governor," he told reporters. Link to full story Read Full Story
3/9/2010 White House Easter Egg Roll to Be Environmentally Friendly (Fox News) - This year’s White House Easter Egg roll will be eggs-actly what the bunny ordered. The environmentally concerned bunny, that is. A White House announcement Monday said the eggs at this year’s April 5 roll will be made from paperboard that contains no wood fibers from endangered forests, is recyclable and features vegetable-oil based inks and a water-based coating. What’s more, they’ll come in purple, pink, green and yellow and feature the stamped signatures of both President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. LINK TO FULL STORY Read Full Story
3/8/2010 Program Will Pay Homeowners to Sell at a Loss By DAVID STREITFELD Published: March 7, 2010 In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave. This latest program, which will allow owners to sell for less than they owe and will give them a little cash to speed them on their way, is one of the administration’s most aggressive attempts to grapple with a problem that has defied solutions. More than five million households are behind on their mortgages and risk foreclosure. The government’s $75 billion mortgage modification plan has helped only a small slice of them. Consumer advocates, economists and even some banking industry representatives say much more needs to be done. Link to full story Read Full Story
3/8/2010 Locked, Loaded, and Ready to Caffeinate By IAN URBINA Published: March 7, 2010 For years, being able to carry a concealed handgun has been a sacred right for many gun enthusiasts. In defending it, Charlton Heston, the actor and former president of the National Rifle Association, used to say that the flock is safer when the wolves cannot tell the difference between the lions and the lambs. But a grass-roots effort among some gun rights advocates is shifting attention to a different goal: exercising the right to carry unconcealed weapons in the 38 or more states that have so-called open-carry laws allowing guns to be carried in public view with little or no restrictions. The movement is not only raising alarm among gun control proponents but also exposing rifts among gun rights advocates. The call for gun owners to carry their guns openly in the normal course of business first drew broad attention last summer, when opponents of the Obama administration’s health care overhaul began appearing at town-hall-style meetings wearing sidearms. But in recent weeks, the practice has expanded as gun owners in California and other states that allow guns to be openly carried have tested the law by showing up at so-called meet-ups, ... Read Full Story
3/8/2010 10 Dallas ISD high schools have lowest federal rating By DIANE RADO / The Dallas Morning News drado@dallasnews.com With their school's future at stake, parents recently gathered in Pinkston High School's cavernous auditorium to hear about exciting changes – an academic overhaul that could save the school from closing. But Dallas administrators didn't mention that Pinkston's abysmal test scores and graduation rates triggered federal requirements to overhaul the school two years ago, and school officials resisted making dramatic changes such as closure or takeover. Link to full story Read Full Story
3/8/2010 Driver who hit Texas officer sentenced to death CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas—A man convicted of killing a Corpus Christi police officer during a high-speed chase has been sentenced to death. Jurors imposed the penalty for 22-year-old Daniel Lee Lopez of Corpus Christi on Friday. Lopez says he wanted a death sentence and never meant to kill the officer. Lopez was convicted Tuesday in the March 2009 death of 47-year-old Lt. Stuart Alexander. Link to full story Read Full Story