HAWAII

A state judge agreed to temporarily block the Superferry from Maui's Kahului Harbor.

Environmentalists sought the temporary restraining order pending an environmental assessment.

The request does not affect ports on Oahu or Kauai.

The environmentalists argued in a lawsuit that the ferry's plan to ply 400 miles of Hawaii waters each day endangers whales.

Superferry officials have said that the vessel's water jet propulsion system has no exposed propellers to strike aquatic animals.

The Superferry is the first passenger-vehicle ferry service between the Hawaiian Islands.

MISSOURI Judge suspends abortion-clinic law

A federal judge in Kansas City temporarily blocked a new state abortion law after Planned Parenthood said the law would harm women by drastically reducing the number of clinics available to provide abortions.

The law, which was scheduled to take effect today, would put more abortion clinics under state supervision by categorizing them as outpatient surgery centers, requiring them to meet specific state building, staffing and health standards. The law would apply to any facility that performed more than five first-trimester abortions a month, or any second- or third-trimester abortions.

U.S. District Judge Ortrie Smith granted a temporary injunction, saying he would hold a hearing Sept. 10 on whether to make the injunction permanent.

NORTH CAROLINA Woman to lead Duke med school

Duke University named a Harvard researcher as the first woman to lead its medical school. She will also be the only woman permanently at the helm of one of the nation's Top 10 medical schools.

"The fact that in 2007 there are still firsts for what women can do in medicine says something about how difficult it can be," said Dr. Nancy C. Andrews, who will officially take over at Duke on Oct. 1.

"I hope this does not seem so unusual a few years from now."

Andrews, 48, succeeds Dr. R. Sanders Williams, who has been promoted to senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. He had been dean since 2001.

Andrews is a pediatric hematologist/oncologist by training.

From Times Wire Reports