Judge vacates death penalty for retarded man

PHILADELPHIA -- A man convicted of murdering seven women and leaving their decomposed bodies in his apartment cannot be executed because he is mentally retarded, a judge ruled. The judge said Harrison Graham met criteria established by the American Psychiatric Association and acknowledged by the Supreme Court, including an IQ of approximately 70 or below.

Health care for poor cut from states' budgets

WASHINGTON -- More than 1.2 million low-income Americans, including 500,000 children, have lost health coverage as a result of state cutbacks in programs for the poor, according to a new study by a liberal Washington think tank. Thirty-four states have cut health insurance programs for the poor and children because of deep budget deficits over the past two years, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said.

Airmen buried 31 years after bomber crashed

WASHINGTON -- Thirty-one years to the day their Air Force B-52 bomber was shot down over communist North Vietnam, the remains of two U.S. airmen were buried Friday at Arlington National Cemetery. Maj. Richard W. Cooper, Jr., of Salisbury, Md., and Chief Master Sgt. Charlie S. Poole, of Gibsland, La., were crew members aboard the bomber when it was struck by a surface-to-air missile on Dec. 19, 1972. In 1993 and 1994, U.S. investigators found photographs, records and artifacts in a Vietnamese military museum that correlated to the lost B-52. Later in 1994, another U.S. team interviewed Vietnamese informants, visited a purported crash site, and determined that it was most likely the site of the lost B-52.

Jackson to come back to Neverland Ranch

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson plans to gather with family and friends at his Neverland Ranch this weekend -- an event described by his spokesman as "reinforcement and support" for the entertainer returning to his estate after being charged with child molestation. "It's a private gathering to welcome him home to Neverland," Jackson spokesman Stuart Backerman said Friday. Backerman said that the guest list seemed to be expanding daily.

-- From wire reports