9/11 commission says hijacker wasn't ID'd
Washington, D.C.
Investigators for the Sept. 11 commission have found no evidence to support allegations by Representative Curt Weldon, a Pennsylvania Republican, that lead hijacker Mohamed Atta was identified by a classified Pentagon program before the 2001 attacks, according to a commission statement issued last night. Commission leaders Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton said in the joint statement that panel staff members have found no evidence to back up claims made by a US Navy officer, who told the commission staff in July 2004 that he recalled seeing Atta's name and photograph on a chart prepared by another officer. (
Flu shot rule proposed for US nursing homes
US nursing homes would have to vaccinate all patients against the flu and pneumonia starting this fall or risk being kicked out of the Medicare and Medicaid programs under a new federal rule proposed yesterday. The proposal, which has not yet been finalized, would ensure that the most vulnerable elderly receive their flu shots but could raise questions about how many doses will remain as Americans head into the 2005-06 flu season with only two US-approved vaccine makers. (Reuters)
Government moves to aid visiting students
To help protect thousands of foreign exchange students, many living away from home for the first time, the State Department proposed rules yesterday that would screen host families for sex offenders. According to the proposals, all adults in a host family would be vetted through sex offender registries, which are available in 48 states. (AP)
Tennessee
Teacher gets 9 months in prison in sex case
McMINNVILLE -- A former elementary school teacher pleaded no contest to having sex with one of her students, a 13-year-old boy, and has been sentenced to nine months in jail. Pamela Rogers Turner, 28, entered the plea Thursday, allowing her to avoid a trial on 28 charges of sexual battery and statutory rape. (AP)
New York
NYU doctor donates $105 million to school
NEW YORK-- A microbiology professor who fled the Nazis as a child, then made a fortune inventing a drug for rheumatoid arthritis plans to give the New York University School of Medicine a $105 million donation. Dr. Jan T. Vilcek said he felt grateful to the institution for nurturing his research. The gift, which the medical school said is the largest it has ever received, will consist of royalties Vilcek has earned from the sale of Remicade, an anti-inflammatory agent. (AP)
