Nation briefs 6/30/06

Stem-cell funding bill to be revived in Senate

WASHINGTON -- Urged anew by Nancy Reagan, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is reviving a bill to expand federal funding for embryonic stem-cell research despite objections from some conservatives and a veto threat by President Bush. The bill would permit the federal government to pay for human embryonic stem-cell research, a science that carries promise in the hunt for cures to diseases that afflict millions of people. While most polls show that about 70 percent of the public supports the bill, it has been stalled in the Senate since the House passed it last year.

House votes to end offshore drilling ban

WASHINGTON -- The House voted Thursday to end a quarter-century offshore drilling ban and allow energy companies to tap natural gas and oil beneath waters from New England to Alaska. Opponents of the federal ban argued that the nation needed to move closer to energy independence and insisted the gas and oil could be taken without threatening the environment and coastal beaches. They said a state choosing to keep the moratorium could do so. The measure was approved 232-187.

Funeral held for mother of slain child beauty queen

ROSWELL, Ga. -- Patsy Ramsey has been buried beside her 6-year-old beauty queen daughter JonBenet. Ramsey died Saturday of ovarian cancer at age 49 with her husband John at her side. At her funeral Thursday morning, she was remembered for her strength after her daughter's death and her cancer diagnosis. Friends said she often called people who were beginning cancer treatment to offer encouragement. Others described how she helped her 19-year-old son, Burke, build a skateboard park. JonBenet was found beaten and strangled in the basement of the family's home in December 1996. No arrests have been made in the case.

Boy dies after riding Disney World coaster

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A 12-year-old boy has died after riding a roller coaster at the Disney MGM theme park. Investigators are not sure whether the boy had a medical condition or was injured on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. The boy died after he was brought by ambulance to the hospital about 11:30 a.m. Thursday. Park officials closed the ride, but a preliminary investigation showed the ride was operating normally.

Nun accused of stealing $300,000 turns herself in

OMAHA, Neb. -- A 71-year-old nun has turned herself in to police. She's accused of stealing more than $300,000 from the Omaha Archdiocese. Sister Barbara Markey was wanted on a warrant issued June 22. She was released on her own recognizance later Wednesday. She's charged with theft by deception -- a felony punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine. Markey's attorney, John Stevens Berry Sr., said the allegations are a financial dispute and no laws were broken. The Omaha nun was fired in January as director of the archdiocese's family life office after financial irregularities were discovered. Markey is well-known for writing one of the Catholic Church's most widely used marriage preparation programs used by 400,000 to 500,000 couples in 14 countries each year.

-- From wire reports