PHOENIX

Court stops state from enforcing abortion ban

A federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily prohibited Arizona from enforcing its new ban on most abortions starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its order two days after a trial judge ruled that the ban could take effect Thursday as scheduled.

The appellate court put the ban on hold until a pending appeal is decided, which will take at least several months. It said in a brief order that it will hold a hearing as soon as possible this fall after receiving legal briefs due in September and October.

Abortion-rights groups appealed U.S. District Judge James Teilborg’s ruling that the ban is constitutional, partly because of concerns about health of women and possible pain for fetuses.

The case centers on whether the ban violates U.S. Supreme Court rulings that states cannot prohibit abortion before a fetus is able to survive outside the womb. That’s generally considered to be about 24 weeks. .

SAN ANTONIO

Bomb threat forces airport to clear terminal, garage

A bomb threat cleared out San Antonio International Airport on Wednesday after officials said someone called alleging three packages had been left inside a parking garage.

Passengers inside the terminal were herded onto the tarmac, arriving planes stayed parked away from the gates and dozens of firefighters combed the airport searching for explosives. San Antonio Fire Department spokeswoman Deborah Foster said she did not yet know Wednesday afternoon whether anything dangerous had been found.

“It was three packages in a parking garage,” Foster said of the phone call to the airport. “Whether they found any, I’m not sure.”

JOLIET, Ill.

Angered judge threatens mistrial in murder trial

A visibly angry judge said Wednesday he will consider declaring a mistrial at Drew Peterson’s murder trial after a second major blunder by prosecutors in as many days, once again illustrating how the high-profile case has been beset by problems from the outset.

Judge Edward Burmila’s blistering rebuke came after prosecutors’ second witness suggested Peterson may have put a .38-caliber bullet in his driveway to intimidate him, which prompted Burmila to worry aloud in court whether the former police officer could get a fair trial.

The 58-year-old Peterson is charged with first-degree murder in 2004 death of his third wife, 40-year-old Kathleen Savio.

“What is the purpose of you trying to tell the juror that this man (Peterson) put a bullet on the driveway?” the judge said, his voice booming, after sending the jury out of the courtroom. “This is completely troubling … it makes no sense whatsoever.”

Later, before announcing he would only rule on a defense motion for a mistrial Thursday, Burmila added, “The testimony (prosecutors) presented was a low blow in this case.”

It was the latest twist in a case plagued by problems for years – including a botched initial investigation that left prosecutors with no physical evidence and forced them to hang their case on hearsay evidence, which is typically barred.

— From news service reports

 

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