By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX – Attorneys general from 13 states are suing the federal government to stop the massive health care overhaul, claiming it's unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was filed seven minutes after President Barack Obama signed the overhaul bill Tuesday. It names the U.S. departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury and Labor.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum is taking the lead in the lawsuit. Attorneys general from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Michigan, Utah, Pennsylvania, Alabama, South Dakota, Louisiana, Idaho, Washington and Colorado are joining in. Other GOP attorneys general may join the lawsuit later or sue separately.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Pensacola.
Texas launches Web site to check electricity use
More than 1 million Texas consumers can now check online to find out how much electricity they're using. The Public Utility Commission announced Tuesday a new Web site that allows customers to manage residential and business bills by figuring out how much energy they used in 15-minute periods.
The Web site is available to more than 1 million customers of Oncor Electric Delivery and CenterPoint Energy. Once American Electric Power begins installing smart meters later this year, the PUC says more than 6.3 million Texas customers will be able to manage electricity use through SmartMeterTexas.com.
The Web site is designed for customers in competitive retail electric markets.
Clerk dead in robbery at Fort Worth gas station
Fort Worth police searched for two gunmen after a robbery attempt at a gas station left a clerk dead and another man shot in the head. The shootings took place Tuesday morning at a Valero station, which also has a convenience store.
Police reviewed store security video in an effort to identify the two masked men.
Sgt. Pedro Criado says the wounded man worked as a bread delivery driver. He was taken to a hospital, in critical condition. Names of the victims were not immediately released.
Texas homeowners group sues over solar panels
A suburban Dallas homeowners association is suing a man over the solar panels installed on the back of his house. The lawsuit claims the panels violate rules designed to keep up property values in the Flower Mound neighborhood.
Shelly Leih, who lives behind the house, tells KXAS-TV that the dark panels are "an eyesore." Even though the panels are on the back of his roof, they're visible from a popular walking trail.
Charles Spencer, an attorney for the Wellington Homeowners Association, said Tuesday that managers are just enforcing the rules.
Spencer denied the homeowner's contention that the association missed a 30-day deadline for responding to his request to install the panels.