WASHINGTON

CONGRESSMEN SEEKING GOP LEADER POST LAY CLAIM TO REFORM AGENDA

Each of the three Republican congressmen seeking to replace former Majority Leader Tom DeLay claimed on yesterday to be best positioned to clean up the House in the wake of bribery and influence scandals, and discounted their own ties to lobbyists.

Despite Rep. Roy Blunt’s claims that he has the support of a majority of the House’s 231 Republicans, Rep. John Boehner and Rep. John Shadegg portrayed the race as active and competitive ahead of the secret balloting during the week of January 31.The lawmakers defended their associations with lobbyists as appropriate and within ethical guidelines and the law.

The congressmen, appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” called for changes in lobbying practices but also a return to the GOP agenda of lower taxes, limited spending, and a less intrusive government.

– Associated Press

SOUTH

FAMILY FEUD, NEW BOOK THREATEN TO DISTRACT FROM KING’S LEGACY

ATLANTA – On the eve of what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.’s 77th birthday, his legacy is under attack and its greatest defender is unable to speak.

King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, is recovering from a stroke that partially paralyzed her, and on Saturday made only her first public appearance since last year’s King holiday observance, smiling from a wheelchair at the Salute to Greatness Dinner.

The couple’s four children are divided over whether to sell the family run center that promotes King’s teachings.

And the spotlight is again hitting King’s more human side in a new book that alleges extramarital affairs and a nasty split with a civil rights colleague, the Reverend Jesse Jackson – a story that threatened to overshadow King’s humanitarian contributions on the 20th anniversary of the King National Holiday.

Despite all the distractions, those who stood by King’s side as soldiers in the civil rights movement say the memory of the self-named “Drum Major for Justice” is untouchable.

“Dr. King’s legacy is as sound as a rock,” said Tyrone Brooks, a Georgia state representative from Atlanta who worked alongside King in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the SCLC, which King co-founded in 1957.

– Associated Press

FLORIDA TEENS SURRENDER IN HOMELESS BEATINGS

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Two South Florida teens suspected in the beatings of three homeless men turned themselves in to police yesterday, authorities said. Family attorneys negotiated the surrender of Brian Hooks, 18, and Thomas Daugherty, 17.

They will face murder charges in the death of Norris Gaynor and aggravated battery charges in the videotaped beating of Jacques Pierre, said Captain Michael Gregory of the Fort Lauderdale police.

They also are suspects in the beating of a third man, Raymond Perez, 49, whose case remains under investigation, Captain Gregory said.

The teens were in police custody pending official charges from a grand jury, Captain Gregory said. Police also were investigating whether the two may have been involved in other beatings and if they had accomplices.

“We do know there have been other assaults of homeless in Fort Lauderdale,” Captain Gregory said.

– Associated Press

SAGO MINE VICTIMS REMEMBERED AT MEMORIAL CEREMONY

BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The 12 miners who died together beneath the West Virginia hills were remembered yesterday as men who loved their families, God, NASCAR, and a good laugh.

“I’m sure there was a prayer meeting goin’ on in that ol’ coal mine the other evening like we’ve never seen before,” Sago Baptist Church Pastor Wease Day told more than 1,800 people gathered at the memorial service.

“I can hear Jim Bennett hollerin’ ‘Boys you need the Lord in your life.’ And I can hear (George) Junior Hamner say ‘Does anybody got any cards? Let’s play a round.’ I can hear them now,” said Day, whose church became the center for families and others who gathered to await word of their loved ones after an explosion in the Sago Mine.

Bennett, 61, and Hamner, 54, were among the 12 miners who died after a January 2 explosion as they reopened the mine following a holiday break. Investigators have yet to re-enter the mine to determine what went wrong. The blast killed one miner immediately and spread carbon monoxide that slowly killed the 11 others as they waited 260 feet below ground for rescue.

The only survivor, Randal McCloy Jr., 26, remained in a coma yesterday at West Virginia University’s Ruby Memorial Hospital.

– Associated Press