Judge upholds verdict against Enron auditor

HOUSTON -- A federal judge upheld a verdict finding Enron Corp. auditor Arthur Andersen guilty of obstruction of justice, clearing the way for the accounting firm's sentencing next month.

Lawyers for Andersen had asked U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon to overturn the jury's June 15 verdict, arguing that the government had presented insufficient evidence and jurors had based their decision on actions that were not criminal.

Harmon denied the request in an order signed Wednesday.

During the six-week trial, government attorneys contended Andersen shredded documents related to Enron, a now-bankrupt energy trader, to hide financial irregularities.

Andersen's criminal trial was the first to emerge from last year's collapse of Enron.

Cheney receives clean bill of health from doctors

WASHINGTON -- Doctors who examined Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday reported that his implanted defibrillator-pacemaker was functioning properly and had not been activated to treat an abnormal heartbeat.

The 61-year-old vice president, who has had four heart attacks since 1978, underwent a semiannual cardiovascular exam. His counselor, Mary Matalin, said Cheney's doctor, Jonathan Reiner, reported Cheney could "continue to live a vigorous lifestyle."

The device, the size of a pager, was implanted in June 2001 after doctors determined that Cheney was at risk of developing a potentially fatal irregular heartbeat. It monitors the heartbeat, and can send an electric pulse to correct an abnormal rhythm.

Hearing delayed in case against Noelle Bush

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A hearing in the cocaine case against Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter was postponed Friday after prosecutors said the staff at her drug rehabilitation center was not cooperating with investigators.

Police said 0.2 grams of crack cocaine were found in Noelle Bush's shoe on Monday after they were called to the center by another patient.

Bush was not arrested because officers could not get statements from staffers at The Center for Drug-Free Living.

Circuit Judge Reginald Whitehead delayed Friday's hearing until police finish their investigation.

A center spokeswoman did not return a message Friday.

Tropical storm expected to bring much-needed rain

PENSACOLA, Fla. -- Forecasters were expecting good news from Tropical Storm Hanna, which could bring much-needed rain to the parched Southeast with little risk of wind or surf damage.

The storm formed out of a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico early Friday and was expected to make landfall Saturday morning on the northern Gulf Coast.

It was expected to reach shore anywhere from the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle, and once over land to turn northeast, weather officials said.

Ship cleared for return after radiation scare

NEWARK, N.J. -- A ship ordered offshore after radioactivity was detected in a container was cleared to return to port Friday, federal officials said.

Inspectors determined there was no threat from the M/V Palermo Senator, a 708-foot container ship registered in Liberia, according to a statement from the FBI, Coast Guard and Department of Energy.

Coast Guard officers ordered the ship into the port on Tuesday for an inspection after hearing suspicious sounds during a boarding offshore.

The low-level radioactivity came from ceramic tile in the cargo and was harmless, the agencies said.

-- From wire reports