WASHINGTON

SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO SPEED CAMPAIGN FINANCE CASE

The Supreme Court yesterday refused a bid by a Christian group from Maine to get a quick decision on their appeal of a lower court’s decision refusing to block enforcement of restrictions on pre-election television and radio advertising mentioning federal candidates.

The Christian Civic League of Maine asked the justices to take up the case on an expedited basis, but the high court rejected the request without explanation.

The group said it wants to run television ads lobbying Senator Snowe in advance of a planned Senate vote on a constitutional amendment against gay marriage. Under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, the group was prohibited from running such ads beginning on Sunday because Ms. Snowe, who is running for re-election, is on a Republican primary ballot, unopposed, next month. Under the law, only political committees subject to federal regulation can run such ads in the 30-day period leading up to a primary and the 60-day period leading up to a general election.

Last week, a panel of three district court judges unanimously refused the group’s request to block enforcement of the law on First Amendment grounds.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

HEALTH AND MEDICINE

SURVEY: TEENAGERS’ ABUSE OF PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ‘ENTRENCHED’

While teen smoking and drinking continues to drop, a survey released today indicates that teenage abuse of prescription drugs has become “an entrenched behavior” that many parents fail to recognize. For a third straight year, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America study showed that about one in five teens have tried prescription drug painkillers like Vicodin or OxyContin to get high – about 4.5 million teens. It also indicated that many teens feel experimenting with prescription drugs is safer than illegal highs.

– Associated Press