Business

Delta may have to file for bankruptcy.

But in a quarterly report with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Delta said in part: ``If we cannot achieve a competitive cost structure, regain sustained profitability and access the capital markets on acceptable terms, we will need to pursue alternative courses of action ... including the possibility of seeking to restructure our costs under Chapter 11.'' NYT

Delta's pilot costs, which are 50 percent to 60 percent higher than restructured pilot contracts at other legacy carriers, account for more than 10 percent of its total costs. Atlanta-based Delta (NYSE: DAL) has asked the pilots union for a 30 percent pay cut and greater productivity, but the pilots have counteroffered a 9 percent pay cut in addition to foregoing a 4.5 percent pay raise. Delta management has refused to lower their demands. ABC

In Monday's filing, Delta said its pilot costs are "significantly higher" than other carriers' and will go up about $85 million on an annual basis because of a 4.5 percent pay raise that took effect May 1. The airline soon may also have to begin recalling up to 1,060 furloughed pilots because rising traffic levels have reached trigger points in a previous arbitrator's ruling. AJC

CEO says automakers must adjust.  Detroit

"Reducing health-care costs would relieve the Big Three of some legacy costs, sure. But it's more than that. Toyota, Honda and other automakers have come to the United States and made products that are successful. I mean they (Nissan) builds the Titan pickup truck here, so Detroit can't blame it all on health care, regulatory issues and tort liability," said Peter Morici, former economist at the International Trade Commission and University of Maryland business professor. "Detroit needs to deal with its high wages, both white- and blue-collar. It presses its suppliers to get with their labor costs, but doesn't do the same with theirs," he said

Huddle House eyes Mississippi expansion.  ABC

Campaigns

National

Kerry attacks Bush on health care costs.  Post

The average American family pays nearly $10,000 a year for a policy, his campaign stated, more than those in any other country. U.S. employers have responded by slowing hiring and shifting work to part-time and temporary employees, according to the campaign

Campaign recedes into the background amid abuse scandal.  NYT

Festivals of certitude in the land of red and blue. NYT

But to get a taste of red and blue in their purest forms, it helps to attend a rally for each side and listen to each standard-bearer carry on a conversation with the converted. Only then does it become apparent how truly different these two Americas are, and how in other ways they are oddly alike.

Bush approval rating hits lowest point.  USA

''For an incumbent to be at 46% job approval at this point in an election year has historically always spelled defeat'' for presidents since 1950, says Frank Newport, editor in chief of the Gallup Poll. But he says it's a small sample; only eight presidents have sought re-election, five successfully.

Nader misses Texas ballot requirement.  NYT

Shifting the money so the votes will follow.  Post

Strategists in the network of independent political organizations known as the "shadow Democratic Party" are shifting money and resources from television advertising to voter mobilization programs.

From the Senate Minority Leader: a call to calm.  NYT

Everett Dirksen, the great Republican leader of the Senate when Dwight Eisenhower was president, said, `I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, and one of my principles is flexibility,' " Mr. Daschle said. "The result of hardball, all-or-nothing politics is usually nothing." he added. "We need to restore respect for principled compromise."

Georgia

Party switch could block Conger.  Columbus

An Atlanta judge will decide next week which political party can claim Gray Conger, but the chairman of the state Democratic Party said Monday that the incumbent district attorney could be off the ballot altogether.<o:p></o:p>

Oxendine announces he’s running for Lt. Gov.  AccessNorthGa AJC

The Republican has long been considered a likely candidate for higher office. In 10 years as the state insurance and fire safety commissioner, Oxendine has kept a high profile, often visiting arson cases in person.<o:p></o:p>

Insurance chief views storm loss.  Rome

Oxendine, state insurance and safety fire commissioner, had been asked to attend the Optimist Club’s meeting Monday to discuss recent accomplishments of his administration and the overall mission of his office. “You probably don’t know how important I am,” he joked to club members. <o:p></o:p>

