Nation briefs 04/04/03

Bush proposes housing changes to help poor

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration wants to give states control of federal vouchers that help nearly 2 million families pay the rent -- a major shake-up for one of the government's largest housing programs.

Administration officials say states could more efficiently manage the vast Section 8 rental program covering 2,600 local housing authorities. About $1 billion in vouchers went unused last year, roughly 8 percent of the program budget.

"Section 8 is sort of broke," Housing and Urban Development Secretary Mel Martinez told a Senate subcommittee recently.

Critics of the proposed shift -- mainly Democrats and low-income housing advocates -- worry that states would establish a variety of different standards governing who could qualify for the housing subsidies. They also say the change would burden states, many of which already are struggling with budget problems.

Harvard Law School names first female dean

BOSTON -- Harvard Law School on Thursday named Elena Kagan, a scholar and former aide in the Clinton White House, as the first female dean in the prestigious school's 186-year history.

Kagan, who has taught at Harvard since 1999, held several jobs in the Clinton administration, including deputy director of the Domestic Policy Council from 1997 to 1999. In 1999, she was nominated to serve on the U.S. Appeals Court for Washington, D.C., but the Senate did not act on the nomination and it expired when Congress adjourned in 2000.

"When an important position like this is held by the first woman, it's a milestone," Kagan said in a telephone interview. "It's actually very nice that at Harvard it's happening on the 50th anniversary of women's admission to the law school. That said, it's happened at other law schools before."

Kagan replaces Robert C. Clark, who will retire in June after 14 years at the nation's oldest continuously operating law school.

A 1986 Harvard Law graduate, Kagan later served as a clerk to former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. She briefly practiced law before beginning her teaching career at the University of Chicago and then moving to Washington in 1995.

Arizona court to review death penalty cases

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Supreme Court said Thursday it will review the death sentences of 27 inmates to determine whether the men should be resentenced.

The inmates had wanted their convictions and sentences thrown out because of a U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last year. That ruling found Arizona's old death sentencing law unconstitutional because judges, not jurors, decided facts that could lead to a death sentence.

However, the state's high court said the trials were fundamentally fair and that the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling didn't require throwing out all the sentences. But it said the court must now review each case to determine whether individual circumstances require resentencings.

Prosecutors have argued it was a "harmless error" that juries did not decide aggravating factors in the cases.

Guard officer relieved of command for streaking

FORT BRAGG, N.C. -- A National Guard battalion commander is being relieved of his command for running naked outside the barracks at Fort Bragg.

Lt. Col. J.D. Webster was one of several soldiers seen streaking on Feb. 18, the military said.

Maj. Gen. Zannie O. Smith, acting commander of the 18th Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg, has told Webster he intends to take away his job as commander of the 1st Battalion of the 130th Aviation Regiment, an Apache attack helicopter unit.

Final action will be taken after the officers have been offered a chance to give a rebuttal.

Smith also issued written reprimands to Webster and another officer, said Maj. Gary Tallman, a Fort Bragg spokesman.-- From wire reports