LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – An Ethiopian immigrant was convicted yesterday of the genital mutilation of his 2-year-old daughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison in what was believed to be the first such criminal case in the United States.
Khalid Adem, 30, was found guilty of aggravated battery and cruelty to children. Prosecutors said he used scissors to remove his daughter's clitoris in his family's Atlanta-area apartment in 2001. The child's mother, Fortunate Adem, said she did not discover it until more than a year later.
The practice crosses ethnic and cultural lines and is not tied to a particular religion. Activists say it is intended to deny women sexual pleasure.
Associated Press
Censorship probe
targets White House
WASHINGTON – Two federal agencies are investigating whether the Bush administration tried to block government scientists from speaking freely about global warming and censored their research, a senator said yesterday.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., said he was informed that the inspector generals for the Commerce Department and NASA had begun “coordinated, sweeping investigations of the Bush administration's censorship and suppression” of federal research into global warming.
A report last month in the scientific journal Nature said administrators at the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration blocked the release of a report that linked hurricane strength and frequency to global warming.
Associated Press
Former Rep. Foley
remains in rehab
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Former Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned over sexually explicit messages sent to male congressional pages, is remaining in treatment for alcoholism beyond his initial 30-day stay, his attorney said yesterday.
Foley checked into a 30-day treatment program at the Sierra Tucson center in Catalina, Ariz., near Tucson, Oct. 1. There was no immediate indication how much longer Foley would remain there.
“I can't say any information other than he's still there,” attorney Gerald Richman said.
Associated Press
