Attorney General John Ashcroft may use proposed changes to the USA Patriot Act to ask Congress for new authority to conduct autopsies on U.S. victims of terrorist attacks. The Justice Department has quietly drafted proposed changes to the October 2001 USA Patriot Act that the department says are designed to improve the government’s authority to battle terrorism at home. Critics have said the draft proposal, first obtained by The Center for Public Integrity last week, would further limit public access to information, expand spy powers and hurt civil liberties. But tucked inside the 87-pages of revisions is new authority for the Justice Department to authorize autopsies to learn more about terrorist perpetrators. Full Story