Nation in brief

Measure to reduce gas SUVs use reached

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers negotiating a broad energy bill agreed on a modest measure Thursday that supporters said would reduce the amount of gasoline used by sport utility vehicles and small trucks.

But advocates of tougher fuel economy efforts said the requirements were so modest and contained so many loopholes that they are likely to produce little if any fuel savings and have virtually no effect on U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

"The compromise does virtually nothing," complained Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who had argued for stronger measures, but acknowledged most lawmakers were in no mood to go along.

The compromise, agreed to by Senate and House negotiators, would require that minivans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks in models years 2006 though 2012 use at least 5-billion gallons less gasoline than the 2002 model year fleet.

It is essentially what the House had approved in its energy bill passed more than a year ago.

The fuel economy measure is part of broad energy legislation that House and Senate negotiators are trying to agree on and to give final approval. Prospects for passage remain uncertain as major issues from expansion of ethanol use to drilling in an Arctic wildlife refuge remain to be worked out.

Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., chairman of the House-Senate conference on energy legislation, called the measure a significant step in curtailing fuel use and characterized it as "a chance for the country to tell Saddam Hussein "We don't need your oil.' "

But opponents said the 5-billion gallons amounts to only about a 1 mile per gallon increase in fuel economy for sport utility vehicles, minivans and light trucks, which are required to meet less stringent fuel economy standards than other passenger cars.

The gas savings amount to about 20-million barrels, or as Markey said, just a little more than one day's consumption of oil in the United States.

Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., argued that even those oil savings could disappear because of a provision that continues to give automakers fuel economy credits for making vehicles that can use corn-based ethanol. Waxman said only a handful of those vehicles use ethanol, while most run on gas.

But Congress appeared in no mood for tougher requirements to curtail fuel use in transportation, although motor vehicles are by far the biggest consumer of oil.

The House and Senate had rejected more ambitious attempts to require automakers to improve fuel economy when it passed their separate energy bills. The House rejected a requirement for sport utility vehicles to achieve a fleet average of 27.5 miles per gallon, the same as cars, when it passed its bill in August 2001.

Last summer, the Senate refused to go along with a proposal by Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., to increase overall motor vehicle fuel economy to 35 mpg. Kerry called Thursday's deal "a reasonable compromise" considering what both chambers had approved previously.

Amtrak considers ending freight service, other cuts

WASHINGTON -- Amtrak is considering cutting more personnel, ending freight service and requiring states to fully subsidize money-losing routes within two years or risk losing them.

Amtrak president David Gunn presented those ideas Thursday to the passenger railroad's governing board as part of a proposed budget for the 2003 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. Gunn was hired in May to rescue the financially faltering company.

Ambitious expansion plans have been shelved, including a proposal to restore passenger service on Florida's Atlantic coast.

In search of new ways to raise revenue, Amtrak won federal permission in 1998 to carry time-sensitive packages and freight shipments. Schulz said Amtrak has been losing about $3-million a year on the freight venture.

Also . . .

PLAQUE HONORING KING APPROVED FOR LINCOLN MEMORIAL: A plaque honoring Martin Luther King Jr. could soon be placed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The Commission of Fine Arts voted Thursday to put the plaque at the top of the granite steps, where the civil rights leader gave his Aug. 28, 1963, "I Have a Dream" speech.

$752-MILLION DROUGHT RELIEF BILL ANNOUNCED: The Bush administration announced a relief bill worth $752-million for states hit by the West's worst drought in a century.

The money will come from Section 32 funds, raised through customs fees on imports. One official told the Associated Press the money will be targeted at ranchers, because unlike farmers, they generally do not have crop insurance. Another administration official said it will help about 30 states.

SHELTON GIVEN CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL: Retired Army Gen. Henry H. Shelton received the Congressional Gold Medal at a ceremony Thursday honoring him as a soldier's soldier. Shelton, 60, was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1997-2001. He was given the award, the highest award Congress can bestow, for his 38-year military career.

"I am grateful that I had the opportunity to offer, on occasion, some unconventional perspective to our nation's leaders when the challenge to our nation was anything but conventional," Shelton said at a ceremony in the Capitol's Rotunda.

Boston Archdiocese hands over $10-million settlement

BOSTON -- A $10-million settlement between the Boston Archdiocese and 86 alleged victims of child-molesting priest John Geoghan won final approval Thursday, four months after the church backed out of a much costlier agreement.

A $10-million check from the archdiocese was given to the plaintiffs' attorney, Mitchell Garabedian. Donna Morrissey, an archdiocese spokeswoman, said the $10-million was paid by the archdiocese's insurance.

