Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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STATE Medicaid changes might save money COLUMBIA (AP) — The state could save about $23 million if the Health and Human Services Department made changes in its Medicaid program, including charging an enrollment fee and improving debt collection, ac cording to an audit released Tuesday. Members of the General Assembly asked the Legislative Audit Council to review the joint state-federal program, which pays for medical services for the state’s neediest residents, be cause of concerns about the growth of Medicaid expendi tures and number of recipients. In South Carolina, Medicaid is a $3.6 billion program. In fis cal year 2002, HHS paid about $480 million in state funds on Medicaid. From 1999 to 2002, Medicaid expenditures in creased 25 percent, while the state’s general fund revenues de creased 1.53 percent. Lawmakers are looking for ways to reduce the cost of the program without cutting ser vices. N.C. senator voices support for boycott COLUMBIA (AP) - North Carolina Sen. John Edwards says he supports the NAACP’s boycott of South Carolina to i — protest the display of the Confederate flag on State House grounds. Edwards, who was in Columbia on Monday for a Martin Luther King Jr. event, is the third Democratic presiden tial candidate to oppose the ban ner. He said he stayed at people’s homes instead of hotels to hon or the civil rights group’s eco nomic sanctions. The Confederate flag was re moved from atop the State House dome and legislative chambers in 2000 after the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People called for an economic boycott of the state. A similar flag was raised at a Confederate monument on the State House grounds, so the boy cott remains. The organization wants the flag “removed from all positions of sovereignty,” according to its resolution on the issue. The NAACP has called on en tertainers, athletes, sports events organizers and business es to avoid spending money in the state. 1 NATION Internet providers must trace pirates WASHINGTON (AP) - Internet providers must agree to requests by the mu sic industry to track down computer users who illegally download music, a federal judge ruled Tuesday in a case that could dramatically in crease online pirates’ risk of being caught. The decision by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates upheld the recording indus try’s power under a 1998 law to compel Internet providers to identify customers that il legally trade music or movies online. Bates acknowledged that the case was an important test of subpoena powers Congress granted to copy right holders under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The judge said that contro versial law, which was enact ed to uphold copyrights on line, permits music compa nies to force Internet providers to turn over the name of a suspected pirate upon subpoena from any U.S. District Court clerk’s office, without a judge’s order. Activists to mark landmark case WASHINGTON (AP) - Thousands of activists on both sides of the abortion de base are rallying to mark to day’s 30th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. This year’s anniversary falls as Republicans control the House, Senate and White House. Abortion-rights sup porters and critics also are weighing the impact of a po tential Supreme Court retire ment: The high court now is split 5-4 in favor of abortion rights. Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, said her organiza tion’s focus will be on main taining the current Supreme Court balance and ensuring that “we will not be the gen eration that both won and lost reproductive rights in our lifetime.” “With George Bush look ing at potential justices who are not only very conserva tive, but very young — high 30s, young 40s — we’re talk ing about a justice who would be carrying out that philoso phy for another 35 to 40 years, which is literally genera tions,” Gandy said Tuesday. “It’s the entire reproductive life of my 9-year-old daugh ter.” WORLD Carter proposes plan for elections CARACAS, VENEZUELA (AP) Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter proposed a plan Tuesday to lead Venezuela to elections and end a 51-day-old strike against President Hugo Chavez, which has dramatically cut production in the No. 5 oil exporting country. Carter’s ideas were the first concrete proposals to emerge from more than two months of talks between the government and Venezuela’s opposition, which called the strike to de mand early elections or Chavez’s resignation. Both Chavez and opposition leaders reacted cautiously, say ing they merited study. _ Carter said the first plan would amend Venezuela’s con stitution to shorten presidential and legislative terms of office and stage early general elec tions. It calls for Venezuela’s oppo sition to end the strike and for the government, which has a congressional majority, to move quickly on changing the consti tution. Amending the constitu tion requires the approval of . congress and a popular referen dum. Israeli forces ruin Palestinian shops NABLUS, WEST BANK (AP) - Israeli forces staged the biggest demolition in the West Bank in years on Tuesday, destroying 62 shops in a Palestinian village. Also Tuesday, Israel’s Supreme Court relaxed a ban on soldiers using Palestinians as “human shields” or ordering Palestinians to knock on doors of Islamic militants’ houses. Human rights advocates de nounced the decision. In Gaza, Palestinians fired rockets af two Jewish settle ments, damaging buildings but causing no casualties, settlers and the military said. In the village of Nazlat Issa, next to the West Bank border with Israel, seven bulldozers guarded by 300 soldiers de stroyed shops and market stalls. Dozens of protesters threw stones at troops, who fired tear gas and rubber-coated steel pel lets. Other demonstrators chanted “Down with the occu pation.” Israeli troops have demol "ished hundreds of Palestinian homes, many in the Gaza Strip, in the past 28 months of fighting. In Gaza alone, more than 5,700 Palestinians have been made homeless, according to Palestinian officials. 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