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In the Nation

Major tobacco bill set for vote

WASHINGTON - Sweeping changes in how the government controls tobacco content and marketing are likely to be approved by the Senate this week, despite a strong last-ditch effort by tobacco interests.

The bill, passed overwhelmingly by the House in April and due for a vote as early as tomorrow in the Senate, where it has strong support among the majority Democrats, would give the Food and Drug Administration broad new authority over tobacco.

"It's a massive move in public policy," said Andrew Taylor, a political science professor at North Carolina State University.

The bill would permit the FDA to limit the amount of nicotine in a product, bar advertising and marketing aimed at children, and prevent companies from making unsubstantiated claims about "reduced risk" items.

- McClatchy Tribune

Ore. woman faces murder charge

HILLSBORO, Ore. - Authorities in Oregon said they had arrested a woman after a newborn she claimed was hers died and the body of a woman who had been pregnant was found at her home.

Washington County officials said Korena Elaine Roberts, 27, was being held without bail yesterday on a murder charge.

The county sheriff's office said police went to a home in Hillsboro on Friday after a report that a newborn was not breathing. Officials said Roberts told them she had recently delivered the baby boy.

Roberts and the child were taken to a hospital, where doctors were unable to revive the boy and determined that Roberts had not given birth. Officers searched her home and found the body of 21-year-old Heather Megan Snively in a crawl space. - AP

From jail, suspect issues a warning

WICHITA, Kan. - The man charged with murdering high-profile abortion doctor George Tiller said from his jail cell yesterday that similar violence was planned around the nation for as long as the procedure remained legal.

A Justice Department spokesman said the threat was being taken seriously. A leader of the antiabortion movement derided the accused shooter as "a fruit and a lunatic."

Scott Roeder called the Associated Press from Sedgwick County jail. "I know there are many other similar events planned around the country as long as abortion remains legal," he said. He refused to elaborate. - AP

Elsewhere:

The Boston Globe's largest employees union, the Newspaper Guild, under pressure from the paper's parent company, the New York Times Co., is to vote today on whether to accept an 8.3 percent wage cut, five-day unpaid furloughs, and cuts in benefits including health care, 401(k) contributions, and pensions.