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In Kenneth Lay's first such accounts of the Enron collapse, the former chairman told company investigators that his successor, Jeffrey Skilling, took the energy giant's stock dive so personally he had resolved to quit after just six months in the post. Lay also said Skilling knew details of the partnerships that Enron executives allegedly used to hide massive losses and enrich themselves. The comments, released Tuesday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, appeared to contradict Skilling's Feb. 7 testimony before the panel. Lay has refused to testify at congressional hearings, citing his right against self-incrimination.
States may use incomes of both a nursing home resident and a spouse who lives at home when calculating Medicaid eligibility, the Supreme Court ruled. The 6-3 decision is a victory for Wisconsin and 30 other states. An elderly Wisconsin woman had argued it was unfair to require her husband to spend his savings before Medicaid would pay for her care.
Consumer inflation rose 0.2 percent in January as energy costs climbed, the Labor Department reported. The consumer price index is the most widely used gauge of inflation, and many economists had expected the modest increase as the economy begins to recover. Energy prices rose 0.9 percent, with a 2.7 percent jump in gas prices.
The Federal Communications Commission must review limits on TV station ownership, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled Tuesday. The court said FCC rules barring broadcasters from owning stations that reach 35 percent of the national TV audience are "abitrary and capricious," but not unconstitutional. Viacom Inc., which owns CBS and UPN, and News Corp.'s Fox Television are both above the limit.
US figure skater Michelle Kwan held a slight lead going into tonight's long program at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Kwan faces tough competition from Russian rival Irina Slutskaya as well as fellow Americans Sasha Cohen and Sarah Hughes. Meanwhile, US teammates Vonetta Flowers and Jill Bakken won in the first Olympic run of the women's bobsled event. That made Flowers the first black athlete to win a gold medal at a Winter Games. Above, they pose with the American flag.
One of two French officials at the center of the Olympic pairs judging controversy was to be questioned by the International Skating Union, as the Monitor went to press. Didier Gail-haguet, president of the French skating federation, denies claims that he pressured judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne to favor Russian skaters. Le Gougne, who has been suspended, now says she lied about Gailhaguet and that the pressure came from another source.
The search for human remains in and around a Noble, Ga. cremation facility intensified as authorities recovered six more, bringing their total to more than 190 sets. But they said identifying them could take months. They are also under pressure to explain how the situation went undetected for years.
