Idaho

Tests show no sign of missing children’s blood

Preliminary DNA tests showed no traces of the blood of two missing children in the home where three other people were slain, raising hopes that Dylan and Shasta Groene are alive, officials said Thursday.

Only the blood of the three murder victims – the missing children’s mother and older brother and the mother’s boyfriend – was found at the scene, according to initial analysis by the FBI.

Dylan, 9, and Shasta, 8, have been missing since the three bodies were discovered May 16 in the rural Coeur d’Alene home. Investigators think the children were in the house as the victims were bound and bludgeoned, and may have been abducted by the killers.

Officers Thursday began searching a landfill about 10 miles south of Coeur d’Alene for evidence, such as a weapon, tool or bloody clothing that may have been discarded near the Groene home.

A public memorial service was held Wednesday for the children’s mother, Brenda Groene, 40, and their 13-year-old brother Slade. The other person killed was Brenda Groene’s boyfriend, Mark McKenzie, 37.

Vermont

Two brothers, friend found dead in river

Two young brothers and a friend were found dead in a frigid river Thursday after they apparently lost their footing while playing in the fast-moving stream, authorities said.

Justin Nutbrown, 13, Joshua Nutbrown, 11, and Allison Hansen, also 11, were last seen Wednesday after school in Barre heading into the woods to play. A search began later that night, and the bodies were found Thursday morning near where the children were last seen, authorities said.

Police think the children were attempting to cross the stream when they slipped and fell.

Joshua was in the fourth grade and his brother was a seventh-grader. Allison, a fifth-grader, was staying at their home.

Chicago

New meningitis shot recommended for kids

Children who are 11 to 12, students entering high school and college freshmen headed for dorm life should be vaccinated for meningitis, federal health officials and the American Academy of Pediatrics announced Thursday. Although meningococcal meningitis affects only about 3,000 people nationwide each year, it kills one-fifth of adolescents who get it.

The new vaccine was approved in January, and in February a government advisory panel urged federal health officials to recommend the shot be given to certain age groups – primarily those at highest risk.

The recommendations are aimed at doctors who will be giving the shots, plus parents and the more than 8 million U.S. youngsters urged to get it: 11- to 12-year-olds at routine doctor checkups; 15-year-olds or those entering high school, because they’re becoming more socially active and exposed to more germs; and college dorm-dwellers, because close quarters spread disease easily.

Washington, D.C.

Congress again extends highway program

Congress on Thursday agreed to a seventh extension of the federal highway program that expired nearly two years ago. Transportation groups cited deteriorating road conditions in urging lawmakers to quickly enact a better-funded plan.

The Senate by voice vote approved a one-month extension, until June 30, of the 1998-2003 law that provided $218 billion for highway, public transit and safety programs.

The House on Wednesday passed the extension, which allows federal funding for highway projects to continue at the level of the law that expired Sept. 30, 2003.

Congress has tried unsuccessfully to pass new legislation that increases infrastructure spending while adjusting the formula to assure that federal grants to the states are nearly equal to the amount states pay into the highway trust fund through federal gas taxes.

Last year the White House threatened a presidential veto, saying the proposals would add to the federal deficit, and another veto threat was issued against the six-year, $295 billion bill the Senate passed last week.

Tennessee

Four state lawmakers face bribery charges

Four state lawmakers, including a member of one of Tennessee’s most powerful political families, were indicted Thursday on charges of taking bribes from FBI agents posing as representatives of an electronics-recycling company.

In a sting operation dubbed “Tennessee Waltz,” the FBI set up a bogus company called E-Cycle Management Inc., then doled out payoffs to lawmakers to sponsor a bill that would allow the business to buy and sell used electronic equipment from the state. The bill was withdrawn Wednesday.

One of the lawmakers charged, state Sen. John Ford, allegedly received payments totaling $55,000, beginning last year.

Ford also was charged with attempting to threaten or intimidate potential witnesses by telling an undercover agent that “if he caught someone trying to set him up he would shoot that person,” prosecutors said.

