Bill on abortion goes to governor

COLUMBIA - A bill awaiting the governor's signature would require abortion providers to ask women whether they want to see ultrasound images of their fetuses before the procedure. As part of a legislative compromise formally announced yesterday, women must wait at least an hour after seeing the ultrasound to have an abortion. Republican state Senator Mike Fair said he hoped women would use the time to decide against abortion. The agreement was reached after more than a year of debate on whether women should be required to see the ultrasound. Governor Mark Sanford, a Republican, has said he supports the bill generally but would review the specifics before deciding whether to sign it.

(AP)

PHILADELPHIA - A judge yesterday temporarily blocked the city from enforcing five gun-control ordinances pending a challenge from the National Rifle Association. The NRA argues that state law prevents Pennsylvania municipalities from regulating guns, a view that even the city's crime-weary district attorney shares. City lawyers contend that Philadelphia can pass gun control ordinances if the laws are outside the scope of state measures. As an example, lawyer Mark Zecca told the judge that one Pennsylvania county had banned guns at its courthouse. Among other things, the five city ordinances passed April 10 ban the sale of assault weapons; require owners to report a lost or stolen gun within 24 hours; and limit firearms purchases to one a month. (AP)

Last month was the warmest March on record over land surfaces of the world and the second warmest overall worldwide. For the United States, however, it was just an average March, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported yesterday. NOAA's National Climatic Data Center said high temperatures over much of Asia pulled the worldwide land temperature up to an average of 40.8 degrees Fahrenheit , 3.2 degrees warmer than the average in the 20th century. While Asia had its greatest January snow cover this year, warm March readings caused a rapid melt and March snow cover on the continent was a record low. Global ocean temperatures were the 13th warmest on record, with a weakening of the La Niña conditions that cool the tropical Pacific Ocean.

MADISON - A ruling that freed a woman from prison and cast doubt on "shaken baby syndrome" prosecutions will stand, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has decided. The decision is a victory for former day-care provider Audrey Edmunds, who has long maintained her innocence against charges she shook a baby to death in 1995. Edmunds spent more than 10 years in prison after a jury convicted her of first-degree reckless homicide in 1996. She was freed in February. (AP)