Sacramento
Budget bailout fails: California voters have overwhelmingly rejected a package of ballot initiatives aimed at plugging the state’s massive budget deficit, leaving it near bankruptcy. The measures would have capped spending, extended tax increases, and authorized the state to borrow against lottery revenues. About 10 percent of registered voters went to the polls, and they nixed all but one measure, which bars pay increases for legislators and the governor. “I respect the will of the people who are frustrated with the dysfunction in our budget system,” said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who called on both parties to forge a plan to close the state’s $21.3 billion budget deficit.
Leavenworth, Kan.
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Vick walks: Michael Vick, once the highest-paid player in the National Football League, has been released from federal prison and will serve the final two months of his 23-month sentence under house arrest at his home in Hampton, Va. The quarterback, 28, pled guilty to charges of running an illegal dogfighting ring at his Virginia farm. A raid there turned up dozens of pit bulls trained to fight, many of them emaciated and mauled; dogs who lost their fights were hanged, drowned, or electrocuted. Vick, who in 2004 signed a 10-year, $130 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons, is now bankrupt. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league would make no decision on reinstating Vick until he serves out his term.
Sleepy Eye, Minn.
Cancer patient flees: A Minnesota judge issued an arrest warrant this week for the mother of a 13-year-old boy who is refusing treatment for his cancer, after neither she nor the boy showed up for a court appearance. Daniel Hauser is suffering from advanced-stage lymphoma, and doctors say he responded well to an initial round of chemotherapy. His parents, however, said the therapy amounted to “an assault” on their son and opted instead for a treatment based on Native American healing practices. A court-appointed advocate for Daniel asked the judge to issue the warrant for Colleen Hauser’s arrest and order chemotherapy for the boy, saying the boy could die without immediate treatment.
Bonne Terre, Mo.
Death by lethal injection: Missouri this week executed a man who killed a good Samaritan who had stopped to help him—the state’s first execution in four years. The condemned man, Dennis Skillicorn, 49, was convicted in the 1994 murder of Richard Drummond, who was robbed and shot to death after he offered help to Skillicorn and two other men after their car broke down on I-70. Gov. Jay Nixon refused Skillicorn’s clemency plea, noting that he had also been convicted of three unrelated murders. In 2006, a federal judge ordered Missouri to halt executions after the official in charge of administering lethal injections admitted that he was dyslexic and had trouble reading directions. The state restored the death penalty in 2007, when a federal appeals court overturned the earlier decision. Skillicorn died of lethal injection.
New York City
More flu deaths: A New York City assistant school principal died this week of swine flu complications, as the nationwide death toll climbed to eight and the Centers for Disease Control warned that 5,123 confirmed infections in the U.S. were “the tip of the iceberg.” Mitchell Weiner, 55, died after swine flu shut down his kidneys and lungs. At least two dozen schools in the New York area closed after hundreds of students reported flu-like symptoms. Boston’s largest public high school closed for a week. The CDC said that as many as 100,000 Americans could already be infected. “We’re not out of the woods,” said the CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat.
Washington, D.C.
Gitmo funds blocked: Democratic senators have handed President Obama his first major legislative defeat this week, bottling up $80 million he requested to close the U.S. detention center in Guantánamo, Cuba. Democrats apparently bowed to mounting pressure from Republicans, who demanded assurances that detainees would not be confined on American soil. Democrats insist that they are only seeking assurances that detainees will not be released here. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid appeared to agree with Republicans, saying, “You can’t put them in prison unless you release them. We will never allow terrorists to be released in the United States.” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said he expected Congress to approve the funds, once Obama presented a detailed plan for dealing with the detainees.
