Nation & World

<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge) Sandra Day O'Connor (click to enlarge) Brian Crowder   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Do you have a news tip? newstips@heraldnet.com | 425.339.3400   Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008 Nation/World Briefly: United Way to target education, income, health WASHINGTON -- The United Way plans to announce today that it will direct its giving toward ambitious 10-year goals that would cut in half the high school dropout rate and the number of working families struggling financially. The nonprofit organization also wants to increase by one-third the number of youths and adults considered healthy. The announcement comes as it releases a report that finds one in four high school students does not graduate on time, one in four families do not earn enough to provide for their household, and two in three young people and adults lead unhealthy lives, including those who engage in such risky behaviors as drug use, binge drinking and unsafe sex. Although local affiliates historically have funded a variety of programs, United Way leaders say the giving has done little to solve the country's social problems. Today, they will pledge to spend the money raised in the next 10 years to support programs directly related to education, income and health care. @3. Headline News Briefs 14 no:O'Connor pleads for Alzheimer's aid Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor made public her family's private battle with the mind-destroying illness Wednesday as she urged Congress to speed research in hopes of slowing a coming epidemic. "My beloved husband John suffers from Alzheimer's," she told the Senate Special Committee on Aging. "He's not in very good shape at present." More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease. The number is poised to skyrocket, with 16 million people forecast to have it by 2050. It already afflicts one in eight people 65 and older, and nearly one in two people over 85. Tennessee: Rude 911 operator fired A Nashville 911 operator has been fired after he was recorded saying that he didn't "give a s---" about what happened to a woman who had just called to report her ex-boyfriend was threatening her. He had hung up before making the comment, but was still being recorded. Emergency Communications Center spokeswoman Amanda Sluss said Wednesday that Frank Roth was in training during the February incident and was fired a month later. Florida: Wildfire arson suspect arrested Authorities arrested a man they say was seen throwing a Molotov cocktail into the woods Wednesday in the town of Palm Bay, where several homes have been gutted by wildfires this week. The small blaze was quickly extinguished. Officials also asked Brian Crowder about larger wildfires that have found ample fuel in developments in the region, blazes he denied involvement with. In central Florida, officials investigated how a Navy fighter jet dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb a mile off target, sparking a wildfire in the Ocala National Forest. About 150 acres burned, according to the Naval Air Station Jacksonville. Texas: Vioxx verdict overturned A Texas appeals court on Wednesday overturned a multimillion-dollar verdict against Merck & Co. in one of the few trials it lost over its withdrawn painkiller Vioxx. A jury in Rio Grande City in April 2006 awarded $32 million to the widow of 71-year-old Leonel Garza, a short-term Vioxx user who died of a heart attack in 2001. That award later was cut to about $7.75 million under Texas law limiting damages. A three-judge panel of the Texas 4th Court of Appeals said Wednesday that Garza's family did not prove his brief use of Vioxx caused two blood clots that the family's attorneys argued triggered his heart attack. Israel: Bush touts democracy on Israel's 60th birthday President Bush put an optimistic face on fading hopes for Mideast peace Wednesday, declaring that Israel's 60-year triumph over war and tragedy shows democracy can succeed everywhere. Intended as an occasion for celebrating Israel's birthday, Bush's upbeat message instead was marred by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, wounding at least 14 people in Ashkelon, and threats of heavy retaliation by Israel. In 1948, the United States was the first country to recognize Israel, 11 minutes after its statehood declaration. Lebanon: Anti-Hezbollah laws reversed The U.S.-backed Cabinet on Wednesday reversed measures against the militant Hezbollah movement that set off Lebanon's worst violence since the 1975-90 civil war. Clashes between government supporters and opponents broke out last week after the Cabinet challenged the Iranian-allied Hezbollah with decisions to sack the airport security chief for alleged ties to the group and to declare the militants' private telephone network illegal. At least 54 people were killed. From Herald news services

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