News For Friday Oct 10, 2008 News For Friday Oct 10, 2008

U.S. U.S.

Homeless man dies after being set ablaze in LA - Added 5 weeks ago

A homeless man died after being doused with gasoline and set on fire on a street where he had lived for many years and was a familiar face to residents of Koreatown, police and local merchants said Friday. Police were...

Tuskegee Airmen honored with historic site in Ala. - Added 5 weeks ago

Lt. Col. John Mulzac stood on the asphalt at Moton Field Friday _ the same grounds where he trained decades ago to become one of the country's first black military pilots _ and wept. Mulzac and hundreds of his fellow...

Death toll rises to 9 in Calif. charter bus crash - Added 5 weeks ago

The death toll has risen to nine in the crash of a charter bus that was on its way to a casino in Northern California. UC Davis Medical Center spokeswoman Phyllis Brown says E. Vang Saelee (SAY'-lee) died Friday at the...

Ohio death row inmate appeals to US Supreme Court - Added 5 weeks ago

Lawyers for an Ohio death row inmate who unsuccessfully argued that his obesity prevents humane lethal injection filed an appeal Friday with the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution, planned for next week. The Ohio...

Obituaries in the news - Added 5 weeks ago

Alfred J. Gallodoro NEW YORK (AP) _ Alfred J. Gallodoro, a jazz musician who performed on the saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet, died Saturday. He was 95. He died at his home in Oneonta in upstate New York, said...

Fired professor in noose incident sues Columbia - Added 5 weeks ago

A black Columbia University teacher who reported finding a noose on her door is suing the New York City school for firing her after a plagiarism investigation. Clinical psychology professor Madonna G. Constantine...

Attorney describes binding incident as 'horseplay' - Added 5 weeks ago

The attorney for a man accused of binding the hands of a teenage girl on a Southwest Airlines flight and trying to do the same to her sister said it was merely "horseplay" and pointed out that the girls didn't scream. ...

3 BLM workers held at gunpoint at Nev. pot patch - Added 5 weeks ago

Three federal biologists were held at gunpoint for several minutes by suspected members of a Mexican drug cartel after happening upon a large marijuana patch in a remote stretch of public land in northern Nevada,...

Man dies after balloon crashes in flames in N.M. - Added 5 weeks ago

A hot air balloon crashed into power lines and burst into flames Friday during Albuquerque's annual balloon fiesta, throwing both men on board to the ground and killing one of them. Witnesses said that many of the...

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 540 - Added 5 weeks ago

As of Friday, Oct. 10, 2008, at least 540 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department....

Recalls: Dried radishes, milk drinks, cookies - Added 5 weeks ago

The following recalls have been announced: _Packages of Kyosai Sengiri Daikon dried radishes due to the presence of undeclared sulfite. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to sulfite run the risk of a...

Dog dies after saving man in Trinidad from fire - Added 5 weeks ago

A man whose dog rescued him from a house fire in Trinidad said the animal died after running back into the burning building. Trinidad & Tobago Express newspaper quoted Anderson Marcano as saying that he woke up...

Japanese man held in LA in wife's 1981 slaying - Added 5 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:CARS206-1010080938 -->A Japanese businessman accused of conspiring to have his wife killed 27 years ago was returned to Southern California on Friday to face trial. Kazuyoshi Miura, 61, arrived at Los Angeles...

What happens after you flush? RI offers new tour - Added 5 weeks ago

Ever wonder what happens after you yank the chain on the old commode? Rhode Island is offering tours of several wastewater treatment facilities during what its dubbed the first annual "Rhode Island Water Infrastructure...

Lender drops eviction suit vs. Cook County sheriff - Added 5 weeks ago

A mortgage lender that tried to force the Cook County sheriff to evict a suburban Chicago woman from her home announced Friday that it has withdrawn its lawsuit. Accredited Home Lenders said in a brief statement it...

Woman accused of serving pot-laced cake to guest - Added 5 weeks ago

West Hartford police said they charged a 51-year-old woman with assault, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence after she allegedly served a marijuana-tainted ginger cake to her real estate agent. ...

