Four dead as ice and blowing snow make highways treacherous across the Northeast
By: Associated Press | ∞
Towing company workers begin to pull vehicles apart at the scene of a multi-vehicle accident on westnound Interstate 80 near Milton, Pa. on Tuesday. Several people required hospital treatment.
AP Photo
A sudden burst of snow and freezing rain swept across wide swaths of the Northeast on Tuesday, glazing roads and bridges and causing hundreds of traffic accidents. Four people were killed on the roads.
Accumulations were light in most places, but the blowing snow created blizzard-like conditions that cut visibility and made pavement slippery across parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.
Several major Connecticut highways were closed, and traffic was snarled on nearly every major highway in Massachusetts. Some New Jersey highways were slicked with a mixture of snow and freezing rain.
"If you wanted to go somewhere, it wasn't happening. I know. I tried. You just had to sit there," said New Jersey State Police Lt. Al Della Fave.
Traffic backups as long as 20 miles clogged major arteries around Trenton, N.J. Wrecks closed several highways in Pennsylvania.
"I would call it a dusting," said Pennsylvania State police Sgt. Tim Steel. "The snow accumulation was not the issue. It was the visibility and slick roadways."
In central New York, several school districts were closed west of Syracuse, where the National Weather Service said 4 to 8 inches of snow fell. Schools were closed or had delayed openings in parts of Connecticut.
A tractor-trailer rig crossed a median south of Albany, N.Y., and killed a motorist. State police said the truck driver told them slippery pavement contributed to the wreck. Another motorist was killed near Rochester in western New York, police said.
In Connecticut, a Bridgeport man was killed when his pickup spun out of control and struck a median, state police said. A New Jersey motorist was killed when he lost control of his vehicle on the Garden State Parkway, police said.
Blowing snow may have to blame for a chain-reaction wreck involving more than a half-dozen tractor-trailers and several cars on Interstate 80 in central Pennsylvania, state police said. Several people required hospital treatment.
Police: Twelve shootings along Ohio highway loop are connected
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Authorities have linked 12 shootings along a five-mile stretch of interstate around Columbus, including one that killed a woman and another that broke a window at an elementary school.
Four of the shootings -- three at vehicles and one at the school last month -- were from the same gun, Franklin County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Steve Martin said Tuesday.
Although ballistics tests could not link the rest of the shootings along Interstate 270, investigators said they "are comfortable" saying all 12 are connected, he said. He would not elaborate.
Authorities have received more than 500 tips, but would not speculate about who the shooter might be and would not release the type of weapon.
"Collectively, we think it's not good for us to put that information out," Martin said.
The shootings began in May along Interstate 270, the freeway that circles Columbus. Many were not reported until after Nov. 25, when 62-year-old Gail Knisley was killed by a bullet that pierced the side of a car driven by a friend.
The latest shooting linked to the spree was a Nov. 11 shooting at Hamilton Central Elementary in Obetz, about two miles from the freeway.
Superintendent Bill Wittman said he believes the shooting was not meant to harm anyone because it happened overnight, but nervous parents expressed concern.
Tiffany Ellis, 32, said her son's second-grade classroom faces the front of the school, where the bullet struck.
"It makes me angry to be honest with you, that I have to drive down the road worrying about getting shot," Ellis said Tuesday.
She said she plans to call Wednesday to see what precautions the district is taking, and may avoid her own living room, which also faces the two-lane road.
"That's kind of scary to think someone could shoot through your window like that," Ellis said.
Greg Mellon said his 8-year-old son "ducked down in the car" on the way to his recreation league basketball practice at the school Tuesday night.
"Of course he's thinking about it," Mellon said.
A house was shot at Tuesday near the freeway, but Martin said investigators have not linked it to the other shootings.
Local businesses have established a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
Criminal behavior experts have varying opinions on who's behind the attacks. Jack Levin, a Northeastern University criminologist, believes two people could be responsible.
"When I see a crime like this it's almost always two friends who probably wouldn't do this separately, but when they're together there's a certain chemistry, a certain insanity," said Levin, director of Northeastern's Brudnick Center on Violence.
"How do you share the joy of killing or causing problems if you're alone? You can't brag about it or someone will turn you in," he said.
But N.G. Berrill, a psychologist who profiles killers at his New York forensic consulting firm, said the shooter is probably a young male who feels frustrated and generally powerless in his life.
"It's almost an infantile rage is the way I would describe it," he said.
