Nation digest 7a 2/20

Head of Catholic bishops apologizes

The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops expressed regret Tuesday for priests who sexually abuse children and pledged to keep working to prevent such crimes.

"We continue to apologize to the victims and to their parents and their loved ones for this failure in our pastoral responsibilities," Bishop Wilton Gregory said in a written statement.

The remarks were a response to troubles in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, where Cardinal Bernard Law has admitted he knew in 1984 that a priest had molested children, yet approved the priest's transfer to another parish and stayed publicly silent about the abuse.

Trial in fatal dog mauling of woman is under way

LOS ANGELES -- A tearful defense attorney told jurors Tuesday that her client, who is charged in the dog mauling death of her neighbor, risked her life to save the woman.

Marjorie Knoller flung herself on Diane Whipple when she was attacked by a 100-pound-plus presa canario owned by Knoller and her husband, Robert Noel, the lawyer said. "Marjorie was covered in blood," attorney Nedra Ruiz said in opening statements. "No one is sorrier that Marjorie Knoller could not save Ms. Whipple than Marjorie Knoller, who risked her life."

Knoller, 46, is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and having a mischievous animal that killed a human being. Her 60-year-old husband faces the latter two charges.

Knoller was with the dogs, Bane and Hera, at the time of the Jan. 26, 2001, attack on Whipple, 33, outside her San Francisco apartment.

Study: Most nursing homes understaffed

WASHINGTON -- The vast majority of the nation's nursing homes -- about 90 percent -- are staffed too thinly to properly provide such basic services as dressing, grooming, feeding and cleaning, according to a federal study.

The report was ordered by Congress and a final version is being prepared by the Department of Health and Human Services. It concludes that it would cost $7.6 billion a year for nursing homes to achieve proper staffing.

Bush administration officials have been unwilling to say whether they will mandate minimum staffing levels for nursing homes.

Instead they pointed to plans to force all nursing homes to make public their staff-to-patient ratio. Bush officials said public demand for more staffing will pressure nursing homes to do a better job.

FDA OKs drug that attacks lymphoma cells

WASHINGTON -- The government approved a long-awaited treatment for lymphoma Tuesday -- a drug that uses a "smart bomb" approach to bring radiation directly to cancer cells.

Idec Pharmaceuticals' Zevalin becomes the first radioimmunotherapy drug cleared for U.S. sales.

It's a novel approach, adding radiation to antibodies that search out a protein called CD20 found on lymphoma cells. The antibodies attach to the cells, flagging them for attack by the immune system. Doctors have long hoped that the radioactive antibodies would prove a potent way of fighting tough-to-treat cancers like non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Toy bears recalled because of hazards

WASHINGTON -- Three companies are recalling nearly 4 million children's products, most of them Snuggle-brand toy bears, because of potential choking and lead poisoning hazards, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday.

Unilever Home and Personal Care USA, of Greenwich, Conn., is recalling 3.9 million of the plush bears after receiving 32 reports of the toy's eyes and nose coming off.

The other recalled products are 39,000 Random House "Monsters In The Closet" children's books with closure snaps that can detach and pose a choking hazard; and 75,000 Alpha International pedal cars covered with paint that contains high levels of lead, which can poison children.

-- From wire reports