Washington, D.C.: First lady advises nursing school grads

First lady Laura Bush told graduates of the Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies to make sure they took time to care for themselves as they ministered to others.

“If I could give you any advice, it would be this — take time for yourself,” she told more than 70 graduates in a speech Saturday that was long on personal warmth and short on political opinion. “All of this giving will leave you exhausted unless you give to yourself as well.”

Although the former public school librarian’s first commencement speech while in the White House was about health care, she tied it to broader issues including her trademark emphasis on education and reading.

Bush, who earned a master’s in library science from the University of Texas at Austin in 1973, was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Georgetown. Above, she’s pictured receiving her hood from Georgetown officials.

Miami: Lawsuit accuses cruise lines of fraud

A lawsuit claims Royal Caribbean Cruises and subsidiary Celebrity Cruise Lines overcharged passengers by charging them for at least $150 million in fraudulent taxes.

The Miami-based cruise lines have engaged in deceptive trade practices since the spring of 2001 by collecting the hidden taxes to offset rising costs without notifying customers beforehand, according to the suit filed Friday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.

“All they had to do was raise their cruise prices like any merchant,” attorney Thomas Tew told The Miami Herald. “Instead, they buried an increased fare in a bogus tax.”

Tew’s firm seeks class-action status on behalf of an estimated 5.7 million customers, claiming the companies appropriated $15 to $25 from each passenger in fraudulent taxes.

Virginia: Deaf student earns degree in music

A woman who lost all hearing when she was beaten by a robber received a master’s degree in music composition Saturday from Virginia Commonwealth University, becoming the first deaf student ever to earn a music degree from the school.

Instructor William Eldridge described Tammie Willis’ accomplishment as “a personal act of defiance against deafness itself.”

Willis, 34, who taught herself to play a variety of percussion and string instruments after losing her hearing, composed a four-movement, 12-person percussion ensemble piece as part of her master’s program.

Willis was attacked in 1994 by a robber who walked into her home in Daly City. He smashed her head repeatedly against a table, punched her in the face and shook her. No one was ever arrested.

Willis intends to pursue doctorates in higher education and music theory.

Arkansas: State recovering from heavy storms

Rivers swollen by overnight storms flooded fields and county roads Saturday throughout Arkansas, hindering efforts to restore electricity to homes and businesses.

At least two traffic deaths were blamed on the rain and heavy wind that started Friday and continued into Saturday.

Officials in five counties declared local emergencies because of the flooding and wind damage, said Jennifer Gordon, a spokeswoman for the state Emergency Management Department.

The National Weather Service had not yet confirmed that tornadoes were to blame for wind damage at Osceola, and in Jackson, Saline and White counties.