A grocery worker strike in California may be headed toward settlement, after five months and a lockout. Several chain stores were trying to lay a heavier burden of their health care costs on workers in violation of the existing contract. Labor went on strike, and Albertsons, not initially involved, locked its workers out in sympathy with the other chains.

Management cited higher health care costs (no shit) and the coming of Walmart grocery stores as the impetous for breaking the contract and drasgging the strike out for five months. In the face of dropping stock prices and migration of their customer base to other chains, the companies finally decided to negotiate a settlement. Details are not available, but Wall Street is waiting with baited breath to find out what concessions the union has made.

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A serial killer may be on the loose in Oklahoma. I, of course, am properly terrified.

No kidding, law enforcement officials from several states are meeting in Oklahoma City to discuss a number of unsolved killings of women, most described as prostitutes, whose bodies have been found in Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas. Four of the seven victims were from the Oklahoma City area.

Fascinating thing here is the difference between the Associated Press story carried by major news outlets, and this one, from Native American Times.

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Seems John Ashcroft and the Justice Department have all gotten medical degrees. Motivated by his long standing opposition to abortion, Ashcroft has issued subpoenas to Planned Parenthood for the medical records of women who have received abortions, especially those performed after the first trimester. This is partially motivated by his irritation over several lawsuits filed claiming the ban on "partial birth abortion " is sometimes medically necessary. To determine whether necessity applied, Ashcroft wants to go fishing in medical records.

Intimidation?

Of course not!