Nation digest 08/12/03

Feds fine woman for being human shield

SARASOTA, Fla. -- A retired schoolteacher who went to Iraq to serve as a "human shield" against the U.S. invasion is facing thousands of dollars in U.S. government fines, which she refuses to pay.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury said in a March letter to Faith Fippinger that she broke the law by crossing the Iraqi border before the war. Her travel to Iraq violated U.S. sanctions that prohibited American citizens from engaging in "virtually all direct or indirect commercial, financial or trade transactions with Iraq."

She and others from 30 countries spread out through Iraq to prevent the war. She spent about three months there.

Fippinger, 62, who returned home May 4, is being fined at least $10,000, but she has refused to pay. She could face up to 12 years in prison.

If Fippinger does not pay, the fine may increase, and the money will be drawn from her retirement paycheck, her Social Security check or any of her assets, officials said.

Delaware senator out of presidential contention

DOVER, Del. -- Sen. Joseph Biden on Monday ended speculation about his White House aspirations, saying he has decided not to seek the Democratic nomination for president.

In a prepared statement, Biden said he is "deeply concerned" that the United States is "heading in the wrong direction at home and abroad," but that he believes he can best shape public policy as a senator, rather than as a presidential candidate.

Biden entered the 1988 presidential race, but quit in September 1987 after his campaign was rocked by allegations of plagiarism in some of his speeches and false claims about his academic achievements.

No charges to be filed in Toughman boxing match

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Police said Monday they will not charge an amateur boxing promoter for the death of a 30-year-old woman who was beaten into a coma during a Toughman competition.

Promoter Art Dore violated no state laws and cannot be charged with the June 17 death of Stacy Young, a mother of two who had entered the June 14 bout on an impulse when no opponent could be found for the only other woman to sign up, chief Peter Abbott said.

"All we had was a sporting event with willing participants," Dore said from his office in Bay City, Mich. "I don't know how they could find anything."

Young collapsed in the ring shortly before the end of the third round and suffered a seizure. The family's attorney has said the fight doctor overseeing the match never tried to stop it. The medical examiner ruled her death an accident.

Young's brother-in-law, Don Meyers, said the family is disappointed no one is facing criminal charges and will pursue a lawsuit.

-- From wire reports