Former governor admits having sex with teenager

Former governor admitshaving sex with teenager
PORTLAND, Ore. -- A former Oregon governor and transportation secretary under President Carter has admitted to a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl in the 1970s, when he was mayor of Portland.
Neil Goldschmidt, 63, who was elected mayor at age 32 and served one term as governor from 1987-1991, told The Oregonian about the relationship for a story in today's editions, shortly after resigning from two chairmanships Thursday.
According to Oregon laws in 1975, sex with a girl under 16 constituted third-degree rape, but the statute of limitations expired in 1979.
Citing only health problems Thursday, Goldschmidt relinquished his posts from the Oregon Board of Higher Education and a company that has been trying to acquire Portland General Electric. He has been diagnosed with heart arrhythmia and blocked arteries that put him at risk of a heart attack.
Following his resignations, Goldschmidt told the newspaper he came forward after learning a weekly paper was on the verge of reporting the relationship. The Willamette Week, which publishes Wednesdays, reported on its Web site that it told the governor a day earlier it was preparing a story about his affair.
Kerry announces plan fortougher teacher standards
COLTON, Calif. -- John Kerry said Thursday that if elected president he would make teachers meet higher standards, his latest effort to appeal to the political center as his Republican rivals try to paint him as a liberal Democrat.
With the presidential election hanging on a small group of independent voters, Kerry also has taken the right-of-center position of promoting corporate tax relief. This week, he started airing biographical television ads that showcase his friendship with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz,., and today he addresses the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.
"He's staking his ground in the moderate domain and trying to inoculate himself from the inevitable attacks as the liberal from Massachusetts," said Democratic consultant Dane Strother, who isn't working for Kerry.
Kerry's move to the middle is a step often made by presidential candidates of both parties as the election draws near. The presumptive nominee often asks Democratic audiences to help him win over independents and "non-Bush Republicans," and Strother says polls show corporate tax cuts and higher standards for teachers are popular among those voters.
Spector murder case
LOS ANGELES -- Lawyers for Phil Spector released a coroner's report indicating the actress shot to death at the music producer's home may have fired the weapon.
The report stated that Lana Clarkson had gunshot residue on both of her hands and was shot with a gun inside her mouth. It still concludes, however, that Clarkson's death was a homicide. Clarkson, it said, showed no signs of being suicidal and there was no suicide note.
The forensic analysis report, prepared four days after the Feb. 3, 2003, shooting, had been on a "security hold" at the Los Angeles County Coroner's office until it was released Thursday to The Associated Press.
"There is certainly no justice in maintaining this secrecy in the light of Mr. Spector's being charged with murder," defense attorneys Leslie Abramson and Marcia Morrissey wrote in a letter explaining their decision to release the report. The coroner had refused media requests to see the report.
Spector, who was arrested immediately after the death but not charged until November, is free on $1 million bail.
California wildfires
CORONA, Calif. -- Firefighters drew closer today to surrounding blazes that charred nearly 29,000 acres of southern California brush lands and forest and signaled an ominous start to this year's fire season.
Evacuation orders were lifted for residents near two destructive blazes in Riverside County that burned more than 25,000 acres and damaged or destroyed dozens of structures in the inland region east of Los Angeles.
The fires were expected to be fully contained this morning after cooler temperatures provided a measure of relief.
"Morale was boosted when the cooler weather came in, absolutely," said Jim Boano of the California Department of Forestry. "This early in the season, it's always nice to have any help we can get because it's going to be a long season."
Last year's season lasted until February after catastrophic wildfires destroyed thousands of homes.
This week's fires erupted as officials declared the wildfire season three weeks early because of dry weather and a tree-killing bark beetle infestation that has ravaged some forests.
Associated Press