Woman, 72, moves after finding snakes in apartment - Added 5 weeks ago

When 72-year-old Gladys Dressner first saw two snakes last in her new apartment last month, she froze. Days later, when an eight-inch snake crawled across her bed, she screamed. Finally, after stepping on a baby black...

No Bush league: SC softball champs meet president - Added 5 weeks ago

Winning the Little League Softball World Series is great. But shaking the president's hand is not exactly Bush league. Just ask the youngsters on the Simpsonville Stars softball squad. The team, which won the series...

Lineup for Sunday news shows - Added 5 weeks ago

Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows: ABC's "This Week" _ Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Former Treasury secretaries James Baker and Lawrence Summers. ___ CBS' "Face the Nation" _ Sen....

Atheist soldier to leave Army, drops religion suit - Added 5 weeks ago

An atheist soldier who accused U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Defense Department of violating his religious freedom dropped the lawsuit Friday, citing his plans to leave the Army next spring. But the...

Colin Powell calls Sen. Stevens' word 'sterling' - Added 5 weeks ago

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday praised Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' sense of honor at his trial on corruption charges, calling his reputation for honesty and integrity "sterling" in the quarter-century...

A new day for dogs: Pa. law targets puppy mills - Added 5 weeks ago

Sammy, a Shetland sheepdog, wouldn't touch his food, retreating to a corner of the yard and devouring mouthfuls of dirt _ behavioral oddities his owner later learned came from a lifetime of abuse as a "stud" in a large...

Feds acknowledge Mich. arsonist was key informant - Added 5 weeks ago

Federal prosecutors are seeking a major sentencing break for an activist who committed arson at Michigan State University, publicly acknowledging for the first time his wide-ranging undercover role in investigations of...

As storm nears, west Texas braces for more floods - Added 5 weeks ago

Officials planned to activate an emergency operations center in west Texas, where the remnants of Hurricane Norbert are expected to bring rain to already saturated areas, an official said Friday. The storm was expected...

New York teachers sue over ban on campaign buttons - Added 5 weeks ago

The teachers' union for the nation's largest public school system accused the city on Friday of banning political campaign buttons and sued to reverse the policy, declaring that free speech rights were violated. United...

Stocks got slammed, but was it a `crash'? - Added 5 weeks ago

Did stocks "crash"? Some news organizations and investors are hesitating to use the word to describe Wall Street's terrifying sell-off. A crash is commonly defined as a 20 percent decline in a single day or several...

Georgia sued over voter citizenship verification - Added 5 weeks ago

Voting rights groups asked a federal judge Friday to stop Georgia's attempts to verify the identities and citizenship of new voter applicants, arguing they amounted to a "systematic purging" of rolls just weeks before...

Mom of missing Fla. girl can access evidence - Added 5 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:FLORL102-1009081441 -->The mother of a missing 3-year-old Florida girl will have access to her car and forensic tests completed by authorities trying to figure out what happened to the child, a judge ruled...

Former SF supervisor pleads guilty to corruption - Added 5 weeks ago

A former San Francisco supervisor pleaded guilty to three felony charges Friday and admitted to trying to shake down city business owners with planning permit problems. Ed Jew resigned from the Board of Supervisors in...

Conn. high court rules gay couples can marry - Added 5 weeks ago

Connecticut's Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to marry, making the state the third behind Massachusetts and California to legalize such unions. The ruling comes just weeks before Californians...

Economy is overriding issue in governors' races - Added 5 weeks ago

In his bid to become the next governor of Missouri, Rep. Kenny Hulshof survived a bitter primary that at one point saw the candidates bashing each other for supporting public funding for drugs such as Viagra. Then came...

White House disputes that Bush is hurting markets - Added 5 weeks ago

President Bush on Friday offered reassuring words to stop the hemorrhaging on Wall Street, but once again the stock market fell. Bush has spoken about the economic chaos on 21 of the last 26 days as the market has been...

Soldier punished in beating of Jewish trainee - Added 5 weeks ago

An Army trainee will face nonjudicial punishment rather than criminal charges for beating a Jewish soldier so badly he was treated by a hospital, the military said Friday, in a move that keeps many details of the attack...

Would-be King biographer caught in sibling feud - Added 5 weeks ago

An author and minister who spent hours interviewing Coretta Scott King for her biography said Friday that she may abandon the project because of the drawn-out, public legal feud among the King siblings. In a telephone...

