ALBANY, N.Y.

Spitzer vows to transform city comptroller’s office

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer says he will transform the New York City comptroller’s office much as he did the state attorney general’s office into a force that takes on corporations as well as government spending.

Spitzer said Monday that he and his family made the difficult decision to return to politics after one of the greatest falls from public office ever seen. The Democrat resigned as governor in 2008 amid a prostitution scandal.

Spitzer said he knows “politics is a contact sport, and I made it harder.”

Spitzer said he has no political aspirations beyond city comptroller and that winning this race will be “tough enough.”

BOSTON

Teresa Heinz Kerry shows improvement in condition

Doctors evaluating Teresa Heinz Kerry, wife of Secretary of State John Kerry, reported improvement in her condition Monday, according to the State Department, but few details were disclosed.

Heinz Kerry, 74, who is also heir to the Heinz ketchup fortune, was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on Sunday after first being brought by ambulance to a hospital on the island of Nantucket, where the couple has a home and often spends time during the summer.

Heinz Kerry showed symptoms consistent with a seizure, said a person in close contact with the family who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Doctors upgraded Heinz Kerry’s condition from critical to fair Monday after conducting tests and she was undergoing further evaluation, said Glen Johnson, a spokesman for Kerry.

PHILADELPHIA

Girl with lung transplants developes pneumonia

A 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl who had a pair of adult-lung transplants after her parents sued to change national rules regarding organ donations has developed pneumonia in her right lung, which her mother described Monday as “a large setback.”

Sarah Murnaghan’s mother wrote on her Facebook page that after a “tough” day Sunday, Sarah’s condition had become more stable Monday at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

“We have an amazing team of doctors who go above and beyond but also walk this road with us in such a kind and compassionate way,” Murnaghan wrote.

NEW ORLEANS

BP asks court to reject settlement interpretation

With billions of dollars in the balance, BP asked a U.S. appeals court Monday to reject a claims administrator’s interpretation of the company’s partial settlement over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The administrator, Patrick Juneau, is approving millions of dollars in “fictitious” payments for business losses based on what BP believes is a flawed interpretation of the agreement reached with victims’ lawyers in 2012, according to BP.

“Stop the hemorrhaging of cash,” Theodore Olson, a BP lawyer, told a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans, urging the judges to reverse a lower-court ruling and rein in Juneau. “Irreparable injuries are taking place, and monies are being dispensed to parties from whom it will unlikely be recoverable.”

The company has already been forced to add hundreds of millions of dollars to the estimated $7.8 billion cost of the settlement and have to pay billions more than expected, BP said in court papers.

— From news service reports