Berrill said the shootings were the work of a person who loves the thrill of causing panic, although he may not intend to kill.
The shooter is likely someone from the surrounding community, said Lou Palumbo, a retired police investigator who runs a private security and investigation organization called The Elite Agency Limited.
"He didn't have to travel far. He's got a certain comfort level with that landscape which could be what's allowing him to be drawn back to the same location of the shootings," Palumbo said.
Martin, the chief deputy, said investigators are not relying on a profile and are exploring all possibilities.
Guardian says brain-damaged woman not likely to improve, wants to stay on case
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- An independent guardian concluded there is "no reasonable medical hope" that a severely brain-damaged woman at the center of a right-to-die legal battle will improve, according to a report released Tuesday.
But as long as there is controversy in the case of Terri Schiavo, guardian Jay Wolfson is asking to remain on the case in hopes of settling the fight among her husband, her parents and Gov. Jeb Bush, according to the report, which was delivered to Bush.
Wolfson also recommended that swallowing tests be conducted to see if Terri would be able to eat on her own.
The University of South Florida professor was appointed by a judge last month to investigate whether Schiavo's husband, Michael, should be allowed to have a stay lifted and remove her feeding tube. Michael Schiavo had the feeding tube removed in October, but a hastily passed law allowed Bush to have it reinserted six days later as her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, had requested.
Wolfson tried to broker a settlement among Michael Schiavo, his in-laws and the governor, according to the report, but negotiations broke down Sunday.
Bush said nothing in Wolfson's report has changed his mind that it was right to keep Terri Schiavo alive.
"I see nothing in the report that changes any feelings I have about whether or not the stay should be lifted," Bush told The Associated Press, adding he respected Wolfson's efforts and agreed that Terri should undergo swallowing tests.
"That's the good news part of this," he said.
In a statement released later, Bush said he remained concerned there were too many "open questions" in the case, chiefly about what Terri Schiavo's end-of-life wishes were. She left no written directive.
The Schindlers contend their daughter, who turns 40 Wednesday, can still hear and react to them and could recover from what doctors have called a persistent vegetative state.
But Wolfson's report said there was "no likelihood" Terri Schiavo's condition will improve. She cannot consciously interact with her environment, and there is evidence she cannot eat or drink on her own, the report said.
Wolfson, an attorney and health sciences professor, is an expert in health-care financing. He based his conclusions on Terri Schiavo's medical records.
He also visited the hospice where she lives, with her family present in hopes of documenting whether she is cognizant of her surroundings. He said that although at times Terri appeared to be responding to her mother, her responses were not repetitive or consistent.
Still, Wolfson said he was touched by her "distinct presence."
"It would be easy to detach from her if she were comatose, asleep with her eyes closed and made no noises," he wrote. "This is the confusing thing for the lay person about persistent vegetative state."
Michael Schiavo's attorney, George Felos, said he was "very pleased" with the report.
"(Wolfson) is very clear in saying that the medical evidence is clear and convincing that she is in a persistent vegetative state with no hope of recovery," Felos said. "I think it's important that be recognized."
The Schindlers' attorney, Pat Anderson, said she took exception to some of the language in the report, but "to the extent that he is asking for swallowing testing, that is very a very good thing. That is a good birthday present for Terri."
Terri Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 when her heart temporarily stopped because of a chemical imbalance and cut off oxygen to her brain.
Michael Schiavo has said his wife did not want to be kept alive artificially. Her parents have said she has no such wish.
Wolfson also said that a judge's original decision to grant Michael Schiavo permission to withdraw the feeding tube that has kept his wife alive for 13 years was "firmly grounded" in Florida case law.
Until a resolution can be reached, Wolfson asked to stay on the case and said Terri Schiavo should have an independent guardian whose only charge is to look out for her interests. Michael Schiavo currently serves as his wife's guardian.
In his statement, Bush said court proceedings have not addressed Michael Schiavo's conflict of interest -- he stood at one time to inherit hundreds of thousands of dollars from his wife and now has children with another woman.
Fire burns dozens of units
SANTA ANA -- Fire erupted in two buildings in a large apartment complex Tuesday, burning dozens of units, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate and injuring three firefighters.
About 40 units of the mostly low-income, 187-unit complex were destroyed, Fire Department spokesman Tony Espinosa said. About 30 more had water damage.
A temporary shelter for displaced residents was set up at Raymond A. Villa Middle School. Red Cross officials said they expected to handle up to 400 people affected by the blaze.
