More police sent to crime-plagued Cuidad Juarez to control traffickersCIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) — Jet planes loaded with 450 federal police officers arrived in this city in the city known as Mexico’s murder capital, on Tuesday to bolster a federal force struggling to control violent drug traffickers.The law-enforcement surge boosts the number of federal agents in Ciudad Juarez to 3,500 and comes on the same day U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and top-level security officials met with Mexico’s leaders and pledged to help tackle the problem.Bin Laden’s teenage daughter released from Iran, in SyriaBEIRUT (AP) — Osama bin Laden’s teenage daughter has left Iran after living under house arrest there since her family fled Afghanistan in 2001, her family said Tuesday.Attorneys general from 13 states sue over health care overhaulTALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys general from 13 states sued the federal government Tuesday, claiming the landmark health care overhaul is unconstitutional just seven minutes after President Barack Obama signed it into law.The lawsuit was filed in Pensacola after the Democratic president signed the 10-year, $938 billion bill the House passed Sunday night.New Mexico zoo investigates death of dismembered giraffeALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A beloved Rio Grande Zoo giraffe was dismembered and placed in a trash bin following its death, and an outraged mayor of Albuquerque has ordered an investigation into it.Mayor Richard Berry said through a spokesman Tuesday that he will take appropriate action when he finds out who is responsible. He has ordered a report on the incident to be done by Friday morning.”This is nothing short of outrageous and the mayor has expressed that very publicly. This is unacceptable behavior from a city employee,” said mayoral spokesman Chris Ramirez.90-year-old NY man charged with killing his 89-year-old wifeAMHERST, N.Y. (AP) — A 90-year-old man has been charged with killing his 89-year-old wife in their home in a retirement community in western New York in what police will describe only as an apparent domestic dispute.Virginia Bunz’s body was discovered around 10:25 a.m. Sunday by a relative, who called 911. Her husband, John, was found in the apartment with self-inflicted wounds and was taken to a hospital, Amherst Assistant Police Chief Timothy Green said Tuesday.Lawmakers criticizes colleges over budget cuts, unncessary spending(AP) — The head of the House budget-writing committee suggested Tuesday that he won’t shield Louisiana’s public colleges and universities from cuts when federal stimulus dollars disappear, criticizing the schools for what he called poor planning and unnecessary spending.Rep. Jim Fannin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the institutions did too little to improve student performance when they received hefty budget increases over the past decade, before three recent rounds of state funding cuts.”Even though we put all those hundreds of millions of dollars into higher ed, we didn’t get a better outcome,” Fannin, D-Jonesboro, told higher education leaders at a budget hearing. He added, “It looks like we created programs when we had those dollars that maybe we shouldn’t have created.”La. Attorney General Caldwell joins in lawsuit against health care bill(AP) — Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell is the only Democrat to join a dozen other attorneys general in a lawsuit against the federal government over the newly passed health care revamp. The lawsuit was filed in Florida on Tuesday. It calls the federal legislation unconstitutional, saying that the federal government can’t require people to buy insurance.La. to pay federal government $122 million as part Medicaid settlement(AP) — Louisiana will pay $122 million to the federal government as part of a settlement of claims that Medicaid money was misspent years ago. Lawmakers gave final approval to the repayment plan Tuesday. The first payment of $30 million is due next week. All the money will come from a state trust fund set aside for elderly care.
Nation & World 3/24/10
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March 23, 2010