Senator Tim Johnson's recovery from a brain hemorrhage and emergency surgery is expected to take several months, the South Dakota Democrat's office said yesterday. A test showed that Johnson no longer has the tangle of arteries and veins in his brain that caused bleeding that sent him to the hospital last month. He underwent the angiogram yesterday at George Washington University Hospital, where he has been in critical condition since Dec. 13. His long-term prognosis is unclear. Dr. Vivek Deshmukh, head of Johnson's surgical team, said in a statement that the tangle, called arteriovenous malformation, appears to be gone and the senator "continues to be responsive to both his family and physicians -- following commands, squeezing his wife's hand, and understanding speech." (AP)
Ellison to take oath on antique Koran
Representative-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, will use a Koran once owned by Thomas Jefferson during his ceremonial swearing-in today. Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, asked the Library of Congress about using the book last month, officials said. Some critics argue that a Bible should be used for the swearing-in. Last month, Virginia Representative Virgil Goode warned that unless immigration is tightened, "many more Muslims" will be elected and follow Ellison's lead. Ellison was born in Detroit and converted to Islam while in college. (AP)
Man gets 26 years in reporter's slaying
One of two men who killed a
New York Times journalist was sentenced yesterday to 26 years in prison. Michael C. Hamlin, 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the Jan. 6, 2006, attack on retired New York Times reporter David E. Rosenbaum. He had previously testified against his codefendant, Percey Jordan, who was convicted of first-degree murder in October. He is scheduled to be sentenced later this month, when he could get life in prison without parole.
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