Fire officials said residents would be allowed to return to undamaged apartments Tuesday night.
Sixty firefighters took about two hours to control the blaze, which was reported about 11:30 as a "regular apartment fire" at the La Serena apartment complex, Espinosa said. When firefighters arrived the fire had spread to the attic and swept through a long, two-story building.
Fire later erupted about 40 yards away at a separate building in the complex of 10 buildings.
"It looks like the fire spread either through embers or through a building in the back," Espinosa said.
The causes of both fires were under investigation, he said.
Three firefighters suffered heat exhaustion and smoke inhalation, Espinosa said.
Britain's Plain English Campaign cites Donald Rumsfeld for 'foot in mouth' prize
LONDON -- He may not know it -- or know that he knows it -- but Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has won this year's "Foot in Mouth" award for the most baffling statement by a public figure.
Britain's Plain English Campaign, scourge of jargon, cliches and legalese, announced the honors Tuesday, giving runner-up to California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The top prize went to Rumsfeld for this logic-twister he gave at a press briefing on Iraq:
"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns, there are things we know we know," Rumsfeld said.
"We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
"We think we know what he means," said Plain English Campaign spokesman John Lister. "But we don't know if we really know."
Schwarzenegger's honored entry, made to a radio interviewer, was more straightforward: "I think that gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman."
British politician Chris Patten was singled out for his assessment of Britain's main opposition party: "Having committed political suicide, the Conservative Party is now living to regret it."
The annual "Golden Bull" award was shared by several British companies: JMC Airlines, now part of the Thomas Cook travel group; Lloyds Pharmacy, clothing and household goods retailer Marks and Spencer, electrical appliance maker SMEG, the bank Standard Life and Warburtons Bakers.
Marks and Spencer was cited for the label "now with roast chicken" on a roast chicken salad. "So what was in it before?" asked the campaign.
SMEG was criticized for a dishwasher manual which contained the instruction: "By pressing the relative button of desired program (see table) it will lid up the relative pilot light to confirm that the operation did occurred on the DISPLAY (9) will appear a program duration forecasting ('h.mm')." (Sic)
SMEG spokeswoman Pauline Dewhurst apologized and said the company has since produced easier-to-read guides.
On the Net:
Plain English Campaign, http://www.plainenglish.co.uk
French retail chain, U.N. and others team up to provide alternative development for rural Colombians -- racy lingerie
BOGOTA, Colombia -- At first they grew coffee. But after prices for the crop collapsed, many of the farmers in the steamy jungles of western Colombia turned to growing coca, the raw ingredient used in cocaine.
And now, hundreds of rural Colombians, hoping for a better living, are trying their hand at making racy lingerie for a French retail chain under a new U.N.-backed program.
The wispy G-strings, revealing bras and lacy garter-belts went on sale Saturday at Carrefour's 11 stores in Colombia. The undergarments will be sold at its overseas outlets in coming months.
"We are opening up a universe of new possibilities for Colombia's rural communities," said Gabriel Silva, head of the Colombian Federation of Coffee Growers, which along with the French Embassy, the U.N. drug office and Carrefour is promoting the alternative development project.
The project was conceived when farmers in the coffee-growing region began cultivating drug crops, which swelled the ranks of Colombia's leftist rebel and right-wing paramilitary groups that control the trade. Colombia produces 70 percent of the world's cocaine and most of the heroine sold in the United States.
Alarmed by a sharp rise in poverty and crime in southwest Colombia's coffee-rich Valle del Cauca region in the past few years, the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime tried to find jobs and markets for the poor farmers.
"We searched for projects that we believed could reduce illicit activities," said Thierry Rostan, the UNODC representative in Colombia who led the effort. "What people needed were jobs and places to sell their products."
After touring Valle del Cauca, Rostan identified a local cooperative, Integrated Industries, that trained poor families in new skills. But with little access to markets, the cooperative was struggling to find enough work for its employees, and needed a major company like Carrefour to broaden its reach.
Carrefour's underwear label, Symphony, hooked up with the cooperative, which has 12 production centers scattered across the province.
Those centers have good access to roads, overcoming a problem that has bedeviled other development projects.
About 800 women, many of them heads of families, are making the lingerie. Their salaries are paid by Integrated Industries and they take home about $280 a month -- or about double the minimum wage and far more than what they could make growing coffee. They also enjoy health benefits and paid vacation.
Coca growers, in comparison, make about $70 more, but they also need to pay off the illegal armed groups.
