NEW RULES FOR FUNDING OF FETAL TISSUE RESEARCH

The National Institutes of Health issued instructions Friday for how scientists seeking grants for research using fetal tissue must comply with recent Trump administration restrictions on federal funding of such studies. The new requirements triggered an immediate outcry from leaders in the field.

In a notice spelling out the rule changes, NIH says that all grant applications and renewals for research relying on tissue collected from elective abortions must provide a detailed justification, documenting why no alternative methods could accomplish the same research goals. This and other changes for scientists at universities and other institutions take effect in two months.

The instructions also impose stringent requirements for how grant applicants must prove that women had given permission for their aborted fetuses to be donated for research.

And for the first time, the rules forbid graduate and postdoctoral students who receive NIH training funds from proposing fetal tissue research.

The instructions represent the first explanation of how the nation’s largest sponsor of biomedical research is setting in motion a decision announced in early June — made by President Donald Trump over the objection of his top health and science advisers — to limit funding of research using fetal tissue. The decision appealed to social conservatives who are a critical part of the president’s base, and, according to his aides, Trump regarded the restrictions as a way to augment his popularity with them for his re-election campaign.

No sign of thieves who stole $30 million in gold.

Authorities say they’ve been unable to locate nearly 1,600 pounds of gold or the people who stole it from this city’s main airport.

Brazil’s state police say the group first kidnapped the airport’s cargo director and his family, holding them hostage to force his cooperation. They went to the airport Thursday in pickups painted to look like police vehicles and fled minutes later with gold worth more than $30 million.

Police said Friday they’re trying to determine if it’s the same group that robbed $5 million from another São Paulo airport last year.

Airport operator GRU Airport says the gold was destined for Toronto and New York.

Libya’s coast guard recovers dozens of bodies of migrants. C

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IRO» Libya’s coast guard recovered dozens of bodies of Europe-bound migrants who perished at sea as search operations continued Friday, a day after up to 150 people, including women and children, went missing and were feared drowned when their boats capsized in the Mediterranean Sea.

A top U.N. official described Thursday’s shipwreck as “the worst Mediterranean tragedy” so far this year.

The Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency in the Libyan capital said that up to 350 migrants were on board the boats that capsized off the town of Khoms, about 75 miles east of Tripoli. The migrants included people from Eritrea, Egypt, Sudan and Libya, the agency said. Libyan officials said more than 130 have been rescued since Thursday.

Hampton University fires nine police officers for offensive comments on social media.

Hampton University fired nine officers from its police department after finding that they shared offensive comments on social media.

The officers committed “egregious violations of the university’s code of conduct” when they shared misogynistic, racist and other offensive remarks, according to a statement issued by the historically black university in Hampton, Va. “The university has a zero tolerance for such behavior,” university officials announced.

WAVY-TV reported that it had a copy of one of the termination letters, dated July 24. In the letter, Ronald Davis, deputy chief of the Hampton University Police Department, said multiple officers and supervisors had agreed “to initiate the third annual ‘Meme Wars,’ ” which he described as “a jovial release of photographs and captions designed to levy insults at others in the group as well as persons outside the group.”

No prison for British cyber expert in malware case.

MILWAUKEE» A British cybersecurity expert who admitted writing and selling malware was spared prison Friday by a judge who said the misconduct was outweighed by his help in stopping a worldwide computer virus in 2017.

Marcus Hutchins, who was hailed as a hero for his role in stopping the “WannaCry” virus, was sentenced to time served by U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller. The judge noted Hutchins had pleaded guilty in May and accepted responsibility for his past actions.

“Mr. Hutchins turned the corner with regard to the conduct that led to these charges,” Stadtmueller said.

Hutchins, 25, served just a few days in jail after being arrested in Las Vegas in 2017 but had been required to stay in the U.S. while his case was pending.

Hutchins spoke briefly Friday, apologizing to his victims.

“I deeply regret my conduct and the crimes in which I was involved.” Later in his statement, he said: “My plan is to continue my work in security, but, if possible, I would like to dedicate more time to teaching the next generation of security experts.”

His attorney said afterward he intended to return to Great Britain. But during the hearing, Stadtmueller reminded him that his conviction in the case would make it difficult to return to the U.S., unless he gets a waiver or a pardon, because the crimes he pleaded guilty to are deportable offenses. His attorneys say they’ll pursue a pardon from the federal government.

Judge dismisses teen’s lawsuit from viral encounter. LO

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» A federal judge has thrown out a Kentucky teen’s lawsuit accusing The Washington Post of falsely labeling him a racist during an encounter with an American Indian man at the Lincoln Memorial.

Nicholas Sandmann, a student at Covington Catholic High School, sued the newspaper for $250 million in February, alleging that it had engaged in “targeting and bullying” and modern “McCarthyism.”

The actions of Sandmann and his classmates were intensely debated after video and photographs emerged of them wearing “Make America Great Again” hats near a American Indian man playing a drum. President Donald Trump cheered the lawsuit, posting to Twitter that “Covington student suing WAPO. Go get them Nick. Fake News!”

Federal judge William O. Bertelsman ruled that there may have been “erroneous” opinions published by The Post, but they are protected by the First Amendment.

“Few principles of law are as well-established as the rule that statements of opinion are not actionable in libel actions,” Bertelsman wrote in the 36-page opinion issued Friday.

Man dies in hill of polluted soap suds in central Mexico.

A man trying to pose for a photo next to a towering hill of soap suds floating atop a heavily polluted stream in Mexico was found dead Friday, five days after he fell into the quivering mass and disappeared.

The man apparently had asked a co-worker to snap a picture of him standing next to the suds when he fell in, officials said.

Authorities in the central state of Puebla said excess detergents from homes that drain into streams feeding the Valsequillo reservoir caused the soap bubbles to accumulate. The streams also carry all sorts of household waste, and the toxic brew eventually finds its way into the Atoyac River.

Photos of the attempted rescue Monday showed emergency personnel using fire hoses and a large fan in a failed attempt to penetrate the hill of suds that rose 20 feet over their heads. After a full day of work, the local civil defense office said it was barely able to locate the man’s compact car. He was not in it, and officials began looking farther downstream.

On Friday, people in the town of Tecamachalco, almost 30 miles from where the man fell in, alerted authorities about a body in the stream.