European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 23, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 c the stars and stripes thursday april 23, 1992 risk of underweight babies rated High among smokers by the los Angeles times Washington a pregnant women who smoke Are almost twice As Likely As non smokers to give birth to underweight infants a major risk Factor in infant mortality according to a report. The report released tuesday by the department of health and human services also found that the danger to newborns rises in direct proportion to the number of cigarettes their mothers smoked during pregnancy. Women who smoked 1.5 to two packs of cigarettes daily were about one third More Likely to give birth to underweight babies than those who smoked half a pack a and 2.5 times As Likely As non smokers it said. The greatest risk for an underweight Newborn a a baby weighing less than 5 pounds 8 ounces a is Respi medics attend to grand Duke Vladimir Kir Illovich Romanov heir to the russian throne who collapsed tuesday at a Miami news briefing and was pronounced dead later at a Hospital. He was 74. The grand Duke was stricken after saying he believed the Imperial Fame Farmville . Apr the owner of the Little rascals Day care Center was convicted wednesday on at least 41 charges of sexually abusing 12 youngsters in his care. Robert f. Kelly or. Was found guilty of taking indecent liberties and committing first degree sexual offence and crimes against nature involving the first five children named in the indictments. The jury handed the judge its verdict sheets at 2 . After 14 Days of deliberation on 100 charges. The Reading of the verdicts was continuing at Midas Lemoon. Parents sat in the courtroom with clenched fists As the guilty verdicts were read. Kelly had been charged with sexually abusing children at his Center in Edenton. The trial was moved 85 Miles West to Farmville because of pretrial publicity. Testimony began last August in the longest and costliest criminal anal in North Carolinas history. The expenses including court appointed defense lawyers counselling for children and their parents and court costs topped $1 million by the end of november. The defense contended that parents had become hysterical Over rumours of sexual abuse at utile rascals and had asked their children leading questions. A the biggest question is not so much what the children were saying but How they came to say those things a defense lawyer Michael Spivey said during closing arguments. Oratory failure the report said. A despite massive education efforts there Are still segments of the population who done to understand the message or think it does no to apply to them a said health and human services Secretary Louis w. Sullivan. The report prepared by the division of vital statistics was based on data collected from 1989 surveys by the National Center for health statistics. The highest risk group comprises teen age mothers 18 and 19 years old who Are heavy smokers the report found. Teen agers account for one fourth of All smokers. The infant mortality rate for 1991 is estimated at 8.9 per 1,000 live births Down 2 percent from the 1990 rate of 9.1, Sullivan said. He noted a a Long downward trends because of new drug treatments rather than a healthier behave or in pregnant women. By could be re established in Russia because hundreds of letters were urging his return a journalist reported. Romanov a father was a Cousin of the last Czar Nicholas ii and the grand Duke was directly descended from Czar Alexander ii who ruled from 1855 to 1881. Prosecutors contended the children had to be believed. A the Crux of the matter is its the children sword versus the defendants word a said District attorney . Williams or. Twelve children testified saying Kelly forced them to have Oral and anal sex made them have sex with each other while pictures were taken and engaged them in other sex acts. Children also said Kelly had sex with other adults in front of them. Prosecutors said they did no to find any pictures. Parents testified that their children exhibited abnormal behaviour such As fear of going into bathrooms masturbating in front of adults and night terrors. Some medical witnesses for the prosecution said they found evidence of sexual abuse in physical exams. Others said they diagnosed sexual abuse through medical histories or statements made by the children. Eighty three prosecution witnesses testified and the defense called 60 witnesses the court clerk said. Georgia psychologist Henry Adams testified that a sexual test showed Kelly was not aroused by children. But a prosecution witness described studies showing that some convicted sex offenders had Normal reactions in the same test. Kelly sex wife Janey Kelly who changed her name to Kelli de Sante testified that she found a Post office Box in a nearby town containing child pornography addressed to Kelly.  denied parole from California prison from wire reports Corcoran Calif. A Charles Manson Mastermind of the 1969 cult murders of actress Sharon Tate and seven others has been denied parole. He is serving a life prison term for one of the most notorious slayings in . History. The state Board of prison terms on tuesday denied parole to Manson for the eighth time and urged him to improve his behaviour behind bars upgrade his vocational skills and participate in educational and therapy programs. It was the first parole hearing for Manson in Manson three years and he will next be eligible in 1997, Board spokeswoman Phyllis Scott said. Manson 57, has denied Ever taking part in the killings but he was convicted of being the instigator of the killing spree that shocked the  official charged Washington a former senior official of the Agency for International development has been charged with 14 counts of bribery obstruction of Justice and Money laundering m connection with alleged payments and Loans from two Central american companies that performed work for the Agency. John c. Kelley 44, who served As the aids Deputy director of information resources management from 1984 to 1989, was arrested monday by italian police in Rome according to a statement released by . Attorney Jay b. Stephens. Kelley is currently an official of the United nations. The indictment charged that Kelley demanded and received $70,000 from one company and asked another company to forgive a $20,000 personal debt he owed  to ban jail smokes Rutland it. A Vermont will become the first state to Issue a ban on smoking in All its jails and prisons a corrections official said. Corrections officials said the ban which begins july 1, was prompted by heightened awareness of the dangers of smoking a both for smokers and those who breathe secondhand smoke. More than three quarters of Vermont a inmates  site to be cemetery Washington a the defense department announced tuesday that much of an army Post it is closing next year will be used As part of a National cemetery. It said the Northwest Side of fort Sheridan in Illinois will be turned Over to the department of veterans affairs and be used As an Annex to an already existing burial ground. The announcement said 329 family housing units on fort Sheridan will be transferred to the Navy. An army Reserve Center on the Post will be retained in service and will be supplemented with a new Reserve facility to be constructed  getting new Home Portland Ore. A the 82-year-old alzheimer a patient found abandoned at an Idaho dog racing track will be sent to Kentucky under the guardianship of a son who Hasni to seen him in 15 years. John Kingery will be flown to Morgantown Kyas soon As a bed becomes available in a care Center there said holy Berman his Public guardian Charles Kingery one of five children from John Kingery a first marriage said he was looking Forward to the reunion. John Kingery was found March 21 at a greyhound track near Post Falls Idaho. A sack of diapers was attached to his wheelchair along with a note incorrectly identifying him. Investigations by state welfare and local sheriffs officials have focused on sue Gifford of Hillsboro Kingery a daughter by a second marriage. A grand Duke Dies Little rascals owner convicted of sexually abusing children