WASHINGTON

‘NICKEL AND DIMED’ AUTHOR OPPOSES CLINTON RE-ELECTION

A liberal author who has won national acclaim for her books about the working poor announced yesterday that she will oppose Senator Clinton’s re-election bid and will campaign instead for a long-shot Democratic challenger, Jonathan Tasini.

“I know the Right sees Clinton as an arch-liberal, but there is less and less evidence for any liberal inclinations on her part,” Barbara Ehrenreich, wrote in a fund-raising appeal distributed by the Tasini campaign. “She supported welfare reform; she favors NAFTA; she’s been wavering on reproductive rights. Most notably, she is pro-war.”

Ms. Ehrenreich, who lives in Florida, dismissed Mrs. Clinton’s stance on Iraq as “not much different from the Administration’s” and praised Mr. Tasini, a journalist who writes about the labor movement, for promising to be “1000% pro-choice.”

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on the endorsement.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

AGRICULTURE CIVIL RIGHTS CHIEF STEPS DOWN

The Agriculture Department’s first civil rights chief is stepping down. Vernon Parker announced his resignation yesterday as assistant secretary for civil rights, a job Congress created three years ago to confront the department’s history of racial discrimination. Mr. Parker said he wants to spend more time with his wife, who is recovering from breast cancer, and his son.

– Associated Press

KENNEDY QUITS FORMER HARVARD CLUB THAT BANNED WOMEN

WASHINGTON – Senator Kennedy, who criticized Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito’s past membership in a controversial Princeton University alumni club, severed his ties yesterday with a former Harvard college social club that bans women members. A Washington Times story about Mr. Kennedy’s Owl Club ties last week sparked criticism from Republicans who branded Kennedy a hypocrite.

– Associated Press

WEST

SUIT PROMPTS SCHOOL TO DROP INTELLIGENT DESIGN COURSE

Facing a federal lawsuit, a California school system has agreed to stop teaching a high school course that critics contended advanced the anti-evolution tenets of “intelligent design.” The El Tejon school district, located about 75 miles northwest of Los Angeles, agreed to end the “Philosophy of Design” course a week early and not to offer any future course in “creation science, creationism, or intelligent design,” according to a group that filed suit over the matter last week, Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

“The class would never have survived a court challenge, and the board of trustees made the right call by pulling the plug on it,” a lawyer for the group, Ayesha Khan, said.

The superintendent of the school district, John Wight, denied that the schools were promoting creationism or any religious views. “The idea was to have an open discussion of the different points of view of the origins of life, a philosophical exercise in critical thinking,” he said. Mr.Wight said the suit was settled because the district could not afford to litigate it.

– Staff Reporter of the Sun

FORD RESPONDING WELL TO TREATMENT

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – President Ford was responding well to treatment for pneumonia that put him in the hospital over the weekend, his chief of staff said yesterday. Mr. Ford, 92, was admitted Saturday to Eisenhower Medical Center near his home in Rancho Mirage in Southern California, the same facility where he was briefly hospitalized a month ago. Mr. Ford was expected to be released Thursday if his condition continues to improve, Circle said.

– Associated Press

SOUTH

LOTT SAYS HE’S RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION

PASCAGOULA, Miss. – Ending months of speculation, Senator Lott announced yesterday that he will run for a fourth term this year, saying Mississippi “is hurting and needs help.” The 64-year-old Republican told a hometown crowd he wants to continue working on federal issues related to the state’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina, saying now is not the time to consider leaving the Senate.

– Associated Press

THIRD TEEN CHARGED WITH MURDER IN BEATING OF HOMELESS MAN

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A third teenager was charged with murder yesterday in a string of beatings of homeless men last week. William Ammons, 18, was charged with killing 45-year-old Norris Gaynor, who was bludgeoned with a baseball bat and died of head injuries. Police said Mr. Ammons shot the victim with a paintball gun.

– Associated Press

HIGH WINDS POSTPONE LAUNCH OF PROBE TO PLUTO

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – High winds forced NASA to scrub the launch yesterday of an unmanned spacecraft on a nine-year, 3-billion-mile voyage to Pluto, the solar system’s last unexplored planet. NASA planned to try again today to launch the New Horizons probe, although the forecast held a greater chance of thunderstorms, clouds and gusty winds that could prevent a launch.

– Associated Press