Frist Abandons 2008 Presidential Race

WASHINGTON — Senator Frist renounced a bid for the White House in 2008 yesterday, an early dropout from the most wide-open presidential race in decades. “In the Bible, God tells us for everything there is a season, and for me, for now, this season of being an elected official has come to a close,” the Republican of Tennessee, a surgeon before he entered politics in 1994, said.

— Associated Press

FEMA Ordered To Restart Aid to Katrina Victims

WASHINGTON — A federal judge ordered the Bush administration yesterday to immediately resume making housing benefits available to thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said the Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to adequately explain why it ended the 18-month housing assistance program for people who lost their homes in the 2005 storm.

— Associated Press

N.H. To Offer Girls Free Cancer Vaccine

CONCORD, N.H.— New Hampshire announced plans yesterday to become the first state to offer the new cervical-cancer vaccine free to all girls. Beginning in January, the vaccine against the human papilloma virus, or HPV, will be provided to girls ages 11 through 18 as part of a state program that offers various immunizations to children at no cost. The program is paid for by the federal government and insurance companies. The Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine in June for girls as young as 9.

— Associated Press

Man, 45, Pulled From Alligator’s Jaws

LAKELAND, Fla. — A 45-year-old man lost part of his left arm when an alligator attacked him yesterday, but he survived thanks to four sheriff’s deputies who jumped into the muddy water and pulled him from the reptile’s jaws. The Polk County deputies were responding to multiple calls about a man yelling for help at about 4 a.m. They could not shoot the animal because it was too dark and they might have hit the victim, the sheriff’s office said. Adrian Apgar was taken to the hospital in critical condition with an apparent broken right arm, leg injuries, and a partially amputated left arm.

— Associated Press

Study: Warhead Plutonium Long-Lasting

WASHINGTON — The plutonium in nuclear warheads will be reliable for as long as 100 years, twice as long as previously thought, according to a study released yesterday, raising questions by some critics over the need to replace aging weapons. The five-year government study involving all of the warheads in the nuclear stockpile, concluded that the plutonium pits — softball size devices used to trigger a nuclear explosion — degrade at a much slower rate than previously believed.

— Associated Press