JURIST - Paper Chase: BREAKING NEWS ~ Attorney General Ashcroft hospitalized

AP is reporting that Attorney General John Ashcroft has been hospitalized with severe stomach pains.

UPDATE: A spokesman says the Attorney General is in intensive care with severe case of gallstone pancreatitis and is being monitored. He came to the emergency room of George Washington University Hospital late Thursday evening. A DOJ press release on the Attorney General's condition is here. George Washington University Hospital has also issued a press release, and will provide updates here. The medical information clearinhouse BioMed Central says:

The majority of patients with acute gallstone pancreatitis have a mild attack and recover without additional treatment. In about 20% of patients, the attack is severe and is associated with a mortality rate of about 20%. Patients with severe pancreatitis require management in a high-dependency or intensive care setting.

Reuters has more.