Gov. Corbett of Pa. unveils $27.1B plan

Gov. Corbett of Pa. unveils $27.1B plan

HARRISBURG, Pa.

Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday proposed a hold-the-line budget of $27.1 billion, with no tax increases, deep cuts to higher-education assistance and a range of cost-cutting in services for the poor, elderly and disabled.

Corbett’s proposal for the 2012-13 fiscal year that begins July 1 comes as his administration grapples with lackluster tax collections and hundreds of millions of dollars in higher costs for debt, health care and pensions.

Cuts would be widespread across state agencies. Meanwhile, Corbett’s plan would cut business taxes, and he promised to roll out details soon of a new program that, he said, would create an employment market that matches job seekers with hiring employers.

WTC costs rise $4B over past 4 years

NEW YORK

The agency building the new World Trade Center, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, has let costs get out of control, with the estimated price tag soaring nearly $4 billion over the past four years, auditors said Tuesday.

Navigant Consulting said the project is now expected to cost $14.8 billion, 35 percent more than the last estimate of $11 billion in 2008.

Last known WWI vet dies in Britain

LONDON

Florence Green never saw the front line. Her war was spent serving food, not dodging bullets.

But Green, who has died at age 110, was the last known surviving veteran of World War I. She was serving with the Women’s Royal Air Force as a waitress at an air base in eastern England when the guns fell silent Nov. 11, 1918.

It was not until 2010 that she was officially recognized as a veteran after a researcher found her service record in Britain’s National Archives.

Green died Saturday at the Briar House Care Home in King’s Lynn, eastern England, two weeks before her 111th birthday, the home said.

Guilty plea in theft of historical papers

BALTIMORE

A memorabilia collector and self-styled expert on presidential history pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to steal thousands of documents signed by leaders throughout U.S. history.

Barry Landau, whose knowledge of the White House earned him network morning-show appearances, acknowledged in the plea to taking documents from the Maryland Historical Society and conspiring with his assistant to steal historical documents from several institutions with the intent of selling them.

Thousands of documents were seized from Landau’s artifact-filled Manhattan apartment. Prosecutors say he schemed for years, if not decades, to steal valuable documents signed by historical figures from both sides of the Atlantic including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Marie Antoinette and Charles Dickens. The oldest document listed in the plea was dated 1479.

CDC: Bread is No. 1 source of salt in diet

ATLANTA

Bread and rolls are the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet, accounting for more than twice as much sodium as salty junk food such as potato chips. That surprising finding comes in a government report released Tuesday that includes a list of the top 10 sources of sodium. Salty snacks actually came in at the bottom of the list compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Associated Press