Judge orders reinstatement of policeman running for office.  Rome

For state lawmakers, work is done and politicking can begin.  AccessNorthGa

A term in the state House and Senate lasts just two years, so savvy incumbents make a point to regularly drop in on local events, chamber of commerce meetings and the like. The "face time," as politicians call it, comes in handy when they have to pump cash in a hurry and put together a re-election campaign in just a few weeks."You pretty much campaign from the day you're in office," Forster said

Senator guides party.  Albany

Democrats chose Michael Meyer von Bremen, a quiet, low-key senator from Albany — instead of a bomb thrower — to become Georgia's first Democratic minority leader in either legislative chamber since the 19th century.  "(Republicans) had dished it out and, I think, expected a dose of their own medicine," Meyer von Bremen said during an interview in his Capitol office this week. "(But) I've always felt if you can take the high road, in the long run, it will pay off."

Economy

Indicators

Inflation, rate fears, depress market.  Post

But Johnson of Lehman Brothers said interest rate and inflation fears probably took a back seat to politics on Monday as investors opened their morning papers to read about the assassination of the Chechen president, more details about and photos of abuse at an Iraqi prison and violence in that country, and continued pressure on Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to resign.

"I believe the market rises and falls with the Bush administration's approval rating," he said.

Jobs

Across America, war means jobs.  Post

In the first three months of this year, defense work accounted for nearly 16 percent of the nation's economic growth, according to the Commerce Department. Military spending leaped 15.1 percent to an annualized rate of $537.4 billion, up from $463.3 billion in the comparable period of 2003, when Bush declared major combat operations in Iraq over.<o:p></o:p>

MCI to cut 7,500 jobs.  Post

Kitchen Table

Record gasoline costs siphon drivers’ psyches, vacation plans.  Columbus

Offshoring

The political hot potato is the course in demand.  Chronicle

"If business schools are organizing trips to India to meet with CEO's of successfully outsourced companies, they should also arrange trips to U.S. companies that have tried outsourcing and had a bad experience," he says. "Students need to see both the benefits and the risks." Those risks include cultural snafus and language barriers, as well as the possibility of political unrest in the country to which jobs are being outsourced, he says.<o:p></o:p>

"My own job could be outsourced," says Mr. Gupta. "Someone in another country could be teaching it, through video links."

Education

Higher Ed

Demand for universities to soar.  BBC

Ivy League gets a run for its money.  LATimes

So why did Hayles recently decide on Emory University in Atlanta, a highly regarded institution but more often a place students choose when they can't get into an Ivy League school?  Partly, she said, because the school offered her a tantalizing financial deal, a package covering full tuition, room and board, foreign study funds, a $1,000 stipend for a research project — and even money to pay for cultural events or restaurant meals with fellow Emory scholars.

K12

US Senate to hear bogus degree case.  Gwinnett

Following the discovery that a high-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security possessed questionable degrees, the Governmental Actions Committee decided to look into whether federal employees were earning positions or promotions based on degrees from “diploma mills,” Internet scams that sell degrees for little or no educational requirements.<o:p></o:p>

State cuts Hall Ed  $5 million.  AccessNorthGa

Microsoft offers schools free software. Conyers

Microsoft’s free offer will allow state high schools to distribute software programs, including Microsoft Visual Studio.NET 2003, Visual Studio 6.0, MSDN Library, and three Microsoft Electronic Learning Library collections to all school instructional computers and student home computers as well.

G-8

Coast Guard prepares for terrorist threat.  Savannah

To prepare for possible protesters or terrorist attacks, the Coast Guard has asked for nearly complete control to shut down recreational and most commercial uses of the waterways around the islands and along the Savannah River from June 5-11.

Government

Accountability

Macon’s audit report stirs anger.  Macon

The lightning rods were dips in the city's cash and investments, and a deficit in a capital improvement fund that some officials said is the first in more than two decades.

