WEST

TRIAL OF FORMER CLINTON CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL DELAYED

The federal trial of a top fund-raising official on Senator Clinton’s 2000 campaign, David Rosen, has been delayed, likely for one to two weeks, according to people involved in the case.

The trial on charges that Mr. Rosen caused the filing of false campaign finance reports was scheduled to begin tomorrow in the federal court at Los Angeles, but jury deliberations are continuing in an unrelated civil case before the same judge, A. Howard Matz. The backup will make it impossible for Mr. Rosen’s trial to begin this week, a court clerk said. Mr. Rosen’s lead attorney, Paul Mark Sandler, said yesterday that once the case against his client gets under way, it will take less than two weeks. “It’s not a complicated case in terms of time,” Mr. Sandler said.

Mr. Rosen, 40, a Chicago political consultant, faces three felony counts in connection with reporting of donations and expenses for a celebrity-studded fundraiser for Mrs. Clinton held in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles in August 2000. Mr. Rosen, who was the national finance director on the Senate campaign, has pleaded not guilty. Mrs. Clinton has predicted that he will be acquitted.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

NORTHEAST

COURT TO HEAR GAY MARRIAGE CHALLENGE

Massachusetts’ highest court hears a bid today to halt same-sex couples from marrying until voters can weigh in on the contentious issue. A lawsuit filed by C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, claims the marriages interfere with voters’ ability to participate in the debate on a proposed constitutional ban of same-sex marriages.

Around 5,000 same-sex couples have married in the state since the Supreme Judicial Court issued its landmark 4-3 ruling in November 2003 allowing gay marriage. The ruling took effect in May 2004.

In March 2004, the state Legislature approved a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage. Lawmakers must pass the measure a second time, either this year or next, before it can reach the statewide ballot in November 2006.

“What we’re saying is that the dialogue, the robust debate that should be taking place, is being affected and shaped by the continuing marriages,” Mr. Doyle’s attorney, Chester Darling, said yesterday.

Justice Roderick Ireland rejected Mr. Doyle’s petition last year but the full court is hearing his appeal.

– Associated Press

PBS’S LIBERAL BIAS NEEDS TO CHANGE, CORPORATION CHAIRMAN SAYS

The chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is taking steps to change what he and others see as a liberal political bias in the corporation’s editorial content. Kenneth Tomlinson says his moves, which include a search to replace the corporation’s chief executive, are designed to create more balance in the programming so that the corporation can secure more financial and political support, the New York Times reported on its Web site last night. State and corporate support have decreased in recent years, making more crucial the nearly $400 million in federal funding the corporation receives.

Mr. Tomlinson, a Republican, secretly hired a consultant to track the political leanings of guests on the program “Now With Bill Moyers” and has encouraged the broadcast of another program, “The Journal Editorial Report,” hosted by Paul Gigot, the editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page. The efforts by Mr. Tomlinson have drawn criticism from the president and chief executive of PBS, Pat Mitchell, and others who say he is threatening their editorial independence. Mr. Tomlinson said he does not want to impose a particular political perspective on programming. He has, though, repeatedly criticized public TV programs as being too liberal. “I frankly feel at PBS headquarters there is a tone deafness to issues of tone and balance,” he said, according to the Times.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

SOUTH

‘MISSING’ BRIDE COULD BE CHARGED WITH CRIME

DULUTH, Ga. – On what was to be her wedding day, Jennifer Wilbanks wore not a white veil but an orange towel over her head to prevent the press from taking her picture. Instead of being led down the aisle by her father, she was led by police to an airplane that flew the runaway bride home.

Now officials say the 32-year-old woman’s cold feet may have gotten her in hot water. Yesterday, Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter vowed to look into whether she violated the law by reporting a crime that didn’t exist.

Ms. Wilbanks initially told authorities she was abducted while jogging but later disclosed she took a cross-country bus trip to Albuquerque, N.M., to avoid her lavish, 600-guest wedding.

Mr. Porter said Ms. Wilbanks could face a misdemeanor charge of false report of a crime or a felony charge of false statements. The misdemeanor carries a penalty of up to a year in jail; five years in prison is the maximum sentence for the felony.

– Associated Press