Four years ago, Eliot Spitzer, then the New York attorney general, asked several national banks to explain why they were disproportionately charging blacks and Hispanics high interest rates. Instead of an answer, he got a lawsuit. The banks, and the Treasury Department agency that regulates them, persuaded federal courts to bar the state attorney general from enforcing New York antidiscrimination laws. On April 28, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear New York's appeal. If the state wins, it would mark a break with decades of precedent that mostly favors the powers of the federal government and open a new era for 50 state regulators to play a bigger role. Under both Democratic and Republican administrations, the Treasury regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, has allied with the banks it supervises to set aside state laws ranging from disclosure requirements on loans to limits on surcharges at automated teller machines. The comptroller's office argues that the National Bank Act, first adopted in 1863, envisions a system where national banks operate efficiently across state lines without regard to a patchwork of local regulations and authorities.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124078827601457447.html

Searchable database of U.S. Supreme Court opinions, 1893-
http://www.findlaw.com/casecode/supreme.html

U.S. Supreme Court official Web site
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

Resources of the Week: Swine Flu by Shirl Kennedy, Senior Editor
On April 26, U.S. public health officials declared a public health emergency, as diagnosed cases of swine flu continued to mount. As expected, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is keeping tabs on the disease, as is the World Health Organization (WHO). We thought it might be a good time to round up some reliable resources about swine flu. Pete Weiss, our contributing editor, found a blog called Effect Measure, part of the ScienceBlogs network, which he identifies as “a good aggregator of news regarding this flu outbreak.” Swine flu is a zoonotic disease (Utah State Extension; PDF, 90 KB), meaning “an infectious disease transmissible under natural conditions between vertebrate animals and human beings.” This being the case, you would expect that the veterinary profession might have useful information…and you would be correct. The American Association of Swine Veterinarians offers some fact sheets right on its home page.

The U.S. Census Bureau has submitted to Congress its proposed recovery plan to create jobs, strengthen the economy and conduct a successful 2010 Census. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Census Bureau was provided $1 billion. “The Census Bureau’s proposed investments will improve our ability to conduct an accurate census and will create thousands of good-paying jobs,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said. “A successful census is critical for ensuring that communities have proper representation and the resources needed for health care, law enforcement and education.” Under the proposal, the Census Bureau will invest $250 million in partnership and outreach efforts to minority communities and hard-to-reach populations. This effort is intended to promote participation in the census, which will improve accuracy and facilitate enumeration operations in 2010. The remaining $750 million will be committed to support early 2010 Census operations that will reduce operational and programmatic risks at a critical stage of the census process. More than $300 billion in federal funds are distributed every year based on census results. This funding supports vital local services like health care, schools, law enforcement, transportation and social services.

The public is getting its first uncensored look at which airports have the most problems with bird strikes. The Federal Aviation Administration had been keeping the information secret, but the Obama administration decided the public had a right to see it. Newly released records show that there have been almost 90 thousand incidents voluntarily reported since 1990. New York's J-F-K and Sacramento, California top the list. While the threat has been a problem for years, it took the spectacular emergency landing on the Hudson River in January to bring the issue to the country's attention.
http://www.cbs12.com/news/public_4717209___article.html/administration_bird.html

European Parliament votes to extend the copyright on sound recordings.
Performers and record labels currently earn royalties for 50 years. That would rise to 70 years under the new plan. The plan has to be passed by EU states in the European Council to become law. It would also include extra benefits for performers and session musicians. If passed, there would be a new fund for session musicians who signed away their rights when a recording was made. The fund would be financed by record labels, who would put aside 20% of the benefits they get from the prolonged copyright. There is also a clause to allow performers to renegotiate contracts with record labels after 50 years. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8014734.stm

A small town is a vast hell. Argentinean proverb
So begins a short story by Guillermo Martinez as translated by Alberto Manguel—read story here: http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2009/04/27/090427fi_fiction_martinez

In Russian history and culture, church bells occupy a mysteriously important position. Whereas Western European bells are tuned to produce familiar major and minor chords, a Russian bell is prized for its individual, untuned voice, producing rhythmic layered peals. Russian bells are given names like Swan, Bear, or Sheep, and are considered to be capable of suffering. Under Stalin, bell ringing was prohibited by law, and thousands of tons of bells were destroyed.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/04/27/090427fa_fact_batuman

We bought a wind bell for our granddaughter about 15 years ago, put it in the attic—and then couldn’t find it. When cleaning things out last week, we found it buried under bubble wrap in a large shopping bag. It’s now hanging in our garden sounding a major chord (like the NBC chimes). Sorry, Cammi—it’s ours now.

2009 11 Most Endangered Sites announced by National Trust for Historic Preservation
Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, CA
Miami Marine Stadium, FL
Dorchester Academy, Midway, GA
Lāna'i City, HI
Unity Temple, Oak Park, IL
Ames Shovel Shops, Easton, MA
Memorial Bridge, Portsmouth, NH & Kittery, ME
Mount Taylor, Grants, NM
Human Services Center, Yankton, SD
Cast-Iron Architecture of Galveston, TX
The Manhattan Project's Enola Gay Hangar, UT
http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/11-most-endangered/

It was supposed to be a photo op that captured images of an Air Force One plane with a majestic Statue of Liberty in the background. Instead, it turned into a public relations nightmare that led to recriminations from the president and mayor and prompted thousands other to ask, "What were they thinking?" Just before the workday began on April 27, an airliner and supersonic fighter jet zoomed past the lower Manhattan skyline. Within minutes, startled financial workers streamed out of their offices, fearing a nightmarish replay of Sept. 11.
For a half-hour, the Boeing 747 and F-16 jet circled the Statue of Liberty and the Financial District near the World Trade Center site. Offices evacuated. Dispatchers were inundated with calls. Witnesses thought the planes were flying dangerously low.
But the flyover was nothing but a photo op, apparently one of a series of flights to get pictures of the plane in front of national landmarks. It was carried out by the Defense Department with little warning, infuriating New York officials and putting the White House on the defense. Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg didn't know about it, and he later called it "insensitive" to fly so near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jQCKDUYswf9K9lMjX4oxtDxHVqXQD97RB2500

Daimler AG has agreed to surrender its ownership stake in Chrysler LLC and forgive repayment of a $1.5-billion loan, while Cerberus Capital Management dropped charges that Daimler hid the depth of Chrysler's problems prior to the 2007 sale. http://www.freep.com/article/20090428/BUSINESS01/904280310

Cassini spacecraft takes amazing photos of Saturn (Thanks, Illinois muse reader.)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1172205/Saturn-close-Sensational-cosmic-images-bring-ringed-planet-life.html