Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe REHNQUIST WANTS SALARY HIKE FOR JUDGES Chief Justice William Rehnquist is calling for higher pay for federal judges, increases in the number of judgeships and a quicker congressional confirmation process, United Press International reports. Advertisement "The 1,547,669 (federal court) filings represent a new all-time high," says Rehnquist, noting significant increases in the number of applicants seeking federal bankruptcy protection and in non-business litigation. He says a single party controls the presidency and both houses of Congress, so it was hoped the confirmation process of people nominated for the federal bench would flow more quickly. "There will come a time when that is not the case," and he urges Congress and President George W. Bush "to work together to fix the underlying problems that have bogged down the nomination and confirmation process for so many years." Rehnquist makes a plea for increased salaries for the federal bench. Though he acknowledged federal judges make some $150,000 a year, the disparity between their pay and the pay of qualified attorneys is too great. Advertisement -- Should judges get more pay? -- Rehnquist says every time an experienced judge leaves the bench, the nation suffers a temporary loss in judicial productivity. Do you agree? (Thanks to UPI's Nicholas M. Horrock) DNA SAMPLES Authorities will ask another 50 to 100 men to voluntarily submit DNA samples to help in the investigation into a serial killer who has slain four women in the past 14 months in south Louisiana, UPI reports. Police want to compare the samples to the DNA of a man linked through the testing to the slayings of three women in Baton Rouge and most recently the beating death of a woman last month. Samples have been voluntarily submitted by about 800 men at Baton Rouge and 600 of those individuals have been eliminated as possible suspects, Baton Rouge Police Chief Pat Englade says. Test results are pending in the other cases. Another 50 to 100 men in the Lafayette area will be asked for samples next week, Lafayette Parish Sheriff Mike Neustrom says. If the men refuse to volunteer the DNA sample, a court order will be sought. The men were selected because of information received on a crime hotline. Advertisement -- Should the police be able to seek DNA based only on information from a tip hotline? -- Do you agree with law enforcement taking DNA samples from all convicted criminals? POVERTY IN CHINA AND INDIA Has miracle growth given the Chinese the first thing any half-decent state policy should strive for, the elimination of poverty? asks Mani Shankar Aiya, a member of the Indian Parliament who write a weekly column for UPI. India's market reformers point to the Chinese poverty level having sunk to a mere 8 percent of the population while official statistics in India place 26 percent below the poverty line. Taking the old Word Bank definition of poverty as expenditure under a dollar a day -- Gordon C. Chang's "The Coming Collapse of China" quotes The China Economic Times as estimating half of China's rural population of 900 million is living on less than 73 cents a day. Aiya says India uses the National Sample Survey Organization, which polls people nationwide to estimate what their physical consumption has been in the previous week, but results can be mucky when people are asked what they consumed over the previous 30 days. Advertisement -- How involved should the United States be in eliminating poverty worldwide? -- Should the worldwide definition of poverty -- $1 a day -- be changed?