This year alone, Carrefour has spent about $63,500 on the lingerie project. It is projected to spend another $106,000 in 2004.
On Wednesday, top models paraded the products to disco beats and flashing lights along a catwalk in Bogota's French Lycee in front of business executives, politicians, lawmakers and French Ambassador Daniel Parfait.
"Violence and unemployment have brought misery to rural Colombia," Edilma Arango, of Integrated Industries, told the gathered dignitaries last Wednesday. "You are bringing hope."
Woman killed in gruesome attack by pack of pit bulls in Colorado ranch area
DENVER -- A woman was killed in a gruesome attack by a pack of pit bull dogs that residents say had been a roaming menace for months. Another man was injured but escaped after his son shot at the dogs.
Authorities began weighing charges Monday against the owners of the dogs.
Jennifer Brooke, 40, was killed early Sunday when she went to a barn to care for her horses, officials said. A friend worried about her, Bjorn Osmunsen, 24, was attacked when he went to look for her.
"It's a gruesome thing; it's kind of hard to deal with," Elbert County Undersheriff James Underwood said of Brooke's injuries. "Even the fire department and the rescue personnel were having a hard time dealing with some of it."
One dog had allegedly mauled a neighbor earlier this year, and officials said the dogs were well known in the rolling ranch land near Kiowa, southeast of Denver.
"The people in the area had their own sort of emergency phone network to warn each other if the dogs were loose before they would go out," Rattlesnake Fire District Chief Dale Goetz said.
After fatally mauling Brooke, the dogs moved on to a nearby home and attacked Lynn Baker when he stepped outside.
"One was leaping for my throat as one was dragging me down by my hand," Baker said.
He said he jumped into the bed of his pickup truck and screamed for family members to call authorities, and for his 16-year-old son, Cody, to grab a gun.
Cody Baker fired at the dogs with a shotgun, blinding one, knocking one down and disorienting the third. The distraction allowed his father to climb into the cab of the pickup and drive close enough to his house to scurry inside.
"I came out and shot the big one twice but it hardly slowed him down," said Baker, whose son also was attacked but was not injured.
"They were monsters. And they don't run away. They come at you, even when you are shooting at them," Baker said in a telephone interview. The dogs were eventually killed by Cody Baker and a deputy. Both Lynn Baker and Osmunsen were treated for their injuries and released.
The dogs' owners, one of whom was identified as Jacqueline McCuen, could face charges ranging from a misdemeanor to negligent homicide, said Mike Knight, spokesman for the district attorney.
There was no comment from McCuen; her telephone number is listed as disconnected.
Resident Tom Nichols said his wife, Diana, was mauled by one of the dogs in April. He said she suffered several bite wounds, including a bone-deep gash that took two months to heal.
After that attack, one dog was impounded and McCuen was issued a summons for having a vicious animal. The case was dismissed because there appeared to be no applicable ordinance, but the case has been reopened, District Attorney Jim Peters said Monday.
Grover Henderson said the dogs chased his wife, Linda, into their home on Oct. 4. "A few weeks earlier, they had come to our house and bared their teeth at me, and I called McCuen and told her I would shoot them if they came back," he said.
Texas man who exposed fake Vietnam records honored by Army
DALLAS -- A Vietnam veteran who exposed more than 1,200 people trying to capitalize on bogus or inflated Vietnam war records has been saluted with a military honor.
B.G. "Jug" Burkett received the Army's Distinguished Civilian Service Award on Monday from former President George H.W. Bush at the Bush Library in College Station.
"He exposed a mass distortion of history that cost taxpayers billions of dollars" in undeserved veterans benefits, said John W. Nicholson, an undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "He returned to the Vietnam veterans their good name."
Burkett's mission began in 1986 with his efforts to raise funds for the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Dallas. Many people refused to donate, Burkett said, because they believed they would be helping drug-abusing psychopaths with no desire to work or contribute to society.
Burkett started his own research to find out who fought in Vietnam and to debunk some of the myths about Vietnam veterans. Through the work, he exposed more than 1,200 people, including politicians and entertainers, who lied about or exaggerated their claims of serving in the Vietnam War.
"I'm a little overwhelmed because none of what I've done exceeded just doing my duty," said Burkett, a financial adviser who served in Vietnam in the late 1960s.
Burkett said he's happy to receive the Army's award because it will help bring the right type of attention to his comrades.
"It brings the focus back to the message," he said. "And the message basically is that the people who served in Vietnam are the finest troops we ever produced."
