AUSTIN, Texas
Fetal remains rule blocked
A federal judge late Friday again blocked Texas rules mandating burial or cremation of fetal remains, in a victory for abortion rights groups. Austin-based U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks said that the health department regulations would remain suspended until further notice and that attorneys will now have 30 days to work out scheduling logistics before a full trial date is set. Sparks had previously suggested in court that the proposed rules had public health benefit. Opponents argue they could unduly burden women seeking abortions. The rules seek to ban hospitals and clinics from disposing of fetal remains from abortions or miscarriages as biological medical waste, usually meaning they are incinerated and placed in sanitary landfills.
HACKENSACK, N.J.
Christie won’t face charges
New Jersey prosecutors said Friday they will not pursue a criminal misconduct case against Republican Gov. Chris Christie in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal. Bergen County assistant prosecutor John Higgins said in a letter to Superior Court Judge Bonnie Mizdol that the state does not believe it can prove official misconduct beyond a reasonable doubt and will not be bringing charges.
LOS ANGELES
DNA test solves old murder
Investigators used a controversial DNA testing method to solve the decades-old killing of the ex-wife of Righteous Brothers singer Bill Medley, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Friday. Karen Klaas was attacked Jan. 30, 1976, as she returned to her home in Hermosa Beach. The 32-year-old was sexually assaulted, strangled with her pantyhose and never regained consciousness. She died a few days later at the hospital. The sheriff’s department said Friday that the case “was solved through the use of familial DNA, which identified the killer,” but provided no other details.
New Hampshire
Malcolm X family charged
A daughter and granddaughter of slain black nationalist Malcolm X have been charged with stealing a rental truck that was found in southern Maryland carrying seven pit bulls in what police described Friday as inhumane conditions. Malikah Saban Shabazz, 51, of Berlin, N.H., and her daughter Bettih Bahiyah Shabazz, 19, of Stark, N.H., were released in Charles County on Thursday after posting bond of $2,000 each, according to online court records. Calls to the women were not returned.
Compiled from wire reports