Arizona Gov. expected to veto bill

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Arizona Gov. expected to veto bill
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All signs indicate Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer will
likely veto politically-charged legislation that
supporters say promotes religious freedom and
opponents contend discriminates against gays and
lesbians. The Republican-led measure would allow
Arizona business owners to deny service to gay
and lesbian customers as long as they assert
their religious beliefs. Brewer, a republican,
has until Saturday to sign or veto the bill. If
she does nothing, it automatically becomes law.
Many suggest she is concerned that there will be
economic consequences for the state if it has a
law on the books perceived to effectively codify
discrimination. The bill was pushed by the Center
for Arizona Policy, a conservative group opposed
to abortion and same-sex marriage. Sources say
the governor is concerned about this bill taking
away from other important issues because of the
national exposure it has been getting.
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In Other News

• Harold Ramis was surrounded by family in his
  North Shore home when he died at 1253 a.m. of
  complications from autoimmune inflammatory
  vasculitis, a rare disease that involves swelling
  of the blood vessels. Ramis leaves behind a
  formidable list of achievements, with writing
  credits on such enduring comedies as National
  Lampoon's Animal House, Stripes (1981) and
  Ghostbusters (in which Ramis also co-starred),
  plus such directing efforts as Caddyshack
  (1980), National Lampoon's Vacation (1983),
  Groundhog Day and Analyze This (1999). He was
  69.
• A coalition of more than 40 health care, consumer
  and addiction treatment groups is urging the Food
  and Drug Administration to revoke approval of the
  prescription drug Zohydro. The FDA approved the
  medication last fall to treat chronic pain, and
  it is set to become available to patients in
  March. The concerns echoed by all groups are
  broadly about the drug's potency and abuse
  potential. They say they fear that Zohydro --
  especially at higher doses -- will amplify
  already-rising overdose numbers. According to the
  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
  prescription opioid deaths more than quadrupled
  since 1999 -- there were 4,030 deaths involving
  the drugs in 1999, compared with 16,651 in 2010.
  Both Zohydro's maker, Zogenix, and the FDA assert
  the drug's benefits outweigh its risks.
• A husband and wife are reveling in their good
  fortune after finding 10 million in rare gold
  coins buried on their property in Northern
  California. The gold country discovery is thought
  to be the largest of its kind in U.S. history.
  The coins were unearthed in February 2013 by the
  husband and wife. They were walking their dog
  when they spotted something shiny on the ground.
  The couple dug and eventually discovered eight
  metal cans, containing more than 1,400 gold
  coins. No one knows how they got there, or who
  the coins might have belonged to. The treasure is
  now known as the "Saddle Ridge Hoard" because it
  was discovered near a hill the couple called
  Saddle Ridge. The coins, in 5, 10 and 20
  denominations, are dated from 1847 to 1894. Most
  were minted in San Francisco. They have a
  combined face value of about 27,000, but experts
  believe they could fetch 10 million or more.