In brief: White House responds to contraceptive delay

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has thrown a hitch into President Barack Obama’s new health care law by blocking a requirement that some religion-affiliated organizations provide health insurance that includes birth control.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor late Tuesday night decided to block implementation of the contraceptive coverage requirement, only hours before the law’s insurance coverage went into effect on New Year’s Day.

The White House on Wednesday issued a statement saying that the administration is confident that its rules “strike the balance of providing women with free contraceptive coverage while preventing nonprofit religious organizations with religious objections to contraceptive coverage from having to contract, arrange, pay, or refer for such coverage.”

Sotomayor gave government officials until 10 a.m. EST Friday to respond to her order. A decision on whether to make the temporary injunction permanent or dissolve it likely won’t be made before then.

Pickup driver killed in collision with bus

ROLLING PRAIRIE, Ind. – A pickup truck collided with a charter bus loaded with casino patrons Wednesday along a northern Indiana highway, killing the pickup’s driver and injuring 15 bus passengers, authorities said.

A man driving the pickup lost control of his truck along snowy U.S. 20 and it slid into oncoming traffic and collided nearly head-on with a Royal Excursion charter bus carrying about 50 patrons of the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo, Mich., police told WSBT-TV.

The truck’s driver was killed and 15 bus passengers suffered injuries that were not life-threatening. The crash happened near the town of Rolling Prairie, some 15 miles west of South Bend.

Authorities said wintry weather appeared to have been a factor in the crash.

HOUSTON – Former first lady Barbara Bush remains hospitalized with a respiratory-related issue, but her condition hasn’t changed, a spokesman for her husband’s office said Wednesday.

Bush, 88, was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on Monday, though it wasn’t announced until former President George H.W. Bush’s office released a statement Tuesday night.

Jim McGrath, a spokesman for the former president, said there was “nothing new to report” on Wednesday.

In the meantime, President Barack Obama said he hopes Bush gets well soon.

“Michelle and I send our best wishes to Mrs. Bush for a speedy recovery,” the president said in a written statement. “Barbara is blessed to have both a loving, supportive family by her side and a vibrant spirit that we hope will have her feeling better soon.”

Chicago sees lowest crime rate since 1972

CHICAGO – Following a year when Chicago led the nation in homicides with more than 500, the city’s Police Department said Wednesday that in 2013 the city recorded the fewest killings since 1965 and saw its overall crime rate fall to levels not seen since 1972.

The city, which ended the year with a 16 percent drop in crime, saw the numbers of violent crimes, including robbery, aggravated battery and criminal sexual assault drop significantly – some by double digits – as well as drops in burglary and motor vehicle theft.

The year did not start promisingly, with more than 40 homicides recorded in January, including that of 15-year-old honor student Hadiya Pendleton, who was gunned down a mile from President Barack Obama’s South Side home. But the rate slowed considerably after that, and by the end of the year the city had recorded 415 homicides, 88 fewer than in 2012 and 20 fewer than in 2011.

“We are making significant progress by putting additional officers in high-crime areas, using intelligence to prevent retaliatory shootings, moving officers from administrative positions back to the streets,” Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said in a statement.

Police also said the number of shootings fell 24 percent from 2,448 to 1,864 between 2012 and 2013, and the number of shooting victims dropped from 3,066 to 2,328 for the same period.