Nation digest 7/30/02

Court: State can bar Boy Scouts from charity list

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut did not violate the rights of the Boy Scouts when it dropped the group from a list of charities that state employees contribute to through a payroll deduction plan, a federal judge has ruled.

A state panel removed the Boy Scouts from the list in 2000, after a state human rights commission found that including the organization violates state anti-discrimination laws because of the scouts' ban on gay troop leaders.

The Irving, Texas-based Boy Scouts and a Connecticut scouting council filed a discrimination lawsuit against the state, arguing that exclusion from the list violated the group's First Amendment rights.

In a decision dated July 22, U.S. District Judge Warren Eginton ruled in favor of the state.

Shortage forces states to relax vaccine rules INDIANAPOLIS -- At least four states are relaxing student immunization standards at the start of the school year because of lingering shortages in vaccines for many common childhood diseases.

The Centers for Disease Control notified doctors in a July 11 bulletin that shortages were over for two vaccines, one for measles, mumps and rubella and another for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis.

But parts of the country still lack sufficient supplies. New Jersey, Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska are among the states that will allow students with incomplete immunizations to enroll in school this fall.

The shortage for the MMR and DTP vaccines was caused by several factors, including a dwindling number of suppliers, manufacturing changes and equipment modifications that caused some production facilities to shut down longer than expected.

Toddler dies after being left in van for five hours

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. -- A 23-month-old boy died after his parents returned home from church and accidentally left him in their sweltering van for five hours, authorities said.

Daniel James McCray died on Sunday.

The boy's parents, David and JoAnn McCray, each thought the other had retrieved the child from his car seat, sheriff's spokeswoman Kim Swanson said. Daniel was the youngest of the couple's five children.

Family members did not notice Daniel was still in the vehicle until they were getting ready to return to church for evening services, Swanson said.

The temperature outside was in the mid-90s.

No charges were yet filed.

Lehigh Acres is in southwestern Florida.

Man charged with vigilante-style shooting

BALTIMORE -- A man was charged with a vigilante-style shooting after he opened fire on three boys who were said to be selling drugs while sitting on his front steps.

Police said William Banks, 60, returned to his Baltimore rowhome just before 1 p.m. Sunday to find the three boys, ages 11, 15 and 18, sitting on his front steps. Detectives were told the boys were selling drugs on the steps.

By late Sunday, the 11-year-old had been released from Hopkins Hospital, and the other two boys remained in good condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

-- From wire reports