Gibbs, Beth

The Star Tribune reported that the sponsor of a gay marriage bill in Maine received a standing ovation at a public hearing regarding gay marriage.

The crowd at a public hearing concerning same-sex marriage stood and applauded Sen. Dennis Damon on Wednesday, after he said the time had come to recognize gay marriages.

Damon said his proposal is backed by 60 co-sponsors and "recognizes the worth of every man and woman among us."

It is the goal of gay rights activists to legalize gay marriage in all six New England states by 2012. They are halfway there with legalization in Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

According to the Boston Herald, the hearing received more attendants than originally planned and was moved to the Augusta Civic Center.

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The Associated Press reported that DirecTV Inc. and Comcast will pay $3.2 million to settle claims that they called people who asked that the companies not call them, breaking the law.

The Federal Trade Commission announced Thursday, DirecTV Inc., a satellite television provider and Comcast, a cable company, will need to pay the fines for not following the Do Not Call registry law.

This is the second time DirecTV has paid such a fine, paying $5.3 million in a 2005 settlement.

After the registries creation in 2003, the FTC has brought more than 40 cases for company violations.

The registry has more than 167 million phone numbers. It prohibits telemarketers from calling those listed numbers and companies might be fined up to $16,000 for each violation.

Companies may call customers up to 18 months after their last purchase, payment or delivery. Political, charitable and survey work organizations are also exempt.

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The Star Tribune reported that the state of Vermont legalized gay marriage on Tuesday, becoming the fourth state to do so.

The Vermont House of Representatives voted to override Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto with a recorded 100-49 vote, the minimum vote required. The Senate voted to override the veto with a 23-5 vote.

Vermont joins Connecticut, Massachusetts and Iowa in being the first states to legalize gay marriage. It was the first state to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples.

Douglas expected the override, but said he was disappointed the attention of the congress was not on other issues.

"What really disappoints me is that we have spent some time on an issue during which another thousand Vermonters have lost their jobs," Douglas said Tuesday. "We need to turn out attention to balancing a budget without raising taxes, growing the economy, putting more people to work."

According to the New York Times, Vermont is the first state to legalize gay marriage through the legislature.

Many celebrated after the measure passed, including democratic state representative from Norwich Margaret Cheney.

“It’s a great day for equality,” Cheney said. “People saw this as an equality issue, and we’re proud that Vermont has led the way without a court order to provide equal benefits.”

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The New York Times reported that on Thursday that a Texan nurse has been charged with murdering five patients by injecting bleach into their veins, according to local authorities.

Kimberly Saenz, 35, was arrested this week in connection with an increase in deaths and sudden illnesses at the DaVita Dialysis clinic in Lufkin, Tex., one year ago. According to state records, in the five months before Saenz was fired on April 2008, 19 people died at the clinic, which is much higher than the state’s average.

According to police, they have found evidence that links Saenz to a least five of the deaths and also sickening five other patients. If Saenz is convicted, she faces the death penalty.

According to company officials, Saenz was fired April 29, 2008, after a patient reported that Saenz had been injecting an unusual fluid into the intravenous tube of another patient.

At the time of her arrest, at least two patients had seen her draw bleach into syringes and inject the bleach into patients.

According to the Associated Press, Saenz turned herself in on Wednesday.

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The Star Tribune reported that New York Sen. Charles Schumer announced Monday that he now supports gay marriage.

“It’s time. Equality is something that has always been a hallmark of America and no group should be deprived of it,” Mr. Schumer said in a statement. “New York, which has always been at the forefront on issues of equality, is appropriately poised to take a lead on this issue.”

Schumer made the announcement in an upscale Manhattan restaurant in front of gay leaders. Alan Van Capelle, the executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda said, “the room applauded.

Schumer was the only statewide Democratic official in New York who was in opposition of same-sex marriage until his announcement.

Some believe Schumer was pressured into changing his position to be in line with other Democratic officials.

After former Sen. Hilary Clinton, who did not support gay marriages, but supported civil unions, moved to the position of Secretary of State, she was replacement by Kirsten Gillibrand, who supports gay marriage. This change left Schumer as the last Democratic statewide official to oppose the marriages.

According to the New York Times, Micah Kellner, a former aide to Schumer and currently an openly gay New York Assembly member said Schumer’s support was not half-hearted.

“This was, ‘I’m going to be out front and take the lead on these issues.”

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The Star Tribune reported that seven Texan employees have been suspended for supposedly creating a “fight club” among residents of the state-run home for the mentally disabled where they work.

The fight clubs were discovered when a person gave an off-duty officer a cell phone that had videos of the fights at the Corpus Christi State School, Corpus Christi Police Captain Tim Wilson said.

The videos show employees watching the mentally disabled adult clients striking, punching and shoving each other, Wilson said.

Wilson said police expect to file charges against the employees by the end of the week.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the school has 375 residents and 877 employees.

The Texas Senate approved legislation that now waits for approval in the Texas House that should improve the conditions of the state-run schools.

