Nation in brief: Couple with kids in cages convicted

A couple accused of forcing some of their 11 adopted special-needs children to sleep in wood and wire cages were convicted Friday of endangerment and abuse.

Sharen and Michael Gravelle claimed during the three-week trial that they needed to keep some of the youngsters in enclosed beds rigged with alarms to protect them from their own dangerous behavior and stop them from wandering at night.

Their attorneys said an appeal is likely.

The children, who suffered from problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome and a disorder that involves eating nonfood items, ranged in age from 1 to 14 when authorities removed them in September 2005 from the Gravelles’ home.

Wichita, Kan.

Abortion provider charges dismissed

Kansas’ attorney general, a vocal abortion opponent, charged a well-known abortion provider with illegally performing late-term abortions, but a Sedgwick County judge on Friday threw out the charges after less than a day.

Judge Paul W. Clark dismissed the charges against Dr. George Tiller at the request of Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston, who said her office had not been consulted by Attorney General Phill Kline.

Kline, who lost his re-election bid in November and leaves office in three weeks, said he would try to get Clark to reinstate the charges.

Kline has been investigating whether Tiller and other abortion providers performed illegal late-term abortions in Kansas or failed to report suspected child abuse as required by law.