NEWS LITE : TWO OF SEPTUPLETS BESET BY PROBLEMS.Two of the McCaughey septuplets The McCaughey septuplets (in birth order--Kenneth Robert, Alexis May, Natalie Sue, Kelsey Ann, Nathan Roy, Brandon James, Joel Steven) are the world's first surviving set of septuplets. have developmental problems that affect their ability to walk, the Ladies' Home Journal Ladies' Home Journal U.S. monthly magazine, one of the oldest in the country and long the trendsetter among women's magazines. Founded in 1883 as a supplement to the Tribune and Farmer (1879–85), it began an independent publication in 1884. reports from Carlisle, Iowa Carlisle is a city in Warren and Polk counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 3,497 at the 2000 census. The city is part of the Des Moines metropolitan area. . As they approach their second birthday, Brandon, Joel, Kenny, Kelsey and Natalie - who like their two other siblings were born Nov. 19, 1997 - are all talking and walking. But Nathan's lower body and leg muscles have been rigid since birth, the magazine said in its December issue. And Alexis has little strength in her trunk. Neither can walk or sit up without help. Last month, the Journal said, doctors diagnosed Alexis with hypotonic hypotonic /hy·po·ton·ic/ (-ton´ik) 1. denoting decreased tone or tension. 2. denoting a solution having less osmotic pressure than one with which it is compared. quadriplegia quadriplegia: see paraplegia. , a disorder that causes weakness in all four limbs. Nathan was diagnosed with spastic diplegia spastic diplegia A feature of cerebral palsy, which affects both legs, often unequally, characterized by hip flexion and internal rotation, due to the overactivity of the iliopsoas, rectus femorus, hip adductors; knee extension, due to overactivity of hamstrings, , which causes uncontrolled muscle tightening in his legs. Tests found that both children have areas in their brains that are underdeveloped. Therapists work with the children two days a week. ``You never want your kids to have to face anything hard, but at the same time, it could be a lot worse,'' said Bobbi McCaughey, the children's mother. ``If they do their therapy and exercise, it won't get any worse than it is now, and it could get much better.'' Clemency Leniency or mercy. A power given to a public official, such as a governor or the president, to in some way lower or moderate the harshness of punishment imposed upon a prisoner. Clemency is considered to be an act of grace. urged in Peltier case A San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden mayoral candidate has asked President Clinton to grant clemency to American Indian leader Leonard Peltier, who is serving two life sentences for killing two FBI agents in a 1975 gun battle on a South Dakota reservation. ``The FBI has now discredited its own evidence,'' Tom Ammiano said Monday. ``This is part of a national movement.'' Peltier, a member of the American Indian Movement American Indian Movement (AIM), organization of the Native American civil-rights movement, founded in 1968. Its purpose is to encourage self-determination among Native Americans and to establish international recognition of their treaty rights. , has drawn support over the years from Amnesty International Amnesty International (AI,) human-rights organization founded in 1961 by Englishman Peter Benenson; it campaigns internationally against the detention of prisoners of conscience, for the fair trial of political prisoners, to abolish the death penalty and torture of , Nelson Mandela, Jesse Jackson and Mother Teresa. Ammiano, who is trying to unseat Mayor Willie Brown in a runoff election next month, said Peltier is suffering from a degenerative jaw disease and needs immediate specialized medical attention. No role for Al Fayed in Diana inquest A High Court judge ruled Tuesday in London that Mohammed Al Fayed has no right to take part in an inquest into the death of Princess Diana. Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods department store, wanted to be treated as an ``interested person'' at the inquest because his son, Dodi Fayed, died with the princess in a Paris car crash in 1997. But a judge ruled that the coroner to the royal household acted within his authority in refusing Al Fayed the right to be represented at the inquest. Al Fayed's spokesman Laurie Mayer said he will appeal. Gingrich never sent her flowers Newt Gingrich's paramour par·a·mour n. A lover, especially one in an adulterous relationship. [Middle English, from par amour, by way of love, passionately, from Anglo-Norman : par, by testified Tuesday that her affair with the former speaker dates back six years. But not once, Callista Bisek told lawyers in Gingrich's divorce case, did the leader of the Republican Revolution send her flowers. Bisek, an aide to the House Agriculture Committee, answered questions under oath in a suburban Virginia law office for more than two hours. She is at the center of Gingrich's demand for a divorce from his wife of 18 years, Marianne. Bisek refused to talk about her sex life with Gingrich, the lawyers said. Randy Evans, one of Gingrich's lawyers, has said the couple's relationship is ``intimate.'' Bisek answered everything else she was asked, including that she knows very little about Gingrich's finances, Evans said. She said Gingrich had only recently given her any gifts of monetary value, Gingrich's lawyers said. Prominent among these were a set of Callaway Golf clubs, including a Big Bertha driver, which they valued at $1,300. She also received a pearl ring in June. ``Not even a really nice ring,'' Evans said. UNCOVERED; Photos de-throne Miss Bosnia A tearful Miss Bosnia was forced to give up her crown Tuesday after photos of her posing in the nude appeared in a Sarajevo newspaper. Alisa Sisic, a 20-year-old nurse from the central Bosnian town of Zenica, was chosen Miss Bosnia 10 days ago. She was to represent the country in the Miss World pageant in London. On Thursday, photos of Sisic posing in the nude appeared in the Sarajevo daily Dnevni Avaz. Shocked by the photos and concerned that they could blemish blem·ish n. A small circumscribed alteration of the skin considered to be unesthetic but insignificant. blemish the Miss Bosnia name, the competition organizer consulted with his colleagues and decided to revoke Sisic's title. ``After consultations with London, we have decided to disqualify To deprive of eligibility or render unfit; to disable or incapacitate. To be disqualified is to be stripped of legal capacity. A wife would be disqualified as a juror in her husband's trial for murder due to the nature of their relationship. Alisa Sisic,'' Zdravko Zubak, the organizer, said Tuesday. First runner-up Samra Begovic, 19, a Bosnian national living in Sweden, was awarded the title. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Sisic tried to put on a brave face, saying: ``This is difficult for me, but I won't cry,'' she said. News Lite is compiled by Karen Duffy from Daily News staff and wire reports CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1) Alisa Sisic, left, waves after being crowned Miss Bosnia. At right is first runner-up Samra Begovic, who is the new title holder. Associated Press (2) Callista Bisek Won't talk about sex (3) Peltier |
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