Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Sen. Orrin Hatch is being sued by a terminally ill owner of a Utah gluten-free bakery for allegedly hindering progress by the Food and Drug Administration on the issue of gluten-free labeling.
Tim Lawson, founder of Provo's New Grains Gluten Free Bakery, filed the suit last month, alleging that Hatch has blocked funding that would establish regulations on which foods can be labeled "gluten free."
Lawson, who suffers from Refractory Type 2 Celiac Sprue, said on his blog that current proposed FDA regulations on gluten- free labeling put the health of those with Celiac disease at risk. He said legislators have not done enough to fight the regulations.
"While I still have time I will do my best to protect those out there that can't stand up on their own and demand that these politician at least act like they care that we are sick or have a life threatening autoimmune disease," he said.
Lawson posted on his blog responses he has received from the Celiac community in the past month.
"In order to make sure gluten-free is maintained as a medical prescription, it requires access to proper food labeling and food handling," Carolyn Lynch McKinley, president of the Celiac Sprue Association, wrote in a letter to Hatch. "How anyone is able to ensure the food is safe without regulations?"
But the lawsuit is "completely ridiculous," according to Matt Harakal, spokesman for Hatch.
"While everyone is entitled to their opinion, there is no legitimate cause of action against a legislator for failing to appropriate taxpayer dollars to address any one constituent's specific, individual desires," he said. "Senator Hatch receives hundreds of comments from Utahns every day with differing opinions - very few individuals chose to file a lawsuit."
Senator Hatch receives hundreds of comments from Utahns every day with differing opinions - very few individuals chose to file a lawsuit.
–Matt Harakal
Harakai said Hatch's office did discuss Lawson's concerns with him.
Clinton backs Bush tax cuts
In a major break from Pres. Obama's position on the Bush tax cuts, former Pres. Bill Clinton said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that he supports an extension of the cuts.
"That's probably the best thing to do right now," he said.
Clinton said he supports a temporary extension of the cuts, but urged Obama not to support a permanent extension.
"But the Republicans don't want to do that unless he agrees to extend the tax cuts permanently, including for upper income people," Clinton said. "And I don't think the president should do that."
The Bush tax cuts are set to expire early in 2013 and have led to sharp disagreement in Congress over whether they should be extended across the board — the Republican view — or for everyone but the wealthy, as Democrats would prefer.
Romney campaign investigates potential email hack
Authorities are investigating a possible hacking of Mitt Romney's personal email account after the website Gawker posted on Tuesday that it had received correspondence from the hacker.
Logging in with (the password) to assess the accuracy of the tipster's claims would put us at some legal jeopardy.
–John Cook
The alleged hacker told Gawker he hacked into Mitt Romney's Hotmail account, which was still in use at least as recently as March, by guessing the answer to a security question. The hacker said he found Romney's email address in an article in the Wall Street Journal.
John Cook wrote for Gawker that the hacker also supplied the website with the new password he had created, and that Gawker had not tested it because "logging in with it to assess the accuracy of the tipster's claims would put us at some legal jeopardy."
The Romney campaign would say only that "the proper authorities are investigating this crime and we will have no further comment on it."
As of Wednesday, the Hotmail account appeared to have been closed, with emails bouncing back as "undeliverable."
Amanda Bynes with a request for Obama
Actress Amanda Bynes is getting attention after asking Pres. Obama via Twitter to help her out of some hot water.
Hey @BarackObama... I don't drink. Please fire the cop who arrested me. I also don't hit and run. The end.
— Amanda Bynes (@AmandaBynes) June 5, 2012
Bynes was arrested in April after sideswiping a police car and allegedly attempting to flee the scene. The actress was charged Tuesday with one count of misdemeanor DUI in relation to the incident, but was not charged with a hit-and-run.
Bynes took to Twitter on Tuesday and asked the president to intervene on her behalf.
"Hey @BarackObama... I don't drink," she wrote. "Please fire the cop who arrested me. I also don't hit and run. The end."
The actress had previously taken to Twitter to claim the incident had not happened as alleged.
"I can't help but laugh at all of you writing fake stories about me," she tweeted on May 27. "I was not in any hit and runs. I don't drink so the DUI is false."
