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Nation in brief

AARP sues over change to Medicare

By wire services
Published February 5, 2005

PHILADELPHIA - The nation's largest advocacy group for older Americans asked a federal court Friday to block the government from making a change that would allow companies to offer fewer benefits to retirees when they become eligible for Medicare.

The AARP claimed in a suit filed in Philadelphia that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission would overstep its authority if it approved rules exempting retiree health benefits from federal age discrimination law.

The new rule would allow companies that offer benefits to retirees to reduce or eliminate them once retirees turned 65 and qualified for Medicare.

Supporters of the rule change, including employer groups and some unions, had argued that employers might stop offering retiree benefits altogether if they were forced to provide the same care to younger and older retirees.

A U.S. district judge issued an order late Friday afternoon blocking the EEOC from implementing any rule change for at least 60 days while the lawsuit makes its way through the courts.

WASHINGTON - Senior members of U.S. special operations forces will receive bonuses of up to $150,000 for staying in the military, an increase designed to keep the commandos from bolting to the more lucrative private sector.

The policy, announced by Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, provides an array of bonuses and incentives to experienced members of Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, and Air Force pararescuemen, plus a few other specialties.

The largest bonus, $150,000, would go to senior sergeants, petty officers and warrant officers who sign up for an additional six years of service. Personnel who sign up for shorter extensions would receive smaller bonuses, down to $8,000 for one year. About 1,500 operators are eligible.

FLIGHT 93 MEMORIAL: Five designs were unveiled Friday for a memorial to the 40 passengers and crew who died Sept. 11, 2001, on hijacked United Airlines Flight 93 - including groves of trees, reflecting pools, lakes and a 21/2-mile-long "Bravery Wall." A panel of 10 people, including victims' relatives, chose the finalists from 1,011 designs. The five final designs were posted at www.flight93memorialproject.org A second panel will announce a winning design by Sept. 11.

[Last modified February 5, 2005, 00:58:03]