Not all his research has to do with exposing fake veterans. In a 1998 book, "Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation Was Robbed of Its Heroes and Its History," Burkett and co-author Glenna Whitley challenged the belief that young and poor minority draftees fought and died in higher numbers in Vietnam. They found that 75 percent of those killed were volunteers, not draftees.
Five children dead in Texas apartment fire
ALVIN, Texas -- A man pushed his wife to safety Tuesday but was unable to rescue five young children who perished in a fire that swept through the family's apartment.
The midday blaze erupted in the second-floor apartment of Salim Charina, a convenience store worker, his wife Candace Town and their children: Zain, 4; Zohaib, 3; Shafna, 2; and 2-month-old twins Amann, a boy, and Cyra, a girl.
The fire's cause was under investigation.
Apartment manager Carla Hernandez said she was talking to a neighbor when she heard a noise and went outside to see an already badly burned Charina, a native of Pakistan, screaming in his native language, his clothes smoldering.
She said he went back inside, pushed his wife from a second-floor window, emerged again -- and then returned to the burning apartment a third time to search for the children.
"He couldn't find any of the kids," Hernandez said.
Charina was in critical condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital in nearby Houston. Authorities said his wife was hospitalized in fair condition with an apparent back injury. Firefighters recovered the bodies of the five children.
Hernandez said she had been encouraging residents of the complex to document instances of maintenance problems, including recent reports of electrical malfunctions at the $600-a-month units.
Kasi McCarty, who said she was the twins' godmother, also said there had been electrical problems at the complex, where the family moved about a month ago.
"Right now we are going through the debris," Police Chief Mike Merkel said. "We don't know whether or not it had to do with electrical, but we won't rule that out."
Mayor Andy Reyes expressed shock at the loss of life. "You never think something like that can happen in a small community like Alvin. It's very devastating," he said.
Former FBI employee pleads guilty to illegally accessing drug case computer files
WASHINGTON -- A former FBI employee faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to illegally searching bureau computer files for information on drug investigations.
Narissa Smalls, 24, of Upper Marlboro, Md., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington to unlawfully accessing the FBI's Automated Case Support system and sharing information on the drug cases with individuals who were being investigated by the FBI Washington field office.
Smalls was a legal technician assigned to the FBI's Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Unit when the illegal searches were made between September and November 2002, prosecutors said. She resigned from the FBI as part of the plea agreement.
Smalls also faces a fine of up to $250,000 when she is sentenced on Feb. 26.
Storms lash southern France; floodwaters kills four -- one woman swept off bridge
PARIS -- Surging floodwaters killed three men and swept a woman off a bridge in storms that lashed southern France, closing schools, roads and power plants and forcing the evacuation of dozens of people, officials said Tuesday.
Divers were searching for the 53-year-old woman who was missing in Virigneux in the central Loire region.
Firefighters in the southern port city of Marseille found the body of a 45-year-old man who drowned in a basement filled with 8 feet of water. Another man, aged 60, drowned in the town of Orange in the hard-hit Vaucluse district.
In the neighboring Ardeche district, a man in his 50s was found dead after a river flooded its banks, forcing him to lose control of the car he was driving.
Authorities in Marseille received 500 calls for flood-related incidents overnight. About 30 people spent the night at a local gymnasium after being evacuated from their homes.
Ecology Minister Roselyne Bachelot urged residents of the flood-hit region to avoid driving during the heavy rainfall, which is expected to last through Thursday morning.
In the southern Ardeche region, officials shut down two out of four nuclear reactors at the Cruas-Meysse power plant for fear that branches and leaves in the floodwaters would clog cooling systems, officials said.
In Charlieu, in southeast France, 750 students had the day off because of flooding, and 90 people were evacuated from their homes. Schools were closed early in several other towns near the city of Avignon, and many schools canceled bus service after deeming the roads too dangerous.
Bus skids off mountain road in north India, killing 27
AMRITSAR, India -- A bus skidded off a steep mountain road and fell into a river in northern India on Tuesday, killing at least 27 passengers and injuring 30 others, a police official said.
The bus, with 60 people on board, veered off the road near the town of Chamba in Himachal Pradesh state and fell into the Ravi river, said A.K. Yadav, superintendent of police.
At least 27 people, including five women and four children, died, he said.
Police and volunteers helped pull out at least 30 injured people and take them to a hospital in Chamba, 145 miles northeast of Amritsar.
The bus hit a rock face as it went round a curve and plunged into the river below.
