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Letter to the editor

Rep. Doolittle to quit amid Abramoff case

By Times Wires
Published January 11, 2008

WASHINGTON

Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., under criminal investigation along with his wife concerning their dealings with Jack Abramoff and other lobbyists, announced Thursday that he will not seek re-election. Doolittle, a member of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay's leadership team, narrowly beat back a Democratic challenger in his heavily Republican district 14 months ago. He bowed to months of pressure from House GOP leaders in deciding not to seek a 10th term this year.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

Storms bringtwo deaths, floods

Powerful thunderstorms packing heavy rain and high winds pushed across Alabama and Mississippi on Thursday, causing scattered property damage and at least two traffic deaths. Several tornado watches or warnings were issued Thursday in both states, but no touchdowns were immediately confirmed. In Mississippi, a motorist was killed after colliding with a Lamar County deputy head-on during the height of the storm, while a single-vehicle accident in Jones County claimed another life. In Alabama's Lamar County near the Mississippi line, at least two houses were destroyed in Sulligent, the National Weather Service said. In east-central Illinois, days of springlike weather that brought heavy rainfall and melting snow caused severe flooding that forced hundreds of people to evacuate.

WASHINGTON

Ginsburg speaks on her heritage

Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Thursday that the change in U.S. acceptance of Jews can be seen on the Supreme Court, where two members are Jewish yet their faith played no role in their selection. Ginsburg, appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton in 1993, is the sixth Jewish justice. Justice Stephen Breyer, named the following year, is the seventh. "Our religion had nothing to do with our appointment," Ginsburg said. Referring to her five Jewish predecessors, she said, "We're justices who happen to be Jews. We're not Jewish justices as they were." Ginsburg, 74, spoke at a synagogue about her heritage and participation in the television documentary The Jewish Americans that is airing over three weeks on public television. Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish justice, joined the court in 1916. In the documentary, Ginsburg describes Brandeis' encounters with anti-Semitism on the court.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.

Schwarzenegger calls fiscal crisis

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a fiscal emergency in California on Thursday and released a state budget proposal that would close an estimated $14-billion gap by cutting education funds, releasing inmates and closing dozens of state parks. The emergency declaration forces lawmakers to vote on many of the cuts within 45 days. If they take no action, they cannot address other state business. The $141-billion plan would give schools 10 percent less money, release 22,000 inmates and shut 48 state parks. Cuts or freezes in funding for children of welfare recipients and elderly, blind or disabled people also are in the plan.

[Last modified January 11, 2008, 01:47:27]