Oregon: Bankruptcy judge rejects Enron request

A bankruptcy judge ruled Wednesday in Portland that Enron Corp. executives cannot secure millions of dollars from the company for legal fees.

Enron was seeking an advance of at least $30 million from bankruptcy court to pay to defend its officers and directors. The company’s request was opposed by attorneys general from 33 states.

The Houston-based energy giant is incorporated in Oregon. To receive an advance, state law requires executives to file an affirmation in bankruptcy court that they have acted in an ethical manner, said Kristin Grainger, spokeswoman for Oregon’s attorney general. Enron executives have not done so, she said.

Washington, D.C.: Investigators subpoena labs’ anthrax samples

Federal authorities have demanded documents and anthrax samples from the nation’s scientific laboratories in their hunt for the origin of the anthrax used in last year’s attacks by mail.

Officials believe the attacks last fall, which killed five people and sickened 13, were the work of a scientist who may have obtained the spores from one of a dozen labs that have the strain on hand. They hope to narrow the source through complex genetic analysis now under way.

Subpoenas issued this week also sought documents to help the FBI piece together the movement of anthrax around the country. Labs were asked to detail where and when they got their anthrax samples and to identify labs to which they sent samples.

Florida: Pillsbury Bake-Off prize goes to sandwich

An accountant was awarded the $1 million top prize Wednesday in the Pillsbury Quick & Easy Bake-off for Chicken Florentine Panini, the first winning sandwich.

The entry was among 100 finalists in the baking competition, which has taken place for 53 years.

The sandwich is made with refrigerated pizza crust, sauteed chicken breasts, spinach and garlic-flavored mayonnaise.

The winner, Denise Yennie, of Nashville, Tenn., will also receive kitchen appliances worth $5,000. Yennie said she will use the prize to finance her business consulting company.

Texas: Judge stays execution

A federal judge halted the execution of a condemned killer and agreed Wednesday to hear from mental health experts about the inmate’s sanity.

Lawyers for Monty Delk, who was to die by lethal injection today in Huntsville, say he is insane and should not be executed. U.S. District Judge Richard Schell said he would hold a hearing on the matter.

Delk, 35, was condemned for the 1986 shooting death of Gene Olan Allen II. The victim’s wife last saw him driving away with Delk, who had called earlier about a newspaper ad that listed their car for sale and wanted to take a test drive.

Washington, D.C.: Government lowers goal for seat belt use

The government is backing away from its goal of getting 90 percent of Americans to wear seat belts by 2005, contending that level set in the Clinton administration is too unrealistic.

The new goal is 78 percent by 2003, compared with 87 percent envisioned under the Clinton plan. Federal regulators will decide after 2003 whether to see new goals.

“Let’s put into effect a target we can actually use,” Jeffrey Runge, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told a Senate Appropriations panel.

The Clinton administration’s 10-year plan has proved too ambitious, he said. Seat belt use was a record 73 percent in 2001, but below the goal of 86 percent.