NATION IN BRIEF

Guantanamo Detainee Alleges Being Threatened With Rape

A Canadian detainee at the Guantanamo Bay military prison has alleged that he was repeatedly threatened with rape during interrogations.

Omar Khadr's nine-page affidavit, signed on Feb. 22, also includes a partially censored description of regaining consciousness after his capture to discover that he was being interrogated in an American field hospital in Afghanistan. He was 15.

Once released from medical care to the Bagram detention center, he said, "I was interrogated many, many times. For about the first two weeks to a month that I was there, I would be brought into the interrogation room on a stretcher."

Khadr, now 21, is accused of killing a U.S. Army commando in a July 2002 firefight. His affidavit was admitted by the court last week during pretrial arguments.

New Governor of N.Y. Discloses Affairs With a 'Number of Women'

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Newly installed New York Gov. David A. Paterson (D) revealed on Tuesday that he had affairs with a "number of women," including a state employee, but he said that fact will not affect his ability to lead.

Paterson said at a news conference, with his wife at his side, that the affairs happened during a rough patch in his marriage and that the employee did not work for him. He stressed that he did not advance her career and that no campaign or state money was spent on the affairs.

"I do not feel I have broken my commitment to the citizens of New York state," Paterson said.

Michigan Ban on Affirmative Action Is Upheld

LANSING, Mich. -- A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit that challenged a Michigan law banning racial and gender preferences in government hiring and public-university admissions. The ruling upholds the constitutionality of a measure approved by Michigan voters in 2006. The proposal passed with 58 percent of the vote.

Detroit Council Urges Mayor to Step Down