Nation digest 01/25/05

At least 16 deaths linked to Northeast snowstorm

BOSTON -- Boston's airport partially reopened Monday, but schools and courthouses were closed in many areas as the Northeast struggled to recover from the weekend's blizzard. The storm dumped more than 3 feet of snow on Massachusetts. At least 16 deaths were linked to the weather: three in Connecticut, three in Ohio, three in Wisconsin, two in Pennsylvania, and one each in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Iowa and Massachusetts.

Trial opens over raid on Elian Gonzalez home

MIAMI -- A trial opened Monday in a $3 million-plus lawsuit by 13 people who say they were injured or traumatized when federal agents seized a screaming Elian Gonzalez from his Miami relatives' home. The opening witness was neighbor Maria Riera, who testified that she clutched her chest and thought she was dying when an agent doused her with tear gas during the April 22, 2000, raid to reunite the 6-year-old boy with his father in Cuba. The 13 neighbors and protesters are seeking up to $250,000 each, claiming that agents used excessive force during the armed raid.

Federal judge postpones Connecticut execution

HARTFORD, Conn. -- A federal judge Monday postponed the execution of a serial killer who had tried to end his appeals and was set to become the first person put to death in New England in nearly 45 years. U.S. District Judge Robert N. Chatigny said he wants to hear more evidence about the mental capacity of Michael Ross. He did not immediately set a date for a hearing. Prosecutors said they would appeal. Ross, 45, is on death row for the murders of four women in Connecticut in the early 1980s.

Mich. teacher gets life in prison for hatchet slaying

PONTIAC, Mich. -- An elementary school teacher who hacked her husband to death with a hatchet was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Before she was sentenced, Nancy Seaman called the guilty verdict "a miscarriage of justice" and that she would appeal. Prosecutors said Seaman argued with her husband, Robert, last Mother's Day, bought a hatchet at Home Depot, returned to their home and killed him with it. Nancy Seaman claimed that she bought the hatchet for yard work and that the couple got into an argument in which her husband of 31 years menaced her with a steak knife. She said she grabbed the nearest thing to defend herself.

Ashcroft thanks workers at farewell ceremony

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General John Ashcroft said goodbye Monday to the Justice Department he has led for four years, thanking workers for their efforts to prevent another terrorist attack. Several hundred people gathered at the department's Great Hall to bid farewell to Ashcroft, who will leave as soon as President Bush's choice to replace him, Alberto Gonzales, is confirmed by the Senate.