News briefs

New order halts start of law on abortions

CHICAGO (AP) — Just hours after a state board voted Wednesday to allow the enforcement of a long-debated Illinois law requiring a teenage girl's parents be notified before she has an abortion, a judge issued a temporary restraining order putting the measure back on hold.

The order will remain in effect until the judge can hear arguments on the issue. Cook County Judge Daniel Riley said he felt the American Civil Liberties Union, which sought the order, "demonstrated the distinct possibility of irreparable harm."

Illinois' law was passed in 1995, but never enforced because of various court actions. Thirty-five other states have similar laws, which meant some teens seeking abortions came to Illinois for them.

Allowing the law to take effect raised the possibility that "young women in this state would be abused, they would be kicked out of their homes," Lorie Chaiten, head of the Illinois ACLU's reproductive rights project, said after the court hearing.

Teen admits putting boy's body in dryer

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) — A 14-year-old with a baby face told investigators he drowned his 4-year-old neighbor in a bathtub, then hid the body in a dryer because the child was going to reveal the teen molested him, according to an affidavit released when he appeared in court Wednesday.

Raul Renato Castro, dressed in a purple T-shirt issued at the juvenile jail, appeared emotionless while staring at his hands in Fresno County Superior Court.

He was guarded by five bailiffs and two officers outfitted in paramilitary gear.

Police said searchers found Alex Mercado on Saturday stuffed in the clothes dryer in the small farm town of Mendota.

No-stamp letter spurs scare in Reid's office

WASHINGTON (AP) — An unstamped letter from former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop turned into a security scare Wednesday as U.S. Capitol Police closed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office for about 45 minutes.

Police officials declined to provide any specifics about who sent the letter, and Reid's office referred all questions to Capitol Police, but the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call said the letter came from Koop.

Koop confirmed to Roll Call that the letter was legitimate. He told the newspaper the letter asked that health-care legislation include a provision to ensure doctors and medical students would not be forced to perform abortions.

"I wasn't aware that sending a hand-delivered letter was an offense," he said.

First case of H1N1 confirmed in a cat

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A 13-year-old Iowa cat has been infected with swine flu, veterinary and federal officials said Wednesday in what is believed to be the first case of the H1N1 virus in a feline in the United States.