US, India sign unprecedented nuclear deal - Added 5 weeks ago

The United States and India signed an accord Friday that allows American businesses to sell nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to India, reversing a three-decade ban on atomic trade with the fast-growing...

1 dead, another injured at Mass. construction site - Added 5 weeks ago

One construction worker is dead and another seriously injured after a hydraulic lift platform collapsed in Massachusetts. Police say the men were working on the lift Friday when it toppled over. They fell about 25 feet...

Bush says financial rescue plan big enough to work - Added 5 weeks ago

!!-- AUDIO:039,038,037,229,228 -->President Bush said Friday that the government's financial rescue plan was aggressive enough and big enough to work, but would take time to fully kick in. "We can solve this crisis and...

Vultures circle Wall Street, but hesitate to feed - Added 5 weeks ago

When financial panic sweeps Bedford Falls in the 1946 movie "It's a Wonderful Life," the villain, Mr. Potter, moves to snap up the Bailey Bros. Building and Loan, offering a fire-sale price of 50 cents on the dollar. ...

Judge: Castroneves can race in Australia - Added 5 weeks ago

A Miami judge has agreed to modify bail conditions on tax charges so Helio Castroneves can race later this month in Australia. The Brazilian race car driver and 2007 "Dancing With The Stars" champ had been barred from...

Mo. man gets death sentence in taped sex killing - Added 5 weeks ago

A suburban Kansas City man who videotaped the death of a woman he suffocated during sex has been sentenced to death. Richard Davis was sentenced Friday for killing 41-year-old Marsha Spicer in May 2006. A jury...

Suicide-prevention net under Golden Gate endorsed - Added 5 weeks ago

A stainless steel net may soon hang underneath the Golden Gate Bridge to stop people from attempting suicide by jumping off. The board that governs the world-famous bridge voted Friday after considering several other...

Iraq contractor gets 3 years in child porn case - Added 5 weeks ago

A federal judge rejected arguments Friday from a former civilian contractor in Iraq who said his sentence for possessing child pornography should be lighter to more closely align with what military personnel would face....

Man, 88, fatally shoots ailing wife at NJ hospital - Added 5 weeks ago

An elderly man fatally shot his ailing wife in her hospital bed Friday and was in critical condition after turning the gun on himself, an official said. Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy would not say whether...

Financial meltdown hits ivory towers - Added 5 weeks ago

For many colleges, the last 15 years have been a golden age. Philanthropy and Americans' grudging tolerance for high tuition fueled an unprecedented boom _ investments in everything from gyms, dorms and labs to faculty...

10 years after Shepard, no federal hate crime law - Added 5 weeks ago

Matthew Shepard's mother still mourns lost opportunities to battle hate crimes and promote a greater tolerance of gays in the 10 years since her 21-year-old son was beaten, tied to a wooden fence and left for dead in a...

Man wins $200K in Powerball twice in same year - Added 5 weeks ago

For a Kansas City man, 2008 has been a great year when it comes to playing the Missouri Lottery. Arthur Watkins, 53, has won slightly more than $400,000 in two Powerball drawings within a four-month period. Missouri...

For military, bad economy aids recruiting - Added 5 weeks ago

The tough economy could make it easier to sign up soldiers. Fewer civilian jobs mean less competition for military recruiters. "We do benefit when things look less positive in civil society," David Chu, the Pentagon's...

Woman allegedly pours hot water on husband's groin - Added 5 weeks ago

Authorities say a woman has been arrested in west Florida after pouring scalding hot water on her husband's groin. Manatee County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a 52-year-old woman on Wednesday on a charge of...

Cops nab pair in same vehicle for drunken driving - Added 5 weeks ago

Fargo police said two men were arrested for drunken driving in the same vehicle. Police Lt. Pat Claus said an officer pulled over a 23-year-old man early Thursday morning. Claus said while that man was taking a sobriety...

Kan. tribal 'secretary of state' gets prison term - Added 5 weeks ago

The "secretary of state" of a group that claims to be an American Indian tribe was sentenced Friday to one year and one day in prison for encouraging illegal immigrants to live in the U.S. Debra Flynn, also known as...