The other defendants – state Sens. Kathryn Bowers and Ward Crutchfield, and state Rep. Chris Newton – were charged with accepting lesser amounts.

Newton is a Republican; the others are Democrats.

Washington, D.C.

Asbestos fund bill faces Senate opposition

A Senate committee Thursday approved long-stalled legislation to shield manufacturers and insurers from asbestos lawsuits. In exchange, people made ill by exposure to the substance once used in insulation and fireproofing material would have access to a $140 billion trust fund.

Despite the Senate Judiciary Committee’s action, lawmakers from both parties already were lining up to make changes to the bill or kill it entirely when it reaches the full Senate.

The trust fund would compensate people sickened by exposure to asbestos, a fibrous mineral commonly used in construction until the mid-1970s. Asbestos has tiny fibers that can cause cancer and other ailments when inhaled. The diseases often take decades to develop.

Texas

Judge rules against DeLay PAC official

The treasurer of a political action committee formed by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay broke the law by not reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions, a judge ruled Thursday in a lawsuit brought by Democratic candidates.

State District Judge Joe Hart said the money, much of it corporate contributions, should have been reported to the Texas Ethics Commission.

The judge ordered Bill Ceverha, treasurer of Texans for a Republican Majority, to pay nearly $200,000 in damages. It will be divided among those who brought the lawsuit against Ceverha – five Democrats who lost state legislative races in 2002.

The civil case is separate from a criminal investigation being conducted by the district attorney in Austin into whether the PAC funneled illegal corporate contributions to GOP candidates for the state Legislature. Three of DeLay’s top fund-raisers and eight corporations were indicted last year. Ceverha has not been charged.

New York City

Chemical may affect baby boys’ genitalia

Scientists studying the human effects of hormone-mimicking chemicals have reported that compounds called phthalates used in plastics and beauty products and widely found in people seem to alter reproductive organs of baby boys.

In the first study of humans exposed in the womb to phthalates, the researchers, who examined the genitalia of male babies and toddlers, found a strong relationship between the chemicals and subtle changes in the size and anatomy of their genitals. Phthalates are ubiquitous compounds used as softeners in plastics and to maintain color and fragrance in beauty products such as nail polish and perfume, among other uses.

But many experts, including the authors of the report published today in the online version of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, say more research must be done to determine whether the genital abnormalities in the boys lead to fertility or health problems and to prove that they are caused by phthalates.

The findings were based on tests of 85 mothers and sons.

Connecticut

Senate OKs bill to fund stem cell research

The state Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved spending $100 million over 10 years to fund stem cell research, including the embryonic research that right-to-life groups oppose but that some scientists think offers the most hope for curing diseases.

The bill now goes to the House, where it has the support of the speaker. Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she would be “proud to sign the bill when it reaches my desk.”

The vote comes days after the U.S. House voted to lift a ban on using federal funds for new embryonic stem cell research. President Bush has threatened a veto; Connecticut lawmakers said that was why states needed to pass their own legislation.

Supporters of embryonic stem cell research say it could provide treatment and perhaps cures for diseases as diverse as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and childhood diabetes. Right-to-life groups and religious groups oppose the research, saying that because it destroys embryos it undermines the value of human life.

Florida

Anti-abortion advocate signals state Senate bid

Frustrated and angry about the state Legislature’s failure to keep Terri Schiavo alive, anti-abortion advocate Randall Terry on Thursday all but announced his bid to replace one of the ranking Republicans in the Florida Senate.

Testing the waters at a series of news conferences in Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Daytona Beach, Terry launched attacks on Sen. Jim King, who voted against legislation aimed at keeping Schiavo alive.

“We tried, but Jim King fought against us. And there must be repercussions,” said Terry, who served as a spokesman for Schiavo’s parents but is best known as the founder of the anti-abortion-rights group Operation Rescue.

If support builds in the coming weeks, Terry said, he will challenge King, the former Senate president whose district spans five counties.

Terry’s potential run in 2006, political analysts say, is a sign that social conservatives in the Republican Party are frustrated with GOP moderates such as King. Terry left Operation Rescue during the 1990s.