SOUTH

TENNESSEE SENATE BACKS ANTI-ABORTION STEP

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The state Senate on yesterday passed a proposal to amend the Tennessee Constitution so that it doesn’t guarantee a woman’s right to an abortion.

The 24-9 vote was the first step of many toward officially amending the state constitution. The measure would go before voters if the General Assembly approves it twice over the next two years.

The state Supreme Court has ruled that the Tennessee Constitution grants women a greater right to abortion than the U.S. Constitution.

Abortion rights supporters are attacking the measure as a stepping stone to prohibiting all abortions in Tennessee if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark abortion decision in Roe v. Wade.

– Associated Press

SOLDIER’S WIFE AND HOMEOWNERS GROUP IN DISPUTE OVER SIGN

TAMPA, Fla. — The wife of a soldier serving in Iraq is locked in an emotional dispute with her homeowner’s association that wants her remove a “Support Our Troops” sign from the front yard.

Stacey Kelley, 24, says her husband, Private David Kelley, bought the 2-foot-high sign before he went to Iraq. For her, it’s a constant reminder of the sacrifice her husband and other soldiers are making, The Tampa Tribune reported yesterday.

But deed restrictions in her gated Westchase neighborhood northwest of Tampa prohibit all signs except “for sale” and “for rent” notices. The association sent Stacey Kelley a letter last month threatening to fine her $100 a day unless she removes her patriotic placard.

– Associated Press

WASHINGTON

FORMER MAYOR DRAWS THREE YEARS, PROBATION ON TAX CHARGES

Former District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry was sentenced to three years probation yesterday in connection with charges that he failed to file federal or local tax returns for 2000.

Barry pleaded guilty last October under an agreement reached with federal prosecutors which required him to acknowledge his failure to file returns for the years 1999 through 2004.

Barry, 70, completed his fourth term as mayor in early 1999. While Barry has said he’s unsure how much money he earned during the time period in question, he did not challenge claims by federal prosecutors that his income topped $534,000 during the five-year period.

– Associated Press

NATIONWIDE

U.S. ECONOMY: TRADE DEFICIT WIDENS TO A RECORD

The American trade deficit widened to a record $68.5 billion in January as the oil-import bill rose and Americans bought more Chinese goods. The deficit in goods and services trade was larger than forecast and followed December’s $65.1 billion shortfall, the Commerce Department’s report showed in Washington. An increase in imports in January exceeded a rise in exports.

Improvement in the trade balance may prove difficult in coming months as growth in America outpaces the economies of most of its trading partners, economists said. Americans’ appetite for clothing from China, electronics from Japan and cars and parts from Canada and Mexico may keep the deficit close to a record through the first half of 2006, economists said.

“It’s a reflection of strong U.S. demand,” a senior economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut, Jim O’Sullivan, said. His $68 billion forecast was among the most accurate in a Bloomberg News survey.

– Bloomberg News