Nation briefs 1/6/06

Sen. Clinton '00 campaign group fined over gala

WASHINGTON -- A campaign fund-raising group for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to a $35,000 fine for underreporting thousands of dollars spent on a lavish Hollywood fund-raiser in 2000, the man who bankrolled the event said. The organization, New York Senate 2000, agreed to a federal finding that it failed to report $721,895 spent on the fund-raiser to boost the former first lady's campaign for Senate, according to paperwork provided by Peter F. Paul, who helped finance the star-studded gala that drew Cher, Diana Ross, Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. Paul filed the initial complaint that led to the investigation, and on Thursday provided a copy of a signed agreement between New York Senate 2000 and the Federal Election Commission.

Democrats to delay Alito's confirmation vote a week

WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats plan to delay the Judiciary Committee's vote on Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court for at least a week, slowing what could have been a quick confirmation process. Senate Judiciary chairman Arlen Specter had hoped to hold a committee vote on Alito's nomination on Jan. 17, a little over a week from the Monday start of the federal appellate judge's confirmation hearings.

Commuter train jumps track outside Washington

QUANTICO, Va. -- A commuter train derailed during Thursday morning's rush hour, injuring at least four people and tying up rail travel. The Virginia Railway Express was carrying 400 passengers toward Washington when the engine and the last three cars went off the tracks just north of Quantico, the company said. The cause was not immediately known. Four people were taken to hospitals for treatment of injuries. "I've been told that all are minor," VRE spokesman Mark Roeber said. Prince William County Police officer John Bogert said a fifth person was taken from the crash in a life-support unit but he couldn't say if the person suffered an injury or had some other medical condition.

Study will follow lives of Katrina survivors

The struggles and stories of some 2,000 Hurricane Katrina survivors across the country will be documented regularly over the next two years in a project that aims to track their recovery. Their tales will be published and their advice sought for government policy makers, researchers said Thursday. The first results are expected to be posted online by the end of February, said Ronald Kessler of Harvard Medical School, director of the project. Participants will be interviewed every three months about such topics as their mental and physical health, hardships in getting treatment and how good it is, their financial and housing situations and practical problems they face

30-year mortgages dip, other home loans mixed

WASHINGTON -- Rates on 30-year mortgages dipped this week, although it was a mixed bag for rates on other home loans. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday in its weekly survey that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 6.21 percent for the week ending Jan. 6. That was down slightly from last week's average rate of 6.22 percent and was the lowest since late October. "Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages currently are below the monthly averages set in November and December of 2005," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing a home mortgage, averaged 5.76 percent this week.

Zeta again strengthens into tropical storm

MIAMI -- Zeta again strengthened into a tropical storm Thursday and could break the record for the storm lasting the longest into January since record keeping began in 1851. Zeta, the 27th and final named storm in a tumultuous, record-breaking hurricane season that officially ended more than a month ago, had sustained winds near 40 mph at 10 a.m., up from 35 mph earlier in the day, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Winds had reached 65 mph on Wednesday. Zeta posed no threat to land. Zeta is only the second Atlantic storm in recorded history to survive into January, joining Hurricane Alice in 1955. After Zeta dissipates, Stewart said, forecasters will review records to determine if it or Alice lasted longest into January.

-- From wire reports