Nader, running mate to appear on list of potential write-ins
AUSTIN - Supporters of presidential candidate Ralph Nader and his running mate filed with Texas officials Tuesday for Nader's write-in status in the November election.
That means Nader's name and that of running mate Matt Gonzalez would appear on a paper list of potential write-in candidates provided to voters at polling places. Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney and running mate Rosa Clemente also filed for write-in candidacy.
If the Texas Secretary of State's Office certifies their paperwork, then votes written in for those presidential candidates will be counted, said agency spokesman Scott Haywood.
Supporters of both tickets joined in criticizing Texas' ballot access laws as among the most restrictive in the nation.
To be listed on the ballot as an independent, Texas law would have required "an inordinate amount" of registered voter signatures to be filed with state officials, the supporters said. Those signing the petitions could not have voted in either major party spring primary.
The write-in campaign organizers said they will mobilize statewide to spread the word about Texans' additional presidential choices.
Nader, an author, lecturer and consumer-rights activist, has his name on more than three dozen state ballots, his supporters say.
- The Associated Press
Mother accused of trying to prostitute child to stay in custody
SAN ANTONIO - A 25-year-old mother who federal prosecutors accuse of trying to prostitute her young daughter was ordered held without bond Tuesday.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Stein Nowak ordered Jennifer Richards, who moved to San Antonio from Phoenix nine months ago, to remain in custody after finding she was a flight risk and likely to be convicted of using interstate facilities to transmit information about a minor, a charge that carries up to five years in prison.
"It's about as dangerous as it can get when a mother sets up her own child for this," said Nowak in finding that Richards should remain in custody.
The waitress with shoulder-length blond hair sat with her shoulders hunched and began to cry.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Braun said other charges could still be added.
- The Associated Press
TxDOT: Charter buses operating illegally in the past two years
FORT WORTH, Texas - In the last 24 months, 201 Texas motorcoach operators were told their authorizations were revoked but an unknown number continued operating under new names, an official with the Texas Department of Transportation said.
Carol Davis, director of TXDOT's motor carrier division, said two of every five Texas charter bus companies have been ordered off the road in the last two years.
She said state officials were trying to find out how many revoked companies were operating under a different name, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in its online edition Tuesday.
About 300 bus companies have permission to operate legally in Texas.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been publicly cracking down on so-called "rogue" motorcoach operators in the wake of an Aug. 8 bus crash near Sherman that left 17 passengers dead. The operator in that accident, Iguala BusMex Inc., was an offshoot of another company, Angel Tours Inc., that had been shut down earlier.
Authorities recently shut down bus companies in Irving and Houston for being affiliated with revoked companies.
By late September, state officials will begin posting complaints filed against bus companies on TXDOT's Web site, txdot.com, Davis said.
"Consumers really need this information to make choices when hiring a busing company to transport their children," Davis said.
- The Associated Press
Boy starts police chase in his grandmother's vehicle
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A 12-year-old boy stole his grandmother's car and led police on a chase at speeds up to 60 mph before crashing into a chain-link fence, police said.
The boy was treated for a small cut to the head then transported to Nueces County Juvenile Justice Center, where he remains in custody, chief juvenile probation officer Homer Flores said.
Corpus Christi Police Capt. Todd Green said officials spotted the youngster late Monday at a stop sign near his grandparents' home. When an officer approached him, he sped away and the pursuit began.
Green said he was going as fast as 60 mph in a 35 mph speed zone. He said the boy does not appear to have a history of theft or other criminal activity. - The Associated Press
Two men charged with fraud sentenced to prison
HOUSTON - A federal judge sentenced two men to prison Tuesday for stealing more than $13 million from a petrochemical company through a mail and wire fraud scheme.
Vernon Franklin Beck and Donald Fred Cole Jr., both 52, pleaded guilty in November to the scheme, which involved setting up a shell corporation to submit false invoices to Texas Petrochemicals Corp. and take in money for services they never provided.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said the men have helped authorities recover much of the stolen money and the property purchased with the money. Among the items the government says the men purchased were a 52-foot boat, jewelry, artwork, luxury vehicles and partnerships in oil royalties.
