NATION IN BRIEF

Lawyers: Padilla Doesn't Deserve Life Sentence

MIAMI -- Attorneys for convicted terrorism conspirator Jose Padilla say he was so badly mistreated by the government during 3 1/2 years in military custody that he deserves far less than the life prison sentence sought by federal prosecutors.

A sentencing hearing set to begin this week for Padilla was postponed Tuesday until Jan. 7 because of a death in the judge's family, court officials said.

In court filings, attorneys for Padilla also say U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke should look at whether the U.S. citizen would be more harshly punished than other terrorism suspects, and should take into consideration the conditions they described as harsh at a maximum-security federal prison in Florence, Colo.

Federal prosecutors say that life behind bars is the proper sentence for Padilla, 37, and his foreign-born co-defendants, Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi, were convicted Aug. 16 of conspiracy to murder, kidnap and maim people overseas.

Padilla was held in isolation at a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., after President Bush declared him an enemy combatant in June 2002, a month after his arrest at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Pentagon and Justice Department officials have repeatedly and forcefully denied that Padilla was tortured or mistreated at the brig.

Government to Appeal Social Security Decision

The Bush administration told a federal appeals court in California that it plans to appeal a decision blocking efforts to target workers with inconsistent Social Security data.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer enjoined the administration Oct. 10 from using Social Security "no-match" letters to target companies that hire illegal workers. Many illegal immigrants use false or stolen Social Security numbers to get jobs, and the government seeks to force companies to fire workers within 90 days if their Social Security information could not be verified.

The Bush administration announced last month that it was reworking its plan, and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Tuesday that it is trying to address Breyer's concerns in three areas: that the administration had not explained its policy change well enough, that it had not evaluated the rule's effect on small businesses, and that Homeland Security seemed to be overreaching its authority in some respects.

U.S. Issues Warning On Bed-Wetting Drug

The Food and Drug Administration announced the deaths of two people treated with a prescription drug to control bed-wetting.

The FDA said it was unclear whether the drug, desmopressin, had contributed to the deaths. But the agency said that nasal versions were no longer approved for treating bed-wetting and that doctors should consider other options.

Desmopressin is sold under the names DDAVP Nasal Spray, DDAVP Rhinal Tube, DDVP, Minirin and Stimate Nasal Spray.

-- From News Services