National Briefs

Killen sat in his wheelchair in a bright yellow jail uniform and stared straight ahead, stone-faced, offering no remorse and no explanations, as Judge Marcus Gordon gave him the maximum and closed one of the most shocking chapters in the movement to end segregation across the South.

Republican takes over as head of PBS

WASHINGTON - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, whose chairman is under fire for complaining about what he considered liberal bias at PBS, chose a former Republican Party co-chairman Thursday as its president and chief executive.

Patricia S. Harrison, the assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, was selected after three days of closed meetings by the corporation's board of directors. She was co-chair of the Republican National Committee from 1997 to 2001.

The announcement came as the House, voting 284-140, restored $100 million that had been proposed as a cut in the corporation's budget for next year.

In tapping Harrison, the CPB board said she was devoted to public broadcasting and its mission.

Liberal public interest groups criticized the decision, saying Harrison has no experience in public broadcasting.

High school grad rates inflated

WASHINGTON - Most states are reporting lofty high school graduation rates that far exceed reality and mislead the public about how schools are performing, a private analysis found.

The majority of states - 36 of them - say 80 percent to 97 percent of their high school students graduate on time, according to state figures provided to the Education Department.

A series of independent analyses shows the graduation rate across the states is closer to 70 percent, meaning almost one-third of students don't finish on time - or at all.