Ethics

Senator backs up claim.  AJC

In December, the State Ethics Commission, newly dominated by GOP appointees, found that Stephens had not improperly pocketed $32,000 in political contributions. But the issue of mistakes in his disclosure reports remains pending before the commission. <o:p></o:p>

Homeland Security

How long was line at airport?  AJC

The addition of hundreds of travelers who had been stranded by the effects of thunderstorms Sunday night intensified the usual start-of-the-week rush, officials said. Even so, DeCosta said, the passenger pileup would have been reduced if the Transportation Security Administration had fully staffed the checkpoint stations at 6 a.m. rather than at 7:30 a.m.

Public Safety

113,000 lose licenses.  Augusta

State suspends 77,000 believed to be uninsured.  AccessNorthGa

If caught driving without a valid tag, the owners face a misdemeanor charge punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. AJC

Deputy to become first black Republican in memory. 

Willie Talton is one of 13 blacks running for the Legislature as a Republican this year, according to the party and information from the candidates. But he is the only one who does not have opposition. AccessNorthGa

O'Neal insisted that Talton was not recruited because of his race. "I don't think of him as black or white or pink or purple," the lawyer said. "I think of him as a dear friend, mentor and confidant. I don't say that for political expedience. I say that because it's true."  AJC

Technology

Internet

2003 Online content spending up 19 percent.  Yahoo!

AT&T saves millions ($250 of em) with VOIP.  WSJ

Intellectual Property

5 killer patents.  MIT

Policy

Congressional panel to weigh digital copyright.  C|Net

But the subcommittee has no jurisdiction over that law.

Bad laws, bad code, bad behavior.  C|Net

"Sometimes, it feels good to pass these laws, but they're not going to have an effect on the problem...We often see bills come through with the greatest of intentions. But as they say elsewhere, you can't suspend the laws of physics." Will Rodger, policy director at the Computer and Communications Industry Association

A Net of Control.  MSNBC

“It’s not going to be all right not to know who’s on the other end of the wire.” Governments will be able to tax e-commerce—and dictators can keep track of who’s saying what.

Venture

Venture Capital’s secret numbers. WSJ

The battle over disclosure has already led several of the best-known venture-capital funds to bar public institutions from new investments. These venture capitalists are cutting back on the information they provide to investors out of fear that it could end up in the public domain. Some states are so worried that they're passing laws exempting venture-capital funds from public-disclosure laws. The latest to do so was Michigan on April 22

Editorials

Georgia will play key role in crucial G8 world summit.  Gainesville

Preempting crime without a law. Macon

In other areas of the country, pre-paying for gasoline is the order of business. With the exception of large cities, many areas of the South continue to allow drivers to fill up before paying up. About the only other industry that allows consumption before paying are restaurants. If the gasoline and convenience store retailers association issued a policy requiring prepay, that could do much more than any ordinance. It would stop the crime before it happens, something ordinances can't do.

Prison abuse impossible to downplay.  AJC

What Limbaugh equates to frat hazing, I think every American --- right, left or center ---must equate with the worst of concentration camp treatment and condemn it loudly without fear of being labeled anti-American because, in fact, not speaking out and not expressing outrage is the most anti-American act each of us could take.<o:p></o:p>

Around Town.  Marietta

The mixed up politics of the deficit.  NYT

Republican presidents can get away with utterly irresponsible fiscal policies because there's no one to their right who will make too much trouble for them. Democratic presidents can get away with fiscal austerity because there's no one to their left who will make their life too difficult. But the irony should not be missed. John Kerry's promise of fiscal responsibility might just save George Bush's presidency.

Thread of abuse runs to the Oval Office.  LATimes

The big lie that the United States is merely a selfless battler against terrorists, with no other agendas, opens the door for brutality against any who dare resist. Bush has exercised an arrogance unmatched by any U.S. president in a century and brandished God's will as his carte blanche. His unilateral, preemptive "nation-building" — and the settling of old scores in the name of fighting terror — grants license to treat anybody, including U.S. citizens, in a barbaric manner that cavalierly sweeps aside all standards of due process.

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