9/11 panel: little progress on security, preparedness
By Associated Press
Published September 15, 2005
WASHINGTON - The federal government has made "minimal progress" toward enacting many of the 9/11 commission's recommendations for security and preparedness, leaders of the independent panel said Wednesday.
In the first of three report cards four years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, former members of the commission said that efforts to free up parts of the radio spectrum for use by emergency workers, set priorities for federal grants and tighten border security have fallen short.
These proposals are "just not a top priority," said Thomas Kean, the former Republican governor of New Jersey who served as chairman of the commission that examined the attacks. The commission issued a report that became a bestselling book last year.
However, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security took issue with some of the report card. "The U.S. government has taken action on 37 of 39 recommendations of the 9/11 commission," said Valerie Smith, a department spokeswoman.
Kentucky governor fires nine over hiring scandal
FRANKFORT, Ky. - Gov. Ernie Fletcher on Wednesday fired nine members of his administration in a scandal over hiring practices and apologized to people hurt by hiring errors.
One of those fired was Richard Murgatroyd, Fletcher's deputy chief of staff and close friend.
A grand jury, impaneled in June, has charged nine current and former members of Fletcher's administration with misdemeanor violations of the state's personnel law for allegedly basing hiring on political considerations rather than merit.
Some of those charged were senior members of the administration, including Murgatroyd. But Murgatroyd was the only senior official fired. Fletcher left acting Transportation Secretary Bill Nighbert and deputy Secretary Jim Adams in their jobs.
Study: Adult use of ADHD medicines has doubled
TRENTON, N.J. - Use of prescription drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is growing at a faster rate among adults than children, new research shows.
From 2000 to 2004, use of drugs that help keep ADHD patients focused doubled among adults aged 20 to 44, but rose only 56 percent among children, according to data compiled by Medco Health Solutions, one of the country's largest prescription benefit managers.
Medco's study, to be released today, shows use rose 113 percent among women 20 to 44 and 104 percent among women 45 to 64, both far more than among men. Meanwhile, spending on the medicines quadrupled.
Nearly 1.5-million Americans 20 and older are using the drugs.
New unit to investigate civil rights era cases
WASHINGTON - A new Justice Department office would investigate and prosecute "cold case" murders from the civil rights era, under a measure approved by the Senate on Wednesday.
The Unsolved Crimes Section would target pre-1970 homicides motivated by racial hatred that remain unsolved, often because of lax state and federal prosecution at the time they occurred.
The bill was inspired by the case of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy who was murdered in 1955 after being accused of whistling at a white woman in Mississippi, said Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., who co-sponsored the legislation.
