National digest 1/18

Bush to include drug benefits in budget

WASHINGTON -- President Bush's election-year budget will propose setting up new federal prescription drug subsidies and overhauling Medicare, but leave the details for Congress to work out, officials said Thursday.

After a White House meeting with Bush, Sen. Pete Domenici said Bush's budget would reprise his proposal of last year to revamp the health-care program for the elderly and disabled.

That plan -- which also lacked details -- went nowhere in Congress because of partisan differences and the attention devoted to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Bush will propose setting aside $190 billion over a decade to reshape Medicare, the same amount as last year, said Domenici, R-N.M.

Flight crews to be taught to stop hijackers

WASHINGTON -- Abandoning the theory that cooperation with hijackers is the best way to protect passengers, the federal government wants flight crews to learn how to fight back.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which was forced to abandon its previous training manual in the wake of the September terrorist attacks, will release the updated guidance today.

The new FAA guidelines shift strategy from a more passive to a more active approach, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said.

Flight attendants and pilots will be taught how to respond to several threats.

-- From wire reports