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| Thursday, December 19, 2002 10:54 PM CST | () comments

Times wire services

London: Scientists debunk mummy's curse

Don't sweat the curse of the mummy.

Those who disturbed Tutankhamun's tomb died all right, but no sooner than those who kept their distance, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.

When people associated with British archaeologist Howard Carter's 1922 expedition that unearthed the tomb began to die, their demise was widely attributed to the mummy's curse.

Mark Nelson, an epidemiology and preventive medicine scholar at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, used Carter's diaries to select a group for analysis. Carter recorded the presence of 44 Westerners in Egypt at the relevant time, of whom 25 were exposed to the curse.

"There was no effect on survival time for any exposure" to the curse, the study found.

New York: 2 groups promise cloned babies soon

The race to produce the first birth of a human clone is nearing the finish line � if you believe the public pronouncements.

Last month, it was an Italian fertility doctor, Dr. Severino Antinori, who promised a cloned baby boy in January.

Thursday, it was a scientist who belongs to a group that believes life on earth was created by extraterrestrials. Brigitte Boisselier, head of a company called Clonaid, confirmed a cloned baby girl is expected to be born this month.

Many scientists say they don't put much stock in either cloning effort.

New York: Central Park jogger case thrown out

A judge dismissed the convictions Thursday of all five men who served years in prison for the 1989 rape and beating of a jogger in Central Park, a crime that exposed the city's racial tensions and made national headlines.

The five men were not in the courtroom to hear the ruling Thursday. All have finished their sentences, though one was reincarcerated for an unrelated crime.

Authorities began investigating claims made a year ago by a serial rapist who said he alone attacked the 28-year-old woman.

Lawrence, Mass.: City mourns friends who died in icy river

Four boys who died after plunging through the ice on a frozen river were remembered at an emotional funeral service Thursday for their love of life and efforts to try to save one another.

"They are heroes in our eyes," the Rev. Jorge Reyes told hundreds of mourners who attended the funeral Mass for William Rodriguez, 11; Chris-topher Casado, 7; Victor Baez, 9; and Mackendy Constant, 8.

New York: Dog killer receives 12-year sentence

A man who threw his girlfriend's dog off her 23rd-floor balcony was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison for animal cruelty and other charges related to stalking the woman.

John Jefferson, 43, pleaded guilty Dec. 5 to robbery, burglary, stalking, criminal contempt and animal cruelty. Justice James Yates said two of the 12 years were for the dog, Ribsy.