Washington, D.C.

Enron e-mails renew ethics complaint

Rep. Chris Bell, D-Texas, who filed an ethics complaint against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, says e-mails between Enron officials bolster his charges that DeLay illegally solicited and accepted political contributions and should be investigated.

Bell said he would ask House ethics committee members to review the e-mails before deciding whether to launch a formal investigation of the Texas Republican based on the complaint Bell filed last month.

DeLay has repeatedly dismissed Bell’s charges, saying Bell is bitter because he lost his re-election bid in March. Republicans have said Democrats were behind the complaint.

Washington, D.C.

Tribal casino revenues top $16.7 billion in ’03

Tribal casinos pulled in more than $16.7 billion in 2003 as American Indian gambling continued to grow across the country.

According to the National Indian Gaming Commission report released Tuesday, an incomplete survey showed an increase of more than $2 billion in gambling revenues, or 13.7 percent, over the 2002 total. Eighteen tribal casinos have not yet reported earnings.

Members of the Kickapoo Tribe and the Sac and Fox Nation are completing a deal to purchase 30 acres near the Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County for casinos. They would need Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ approval.

California

Testimony continues in Peterson case

An evidence technician who examined Scott Peterson’s body for scratches or bruises days after his pregnant wife vanished testified Tuesday he found nothing unusual.

Doug Lovell of the Modesto Police Department testified as prosecutors shifted the focus of their case to evidence collected during searches of San Francisco Bay and at the Modesto home of Peterson and his missing wife, Laci.

Lovell said he was looking or any evidence Peterson had been involved in a struggle as police became suspicious he was responsible for his wife’s disappearance.

“Did you notice any scratches or marks or anything on his body?” defense lawyer Mark Geragos asked during his cross-examination.

“No, I didn’t,” Lovell replied.

The examination was more than a week after Laci Peterson was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2002.

Washington, D.C.

House votes to allow prescription imports

The House voted Tuesday to allow Americans to buy prescription drugs from Canada and other countries at prices lower than found in the United States, but the provision’s prospects are dim to become law this year.

The measure, approved as part of a $16.8 billion bill to fund the Agriculture Department and the Food and Drug Administration for next year, would prohibit the FDA from spending money to enforce its prohibition on imports of FDA-approved drugs.

A subcommittee put it into the bill last month at the instigation of Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio. The bill itself passed the House on Tuesday by a 389-31 vote.

The provision is not expected to remain in the final spending bill to be reconciled later by House and Senate negotiators, a Republican staff member said.