New York

Justice Dept. criticized for rape information

Scores of advocacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, assailed new Justice Department guidelines for treating rape victims because the procedures made no mention of emergency contraception as an option that could spare some women an unwanted pregnancy.

The result is “a glaring omission in an otherwise thorough document,” the groups said in a letter sent Thursday to Diane Stuart, director of the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women.

Gloria Feldt, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, called the omission “a blatant example of politics taking precedence over the emotional and physical health needs of women.” Her organization contends that information about emergency contraception was in an early draft of the guidelines.

Washington

Two challenges filed in governor’s race

Two voters have filed challenges to the governor’s election with the state Supreme Court — the first shots in an anticipated legal battle about the close contest.

Both challenges question the legitimacy of Gov.-elect Christine Gregoire, a Democrat who lost the first two counts but beat Republican Dino Rossi by 129 votes in a hand recount of 2.9 million ballots. Gregoire’s inauguration is scheduled for Wednesday.

One challenger, Daniel P. Stevens, sent a one-page notice saying he was contesting the election because the margin of victory was within the election’s margin of error, “to the point that error must be assumed as a certainty.”

Georgia

Dentist indicted in second death

A dentist recently charged with killing his college girlfriend in 1990 was indicted for the similar shooting death of his estranged wife, whose family’s refusal to believe she committed suicide prompted a new look at the earlier death.

A grand jury indicted Dr. Barton Corbin on Wednesday on charges of felony murder, murder and a firearms violation in the death of his wife, Jennifer, a preschool teacher. The couple’s 7-year-old son found her body Dec. 4 in the family’s home in Buford. She had been shot in the head.

News of Jennifer Corbin’s death led investigators in Augusta to look closer at the 1990 death of Dorothy “Dolly” Hearn, a fellow dental student who was Barton Corbin’s girlfriend. That case was presented to a grand jury, and Corbin was indicted Dec. 22 with felony and malice murder in Hearn’s death.

Mississippi

Klansman suspect arrested for ’64 deaths

A reputed Ku Klux Klansman was arrested late Thursday on murder charges in the 1964 slaying of three voter-registration volunteers — a case that is one of the last pieces of unfinished business from the civil rights era.

Philadelphia Sheriff Larry Myers told The Associated Press that Edgar Ray Killen was arrested and that there would be more arrests.

Killen’s arrest followed a grand jury meeting Thursday that apparently included testimony from individuals believed to have knowledge about the killings, dramatized in the 1988 movie “Mississippi Burning.”

The victims were civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner.

Killen was identified in testimony in earlier federal court proceedings as having a role in the killings.

Massachusetts

Victim identification at stake in priest’s trial

Prosecutors told a judge Thursday that an alleged victim of defrocked priest Paul Shanley might refuse to testify if he was publicly identified during the upcoming sexual abuse trial.

That would mean the end of the criminal case against one of the most notorious figures in the Boston Archdiocese’s sex scandal, Assistant Dist. Atty. Lynn Rooney said.

The disclosure came during a hearing in Superior Court on whether the media should be allowed to report the alleged victim’s name during Shanley’s trial.

The Associated Press, the Boston Herald and The Boston Globe have challenged a judge’s order issued earlier this week barring the media from identifying alleged victims in the case. The order was issued at prosecutors’ request.

Attorneys for the three news organizations argued that the alleged victim had willingly given interviews to the media and had allowed his name and photograph to be published.

Washington, D.C.

Democrats regroup to recruit for 2006

Regrouping after heavy election losses, the Democrats’ Senate fund-raising operation has paid nearly $4 million in debts and recruited senators for 2006 election work.

“I think we’re here to say that the DSCC and the Democrats — we’re back,” New York Sen. Charles Schumer, the new chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Thursday.

A $1 million donation from the Democratic National Committee and help from senators who gave leftover campaign funds has allowed the DSCC to pay off its debts from the November election.

The DSCC has recruited Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, a rising star in the party, and Sens. Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Ron Wyden of Oregon and Barbara Boxer of California to raise money, line up candidates and develop 2006 election strategies.

Washington, D.C.

White House criticized for creating fake news

Shortly before last year’s Super Bowl, local news stations across the country aired a story by Mike Morris describing plans for a new White House ad campaign on the dangers of drug abuse.

What viewers did not know was that Morris was not a journalist and his “report” was produced by the government, actions which constituted illegal “covert propaganda,” according to an investigation by the Government Accountability Office.

In the second ruling of its kind, the investigative arm of Congress this week scolded the Bush administration for distributing phony prepackaged news reports that include a “suggested live intro” for anchors to read.

“What is objectionable about these is the fact the viewer has no idea their tax dollars are being used to write and produce this video segment,” said Susan Poling, managing associate general counsel at GAO.

Washington, D.C.

Top officials blamed for pre-9-11 lapses

A report from the CIA’s independent investigator is expected to conclude officials at the highest level of the agency are to blame for pre-Sept. 11 intelligence lapses.

The report by the CIA’s inspector general, John Helgerson, which is nearly complete, concludes that senior leaders should be held accountable for failing to provide adequate resources for combating terrorism, the New York Times reports in today’s editions.

Among those who receive the most pointed criticism in a draft version are former CIA Director George Tenet and former Deputy Director of Operations Jim Pavitt, both of whom resigned last summer, the newspaper said. The report quoted current and former intelligence officials.

The report has been reviewed by select government officials. A CIA spokesman declined to comment on the investigation.

Washington, D.C.

Education nominee outlines promises

Margaret Spellings, who helped write the most demanding education law in a generation, pledged Thursday to address “horror stories” about how it’s working if she becomes the country’s top schools leader.

Spellings, President Bush’s nominee for education secretary, received praise and friendly questions for the most part at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Education Committee. The committee unanimously recommended Senate confirmation, which is expected soon.

Reaching out to teachers and parents, Spellings said: “We must stay true to the sound principles of leaving no child behind. But we in the administration must engage with those closest to children to embed these principles in a sensible and workable way.”

Florida

Shuttle team welcomes redesigned fuel tank

A redesigned fuel tank for NASA’s first post-Columbia launch emerged from a darkened barge into the morning sunlight Thursday, inspiring dozens of space shuttle workers who gathered to watch.

“We’re no longer recovering from the accident. We’re really heading toward a launch. Big change in momentum and morale,” launch director Mike Leinbach said.

The arrival of the external fuel tank from a manufacturing plant in Louisiana moved the space program closer to its goal of a late spring liftoff for Discovery. It was a suitcase-size piece of insulating foam from Columbia’s fuel tank that triggered that shuttle’s breakup as it re-entered the atmosphere over Texas nearly two years ago.

On the new tank, no foam piece bigger than a couple of marshmallows should come off, said project manager Sandy Coleman. Anything that small would be harmless to the shuttle, she said.