National Desk

EASTMENENDEZ TO REPLACE CORZINE IN SENATEUNION CITY, N.J. Rep. Robert Menendez’s selection to fill the one-year unexpired term of Governor-elect Jon Corzine has inspired a wave of pride in his north Jersey hometown, where residents say his rise has mirrored that of the Hispanic community as a whole in America.Mr. Corzine will announce as early as today that he’s chosen Mr. Menendez to serve out the remainder of his Senate term, Democratic congressional aides told the Associated Press yesterday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement had not yet been made.Mr.Menendez, 51, the son of Cuban immigrants, would be the first minority member to represent New Jersey in the Senate and would be the body’s third sitting Hispanic senator.– Associated PressMIDWESTCOUPLE ACCUSED OF CAGING CHILDRENNORWALK, Ohio – A couple accused of keeping 11 adopted special-needs children in cages spanked them with a board if they got out and forced at least one to live in a bathroom for urinating in his enclosure, an investigator testified yesterday.Huron County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Randy Sommers said during a custody hearing that two children told him about punishments of being shoved or being held under water. In another incident, he said a child told of “having his face shoved against a bathroom wall until his nose bled.”The testimony came in an effort by the parents, Michael and Sharen Gravelle, to regain custody of the children, ages 1 to 14.– Associated PressWASHINGTONSUPREME COURT SAYS SENIORS CANNOT ESCAPE STUDENT LOAN DEBTAmerica’s seniors and disabled cannot escape debts from old student loans, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday, freeing the government to pursue Social Security benefits as part of an effort to collect billions in delinquent loans.The Bush administration had argued that the ability to withhold Social Security benefits is an important tool in the pursuit of $5.7 billion in student loan debt that is over 10 years old. Overall, outstanding loans total about $33 billion.Government lawyers said there is a limit on how much can be taken from benefit checks, 15%, and that the Education Department can forgive debts in some hardship cases.– Associated Press

National Desk

National Desk

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