Nation digest 02/09/02

Cheney's pacemaker passes hospital check

WASHINGTON -- Doctors found in a routine check of Vice President Dick Cheney's pacemaker Friday that the device has not yet been needed to correct any irregular heartbeat, a spokeswoman said.

"After his routine checkup, the vice president was told by his doctor that all the news was very good. In particular, the doctor noted that the vice president's ICD neither detected nor treated any arrhythmia," said Mary Matalin, White House counselor to Cheney.

The vice president, who has a 30-year history of heart problems, had the high-tech pacemaking device placed in his chest in June to even out a rapid heartbeat.

No Connecticut Yank aboard Confederate sub

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- One mystery about the crew of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley has been solved -- there was no Connecticut Yankee aboard.

During an excavation of the first submarine ever to sink an enemy warship, scientists found Union soldier Ezra Chamberlin's identification medal on the remains of a crewman.

But genealogist Linda Abrams said Friday that, based on genealogical information, Chamberlin would have been in his mid-20s at the time the Hunley sank in 1864, while the Hunley crewman was about a decade older.

"The age is not in agreement with the age that Chamberlin would have been," Abrams said. "My hunch is he wasn't there."

Election results in LA suburb thrown out

LOS ANGELES -- A judge threw out the results of last summer's Compton mayoral election Friday and declared incumbent Omar Bradley the winner.

Superior Court Judge Judith Chirlin upheld allegations of fraud and other problems made in a lawsuit filed by Bradley, who lost to Eric Perrodin by 261 votes last June.

Chirlin determined last month that precinct workers had mishandled ballots. At the time, however, she said the problems did not affect the outcome of the election in the blighted suburb southeast of Los Angeles.

Judge orders end to Tennessee Bible classes

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- A federal judge on Friday ordered an end to Bible classes that have been taught for 51 years in the elementary schools of the county where the Scopes "monkey trial" was held.

The classes in Rhea County violate the First Amendment's clause calling for separation of church and state, U.S. District Judge Allan Edgar wrote in his order.

A couple with two children attending the schools had challenged the Bible classes. Their identities have not been disclosed.

School teacher John T. Scopes was prosecuted in 1925 for teaching evolution instead of creationism in Rhea County schools.

-- From wire reports