Across The Nation

JFK ITEMS PULLED FROM AUCTION FOR NATIONAL-SECURITY REASONS

NEW YORK - Presidential documents said to contain information about national security were withdrawn from a showing of John F. Kennedy memorabilia to be sold at auction.

The agreement to remove the documents from the auction was reached Friday at a meeting between collector Robert White, his attorneys and officials from the National Archives and Records Administration, archives spokesman Gerald George said.

White's lawyer, Robert Adler, had said his client had no problem pulling back any items related to national security.

Federal officials are also looking into whether some of the items proposed for sale belong to the federal government. If so, the items belong in the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, officials said.

Guernsey's auction house said yesterday that the auction would go forward as planned Wednesday.

White said he acquired the bulk of the material from Evelyn Lincoln, JFK's personal secretary and a tireless collector of memorabilia during her time in the White House.

Federal officials have suggested they may go to court to block the auction if the ownership question is not resolved.

Ga. flooding victims seek aid as Flint River begins easing

ALBANY, Ga. - People driven from their homes by flooding lined up yesterday to apply for federal assistance, while the Flint River receded instead of rising again as forecast.

A line of people snaked around a disaster-recovery center before it opened.

"It's frustrating because I don't know what's been damaged," said Dottie Hall. "I'm just going to get as much as I can."

Flooding caused by last weekend's torrential rainfall damaged at least 500 houses and 11 businesses and forced about 11,000 people to evacuate.

The Flint River crested earlier in the week at 36.92 feet - flood stage is 20 feet - and dropped to 32.6 feet Friday. It was expected to rise again yesterday as water drained down from northern Georgia, but instead it ebbed past 32 feet and continued falling.

Marine sergeant could face 49 years in soldier's beating

FORT KNOX, Ky. - A Marine sergeant accused of ordering his soldiers to beat a private, causing him to nearly bleed to death, faces up to 49 years in prison.

Sgt. Salvador Pastran Jr., 25, of Pharr, Texas, is one of nine Marines charged in the Dec. 17 beating at Fort Knox of Pvt. Maciej Lugowski, 20, of New York City.

Also charged with hazing violations Friday were tank maintenance instructor, Sgt. Harold Walker Jr., 27, of Jamestown, N.Y.; and a student squad leader, Pfc. Jose R. Guerrero Jr., 19, of San Jose, Calif.

Investigators claim the beating was one of a series of weekly "love sessions," during which Marines routinely abused each other. Lugowski's spleen was ruptured and had to be removed, but he was able to return to his unit after a brief hospitalization and a 30-day leave.

Four privates face similar charges. Two sergeant instructors face lesser charges of hazing and dereliction of duty.

Boy, 13, accused of running prostitution ring at school

WASHINGTON - A 13-year-old student at a suburban Washington middle school was arrested Friday and charged with soliciting other youths his age to perform sexual acts in exchange for money, authorities said.

The arrest came after the boy, a student at Langston Hughes Middle School in Reston, Va., told authorities he operated a prostitution ring, sources familiar with the investigation said. The boy was charged as a juvenile and held Friday night at the Fairfax County Juvenile Detention Center.

More than a half-dozen youngsters allegedly were involved, police said. But police also said they had not determined whether any sexual activity occurred.

They said the 13-year-old became the object of their inquiry as the result of a school investigation Wednesday of a teacher's report that some money was missing.

When the boy was questioned, the sources said, he had about $75 in his possession and explained that it came from a prostitution ring he had organized at the school, according to the sources.

A number of girls questioned told authorities that they thought they were joining a social club, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The girls said they paid the boy $5 to $10 to introduce them to eighth-grade boys at Reston Town Center, and that no sex was involved, the sources said.