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NEW YORK (AP) — President Barack Obama says the right to vote is facing its greatest threat in decades. And he puts the blame on Republicans for passing state laws that it make it "harder, not easier, for people to vote." Speaking at a civil rights gathering in New York, Obama noted incidents in which individuals have been turned away for because of a lack of a passport or birth certificate to register. He said "About 60 percent of Americans don't have a passport." The GOP says it merely wants to prevent voting fraud.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Even though the implementation of the new health care law was plagued by stumbles, President Barack Obama says "the final score speaks for itself." About 7.5 million people have signed up for health insurance through the new law. And Obama says Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (seh-BEEL'-yuhs) deserves credit for helping to steer the comeback. He spoke in the Rose Garden today as he announced that Sebelius is leaving that post. Obama is nominating his budget chief, Sylvia Mathews Burwell, to replace her.
ORLAND, Calif. (AP) — More of the victims of yesterday's deadly bus crash in Northern California are being identified. Some of the 10 victims were low-income, motivated high school students destined to become the first in their families to go to college. The bus was bound to Humboldt State University when it was struck by a FedEx truck that crossed a grass median after colliding with a car. Chaperones and the driver of the bus and truck also perished.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Federal health officials say passengers on a cruise ship that sailed out of Baltimore became sick on board during two consecutive voyages -- on March 28 and April 5. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, about 100 passengers and crew members on the Grandeur of the Seas became ill with vomiting and diarrhea. It left April 5 for a seven-day cruise. A similar number became ill on the previous trip. A spokeswoman for Royal Caribbean Cruises blames norovirus. Federal inspectors will board the ship when it returns tomorrow.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mickey Rooney will be laid to rest alongside Hollywood royalty. A judge in Los Angeles signed off on an agreement today between Rooney's survivors to have the actor buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. He had purchased a plot elsewhere but an executor said Rooney wanted to be buried in Hollywood or at a cemetery for veterans. Other stars buried at Hollywood Forever include Cecil B. DeMille, Jayne Mansfield and Douglas Fairbanks. Rooney died Sunday at age 93.
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