Hurricane Dolly makes landfall in Texas
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (CNN)—The eye of Hurricane Dolly reached land Wednesday afternoon on South Padre Island, Texas, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm was packing steady winds of 100 mph and gusts reaching 120 mph, the center said in its 2 p.m. ET advisory.
The storm, the second of the Atlantic hurricane season, had moved out to 35 miles east of Brownsville, Texas, by 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET), the center said. Earlier, it had been just 30 miles from the city. . .
Seniors at Risk: Sex Offenders, Parolees Living at Nursing Homes
Hundreds of thousands of senior citizens are at risk because they are living among registered sex offenders, parolees and residents with violent histories, according to a nursing home watchdog who studied residents at nursing homes, assisted living homes and long term care facilities.
“What is shocking is we have now found 1,600 registered sex offenders across the country [in facilities with seniors],” said Wes Bledsoe, who is set to testify tomorrow at a Congressional hearing on predators in these facilities. Bledsoe tracked the number of offenders living at these homes over the past four years by matching addresses from sex offender registries with a database of care facilities from Medicare.
Bledsoe said that in many of these cases the offenders are young adults who are often placed in the facilities because of disabilities or behavioral problems. . .
White House drops opposition to housing bill
WASHINGTON – President Bush dropped his opposition Wednesday to legislation aiming to calm the chaotic housing market despite his objections to a $3.9 billion provision. The House was expected to vote on the bill Wednesday, and it could become law as early as this week.
Under the bill, the government would help struggling homeowners get new, cheaper loans and would be allowed to offer troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a cash infusion.
The Bush administration and lawmakers in both parties teamed to negotiate the measure, which pairs Democrats’ top priorities — federal help for homeowners facing foreclosure and $3.9 billion for neighborhoods hit hardest by the housing crisis — with Republicans’ goal of reining in mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while reassuring financial markets of their stability. . .
Royce Pushes for Solutions to Lower Gas Prices
Today, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) joined his Republican colleagues on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to unveil the “American Energy Act.” Royce is an original cosponsor of this legislation which will increase the supply of American-made energy, improve conservation and efficiency, and promote renewable and alternative energy technologies.
“High gas prices are hurting the pocketbook of families across America. Family budgets are strained. I am pushing for short and long-term solutions to lower gas prices and to address our future energy needs,” said Royce.
The current moratoriums on new forms of domestic energy production are driving up energy costs and they risk sinking the economy. This legislation will open up our deep water resources, open the Arctic coastal plain, allow for development of our nation’s oil shale, and cut red tape to allow for the construction of new refineries – refineries that haven’t been built in over 30 years in this country. Just last week the Chairman of the Federal Reserve said the oil market was so tight that only a one percent increase in supply could result in a ten percent decrease in price. . .