The last obstacle to the settlement was removed when Superior Court Judge Constance Sweeney approved a request from a 17-year-old boy to participate in the deal.

Sweeney addressed the alleged victims who appeared in court, saying she wanted to acknowledge their pain and make clear that the settlement means the court recognizes that Geoghan did what they say he did.

"I hope you are able to recognize in yourselves not just the hurt that was done to you but your own resilience, your courage," she said.

An earlier settlement worth up to $30-million had been announced in March, but the archdiocese backed out of that deal in May, saying it could not afford the deal because of hundreds of other lawsuits being filed.

Garabedian said the plaintiffs agreed to the lower figure because they want to try to put the abuse behind them.

"They want closure, and they understand that the church does not really care about their emotional well-being," Garabedian said. "It's time to move on and try to heal as best they can, if at all."

The archdiocese issued a statement saying Cardinal Bernard Law is grateful a settlement could be reached.

Victim Mark Keane said the settlement will not even pay for the therapy victims will need for the rest of their lives.

"I feel I need to apologize to all future victims of church sexual abuse for setting such a low settlement amount," he said. He said the victims agreed to the lower settlement because they are "tired and emotionally spent."

Of the settlement, $9.3-million will be divided among 50 people who say they were molested by Geoghan. Twenty people who say Geoghan exposed himself to them will split $540,000, and 16 parents of children who say they were abused by Geoghan will divide $160,000.

After the archdiocese withdrew from the original deal in May, Garabedian asked Sweeney to enforce the settlement. Sweeney had been expected to issue her ruling soon.-

ARTICLE SAYS GAYS SHOULD NOT BE PRIESTS: A staff member of an influential Vatican office has published an article arguing that gays should not be ordained as priests in the wake of the clerical sex abuse scandal.

If a man is gay, "then he should not be admitted to holy orders, and his presence in the seminary would not only give him false hope but it may, in fact, hinder" the therapy he needs, Monsignor Andrew Baker of the Congregation of Bishops wrote.

Reached by phone in Rome, Baker would not immediately say whether his superiors reviewed or approved the article before it was printed in the Jesuit magazine America due out Monday.

However, church observers say Baker's arguments were evidence of the Holy See's views on homosexuality at a critical time for the Roman Catholic Church.

"The Congregation for Bishops is one of the most important offices in the Vatican because it deals with bishops' conferences and it also recommends names to the pope to appoint bishops around the world," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, editor of the New York-based magazine. "I think the article helps us understand the thinking of at least some people in the Vatican on the question of ordaining gay men."

Mother, 3 children killed in drunken driving accident

LOS ANGELES -- A mother and her three little children were struck and killed by a suspected drunken driver as they crossed the street Wednesday. The driver grabbed his vehicle registration papers from his van and ran away but was caught, police said.

Martin Valadez, 30, was arrested and booked for investigation of vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run and driving under the influence. His blood-alcohol level was 0.20 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, the California Highway Patrol said.

Rafael Sanchez, 2, and Carlos Sanchez, 3, were pronounced dead at the scene. Andrea Sanchez, 5, and Evelia Sanchez, 31, were pronounced dead at a hospital.

The scene was so disturbing that 15 firefighters will be given counseling, authorities said.

Elsewhere . . .

YATES CONVICTED IN MORE DEATHS: Serial killer Robert Lee Yates Jr., o is serving more than 400 years in prison for 13 murders, was convicted Thursday of two more slayings that could bring the death penalty. The jury will begin hearing evidence Tuesday on whether he should get the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

NEARLY $1-MILLION WHEELCHAIR SETTLEMENT: The architects and builders of a luxury apartment house in Chicago have agreed to pay a record settlement of nearly $1-million to fix doors too narrow and thermostats too high for people in wheelchairs to use.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joan Laser said the settlement with the architect, Harry Weese Associates, and the developer, John Buck Co., is believed to be the largest of its kind for a single building.

Recalls

BLACK & DECKER CORDLESS ELECTRIC LAWN MOWERS: Black & Decker model numbers CMM1000 or CMM 1000R with date codes from 9534 through 200230 and Craftsman model number 900.370520. Cause: Can overheat. Injuries reported: one. Action: Call company for free repair on Black & Decker models, and take Craftsman models to Sears for free repair. Call: 1-866-229-5570. On the Web: www.blackanddecker.com.

NIKON DIGITAL CAMERAS: Coolpix 2000 with serial numbers 3010001 to 3060980 and 3510001 to 3561916. Cause: Battery compartment can short-circuit. Action: Call company for free replacement. Call: 1-800-645-6687. On the Web: www.nikonusa.com.

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