USA

Federal prosecutors and Arthur Andersen LLP are expected to announce a settlement today of an obstruction-of-justice indictment related to the Enron collapse, sources told the Associated Press. Under the agreement, Andersen reportedly will admit knowing that employees wrongly destroyed Enron documents, but won't face prosecution as long as it cooperates with the broader Enron investigation and meets other criteria for the next three years. A former Andersen auditor central to the document shredding, David Duncan, pleaded guilty last week in a cooperation deal with prosecutors.

The Supreme Court struck down a 1996 law banning virtual child pornography. In its 6-3 ruling, the court said the Child Pornography Prevention Act, which prohibits images that appear to depict children engaged in sexual activity, was overly broad and unconstitutional. It's aimed at computer-generated or enhanced images, but some filmmakers had argued that the measure could be applied to scenes in such recent mainstream movies as "Traffic" and "Lolita." (Story, page 1.)

Declaring state laws on the rights of crime victims "insufficient," President Bush endorsed a proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee them. The proposal, sponsored by Sen. Diane Feinstein (D) of California and Sen. Jon Kyl (R) of Arizona, would require notification of public court proceedings, allow victims to testify at sentencing hearings, and compel courts to consider their restitution claims. The justice system protects the rights of accused criminals, Bush said, "but must take equal care to protect the rights of victims."

A candidate for sheriff in Kentucky was charged in a sniper attack that killed the incumbent at a political rally Saturday. Jeff Morris was challenging Pulaski County Sheriff Sam Catron for the post. Morris and one of his campaign workers were charged with complicity to commit murder. A third man, accused of carrying out the assassination, also is in custody.

Former Supreme Court Justice Byron White, who died Monday in Denver, Colo., was a pro-football star and Rhodes scholar before serving 31 years on the nation's highest court. White (above), who retired in 1993, was known as a law-and-order conservative who dissented on such landmark decisions as Miranda v. Arizona (1966) requiring police to tell suspects they arrest of their rights, and Roe v. Wade (1973) that established the right to abortion.

Actor Robert Urich, who died died Tuesday in Beverly Hills, Calif, was best known as the star of "Vega$" and "Spenser: For Hire," television series on ABC in the 1970s and '80s.