Strapped states seek more federal help

Strapped states seek more federal help

BOSTON

Governors hamstrung by the sluggish economic rebound in their states and bound to balance their own budgets are pressing anew for Washington to step up with more help, some say even if it means adding to the nation’s red ink.

Republicans and Democrats alike wrestled with how to capitalize on a fledgling rebound as they talked dollars and sense at their summer meeting just days into a new state budget year and as the economy shapes dozens of gubernatorial races across the country.

“All states still are facing tough fiscal situations, even though I do believe we’re in recovery,” said West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin, a Democrat who’s taking over as chairman of the National Governors Association.

More help for vets with stress disorder

WASHINGTON

The government is taking what President Barack Obama calls “a long overdue step” to aid veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, making it easier for them to receive federal benefits.

The changes that Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki will announce Monday fulfill “a solemn responsibility to provide our veterans and wounded warriors with the care and benefits they’ve earned when they come home,” Obama said in his weekly radio and online address Saturday.

The new rules will apply not only to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars but also those who served in previous conflicts.

Clashes in Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India

Security forces fired tear gas and used batons to disperse hundreds of rock-throwing demonstrators, leading authorities to reimpose a curfew in parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir. No injuries were immediately reported.

The tension in the Himalayan region — divided between India and Pakistan — was reminiscent of the late 1980s, when protests against Indian rule sparked an armed conflict that eventually killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians.

Murder suspect avoided prison time

LOS ANGELES

The man charged with 10 murders in the Los Angeles “Grim Sleeper” case was arrested at least 15 times over four decades but never sent to state prison despite recommendations of probation officers, including one who urged he receive a maximum sentence because it was a bad sign that a man in his 50s still committed crimes, court and jail records show.

Lonnie Franklin Jr., 57, was arrested for burglary, car theft, firearms possession and assaults. But his crimes never were considered serious enough to send him to state prison or to warrant his entry in the state’s DNA database, authorities said.

At a Saturday community forum on the murders, city councilman and former Police Chief Bernard Parks said law enforcement and police should not be faulted for their past handling of Franklin.

Vatican posts $5.2 million loss

VATICAN CITY

The Vatican said Saturday it had posted its third-straight financial loss, registering a $5.2 million deficit for 2009.

The financial report released by the Holy See’s press office said the separate administration of the Vatican City state was particularly hit by the economic crisis as well as by high costs to improve the Vatican’s telecommunications system and restore its cultural treasures and ensure security. However, cost-cutting allowed the tiny state to record a loss that was less than half what it lost in 2008.

Associated Press