“We cannot tolerate the abuse or neglect of citizens with these disabilities.“ State Sen. Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound said.

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The Star Tribune reported that on Monday, President Barack Obama is expected to sign an executive order that will reverse the restrictions made on federal government spending on embryonic stem cell research.

According to a senior administration official, Obama will have an event at the White house to announce the executive order.

The order will reverse that of George W. Bush’s, which said that funding would only go to stem cell research on cells created before Aug. 9, 2001.

Embryonic stem cells are capable of turning into any type of cell in the body and are therefore capable of creating replacement tissues to treat multiple diseases.

The research on the cells is controversial because in order to acquire the cells embryos must be destroyed.

According to the Washington Post, the cells that scientists are allowed to study under Bush’s executive order may have defects that could make them dangerous to transplant to patients. By reversing the restrictions, more cells that carry specific diseases can be studied.

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The Star Tribune reported that the Census Bureau released the results on Wednesday of the 2008 Current Population Survey on family structure, which showed large differences in living arrangements on the basis of race, ethnicity and income.

According to the study fewer than half of American families have a child living at home. This is due to a decline in fertility rates and the aging of the baby boomer generation.

According to the census, 25,173,000 married couples lived with children, which has declines in 1 million since 2007.

In marriage treads, a little more than half of men and women are married and living with their spouse, but among black men and women 33 percent live with a spouse.

Of nearly 67 million opposite-sex couples who live together, more than 60 million were married. The bureau did not count same-sex couples.

In parenting treads, 85 percent of Asian children, 78 percent of white non-Hispanic children, 70 percent of Hispanic children and 38 percent of black children lived with two parents.

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The Star Tribune reported that a bill passed in the North Dakota House of Representative that give a fertilized human egg the legal rights of a human being.

The bill is a challenge to Roe v. Wade and would make abortion illegal in the state.

The bill was approved with a vote of 51-41 on Tuesday. The bill now goes to the North Dakota senate.

The bill states that "any organism with the genome of homo sapiens" is a human protected by human rights under North Dakota law.

Rep. Dan Ruby, who sponsored the bill, said it does not ban abortion automatically.

"This is very simply defining when life begins, and giving that life some protections under our Constitution — the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Ruby said.

Critics of the bill say the bill will cost millions of government dollars to defend.

According to The Colorado Independent, critics also argue that the bill's broad language could also outlaw reproductive health care, contraception, in-vitro fertilization and stem cell research that involves fertilized eggs.

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The New York Times reported that the Senate was near giving approval to a near $787 billion economic stimulus package on Friday.

After its approval by the Senate, the bill will go to President Obama, who is ready to sign it. The package is an attempt to boost the economy to bring the United States out of a recession.

The package includes tax breaks, and federal money which will go to public works projects, health care and energy.

Although, there was little Republican support in the House of Representatives, it passed easily.

The Star Tribune reported that supporters of the measure said it would create or save 3.5 million jobs.

Some disagreed about the potential of the bill.

"The bill that was about jobs, jobs, jobs has turned into a bill that's about spending, spending, spending," House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio said.

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The New York Times reported that Tuesday Tom Daschle withdrew his nomination for Health and Human Services Department.

Former Senate Democratic leader, Daschle, was nominated by President Barack Obama, but withdrew his nomination due to tax problems.

President Obama had stated Monday that he would support Daschle through his tax issues. "I accept his decision with sadness and regret," said Obama on Tuesday.

Daschle had not paid $140,000 in backtaxes reported the New York Times.

Bill Burton, a White House spokesman, told reporters that Daschle will also withdraw from his position as White House health care czar.

Daschle is the second of Obama's appointees to withdraw due to unpaid taxes and according to the Star Tribune, the third high-profile appointee to withdraw.

According to the Star Tribune, Obama is now facing criticism from Republicans and others due to his support for Daschle. They believe Obama is not being ethical, as he had promised.

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The New York Times reported that Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich did not attend the start of his impeachment trial Monday. Instead, he made appearances on several television programs.

Blagojevich could be seen on "Good Morning America" and "The View," while the trial for his impeachment started. Blagojevich also could be seen on the Fox News Channel and taped an interview for an upcoming segment on ABC's "Nightline," reported the Star Tribune.

Joy Behar, a host from "The View," asked Blagojevich to impersonate Richard Nixon and his famous statement, "I am not a crook." Blagojevich responded, "I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m not guilty of any criminal wrongdoing. All I ask for is a chance to prove my innocence.�? (The New York Times)

Blagojevich's chance to prove his innocence lies in the impeachment trial in which he did not attend. Blagojevich realizes that his time in office is short, stating "the fix is in," on "Good Morning America," reported The Wall Street Journal.

Due to his absence, a decision by the Ill. senate may be made earlier than expected. If 40 or more of the 59 Illinois senators vote for his removal, Blagojevich will lose his office and Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, also a democrat, will take his place. (The Wall Street Journal)

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