NewsApril 16, 2005
Nation briefs 4/16/05
Amtrak's Acela Express down for brake problems; Study finds 'greenhouse' gas limits affordable; Nichols returns to scene of shooting at courthouse; Bushes report gross income of $784,219
Amtrak's Acela Express down for brake problems
WASHINGTON -- The Acela Express, Amtrak's much-ballyhooed hope for high-speed train travel, was shut down indefinitely Friday because of brake problems, leaving thousands of travelers scrambling for other transportation. The beleaguered rail service pressed slower trains into use between Washington, New York and Boston. Officials could not say how long the Acela trains would be disabled by newly discovered cracks in disc brakes. The cracked brakes come at a bad time for Amtrak. A Senate committee will debate next week whether to end the rail service's federal subsidy.
Study finds 'greenhouse' gas limits affordable
WASHINGTON -- Mandatory limits on all U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse" gases would not significantly affect average economic growth rates across the country through 2025, the government says. That finding by the Energy Information Administration, an independent arm of the Energy Department, runs counter to President Bush's repeated pronouncements that limits on carbon dioxide and other gases that warm the atmosphere like a greenhouse would seriously harm the U.S. economy.
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Nichols returns to scene of shooting at courthouse
ATLANTA -- Brian Nichols faced police at every turn Friday as he returned to the courthouse where he is accused of killing a judge and two other people last month. Security was tight for Brian Nichols' first appearance at the Fulton County courthouse since the March 11 slayings. A sheriff's deputy was stationed in front of the courtroom and another deputy was in back. There also were other law enforcement officers, both in uniform and in street clothes, present in the courtroom. Nichols was shackled at the ankles. Nichols, 33, is accused of overpowering a deputy and stealing her gun, then killing Judge Rowland Barnes, who was presiding over Nichols' rape trial, and his court reporter. A sheriff's deputy was killed outside the courthouse, and a federal agent was killed elsewhere before Nichols was taken into custody the day after the rampage.
Bushes report gross income of $784,219
WASHINGTON -- President Bush reported adjusted gross income of $784,219 for last year, on which he paid $207,307 in federal taxes, according to presidential returns released Friday by the White House. The Bushes listed as income his presidential salary and investment income from trusts that hold their assets. The couple contributed $77,785 to churches and charitable organizations. The White House also released the 2004 tax return filed by Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne. The report shows the Cheneys owe federal taxes for 2004 of $393,518 on taxable income of roughly $1.3 million. The Cheneys donated $303,354 to charity in 2004.
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