Nation digest 04/19/06

Moussaoui's mental health questioned

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- Zacarias Moussaoui's behavior is abnormal even for an al-Qaida terrorist, a defense psychologist testified Tuesday. Xavier Amador diagnosed the Sept. 11, 2001, conspirator with paranoid schizophrenia after observing his actions and writings since 2002. Amador said his diagnosis was confirmed after an April 2005 encounter with Moussaoui in which the defendant repeatedly spit water on him -- and appeared to be talking to himself. Government experts are expected to testify later this week in rebuttal. Jurors must decide whether Moussaoui should be executed or serve life in prison without parole for conspiring with al-Qaida in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Study: No harm from mercury in dental fillings

CHICAGO -- Two long-awaited, government-funded studies found no evidence that dental fillings containing mercury can cause IQ-lowering brain damage or other neurological problems in children. Children with such fillings were no more likely than other youngsters to suffer such problems, the researchers found. The latest studies were published in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. Some experts found the findings powerfully reassuring. But the studies are unlikely to end the debate over the long-term effects of the fillings. Some advocacy groups and dentists contend the mercury in fillings can leach into the body and cause neurological effects, including autism.

Gag order imposed in case of slain Okla. girl

PURCELL, Okla. -- An Oklahoma judge issued a gag order Tuesday to stop what defense attorneys called inflammatory statements about the gruesome slaying of a 10-year-old girl, who prosecutors say was killed by a man who wanted to eat human flesh. Kevin Ray Underwood, a 26-year-old grocery store stocker, was arraigned Monday on a first-degree murder charge in the death of his neighbor, Jamie Rose Bolin.

Study finds best timing between pregnancies

CHICAGO -- Women can maximize their chances of having healthy babies by spacing their pregnancies at least 18 months but no more than five years apart, researchers say in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers reached that conclusion after an analysis of 67 international studies involving more than 11 million pregnancies. The analysis found that spacing babies too close together or too far apart raises the risk of complications such as premature births and low birth weight.

Police close arsenic investigation in Maine

BANGOR, Maine -- Nearly three years after parishioners drank arsenic-laced coffee at a church in Maine, detectives said they have decided that the only person to be implicated acted alone. Daniel Bondeson, a church member, committed suicide days after the poisonings on April 27, 2003, that killed one and sickened 15.

Katrina victims fight wave of evictions

GULFPORT, Miss. -- Lawyers for low-income tenants say they have been fighting a wave of evictions since the Aug. 29 hurricane laid waste to tens of thousands of houses and apartments on Mississippi's Gulf Coast. Mississippi's attorney general said his office was able to resolve many cases with a warning. In Louisiana, no charges have been filed because the state's price-gouging laws do not specifically address rents.

Heat, power demand force blackouts in Texas

HOUSTON -- Faced with the prospect of another day of record heat, the state's power suppliers urged Texans to cut down on their electricity use in the hopes of avoiding more rolling blackouts. Power companies throughout the state imposed the blackouts Monday because of an electricity shortage during unseasonably hot weather. Thousands were without electricity for short periods of time as highs reached into the low 100s. Highs were expected to return to a more normal range in the 70s and 80s today.

-- From wire reports