Florida

Hurricanes pose special problems for mortuaries

The four-in-a-row hurricanes that have disrupted lives across Florida have also delayed life’s final journey for many.

Funerals have been put off for weeks in some places because the ground is too soggy for burials or because scattered family members cannot be assembled.

Many undertakers also have had trouble finding doctors to sign death certificates. They have had to scramble to find electricity to run the refrigerated rooms where bodies are stored. Some have had to struggle just to find water to mix the embalming fluids and cleanse the bodies.

And many of those whose job it is to help people cope with the death of a loved one are dealing with heavy losses themselves.

“We’ve been tested,” said Paul Buxton, who saw the Okeechobee funeral home he built up over 25 years damaged by Hurricane Frances, then wiped out by Jeanne.

Los Angeles

Visitors from U.S.-allied nations face new checks

Tightening its defenses against terrorism, the United States on Thursday began fingerprinting and photographing visitors from some of America’s staunchest allies upon their arrival in this country.

The Homeland Security Department estimated the new requirements would affect 33,000 visitors a day but would add only 15 seconds to the processing time. The fingerprinting is done digitally, sparing travelers from getting their fingers smudged with ink.

The security requirements were already in place for nearly all other nations. As of Thursday, they were expanded to 27 countries whose citizens do not need visas for 90-day visits. Those countries include England, Australia, Italy and Japan.

Washington, D.C.

Panel: Child obesity will take wide effort to stop

A wide-ranging effort involving parents, schools, communities and government is needed to turn the tide of childhood obesity, the Institute of Medicine said Thursday.

“No single factor or sector of society bears all of the blame for the problem,” and no sector alone can correct it, Dr. Jeffrey Koplan of Emory University in Atlanta, chairman of the committee that prepared the recommendations, said at a briefing.

The report called for a wide-ranging effort that includes less time in front of television and computer screens, changes in food labeling and advertising, more school and community physical education programs, and education to help children make better choices.

New Jersey

Casino hotel workers poised to strike today

Casino hotel workers geared up Thursday for a strike that could deal a blow to New Jersey’s $4.4 billion industry.

About 15,000 workers — from bell captains to bartenders, pastry chefs to porters — were poised to walk off the job today barring a last-minute breakthrough in contract talks between casinos and Local 54 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union.

The last time Local 54 walked out was for three days in 1999.

Talks were held Thursday with representatives of Resorts Atlantic City and Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, which runs three casinos here, but a strike seemed all but certain.

Florida

Murderer who killed five gets life in prison

A man pleaded guilty Thursday to killing his estranged wife and four other people who came to his home over an 11-day period in the northeast Florida fishing village of Mayport.

Asked if he understood that he would die in prison, William Wells, 27, responded: “Yes, your honor.” Circuit Judge Henry Davis immediately sentenced Davis to five consecutive life terms.

Wells said at previous hearings that he wanted to be executed but changed his mind.

He was arrested after a police standoff in May 2003. He released his 4-year-old son before police entered the mobile home near Jacksonville and found five bodies in various stages of decomposition.

Washington, D.C.

U.S. chief justice still invigorated by job at 80

William H. Rehnquist turns 80 today, a milestone reached by only one other chief justice of the United States. Though slowed by back and knee problems, he remains invigorated by the job and appears in no hurry to give up the title of the nation’s top judge.

Named to the Supreme Court by President Nixon in 1972, Rehnquist is expected to mark his birthday much like any other work day: reviewing legal documents, while keeping a watchful eye on details of court life such as public exhibits.

The only older chief justice was Roger Taney, who presided over the high court in the mid-1800s until his death at 87.

New York City

Evangelist planning likely last N.Y. crusade

Evangelist Billy Graham, 85 years old and recovering from surgery, is planning what is likely his final crusade in New York City, his representatives said Thursday.

Graham is scheduled to preach for four days next June in Madison Square Garden, reprising his 1957 appearance in the arena, which drew more than 2 million people and was extended from six to 16 weeks. Next year’s crusade is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of June 24.

Tom Phillips, a top crusade organizer with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn., said it “will probably be the very last crusade in the New York area” for Graham.

Graham has said he would not retire. He is scheduled to appear at a crusade starting Thursday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo.

California

Peterson defense pins detective on incongruity

Defense attorneys on Thursday challenged the lead detective assigned to investigate Laci Peterson’s disappearance on his claim that husband Scott Peterson seemed uninterested in how the case was going.

Modesto Police Detective Craig Grogan was on the witness stand for nearly eight days before concluding his testimony Thursday.

The defense used him to accuse police of narrowly focusing on their client while ignoring other possible leads. Prosecutors had Grogan catalog Peterson’s apparent duplicity after his wife’s disappearance.

Grogan testified Wednesday that Peterson seldom asked police about the case. On cross-examination Thursday, he acknowledged Peterson asked about the investigation much more often.

Washington, D.C.

Ethics panel criticizes DeLay for attempt to sway vote

The House ethics committee said Thursday that Majority Leader Tom DeLay acted improperly when he tried to persuade a Michigan Republican to change his vote from “no” to “yes” on a bill to provide a Medicare prescription drug benefit.

The committee approved an investigative report that serves as “a public admonishment” against DeLay, R-Texas, Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., and the lawmaker they were trying to influence, Rep. Nick Smith.

DeLay and Miller offered to support the House candidacy of Smith’s son if Smith voted favorably, the committee said. Smith made exaggerated statements about the attempts to influence him and failed to fully cooperate with the investigation, the committee said.

Washington, D.C.

Gynecologists issue guide on menopause hormone therapy

Hormone therapy comes with clear risks but remains the most effective treatment for hot flashes and night sweats, say recommendations issued Thursday.

Women who try estrogen should use the lowest possible dose for the shortest period of time, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists stressed.

About 10 percent of women will suffer these menopausal symptoms for longer than the average four years, and if hormone therapy offers them relief, it shouldn’t be withdrawn, the new recommendations conclude.

ACOG issued the new guide because of continuing confusion stemming from a major 2002 study that found hormones could spur heart attacks, strokes and other illnesses.

Haiti

Gunfire erupts at march in flood-, violence-ravaged Haiti

Gunfire erupted as Haitians calling for the return of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide marched near the presidential palace on Thursday in Port-au-Prince, killing at least three police officers as hundreds scattered to safety in side streets.

Demonstrators shot and killed three officers, and were believed to have kidnapped a fourth, Justice Minister Bernard Gousse said.

The violence came after armed rebels who toppled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in February challenged U.N. peacekeepers at the flood-ravaged city of Gonaives.

Thursday’s violence ratcheted up tension in the country reeling from Tropical Storm Jeanne. Rescuers have recovered more than 1,550 bodies, and some 900 are missing, according to government officials.

California

More aftershocks hit region

A powerful aftershock rattled central California on Thursday, two days after a magnitude-6.0 quake struck one of the state’s most seismically active areas. There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries in the latest temblor.

The aftershock, which had a preliminary magnitude of 5.0, hit at 11:54 a.m. PDT about 11 miles northwest of Parkfield, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. More than 650 aftershocks — most so small they are not felt — have struck the area since Tuesday.

The latest quake was felt as far south as Santa Barbara and north to San Jose.