Stevens lagging in vote count

Republican Sen. Ted Stevens, a titan of Alaska politics convicted of felony charges last month, fell behind by three votes Wednesday as the count resumed in his re-election bid.

Democrat Mark Begich, the two-term mayor of Anchorage, began Wednesday down more than 3,200 votes but closed the gap as officials resumed counting early and absentee ballots. The tally was 125,019 to 125,016.

Neither side expected to be able to claim victory Wednesday. By late afternoon, officials had counted more than 44,000 of the roughly 90,000 outstanding ballots.

“Right now we’re cautiously optimistic,” said Bethany Lesser, spokeswoman for the state Democratic Party. “There’s obviously more votes to come in, but it goes to show how hard we worked to get the vote out early and how important that was.”

Stevens’ campaign did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Last month, a federal jury in Washington convicted Stevens of lying on Senate disclosure forms to conceal more than $250,000 in gifts and home renovations from an oil field services company.

Omaha, Neb.

Father drops off Florida boy, 11

An 11-year-old Florida boy was abandoned at a Nebraska hospital Wednesday, just days before lawmakers meet to change the much-criticized “safe haven” law.

The boy is the 31st child abandoned since the law took effect in July. It was intended to protect unwanted newborns from being abandoned but doesn’t set any age limit.

Todd Landry, director of children and family services for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the boy’s father left him at Boys Town National Research Hospital on Wednesday afternoon.

The boy is from Miami-Dade County, but officials didn’t immediately say whether the family had a connection to Nebraska. The department has contacted the Florida Department of Children and Families.

The Legislature opens a special session on Friday to fix the law. Most legislators have already agreed to add an age limit of 3 days, which would change Nebraska’s law from the most lenient to one of the strictest in the nation.

Northampton, Mass.

Napper damages church organ pipes

This isn’t music to anyone’s ears: The restoration of a church’s 130-year-old organ has been delayed because four delicate pipes were damaged when a visitor napped on them.

The 18-foot pipes were among about 50 stored in the basement at First Churches in Northampton during the sanctuary’s renovation.

The Rev. Peter Ives estimates the damage at close to $15,000. But he says the organ can be played without the pipes. Ives says the church will not press charges.

The man apparently mistook the pipes for rolled-up rugs and slept on them. He is a homeless man who was in the church for a job counseling meeting.