Copyright 1999 The Atlanta Constitution
The Atlanta
Journal and Constitution
September 15, 1999, Wednesday, Metro Edition
SECTION: News; Pg. 16A
LENGTH: 362 words
HEADLINE:
NATION IN BRIEF
BYLINE: From our news services
DATELINE: CONSTITUTION
BODY:
Abortion ban wins reprieve in Virginia
A Virginia law banning a type of
late-term abortion went back on the books Tuesday. A three-judge panel of the
4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond issued a brief order saying the
law should be enforced while it considers a judge's ruling that the law is
unconstitutional. A spokesman for the law's opponents said the order likely
would not be challenged. A 1998 law banned the procedure called
''partial-birth abortion.'' Planned Parenthood Advocates of
Virginia and abortion providers asked a federal court to throw out the law
because they say it is too vague and infringes on a woman's right to an
abortion. U.S. District Judge Robert Payne agreed in his July 16 ruling. No
hearing has been set for the state's appeal.
Ammonia leak shuts interstate
in Wash.
An ammonia leak Monday night at a seafood plant in a Seattle south
suburb prompted authorities to shut down three miles of I-405 in Washington
state and cordon off several blocks in town. About 20 people were seen by medics
and 13 were treated at the scene for respiratory ailments after breathing
ammonia fumes, Renton Fire Capt. Robert Beines said.
No hazards found at
Ky. uranium plant
Investigators at a Kentucky cleanup site found
shortcomings at a uranium plant but no impending hazards to workers or the
public, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson said Tuesday. The Energy Department
investigation follows recent revelations of a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by
three workers at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The suit alleges plant
workers were unknowingly exposed to plutonium for 23 years. It also claims
former plant operators falsified documents on the disposal of contaminated waste
and environmental contamination at the plant.
Teacher files suit to get
rid of necktie
A high school biology teacher in Berlin, Pa., who says his
neck is painfully scarred because of surgery for Hodgkin's disease is suing to
challenge a school dress code that requires him to wear a tie. Anthony Slatcoff
filed suit against the Berlin-Brothersvalley school district after being
reprimanded for refusing to wear a tie this school year.
LOAD-DATE: September 15, 1999
