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World in brief

News of note

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 18, 2006

President Bush signs defense spending bill

With a long list of caveats, President Bush signed a bill Tuesday authorizing $532.8-billion in defense spending, including a 2.2 percent pay raise for members of the military. The measure, for the 2007 fiscal year, authorizes $70-billion in supplemental funding to support the war on terror. The White House's disagreements and reservations about the bill include provisions that would require the White House to provide Congress with information on various subjects and sections purported to make consultations with certain lawmakers a precondition to carrying out the law.

Studds' husband denied pension

Former Rep. Gerry Studds was married to another man in Massachusetts at the time of his death Saturday, but the federal government has refused to pay death benefits to his spouse. Studds, a Democrat, married Dean Hara after gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts. But Hara will not be eligible to receive any portion of Studds' pension because the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act bars the federal government from recognizing Studds' marriage. Studds, 69, had his homosexuality exposed during a teenage page sex scandal in 1983.

Foley will identify abuser to church

Former Rep. Mark Foley, who said he was sexually abused by a Roman Catholic clergyman when he was a teen, will reveal the man's identity to the Archdiocese of Miami, his attorney said Tuesday. The statute of limitations on sexual assault has expired, but the archdiocese requested the information, attorney Gerald Richman said. Foley, 52, a Florida Republican, resigned last month over sexually explicit Internet communications he had with teenage boys.

Elsewhere ...

Hawaii: President Bush declared the earthquake Sunday a major disaster, opening up federal aid.

Mineola, N.Y.: A jury convicted Martin Heidgen, 25, on Tuesday of murder for driving drunk and hitting a wedding limousine, killing the chauffeur and a flower girl in July 2005.

Philadelphia: Stephen Poaches, 27, was convicted Tuesday of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing his girlfriend, LaToyia Figueroa, in 2005 because she would not get an abortion.

[Last modified October 18, 2006, 05:47:19]