Nation/world briefs 5/20/04

Freight trains collide head-on in north Texas

GUNTER, Texas -- Two freight trains collided just outside this small north Texas town Wednesday, leaving rail cars in a mangled mess and causing multiple injuries, authorities said. Grayson County Sheriff's Sgt. Pam McCurdy said that she didn't know how many people were injured, but knew that some of the injuries were severe.

Taiwan president to back off referendum plans

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taiwan's president will back away from plans to hold a referendum to revise the island's constitution in 2006 when he delivers his inauguration speech for his second term, a Taiwanese newspaper said today. Beijing fears President Chen Shui-bian would use the new document to formalize the island's independent status.

Medicare HMO payments higher than normal costs

WASHINGTON -- Recent changes in Medicare are giving private insurers a bigger advantage than previously thought, says a study by a private foundation. The Commonwealth Fund, which advocates research on health issues, said in the study released today that the government is paying an average of $552 more for each of the 5 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in managed care plans, or a total of $2.75 billion in 2004.

Lawmakers want more progress on high-tech IDs

WASHINGTON -- The government must move faster to develop high-tech ID cards that could prevent armed terrorists from boarding a plane by posing as airport workers or law officers, lawmakers said Wednesday. The Transportation Security Administration is experimenting with biometric identification systems, which match people's unique physical characteristics to confirm who they are. However, the ID cards already are common in nuclear plants, hospitals and businesses.

-- From wire reports