Nation digest 11/12/05

Feds threaten suit over SIU minority fellowships

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The federal government says it soon will sue Southern Illinois University over three graduate fellowships for minorities, but school officials are asking for an opportunity to prove the programs aren't discriminatory. The U.S. Justice Department, in a letter sent to the university last week, said the fellowships aimed at women and underrepresented minorities violate Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. SIU has engaged in "intentional discrimination against whites, non-preferred minorities and males," the Justice Department said. The letter demands SIU discontinue the fellowship programs or face a lawsuit by Nov. 18. The university asked to meet with federal officials to discuss the situation in a response letter sent Wednesday.

Bishops urge split from Episcopal Church

PITTSBURGH -- An international panel of Anglican archbishops called upon a gathering of their conservative American counterparts Friday to split from the rest of the U.S. Episcopal Church. The seven archbishops from Africa, the West Indies, and Asia spoke at the Hope and a Future Conference organized by the Anglican Communion Network. The network is headed by Pittsburgh's Episcopal Bishop Robert W. Duncan. He helped form the group in 2003 after the Episcopal Church in the United States consecrated an openly gay priest, Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire and gave tacit approval to blessing services for same-sex couples. Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola said bishops from Duncan's group and others attending the conference must be clear about their allegiance.

Schwarzenegger drops fight over nurse staffing

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has ended a yearlong fight with California nurses over hospital staffing levels after a bitter feud that escalated when he boasted, "I'm kicking their butts." Acting on behalf of the governor, Attorney General Bill Lockyer filed a motion late Thursday ending a legal battle over a new state rule requiring one nurse for every five patients. For the past year, Schwarzenegger had been trying to block the rule in favor of a 1-to-6 ratio.

Suspect flees Atlanta jail, is caught four hours later

ATLANTA -- A handcuffed suspect in an alleged prostitution ring ran out an open garage door at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday and was recaptured four hours later with his hands still in restraints. The escape of James Henderson, 25, followed the March escape of rape suspect Brian Nichols, who is accused of overpowering a sheriff's deputy at the Fulton County Courthouse, grabbing her gun and killing the judge overseeing his trial and a court reporter. He's also accused of killing a sheriff's deputy and a federal agent after fleeing the courthouse.

Feds will maintain faster testing for mad cow

WASHINGTON -- The government plans to maintain indefinitely its faster level of testing for mad cow disease, rather than scaling back testing in December as originally envisioned. With the lucrative Japanese market poised to reopen to American cattle, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns says he wants government scientists to continue testing about 1,000 cattle a day.

-- From wire reports