2005 warmest year in century, NASA says

NEW YORK -- Last year was the warmest in a century, nosing out 1998, a federal analysis concluded. Researchers calculated that 2005 produced the highest annual average surface temperature worldwide since instrument recordings began in the late 1800s, said James Hansen, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. He blamed a buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. (AP)

FLORIDA

High court orders execution delayed

STARKE -- A death row inmate scheduled to be executed for killing a police officer won a stay last night from the Supreme Court. Clarence Hill has said that he is mentally retarded, and challenged the state's use of execution drugs as cruel. It was not clear whether Hill's execution, which had been scheduled for 6 p.m., would be delayed only briefly; the court acted to give justices additional time to review stay requests. Witnesses had gathered at Florida State Prison for the execution. (AP)

Washington, D.C.

US to reimburse states for Medicare spending

Federal officials said yesterday that they would reimburse states that bought medicine for senior citizens and disabled people who could not get help through the new Medicare drug benefit. The benefit began Jan. 1. Under the program, Medicare beneficiaries enroll in private plans that get a government subsidy to provide prescription drug coverage. But the program got off to such a difficult start that more than 20 states opted to continue emergency coverage. (AP)

Moussaoui defense details insanity case

Lawyers trying to spare admitted terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui the death penalty want to call as a witness a doctor who will testify that the defendant has a major mental disorder, probably schizophrenia, according to court filings. A Frenchman of Moroccan descent, Moussaoui, 37, is the only person who has been charged in the United States as part of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In April, he pleaded guilty to six conspiracy charges, but insisted he was not part of the Sept. 11 plot. However, he said he had planned to hijack a 747 jet later and fly it into the White House. (AP)