Calif. lawmakers may ban high school dropouts from driving

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Targeting what most teenagers lust for, California lawmakers may ban dropouts from driving in a last-ditch attempt to entice them back to school.

The approach, if signed into law, would mark the first time California has used driving as leverage to get kids to stay in school.

Two Assembly bills call for stripping dropouts and habitual truants of driving privileges unless they return to school, reach age 18 or qualify for a hardship waiver.

"It occurs to me that driving is a privilege, it's a state-authorized activity, so I think we have a role here," said Assemblyman Gene Mullin, a South San Francisco Democrat who is pressing the issue as chairman of the Assembly Education Committee.

Postal service honors Hispanic newsman

The U.S. Postal Service will issue a stamp Tuesday honoring Los Angeles newsman Ruben Salazar, who, through his reporting and opinion columns in the 1960s, became a provocative voice for an evolving Mexican American community searching for its political and social identity.

Among the first Hispanic reporters to work at a mainstream newspaper, he was killed Aug. 29, 1970, struck in the head by a high-velocity tear gas projectile fired by a sheriff's deputy during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration in East Los Angeles. He was 42.

A Los Angeles Times columnist and general manager of KMEX-TV at the time of his death, Salazar quickly became a cultural icon. Awards are granted in his memory and roads, schools and parks named after him.

His likeness appears on posters, murals and lithographs, including one by the famous Mexican painter David Alfaro Siqueiros. Folk songs were written about him.

He is one of five American journalists being honored today with stamps: The others are Martha Gellhorn, John Hersey, George Polk and Eric Sevareid.

Hawking: Alien but primitive life likely

WASHINGTON -- Famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has been thinking a lot about the cosmic question, "Are we alone?" The answer is probably not, he says.

If there is life elsewhere in the universe, Hawking asks why haven't we stumbled onto some alien broadcasts in space, maybe something like "alien quiz shows?"

Hawking's comments were part of a lecture at George Washington University on Monday in honor of NASA's 50th anniversary. He theorized that there are possible answers to whether there is extraterrestrial life.

One option is that there likely isn't life elsewhere. Or maybe there is intelligent life elsewhere, but when it gets smart enough to send signals into space, it also is smart enough to make destructive nuclear weapons.

Hawking said he prefers the third option:

"Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare," he then quickly added: "Some would say it has yet to occur on earth."

Pizza manager accused of selling pot from drive-through window

FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Police have arrested a pizza parlor manager on charges alleging he sold marijuana out of his drive-through window in Fort Smith, Ark.

Authorities said Monday that state and local investigators acting on a tip went to the Pizza Hut restaurant and found six ounces of marijuana and a set of digital scales in the manager's office.

Police said they arrested 28-year-old manager Aaron Massey on Friday on a charge of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Massey has been released on $3,500 bail.

4.0 aftershock reported from Midwest quake

WEST SALEM, Ill. -- More aftershocks shook Southern Illinois on Monday, three days after a magnitude 5.2 quake rattled nerves across the region.

The U.S. Geological Survey said a total of 22 aftershocks had been recorded since last week's tremor that was centered deep beneath the surface near West Salem.

They included one just before 12:40 a.m. Monday that registered magnitude 4.0 and had its epicenter northwest of Mount Carmel. That tremor was initially reported as 4.5 but was downgraded during the day.

The strongest aftershock registered magnitude 4.6 about 5 1/2 hours after the original quake Friday morning.

Friday's quake shook a wide area of the Midwest and caused minor damage.

Gov't to release new fuel economy rules

WASHINGTON -- The government on Tuesday plans to release a proposal to raise fuel efficiency standards for new cars and trucks, putting the nation's fleet on track to reach 35 miles per gallon by 2020.

Transportation Department Secretary Mary Peters was making the Earth Day announcement in Washington, responding to a new energy law pushed by Congress last year and signed by President Bush.

Congress sought tougher standards requiring the nation's fleet of new vehicles to increase its efficiency by 10 mpg from its current average of 25 mpg, or a 40 percent increase. The new law represented the first major changes to the auto mileage rules in three decades.

Kids recommended to get EKG before Ritalin

NEW YORK -- Children should be screened for heart problems with an electrocardiogram before getting drugs like Ritalin to treat hyperactivity and attention-deficit disorder, the American Heart Association recommended Monday.

Stimulant drugs can increase blood pressure and heart rate. For most children, that isn't a problem.

But in those with heart conditions, it could make them more vulnerable to sudden cardiac arrest -- an erratic heartbeat that causes the heart to stop pumping blood through the body -- and other heart problems.

About 2.5 million American children and 1.5 million adults take medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, according to government estimates. Stimulant drugs, like Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta, help children with ADHD stay focused and control their behavior.

Colorado lawmaker calls Mexicans 'illiterate peasants'

DENVER -- A Colorado legislator known for kicking a photographer was ordered to leave the podium of the state House of Representatives on Monday because he called Mexican workers "illiterate peasants."

State Rep. Douglas Bruce, who has a history of provoking controversy, made the comment during debate on a bill that would allow the state to help immigrant workers get temporary federal visas. The measure is intended to ease a shortage of farm workers in the state.

"I would like to have the opportunity to state at the microphone why I don't think we need 5,000 more illiterate peasants in Colorado," Bruce said.

His outburst drew an audible gasp from the House.

"How dare you," said state Rep. Kathleen Curry, a Democrat who was serving as chairwoman during the debate. She told the Republican lawmaker he was no longer recognized to speak.

House Minority Leader Mike May, head of the GOP caucus, said legislative leaders were trying to determine what action to take against Bruce.