Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Headline Article Date: Tue, 27 Oct 92 13:27:07 EST Message-ID: \SE A;TOP OF THE NEWS;NATION \BY FROM WIRE DISPATCHES AND STAFF REPORTS S=NEW STORY Court hears challenge to abortion law NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Opponents of Tennessee's law restricting abortions opened a legal challenge yesterday, telling a state court the restrictions are unconstitutional. Lawyers for pro-choice forces told a state judge that the Tennessee law was part of an effort to reduce the number of abortions performed. It was the first court challenge to a state abortion law since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling June 29 that partially upheld restrictions in a Pennsylvania law. The American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood of Nashville and Memphis are contesting restrictions in the 1989 law under which a woman seeking an abortion is required to have counseling by a physician, wait 48 hours and have the abortion in a hospital if her fetus is more than 13 weeks old. The law was enacted in 1989 but has never been enforced, pending legal challenges. Tennessee's Deputy Attorney General Mike Catalano said the state would defend provisions under attack in this week's hearing. S=NEW STORY Judge blasts Bush for lawyer bashing NEW YORK - A judge appointed by President Ronald Reagan is blasting the Bush administration for recent attacks on lawyers, saying the White House is scapegoating. In an unusual outburst by a federal judge - a Republican one at that - Judge Roger Miner of the New York-based 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals criticized anti-lawyer remarks recently made by both Mr. Bush and Vice President Dan Quayle. "What we are seeing is scapegoating at its worst and the bar must fight back," Judge Miner told the Association of the Bar of the City of New York last week. Copies of the speech were released by the association yesterday. "The president of the United States himself has said that he is ready to 'climb into the ring' with lawyers. I suggest that the pugilistic analogy is an unfortunate one. What we should all be talking about is cooperation," the judge said. He launched his criticism at the end of a speech about legal history and lawyers' efforts to help the poor. S=NEW STORY Attorney general names Iraq loan prosecutor Attorney General William Barr yesterday named a federal prosecutor from Illinois to direct the newly formed Justice Department task force investigating illegal loans to Iraq by an Italian bank's Atlanta branch. He announced that J. William Roberts, a federal and state prosecutor for 25 years, would take over the Justice Department's controversial investigation surrounding the Banca Nazionale del Lavoro case. The Justice Department's handling of the case has come under criticism from Democrats in Congress, and the entire matter has become a major political embarrassment for President Bush in his re-election bid. Democratic vice-presidential candidate Al Gore charged yesterday that the Bush administration's handling of the so-called "Iraq-gate" affair was a bigger coverup than the Watergate scandal. S=NEW STORY Group seeks money for monument to blacks A group seeking to build the first national monument honoring black Revolutionary War soldiers will have to abandon the effort if it doesn't raise another $5.2 million soon, leaders said yesterday. "If sufficient support is not forthcoming by February 1993 . . . we would feel compelled to ask Congress to reclaim the site and return any remaining funds to donors," said Maurice A. Barboza, president of the Black Revolutionary War Patriots Foundation. The Black Revolutionary War Patriots Memorial is planned on the National Mall near the Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. It will cost an estimated $4.8 million to build, but the foundation is seeking $6 million to cover any cost increases caused by inflation. The foundation has raised only $800,000. Mr. Barboza said major black corporations have not responded to solicitation letters. The group needs to raise about $500,000 per month to meet the goal. S=NEW STORY TV's Murphy Brown names her baby RADNOR, Pa. - Avery. That'll be the baby's name. Television's Murphy Brown has decided to name her infant son after her late mother, Avery, TV Guide reports in its Oct. 31 issue. In past episodes, Murphy - played by Candice Bergen - tried out such names as Robert Kennedy Brown and Adlai Stevenson Brown. TV Guide also said Murphy's search for a nanny will end when her resident house painter, Eldin, played by Robert Pastorelli, gets the job. S=NEW STORY Lawmaker's tumor said cancerous GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - A tumor removed from U.S. Rep. Paul Henry's brain is cancerous, doctors said yesterday. Dr. Mark Campbell, an oncologist, said surgery performed last Wednesday removed about 90 percent of the 3-inch tumor, situated in the right frontal lobe. He said he is optimistic the remaining cancer cells in Mr. Henry's brain can be killed with radiation and, if necessary, chemotherapy. He refused to give a specific prognosis. Mr. Henry's campaign for re-election to a fifth term will proceed, his campaign manager said. Doctors expect to begin radiation therapy in about three weeks. Mr. Henry, a Republican, is expected to be released from Butterworth Hospital within 10 days. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM