NATIONAL BRIEFS

TEXAS: Anti-abortion law blocked

A federal judge stopped Texas on Monday from banning Planned Parenthood clinics from a state women's health program because the organization provides abortions. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel in Austin cited evidence that the state rule excluding Planned Parenthood was unconstitutional and imposed an injunction against enforcing the rule until he can hear arguments in the case. The state appealed the injunction. "We call on Governor [Rick] Perry and the state to put Texan women first and set aside any vendetta they may have against Planned Parenthood," said Melaney A. Linton, president of Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast.

WASHINGTON: EPA official resigns

The Obama administration's top environmental official in the South Central region has resigned after Republicans targeted him over remarks two years ago when he used the word "crucify" to describe how he would go after companies violating environmental laws. In a letter to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson, Al Armendariz said he regrets his words, which did not reflect his work as regional administrator for Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. His resignation was effective Monday.

CALIFORNIA: 22 years for investor fraud

A former high-tech executive convicted of defrauding investors of $30 million was sentenced Monday to 22 years in prison after a judge in San Francisco denounced him for fleecing nearly 100 victims to finance an "obscene lifestyle" of private jets, gaudy jewelry and Swiss bank accounts. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said Samuel "Mouli" Cohen refused to show remorse for actor Danny Glover and others in a fraud that caused the collapse of a nonprofit charity Glover and singer Harry Belafonte founded in 1972.