Nation Digest
Military bases told not to sponsor Boy Scouts

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The settlement announced yesterday is part of a series of legal challenges in recent years over how closely the government should be aligned with the Boy Scouts of America, a venerable organization with more than 3.2 million members. Civil liberties advocates believe that direct government support of a group that bans openly gay leaders and compels members to swear an oath of duty to God amounts to discrimination.

The Pentagon said it has long had a rule against sponsorship of non-federal organizations and denied the rule had been violated. But it agreed to send a message to posts worldwide warning them not to sponsor Boy Scout troops or other such groups.

The rule does not prevent service members from leading Scout troops unofficially on their own time, and Scouts will still be able to hold meetings on areas of military bases where civilian organizations are allowed to hold events.

Houston

Guilty plea in deaths of illegal immigrants

A woman pleaded guilty yesterday to her role in the nation's deadliest human smuggling case: the deaths of 19 illegal immigrants crammed into a sweltering trailer.

Prosecutors said Norma Gonzalez Sanchez, 44, helped arrange the smuggling of more than 70 immigrants into the United States from Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic.

The immigrants were abandoned at a truck stop near Victoria, about 100 miles southwest of Houston, in May 2003. Seventeen were found dead at the scene, and two others died later.

Sanchez, a Mexican citizen, pleaded guilty to harboring and transporting illegal immigrants and causing serious injury or death as a result. She could get up to life in prison when she is sentenced Feb. 14.

Atlanta
 
School chief enters not-guilty plea

Georgia's former schools superintendent pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges she stole more than $600,000 in education funds and spent the money on a face-lift and her failed campaign for governor.

Linda Schrenko, 54, was released on $40,000 bond after she entered her plea to an indictment accusing her of taking federal money meant for school computers.

Prosecutor Sally Yates says nearly half the money went to Schrenko's failed bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 2002. The indictment says Schrenko spent more than $9,000 on plastic surgery.

San Diego

Judge lets vote count go on in mayor's race

A judge yesterday refused to halt the vote count in the San Diego mayor's race, a victory for a maverick city councilwoman who has mounted a surprisingly strong write-in campaign.

The decision came as the vote tally showed the race tightening between Councilwoman Donna Frye, a 52-year-old surf shop owner, and Mayor Dick Murphy.

The ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed by Frye's opponents on the grounds that the election must be a runoff between the top two finishers in the primary — in this case, Murphy and county Supervisor Ron Roberts.

Retired Judge Charles Jones stopped short of dismissing the lawsuit, but said that Frye's opponents had waited too long to challenge her campaign — six days after the election.

The presiding judge of the San Diego County Superior Court last week recused all 124 judges on the bench from the lawsuit because Murphy was a San Diego judge for 15 years before he was elected mayor in 2000. The case was then referred to Jones.

Los Angeles

NASA postpones test of hypersonic jet

NASA yesterday delayed a planned flight of an unmanned hypersonic jet designed to reach a record speed of Mach 10, or 7,000 mph.

A problem developed with the plane's avionics shortly before the flight, leaving too little time to reach the launch area as scheduled, NASA officials said.

Engineers planned to try again today to launch the plane off the California coast.

Washington

Global accord seeks safer car-door latches

The United States and 21 other countries have agreed to adopt a tougher standard for vehicle door latches, a first step toward what American officials hope will be global auto safety standards.

The new will require doors on all vehicles to withstand tests to make sure they don't fall open on impact in a crash.

U.S. officials said most doors will meet the new standard, but it will require changes to sliding doors on minivans and some cargo vans.

Also

Jury selection began yesterday in Los Angeles in the murder trial of Robert Blake, more than three years after the former "Baretta" star's wife was shot to death outside a California restaurant.