Nation briefs 081602

Guatemalan twins now in serious condition

LOS ANGELES -- The 1-year-old Guatemalan twins surgically separated last week were breathing on their own Thursday and doctors upgraded their condition to serious from critical.

Maria Teresa Quiej Alvarez had her breathing tube removed Thursday, two days after her sister Maria de Jesus began breathing on her own.

Maria de Jesus is also feeding from a bottle, hospital officials said. Maria Teresa continues to be fed intravenously and remains slightly sedated.

Officials said doctors are pleased with the progress.

The twins were born joined at the head in rural Guatemala. They were separated Aug. 6 in a more than 22-hour operation and still face follow-up surgeries to reconstruct their skulls.

Killer of two in shooting at school sentencedEL CAJON, Calif. -- The teen who killed two students and wounded 13 others at a high school last year was sentenced Thursday to 50 years to life in prison after he tearfully apologized for the shooting rampage.

Charles "Andy" Williams showed no visible reaction as the judge gave him the minimum allowable sentence. Prosecutors had asked for the maximum of 425 years.

Judge Herbert Exarhos called the attack vicious and fiendish, but said Williams had endured a difficult home life and had no prior history of criminal behavior.

He said the question of why the teenager opened fire at Santana High School in Santee on March 5, 2001, remains unanswered.

During the sentencing hearing, Williams spoke publicly about the assault for the first time. Though he didn't explain why he went on the shooting spree with his father's handgun, he said he was sorry.

With credit for time served, Williams will be eligible for parole in 2051, when he's 65. He will be held at a youth detention center until age 18, when he likely will be sent to a maximum security prison, prosecutors said.

Gov. Bush appoints new child welfare head

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Gov. Jeb Bush Thursday named a former aide in his father's presidential administration to head Florida's beleaguered child welfare agency.

Jerry Regier, 57, will replace Kathleen Kearney, who quit Tuesday as secretary of the Department of Children & Families.

The resignation follows widespread and highly publicized problems in the department, including losing track of foster children, leaving children in abusive situations and caseworkers falsifying reports.

Regier served as the Oklahoma secretary for social services for five years, completing his tenure in January. He also worked in Washington in social service posts for both President Reagan and the first President Bush.

"Jerry's professional experience has been dedicated to improving the quality of life for children and families," Gov. Bush said. "With the experience he has gained in Oklahoma, Jerry is well equipped to handle the challenges currently facing DCF."

Mailer of fake anthrax gets 19 years in prison

CINCINNATI -- A man who admitted mailing fake anthrax letters to abortion clinics was sentenced Thursday to 19 years and seven months in prison on firearms and theft charges.

U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott ordered Clayton Waagner to serve the term after completing a 30-year sentence in Illinois on escape and other charges. Waagner said he would appeal.

Waagner, 45, of Kennerdell, Pa., was arrested at a copy shop in suburban Springdale on Dec. 5, about 10 months after he escaped from a jail in Illinois.

He was convicted of illegally possessing a handgun and a rifle; possessing a stolen handgun; and possessing a stolen car. Authorities said they arrested him in a stolen car with about $9,000 in his pocket, a loaded, .40-caliber handgun and several fake IDs.

Federal authorities have said that Waagner claimed responsibility for sending more than 550 letters filled with powder to about 280 women's reproductive health clinics in October and November, at the height of the nation's anthrax scare.

-- From wire reports