Nation briefs 12/18/03

American women waiting longer to have first child

ATLANTA -- The average age at which American women are having their first child has climbed to an all-time high of 25.1, the government said Wednesday. The rise reflects a drop in teen births and an increase in the number of women who are putting off motherhood until their 30s and 40s. The age of first-time American moms has risen steadily during the past three decades, from an average of 21.4 in 1970. The latest figure, for 2002, was released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Judge strikes Bush plan for park snowmobiling

BILLINGS, Mont. -- Just hours before the first snowmobiles of the season were to rumble through Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, a judge left park officials scrambling to comply with Clinton-era entry rules fixed on reducing pollution that the Bush administration had scrapped. The decision, issued late Tuesday by a judge in Washington, D.C., allows a limited number of snowmobiles this winter -- but all must be part of commercially guided trips. Under the proposed Bush administration rules that the judge scrapped Tuesday, some snowmobilers would have been able to go into the park alone.

Connecticut governor may face impeachment

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Once a rising star in Republican politics, Gov. John G. Rowland now is fending off talk of impeachment and questions about his ethics, honesty and ability to govern amid a steadily worsening corruption scandal. An excruciating year of budget shortfalls, state employee layoffs and ethical crises culminated last week in Rowland's admission that a major state contractor and several friends -- including some under suspicion in a federal corruption probe -- paid for renovations to his lakefront vacation home. It was an embarrassing about-face for the three-term governor, who had insisted 10 days earlier that he alone had paid for all the improvements at the cottage in rural but ritzy Litchfield County.

Episcopal bishops plan to protest gay decision

PITTSBURGH -- Thirteen bishops have agreed to form a network of dioceses and congregations that disapprove of the Episcopal Church's consecration of an openly gay bishop. Pittsburgh Bishop Robert W. Duncan will be the moderator of the new Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, which he said is not breaking with the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the global Anglican Communion. Dioceses joining the network are Duncan's see in Pittsburgh and those based in Albany, N.Y.; Fresno, Calif.; Charleston, S.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Orlando, Fla.; Parrish, Fla.; Dallas; Fort Worth; Peoria, Ill.; Springfield, Ill.; Salina, Kan.; and Albuquerque, N.M.

Arab man sentenced for Jewish temple fire

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- An Arab man who was convicted of hate crimes for burglarizing and burning down a Jewish temple three years ago was sentenced Wednesday to 25 years in prison. Raussi Uthman, 30, also must pay $856,278 in restitution. No one was injured in the fire at Temple Beth El in Syracuse, which caused more than $700,000 in damage. Defense attorney Paul Carey immediately filed a notice of appeal. Uthman, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Venezuela to Palestinian parents, admitted committing the Oct. 13, 2000, burglary but said the arson was planned and carried out by his accomplice, Ahed Shehadeh.

Two drugs team against enlarged prostate

BOSTON -- Two workhorse drugs can be combined to strike a doubly powerful blow against symptoms of an enlarged prostate, an irritating and occasionally dangerous condition widespread in older men, a study found. Researchers say up to 7 million men might benefit from the combined drugs, which act in different ways on the body to ease such symptoms as weak or urgent urination. The study was published today in The New England Journal of Medicine. The five-year experiment with 3,047 patients at 17 hospitals coast to coast was the most ambitious study yet of drug treatments for enlarged prostate. It was backed by the National Institutes of Health.

--From wire reports