In brief: House OKs bill for military travelers

Washington – The House on Tuesday voted unanimously to allow military travelers on official duty to get a special preference to move through airport security checks faster.

The bill, approved 404-0, would give the Homeland Security Department six months to devise a preference system for the Armed Forces. The legislation went to the Senate.

If the bill becomes law, the earliest beneficiaries would likely be troops returning from Afghanistan next year and their family members.

Police identify Gacy victim

Chicago – More than 30 years after finding bones beneath John Wayne Gacy’s house, authorities have identified a 19-year-old Chicago construction worker who disappeared in 1976 as one of Gacy’s eight unnamed victims.

The announcement by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart on Tuesday came nearly seven weeks after the sheriff’s office issued a public plea for families of young men who disappeared in the 1970s to submit DNA samples for comparison with the victims’ remains.

William George Bundy’s sister always suspected that Gacy killed her brother, and detectives used genetic tests to confirm those suspicions.

Survey: Tea party support dipping

Washington – The influence of the tea party movement appears to be on the wane, according to a new survey.

The report from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released Tuesday showed support for the tea party dropping nationwide, with more Americans viewing the movement unfavorably.

Overall, according to Pew, more Americans (27 percent) disagree with the goals of the movement than agree (20 percent), with half of those surveyed having no opinion. A year ago, those numbers were reversed, with 27 percent of Americans favoring the tea party’s aims.

The decline has been just as steep in districts that sent a tea party follower to Congress. A year ago, 33 percent in those districts said they agreed with the tea party. Now that number is just 25 percent. In contrast, those who disagreed with the tea party shot up from 18 percent to 23 percent. (In March 2010, just 10 percent of those surveyed said they disagreed with the tea party.)