In the Nation

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A conservative U.S. senator from Idaho who has said he doesn't drink because of his Mormon faith has been charged with drunken driving.

Sen. Michael Crapo, a three-term Republican with a reputation as a social and fiscal conservative, registered a blood-alcohol content of 0.11 percent after police pulled his car over in this suburb south of Washington, authorities said.

The 61-year-old lawmaker, who faces a court date Jan. 4, apologized in a statement issued hours after his arrest early Sunday.

"I am deeply sorry for the actions that resulted in this circumstance," Crapo said.

"I made a mistake for which I apologize to my family, my Idaho constituents and any others who have put their trust in me. I accept total responsibility and will deal with whatever penalty comes my way in this matter."

He also said he would take measures to ensure that "this circumstance is never repeated." - AP

HOUSTON - Former President George H.W. Bush will spend Christmas in a Houston hospital after developing a fever and weakness following a monthlong, bronchitis-like cough.

Bush's spokesman Jim McGrath said Monday that doctors remain "cautiously optimistic" that the 88-year-old former president will recover, but they want to keep him in the hospital.

A hospital spokesman said last week that doctors expected Bush to be released in time to spend Christmas at home.

McGrath says Bush came down with a fever last week, and doctors are also trying to balance his medications and help him regain strength. McGrath says Bush has largely overcome the painful, lingering cough that initially brought him to Methodist Hospital on Nov. 23.

McGrath says he does not know what caused the fever or the weakness. - AP

INDIANAPOLIS - Residents whose Indianapolis homes were battered by a gas explosion and relatives of a couple who were killed packed a court hearing Monday for the three defendants charged with rigging the blast.

The crowd watched in grim silence as a Marion County judge entered not-guilty pleas for Monserrate Shirley, her boyfriend, Mark Leonard, and his brother, Bob Leonard. They are charged with murder, arson, and other counts in the Nov. 10 blast.

The three, who appeared in court in orange jail jumpsuits and handcuffs, were ordered held without bond. Prosecutors say Shirley and the Leonard brothers deliberately blew up her home so they could collect insurance.

The blast destroyed five homes, including Shirley's. - AP