USA
Traffic delays cost American drivers $63 billion in wasted fuel nationwide in 2003, according to a newly released urban mobility report by the Texas Transportation Institute. It said motorists in 51 cities are delayed an average of 20 hours a year in worsening rush-hour traffic, with Los Angeles, the most congested, saddled with 98 hours of traffic tie-ups. The report was released Monday as the Senate resumes debate on a $284 billion highway bill.
The trial of Ohio highway shooter Charles McCoy Jr., resulted in a hung jury Sunday after four days of deliberations in Columbus. The jury couldn't agree on the sanity of McCoy, whose attorneys admitted he was behind a series of sniper-style shootings along or near
I-270. One woman was killed in the attacks. County prosecutor Ron O'Brien said he'd retry McCoy, who could face the death penalty if convicted of aggravated murder.
Lawyer Lloyd Cutler, who died Saturday in Washington, was White House counsel to two presidents, Carter and Clinton, but also served on commissions for Republican presidents, including one named by current President Bush to investigate flawed intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The dedication of a monument that memorializes Soviet soldiers who fought in World War II met with minor protests Sunday at its unveiling in West Hollywood, Calif. The slab of reddish granite pays tribute to veterans who fought for Russia during the war and then came to the US. The ceremony coincided with the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Russian-speakers, many of them Jewish immigrants from the 1970s, make up 6,000 of West Hollywood's 37,000 residents.
In what is being called the "Big Mac Tax," Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (D) proposed a 2 percent fast-food levy that, if approved, would be the first in the nation. Kirkpatrick said it could help the city address a budget shortfall and would be on top of a 6 percent state restaurant tax. Passage is likely to require a change in state law as well as the approval of Detroit voters.
