S. Dakota Senate approves bill banning most abortions
Pierre, S.D. – Legislation meant to prompt a national legal battle targeting Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, was approved Wednesday by the South Dakota Senate, moving the bill a step closer to final passage.
The measure, which would ban nearly all abortions in the state, now returns to the House, which passed a different version earlier.
The House must decide whether to accept changes made by the Senate, which passed its version 23-12.
The bill, carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison, would make it a felony for doctors or others to perform abortions.
Supporters noted that the recent appointment of Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito make the Supreme Court more likely to consider overturning Roe vs. Wade.
President Bush, a Republican and an abortion foe, might also have a chance to appoint a third justice in the next few years, they said.
Opponents argued that the measure was too extreme because it would allow abortions only to save the lives of pregnant women.
They said abortion should at least be allowed in cases involving rape, incest and a threat to a woman’s health.
Planned Parenthood, which operates the only clinic that provides abortions in South Dakota, pledged to challenge the measure in court if it wins final approval from the Legislature and is signed by Gov. Mike Rounds, an anti-abortion Republican.
LOS ANGELES
Retired priest found guilty of sex abuse
A retired priest who admitted molesting 13 boys in the 1970s and ’80s but claimed he never did so again was convicted Wednesday of abusing a youngster in the 1990s. He faced no jeopardy on the earlier charges because of a statute of limitations.
The jury was unable to reach verdicts on four other counts against the Rev. Michael Wempe.
Wempe, 66, could get up to three years in prison on the single count. The sentencing was put off until prosecutors can decide whether to seek a retrial on the undecided counts.
The brother of two of Wempe’s earlier victims claimed the Roman Catholic priest abused him from 1990 to 1995, when Wempe was a hospital chaplain.
WASHINGTON
Generic Flonase gets regulatory approval
Regulators approved the first generic version of Flonase on Wednesday, touting the move as one that should provide users of the allergy drug a cheaper alternative.
Fluticasone Propionate Nasal Spray is the first generic version of Flonase, which has annual sales of more than $1 billion. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in 1994 to treat the nasal symptoms of seasonal and chronic allergies as well as inflammation of the lining of the nose.
GlaxoSmithKline makes Flonase. Roxane Laboratories, of Columbus, Ohio, makes the generic version.
PARRIS ISLAND, S.C.
Marine instructor acquitted in drowning
A military judge Wednesday found a Marine Corps swim instructor not guilty of negligent homicide in the drowning of a recruit last year.
Staff Sgt. Nadya Lopez had been accused of failing to recognize or ignoring signs that Jason Tharp, 19, was too tired or incapable of continuing before he drowned during training in a pool on Feb. 8, 2005.
But the judge acquitted Lopez in the nonjury court-martial just 40 minutes after defense attorneys rested without calling any witnesses.
They contended prosecutors simply failed to prove their case.
PARIS
3 photographers fined $1.19 for Diana photos
A Paris appeals court fined three photographers the equivalent of $1.19 each for invasion of privacy by taking pictures of Princess Diana and boyfriend Dodi Fayed the night of their fatal 1997 car crash, officials said Wednesday.
The appeals court fined the photographers a symbolic 1 euro in a Friday ruling that was not announced until Wednesday.
Jacques Langevin, Christian Martinez and Fabrice Chassery were among the media swarm pursuing the car carrying Diana and Fayed across Paris before it slammed into the pillar of a traffic tunnel along the River Seine on Aug. 31, 1997.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil
Embattled president leads in latest poll
Nine months after allegations of bribery forced the resignations of several key aides, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appears to have made a quick political comeback and now leads voter surveys for October’s presidential elections.
A poll released Wednesday by the research firm Datafolha showed da Silva ahead of his closest challenger, São Paulo Mayor Jose Serra, by 8 percentage points.
MOSCOW
Market roof’s collapse leaves at least 12 dead
The roof over a Moscow market collapsed early today, killing at least 12 people, according to Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry, and trapping others beneath the twisted wreckage.
Rescue workers pulled four bodies from the wreckage at the Bauman market, NTV and Rossiya state television reported. The channels said a number of people had been taken to hospitals with injuries.
Wet snow had fallen for much of the day Wednesday and overnight.
