In the Nation

WASHINGTON - The House yesterday impeached a federal judge imprisoned for lying about sexual assaulting two women, in the first such vote since President Bill Clinton was impeached a decade ago.

The House unanimously approved four articles of impeachment accusing U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent, 59, of Texas of assaulting two female employees and lying to judicial investigators and Justice Department officials. The move sets up a trial in the Senate.

Kent entered a federal prison in Massachusetts on Monday to serve a 33-month sentence. He is refusing to resign until next year so he can keep drawing his $174,000-a-year salary. If the Senate convicts him, he will be forced off the bench. - AP

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Sen. Roland Burris (D., Ill.) will not be charged with perjury for statements he made before an Illinois House impeachment committee because there is not enough evidence, the state prosecutor investigating the case said yesterday.

Sangamon County State's Attorney John Schmidt said that while some of Burris' statements about the circumstances surrounding his appointment to the Senate by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich - who has since been removed from office - were vague, they wouldn't support a perjury charge.

Burris, 71, said the announcement confirmed that he had "cooperated at every phase of the process and . . . came to this seat in an honest and legal way." He still faces an investigation by the Senate ethics committee, which is looking into how he got appointed to the seat vacated by President Obama. - AP

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was recuperating at home after undergoing successful two-hour surgery to repair her fractured right elbow, the State Department said.

Doctors at George Washington University Hospital told her to expect a full recovery without lasting damage, the department said. She will wear a cast "for some time," spokesman Ian Kelly said.

Clinton, 61, broke her elbow in a fall Wednesday. No decision has made on whether she will go ahead with a scheduled trip next week to Italy and Greece, Kelly said. - AP

President Obama said yesterday that he was committed to a comprehensive immigration overhaul that includes a way for illegal immigrants to become citizens. He is hosting a small group of lawmakers at the White House next Thursday to discuss how to move the issue forward, press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

Same-sex couples traveling overseas can now show passports that feature their married names, under a revision to State Department regulations. The revision notice says it does not mean State is recognizing the validity of same-sex marriages and civil unions.