MIDWEST

ATTORNEY GENERAL DEMANDS RECORDS ON WOMEN WHO HAD ABORTIONS

TOPEKA, Kan. – In an investigation conducted secretly for months, the Kansas attorney general is demanding that clinics turn over the complete medical records of nearly 90 women and girls who had abortions.

Two abortion clinics are fighting the request in Kansas Supreme Court, saying the state has no right to such personal information. But Attorney General Phill Kline insisted yesterday he is simply enforcing state law.

“I have the duty to investigate and prosecute child rape and other crimes in order to protect Kansas children,” Mr. Kline, an abortion opponent, said at a news conference.

Mr. Kline is seeking the records of girls who had abortions and women who received late-term abortions. Sex involving someone under 16 is illegal in Kansas, and it is illegal in the state for doctors to perform an abortion after 22 weeks unless there is reason to believe it is needed to protect the mother’s health.

Mr. Kline spoke to reporters after details of the investigation, which began in October, surfaced in a legal brief filed by attorneys for two medical clinics. The clinics argued that unless the high court intervenes, women who obtained abortions could find government agents knocking at their door.

The clinics said Kline demanded their complete, unedited medical records for women who sought abortions at least 22 weeks into their pregnancies in 2003, as well as those for girls 15 and younger who sought abortions. Court papers did not identify the clinics.

– Associated Press

SOUTH

TWO KILLED, FOUR WOUNDED BY GUNMAN IN TOWN SQUARE

TYLER, Texas – A man with an AK-47 assault rifle opened fire in a historic town square yesterday, killing his ex-wife and a bystander in a rampage prompted by a child support dispute. The gunman was later killed.

Four people were wounded, including the gunman’s son and three law officers.

The gunman, David Hernandez Arroyo Sr., was shot in the melee outside the county courthouse before fleeing the scene. He fired at officers through the rear window of his pickup truck in a chase that lasted several miles, Tyler Police Chief Gary Swindle said. Authorities believe he may have been shot through the same window during the chase. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital. Police said the firefight began after Arroyo, wearing a flak jacket and bulletproof vest, confronted his ex-wife and son on the courthouse steps about a proceeding involving unpaid child support. Law enforcement officers responded from inside the courthouse and confronted Arroyo, who is believed to have fired 50 rounds.

– Associated Press

WASHINGTON

SPECTER: BOTH PARTIES SHARE BLAME FOR CONFIRMATION IMPASSE

Both political parties are to blame for the impasse on confirming President Bush’s judicial nominees, Arlen Specter, the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said yesterday.

“No one wants to back down and no one wants to lose face,” Mr. Specter said in his first interview with Washington reporters since disclosing he has Hodgkin’s disease. Mr. Specter will initiate this year’s confirmation battles between Mr. Bush and the Democrats by holding hearings on the nominations of former Interior Department Solicitor William Myers on Tuesday, a nominee who was blocked last year, and U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle on Thursday, a nominee who has been waiting for his confirmation hearing since the beginning of Mr. Bush’s presidency.

While he expects those nominees to undergo severe questioning from Democrats, Mr. Specter is certain the Republicans’ 10-8 advantage on the Judiciary Committee can win approval there, sending the nominations to the full Senate.

“When it comes to the floor, as you all know, it is another matter,” he said.

Senator Schumer, a New York Democrat, said Mr. Bush’s “my way-or-the-highway” posture on judicial nominations is the real obstruction. “There is zero consultation,” Mr. Schumer said. “That is not what the founders intended.”

– Associated Press

NORTHEAST

YALE STUDENTS CRASH ADMISSIONS OFFICE WITH FINANCIAL AID DEMANDS

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – About a dozen Yale students refused to leave the university’s admissions office while nearly 100 others rallied outside yesterday in an effort to get the school to improve its financial aid policy.

One group of students called on Yale President Richard Levin to reduce by half the amount of money students on financial aid are required to pay. The students say families earning less than $40,000 should not have to contribute any money.

“We plan on staying here until President Levin commits to the reforms we’re calling for,” said Josh Eidelson, a junior political science major who was among those staging a sit-in in the admissions office.

A Yale undergraduate education, including tuition, room, board, and other fees, costs about $41,000 a year. About 40% of Yale undergraduates receive financial aid. The average package is more than $20,000, Yale spokesman Thomas Conroy said.

Mr. Eidelson said students are forced to work too much during the school year to pay their share of tuition. Yale students working on campus make at least $10 an hour. The average student works six hours a week, Mr. Conroy said.

– Associated Press