Nation briefs 3/30/04

Trial begins for mother who killed two sons

TYLER, Texas -- A mother who bashed her sons' heads with heavy rocks, killing two of the boys, was so delusional she thought the Lord told her to do it, her attorney said Monday in opening statements at her murder trial. Deanna Laney, a 39-year-old stay-at-home mother, has pleaded innocent by reason of insanity to charges of murdering 8-year-old Joshua and 6-year-old Luke and causing serious injury to Aaron, 14 months old at the time. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty, but contend Laney knew right from wrong when she killed her children last Mother's Day weekend, despite opinions from two psychiatric experts for the defense, two for the prosecution and one for the judge -- all of whom said Laney was legally insane.

Mass. lawmakers give first nod to gay civil unions

BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Legislature gave final approval -- for this year -- to a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage but legalize civil unions, taking the first decisive step toward stripping same-sex couples of court-mandated marriage rights. Monday's 105-92 vote, which must be affirmed again during the next two-year session and by voters in the fall of 2006, completes the Legislature's action on gay marriage for the year. Under a decision in November by the state's highest court, the nation's first gay marriages will take place on May 17. The amendment would have no effect on that deadline, but Gov. Mitt Romney has said he might seek a way to delay any marriages if a constitutional amendment proposal was adopted this year.

Education law change eases student testing

WASHINGTON -- For the fourth time in as many months, the Bush administration is easing the restrictions of its education law, this time in the area of testing. The latest move -- reducing the number of students a school may test without running afoul of the law -- probably will cap a flurry of responses to concerns from states and schools. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires schools to test at least 95 percent of students in math and reading. Schools also must have 95 percent participation from all major subgroups of students, such as minority or disabled youngsters. The point is to make sure that schools are accountable for every student's progress, and to ensure that no schools have incentive to exclude lower-performing students on test days. Under the new policy, schools will get some leeway. As long as they average a 95 percent participation rate among students over two or three years, schools will meet the law.

Gas prices hit new record high with no end in sight

LOS ANGELES -- There is little chance that gas prices, which have reached a record high, will fall significantly in the near future, a national analyst says. Gas prices climbed another 3 cents in the past two weeks, said Trilby Lundberg of the Lundberg survey, which regularly surveys 8,000 stations nationwide. The nationwide average in the past two weeks is $1.80 for all grades, a new record high, Lundberg said Sunday. Increased demand will likely result from an improving economy, Memorial Day travel, and even the extra hour of light from daylight savings time, Lundberg said. The national weighted average price of gasoline, including taxes, at self-serve pumps Friday was about $1.77 for regular, $1.87 for midgrade, and $1.96 for premium.

Allergy season can mean special trouble for asthma

WASHINGTON -- Allergies actually are the most common cause of asthma, yet many sufferers don't know that pollen or other allergens are triggering their asthma attacks, knowledge that could help them breathe easier. For people with particularly severe allergic asthma, a new drug that works differently from any other asthma medicine -- though it is expensive and somewhat difficult to use -- may help. Called Xolair, it's the first anti-IgE treatment, able to cut asthma attacks by about a third by blocking the IgE-caused inflammation chain reaction. It's expensive, between $5,000 and $10,000 a year. However, specialists say insurance companies are covering it without complaint for those who qualify. Xolair requires shots administered in a doctor's office every two to four weeks, and so far it's just for those over age 12.

-- From wire reports