Vermont Lt. Gov. Barbara Snelling doing better after suffering brain hemorrhage

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - After suffering a cerebral hemorrhage the day before, Lt. Gov. Barbara Snelling regained consciousness and spoke yesterday.

''She knows her name. She knows the name of her children. She is following commands to move her feet, to move her hands. She is doing the things we ask her to do,'' said Kathleen Dalton, a spokeswoman at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Lebanon, N.H.

Snelling, 68, a candidate for governor, was stricken Saturday while attending a meeting of state Republicans. A blood vessel in her brain burst. Initially she was hospitalized in critical condition with her prognosis listed as guarded.

Snelling's condition improved through the night and she regained consciousness in the early morning hours. Doctors say many hurdles remain and that full recovery could take months.

It was the second time in less than five years that a Snelling tragedy hit Vermont. Snelling's husband, Richard Snelling, died of a heart attack in 1991 while serving as governor.

Prison is 'constantly on my mind,' former Rep. Rostenkowski says

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, the venerable House lawmaker now facing a prison term, insisted yesterday that he did not willfully break the law and said going to prison is ''constantly on my mind.''

''I'm not happy,'' said the Illinois Democrat, who last week pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and was sentenced to 17 months in prison and fined $100,000.

Prison is ''constantly on my mind,'' he said on ABC's ''This Week With David Brinkley.'' But he said that rather than rally his friends behind him and put up a fight, ''I just felt that I wanted to cancel this all out, get it behind me and get on with the rest of my life.''

Ex-convict, dubbed 'library slasher,' destroys over 600 Harvard library books

BOSTON (AP) - Temporary workers at Harvard's Widener Library aren't supposed to have unlimited access to its famed stacks. But Stephen L. Womack did, turning his $5-an-hour job into a gateway to the Widener's most valuable holdings and becoming ''the library slasher.''

Womack stole and destroyed more than 600 scholarly books before he was caught, and left notes threatening anyone who tried to stop him.

Womack, 42, testified in court that he was seeking revenge against authorities who had sentenced him to a state mental hospital, after unrelated convictions for malicious destruction and exposing himself.

Boy says stolen tarantula should be sent back to jungles of South America

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) - A teen-ager claims he and a partner were acting as environmental Robin Hoods by trying to return a large spider - taken from a pet store - to the jungles of South America.

However, theft charges are being considered against the pair.

The $150 tarantula, also known as a yellow flame knee spider, a native of the Brazilian rain forest, was taken from a pet shop on April 6. The animal's bite can cause an allergic reaction in humans.

A security camera recorded the heist, said Petland store owner Ty Russell.

David Atkinson, 15, said he and his 14-year-old friend didn't think the spider should have been taken from the jungle.

PETA targets Atlantic City-based tourney to try to discourage eating, catching of fish

LOWER TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) - An animal-rights group known for using radical tactics to get people to stop wearing fur coats is turning its attention on fishermen.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it hopes to discourage the catching and eating of fish by disrupting big-money sport-fishing tournaments.

''This is the final frontier. We've tackled issues with almost every animal in the country,'' said Tracy Reiman, the group's coordinator for the campaign.

PETA's main target: an Atlantic City-based sport-fishing tournament that bills itself as the world's richest. With more than $1 million in total prize money, it attracts many top big-game fishermen.