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In the Nation

Ex-Detroit mayor gets prison term

DETROIT - Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced Tuesday to up to five years in prison for violating the terms of his probation stemming from his conviction for lying under oath about an extramarital affair with his chief of staff.

Kilpatrick, 39, asked Judge David Groner to show him compassion, but Groner said, "That ship has sailed."

At issue is $1 million that Kilpatrick, a Democrat, was ordered to pay the city after pleading guilty in 2008 to obstruction of justice. Groner ruled in April that Kilpatrick failed to report all his assets and meet other conditions of his probation.

On Tuesday, he ordered Kilpatrick to serve at least 11/2 years in prison but credited him with 120 days of time served from his original sentence. Kilpatrick still must pay back his remaining debt to the city, but to do that he'll need a job. Compuware Corp. said he was being fired as a medical-software salesman for its Dallas-based subsidiary. - AP

Bush hopes book will aid historians

DALLAS - George W. Bush said Tuesday that his forthcoming book begins with an anecdote about his wife, Laura, persuading him to give up drinking by pushing him to decide whether he preferred booze to fatherhood.

Bush said Decision Points, due for release in November, opens with the scene and his questioning whether he loved alcohol more than his wife. He said he realized he had an addictive personality and quit drinking cold turkey. That act set him on the path to the presidency, Bush told a wind-energy convention in Dallas.

Bush said the book was less autobiography and more an analysis of key decisions in his life. He said he hoped it would be a tool for historians evaluating his presidency.

After the speech, Bush, 63, joked of retirement, saying that he was playing shuffleboard and that his domestic agenda consisted of taking out the trash and doing the dishes. - AP

USDA called lax on puppy mills

WASHINGTON - Federal investigators uncovered grisly conditions at puppy mills around the country where dogs were infested with ticks, living with gaping wounds and in pools of feces, according to a disturbing new report that blamed lax enforcement.

Investigators say the Department of Agriculture agency in charge of enforcing the Animal Welfare Act often ignores repeat violations, waives penalties, and inadequately documents inhumane treatment of dogs. In one case cited by the USDA's inspector general, 27 dogs died at an Oklahoma breeding facility after inspectors had visited several times and cited it for violations.

The review recommends that the animal-care unit at the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service confiscate animals that are dying or seriously suffering, and better train its inspectors. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said his department would move to immediately improve enforcement, penalties, and training. - AP

Elsewhere:

Oklahoma's GOP-controlled Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Brad Henry's veto of an abortion bill that will require women seeking abortions to first complete a 38-question form about their finances, education, and relationships.