NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Senate move halts Tennessee plan to make Bible state book

A plan to make the Bible the official state book in Tennessee derailed Thursday when the Republican-controlled Senate sent the measure back to a committee, effectively killing it this year.

The bill has divided Republicans in conservative Tennessee. Some say the Bible is far too sacred to be deemed an “official state book.” Conversely, others believe it’s an integral part of the state’s history.

Tennessee’s attorney general, Herbert Slatery, warned in a legal opinion earlier this week that the bill would violate separation of church and state provisions of both the federal and state constitutions. Similar worries about proposals in Mississippi and Louisiana caused lawmakers there to drop measures in recent years.

Still, the Republican-controlled Tennessee House approved the bill 55-38 on Wednesday.

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Tennessee’s official state symbols include the tomato as the state fruit, the tulip poplar as the state tree, the Tennessee cave salamander as the state amphibian and the square dance as the state folk dance. The state also has several state songs such as “Tennessee Waltz” and “Rocky Top.” All are listed in the Tennessee Blue Book, considered the definitive almanac of Tennessee state government.

SAN FRANCISCO

Advocates for sex workers seek to legalize profession

Advocates for California sex workers are seeking to legalize the world’s oldest profession.

A federal lawsuit filed March 4 seeks to strike down the California law criminalizing prostitution as an unconstitutional violation of equal protection and free speech rights.

The lawsuit was filed by the San Francisco-based advocacy group Erotic Service Providers Legal, Education and Research Project along with three women who say they want to work legally as prostitutes in California. A disabled man who says he wants to legally pay for sex is also a plaintiff.

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WASHINGTON

Judges question timing of challenge to EPA plan

Two out of three judges on a federal appeals court panel expressed doubts Thursday about a legal challenge to the Obama administration’s far-reaching plan to address climate change.

The comments came during nearly two hours of argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in two cases challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to cut heat-trapping pollutants from the nation’s coal-fired power plants that are blamed for global warming.

Judges Thomas Griffith and Brett Kavanaugh seemed to agree with lawyers defending the EPA that the lawsuits are premature because the agency has not yet made the rule final.

The lawsuits – one from a coalition of 15 coal-reliant states and another brought by Ohio-based Murray Energy Corp., the nation’s largest privately held coal mining company – are part of a growing political attack from opponents who say the plan will kill jobs, force coal companies to shut down plants and drive up electricity prices.

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SAN DIEGO

Ship brings in more than 14 tons of seized cocaine

A Coast Guard cutter arrived Thursday in San Diego with more than 14 tons of cocaine, part of what authorities described as a surge of seizures near Central and South America.

The cocaine, valued by the Coast Guard at $424 million, was seized by U.S. and Canadian forces in 19 separate incidents in the eastern Pacific Ocean, authorities said. It included a 10-ton bust from a coastal freighter.

DALLAS

IRS says man, late brother owe $3.2 billion in back taxes

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The IRS wants $3.2 billion to cover back taxes that it says are owed by a prominent Texas businessman and his late brother who the IRS says hid income by setting up overseas trust funds.

The Internal Revenue Service detailed its claim in documents filed Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Dallas. It seeks to recover more than $2 billion in unpaid income taxes, interest and penalties from Sam Wyly and more than $1.2 billion from the estate of his brother, Charles Wyly.

Stewart Thomas, a lawyer for the Wylys, called the IRS claims “unfair and absurd.”

“The IRS has known about these transactions for over 20 years, but they never informed the Wylys that they owe a penny of additional tax,” Thomas said.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.

Spacecraft’s Mercury mission to end this month in crash

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After years of orbiting Mercury, NASA’s Messenger spacecraft will crash into the planet at the end of this month, NASA announced Thursday.

Messenger is expected to slam into the far side of Mercury on April 30 after running out of fuel. It will be traveling more than 8,700 mph and create a crater about 52 feet across. Scientists expect to collect data until almost the bitter end.

Messenger entered into Mercury’s orbit in 2011.

– From news service reports


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