Nation briefs 6/22/06

'Railroad Killer' to be executed

HOUSTON -- A judge ruled Wednesday that serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz, who gained notoriety as the "Railroad Killer" linked to at least 15 murders across the country, is mentally competent to be executed next week for the 1998 rape-slaying of a Texas doctor. Resendiz's attorneys had argued that the 46-year-old Mexican national is delusional and believes he is half-man, half-angel and will return three days after going to the death chamber. Resendiz was convicted of killing Claudia Benton, a researcher at the Texas Medical Center, who was stabbed, beaten with a statue and raped in her Houston home. Overall, he has been linked to eight slayings in Texas, two in southern Illinois, two in Florida, and one each in Kentucky, California and Georgia between 1986 through June 1999.

Study: Condoms protect against HPV

For the first time, scientists have proof that condoms offer women impressive protection against the virus that causes cervical cancer. A three-year study of female college students -- all virgins at the start -- found that women whose partners always wore a condom during sex were 70 percent less likely to become infected with the human papilloma virus, or HPV, than those whose partners used protection less than 5 percent of the time.

San Andreas fault overdue for big quake

LOS ANGELES -- New earthquake research confirms the southern end of the San Andreas fault near Los Angeles is overdue for a Big One. The lower section of the fault has not produced a major earthquake in more than three centuries. The new study, which analyzed 20 years of data and is considered one of the most detailed analyses yet, found that stress has been building up since then, and that the fault could rupture at any moment.

Firefighters battle western blazes

SEDONA, Ariz. -- Firefighters struggled Wednesday to stop a 2,450-acre wildfire from jumping a highway in scenic Oak Creek Canyon and roaring into an area of evacuated homes and resorts. Nearly 600 firefighters were on the lines Wednesday, backed by at least a dozen aircraft and nearly three-dozen fire trucks, but the blaze was only 5 percent contained in the steep, rugged terrain. The fire was approaching the area of Slide Rock State Park, a popular recreation spot that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year. The fire started Sunday as a campfire and spread quickly, forcing the evacuation of about 460 homes and businesses in the canyon more than 90 miles north of Phoenix.

--From wire reports