Around the Nation

The Pennsylvania Republican has Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph system, and is being treated with chemotherapy. He and two colleagues introduced a bill Thursday that would allow for what is often referred to as therapeutic cloning.

"I've got a new hairdo, which you can all observe, and that is indicative of a problem which may well be helped by stem cell research if it were to go forward," said Specter, referring to the loss of most of his hair.

Specter was joined at a news conference by Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah, a conservative Republican, and Dianne Feinstein of California, a moderate Democrat. The three said their bill would make reproductive cloning, to produce a baby, a crime punishable by up to 10 years.

But they do want to allow for "therapeutic cloning" for the purpose of obtaining stem cells to be used in treating disease.

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Television recall: Sharp Electronics Corp. is recalling about 373,000 televisions after receiving reports that they pose a fire hazard.

The Mahwah, N.J., company is not aware of any injuries resulting from 23 reported television fires, but it has received reports of property damage, including one case that caused more than $20,000 in damage, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday.

Time Warner buys Adelphia: After months of haggling and fending off a bid from a rival suitor, Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. have sealed a deal to purchase the assets of Adelphia Communications Corp., the bankrupt cable TV company based in Colorado.

The $17.6 billion cash-and-stock deal announced Thursday will also allow Time Warner to float shares in its cable subsidiary, opening the possibility of even more consolidation in the cable industry.

Lawsuit claims AOL chat-room monitor seduced young girl

LOS ANGELES - America Online markets itself as a safe place for children, with parent-friendly features and a force of employees who monitor kids' chat rooms and watch out for adults prowling for youngsters.

But is AOL doing enough to monitor the monitors?

That question is central to a lawsuit filed by a California teenager who claims a chat-room monitor tried to seduce her online.

The employee allegedly used his position to proposition the girl over two years, during which they exchanged graphic images, e-mails and phone calls - exactly the kind of scenario the man was hired to prevent. AOL fired the man, listed in the lawsuit as a resident of Oklahoma, and referred the case to the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, none of which pursued criminal charges.

The girl's lawsuit, filed April 1, is the first such claim made against an employee at AOL or any other major Internet service provider.

Negroponte gets OK as intelligence chief

WASHINGTON - John Negroponte won easy approval by the Senate on Thursday to become the first national intelligence director, a job created last year to better coordinate U.S. spy agencies following the Sept. 11 attacks and other intelligence blunders. Within 45 minutes of his approval, Negroponte was sworn in at the White House by chief of staff Andrew Card. President Bush witnessed the ceremony.

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Filibuster fight: Private Republican polling shows scant support for a plan to stop minority Democrats from blocking judicial nominees, officials said Thursday, as two of President Bush's most controversial appointments advanced toward a possible Senate confrontation.

These officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a recent survey taken for Senate Republicans showed 37 percent support for the GOP plan to deny Democrats the ability to filibuster judicial nominees, while 51 percent oppose.

Gas prices: Half the people in the country say record-high gas prices are starting to cause them problems. Who's to blame? Americans point a finger at the oil companies, foreign nations that control the oil supply, and politicians. More than half say they're cutting back on driving and will limit driving for vacations.