Atlanta: Delusional inmate wins stay of execution

The Georgia parole board issued a stay of execution Tuesday for a killer who is said to be so delusional when he is off his medication that he believes actress Sigourney Weaver is God.

Advocates for the mentally ill have protested the impending execution of Alexander Williams, 33, who had been scheduled to die by injection tonight. An appeal lodged with the U.S. Supreme Court claims Williams was forcibly medicated to make him sane enough for execution.

The parole board issued the stay until midnight Feb. 25, saying it wanted more time to review the case.

Williams’ supporters include mental health advocates, religious leaders and former first lady Rosalynn Carter.

Chicago: Estrogen alternative may reduce heart risks

An osteoporosis drug marketed as an estrogen alternative may significantly lower the risk of heart attacks in postmenopausal women prone to heart disease, a study shows.

Moreover, the drug, called raloxifene and sold under the brand name Evista, does not raise the short-term, one-year risk of heart attacks in such women  a danger seen in some studies of estrogen supplements.

The drug had no effect on the risk of heart trouble in healthy women, according to the study, which was funded by Evista manufacturer Eli Lilly and Co. Doctors and the company said it would be premature to use the drug to prevent heart problems.

Illinois: Bishops’ president apologizes for abuse

The president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed regret Tuesday for priests who sexually abuse children and pledged to keep working to prevent such crimes.

“We continue to apologize to the victims and to their parents and their loved ones for this failure in our pastoral responsibilities,” Bishop Wilton Gregory said in a written statement.

The remarks were a response to troubles in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, where Cardinal Bernard Law has admitted he knew in 1984 that a priest had molested children, yet approved the priest’s transfer to another parish and stayed publicly silent about the abuse.

Gregory, who leads the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., said only a small percentage of the nation’s more than 40,000 priests were guilty of molestation. He asked U.S. Catholics to work together to prevent abuse.