The men were ordered to pay $13.5 million in restitution to Texas Petrochemical.
- The Associated Press
UT-Arlington labs evacuated after chemical reaction
ARLINGTON, Texas - Campus police say students were evacuated from the nanotechnology labs at UT-Arlington after an accidental chemical reaction.
UTA Assistant Police Chief Rick Gomez said one student was overcome with fumes and was treated and released at the scene Tuesday evening.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported in its online edition that Gomez said a student accidentally mixed hydrochloric and sulfuric acid, and the fumes from the chemical caused the lab alarms to sound about 7:30 p.m.
Gomez said four or five students were in the lab when the alarms sounded.
- The Associated Press
Man arrested in Texas for stabbing girlfriend to death
NEW YORK - Police say a New York City man has been arrested in Texas in connection with a fatal stabbing in a Queens apartment.
Police had been seeking the ex-boyfriend of 21-year-old Ebony Garcia since her death Saturday. Witnesses say Garcia screamed for help for more than half an hour before neighbors called the police. Police found her lying in a pool of blood, stabbed about a dozen times.
The ex-boyfriend was nabbed Tuesday on a bus in Brownsville, Texas. Authorities there say he's being held in Texas until extradition. Charges against him are pending.
- The Associated Press
Census data reveals growth in gender income equality
A Census Bureau report released Tuesday reveals that the income disparity between men and women hit an all-time low last year.
The median income of women was 78 percent of men's median income, a 1 percent increase over the female-to-male earnings ratio in 2006. The annual reports, the Current Population Survey and the American Community Survey provided statistics on poverty, income and health insurance coverage across the nation in 2007.
The increase in male-female income parity is welcome news, but work still needs to be done, said chemistry freshman Asia Mitchell.
"There's always been that male hierarchy, and women are still often considered the homemakers," Mitchell said. "I think the fact that it went up was more of a necessity."
Biology junior Thomas Sperry said he believes the earnings gender gap will keep improving.
"Incomes should be equal, and I think women's will continue gradually increasing," Sperry said.
The report revealed an overall increase in median household income of 1.3 percent in 2006, but Texas still remains one of nine poorest states in the U.S. According to the report, more than 16 percent of Texan residents are living in poverty, defined as a median income below $21,027 for a family with two adults and two children.
Texas also lagged behind in health insurance coverage compared with national averages. The number of uninsured residents rose last year, and the percentage of uninsured children in Texas remains above the national average of 11 percent.
- Tara Haelle
Some Exxon Valdez damages to be awarded to fishermen
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Part of the punitive damages awarded to plaintiffs in the nation's worst oil spill will be paid to Alaska fishermen and other plaintiffs, Exxon Mobil said Tuesday.
Lawyers in the Exxon Valdez case have negotiated a settlement, under which about $383 million will be released by Exxon,
Under the deal, the money will be distributed to nearly 33,000 commercial fishermen and others who sued Exxon after the 1989 spill of 11 million gallons of crude in Prince William Sound.
"As we have stated consistently, like everyone involved in the tragic Valdez accident, Exxon Mobil is anxious to have the matter resolved," company spokesman Tony Cudmore said in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Tuesday evening. "We approached the plaintiffs' legal representatives with an offer to pay the punitive damages awarded by the Supreme Court on June 25, less certain costs and amounts relating to earlier settlements with former plaintiffs. The amount agreed with the plaintiffs is approximately $383.4 million."
David Oesting of Anchorage, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, told the Anchorage Daily News he and Los Angeles-based lawyers for Exxon negotiated the settlement over the past few weeks. Oesting did not immediately return messages Tuesday night to the AP seeking comment.
Lawyers will continue to negotiate over $70 million and nearly a half billion dollars in interest.
- The Associated Press
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