Buses are the main means of transportation in much of India. Hundreds of bus accidents take place each year, mainly because of reckless driving and overcrowding.
Chicago food warehouse manager pleads guilty in rat infestation case
CHICAGO -- The former manager of a rat-infested warehouse pleaded guilty Tuesday to improperly storing 12 million pounds of beef, pork and other food destined for Chicago-area restaurants and stores.
David Smith, 43, admitted he knew about the burgeoning rodent population in the LaGrou Distribution System warehouse on Chicago's West Side. He also admitted knowing about leaking overhead sewer pipes that dripped onto food.
Smith could get up to a year in federal prison.
He agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, who have also brought charges against LaGrou's vice president, its sales director and the company itself. They have pleaded innocent.
The defendants allegedly lied to customers who stored food in the warehouse, telling them goods were damaged because of forklifts or faulty packaging rather than rats.
Prosecutors said there is no evidence anyone became ill because of the food.
Friend of victim in Janklow crash tearfully recalls night of crash
FLANDREAU, S.D. -- A man who was riding motorcycles with a friend killed in a crash with Rep. Bill Janklow cried on the witness stand Tuesday as he described seeing his friend's mangled body lying in a soybean field.
"I kneeled down to see if he had a pulse and he didn't," Terry Johnson said as prosecutor Bill Ellingson showed him gruesome photos of the body.
Janklow, 64, is charged with second-degree manslaughter, speeding, running a stop sign and reckless driving for his role in the Aug. 16 collision that killed Randy Scott of Hardwick, Minn. Prosecutors say Janklow sped through the stop sign in a Cadillac and collided with Scott's Harley-Davidson.
The trial threatens to derail the career of a colossal figure in South Dakota politics. Janklow, a Republican, is a former state attorney general who served 16 years as governor during two stints before being elected to the state's only House seat last year.
Defense lawyer Ed Evans acknowledges that Janklow was speeding before the collision, but said he did not see the stop sign because he had a diabetic reaction that caused him to become disoriented.
Janklow frowned, took notes and looked forward as Johnson recounted the evening of the crash, telling jurors how he glanced back and noticed that Scott's "headlight wasn't there."
The emotional testimony came on a day in which prosecutors presented several graphic images from the crash, including a photo of Scott's body that showed most of his midsection missing.
The jury saw a video taken by the Highway Patrol just hours after the accident in which Janklow was told Scott's name and birth date. Janklow said something about Scott not even being 60 years old, then asked about his family, paused, sighed and said: "Jesus," as if it just sank in.
Jurors also looked at shots of the accident scene that show "Stop Ahead" and stop signs and a county road sign bent over by Janklow's car -- with the smashed-up Cadillac in the background. In addition, prosecutors presented close-ups of the car and the badly damaged motorcycle.
The videotape was taken when Trooper Jeff Lanning drove Janklow to the Flandreau hospital for a blood-alcohol test. During the ride, Janklow sounded coherent most of the time and was able to recall things, though he did not remember details of the accident. Toward the end of the tape it sounded like he was slurring his words.
Several times Janklow told the trooper he swerved and sped through the intersection to avoid hitting another vehicle.
"It was a white car," he said. "I thought that's who hit me."
Prosecutors have said Janklow was going 71 mph in a 55 mph zone, but he denied exceeding the limit.
"I wasn't speeding," Janklow said on the tape. "I wasn't going fast."
Moody County Coroner Dr. Tad Jacobs said Scott died of extensive injuries to the torso and abdomen. He said it appeared Scott hit the trunk of Janklow's car, which was dislodged from the vehicle on impact.
Jacobs said Janklow seemed remorseful after the accident.
Prosecutors say Janklow knowingly barreled through the stop sign at the rural intersection as he drove home from a campaign event in Aberdeen. One witness testified Tuesday that Janklow's car passed her "as if I was standing still" just a few miles before she came upon the accident.
"It was very sudden. Zoom, and it was gone," said Monica Collins, who estimated her speed at 55 to 60 mph. "All I know is he was going a lot faster than I was going."
Three other people described what they saw when the car and motorcycle collided.
Brad Isle said the accident happened less than a half mile in front of him, recalling a "body flying in the air."
Patty Jenkins broke down as she described seeing the accident. After the crash, she talked to Janklow's aide, Chris Braendlin, who helped Janklow out of the car.
"I asked if they were OK and he said yes," Jenkins said.
Her husband, Michael Jenkins, said the collision "was like an explosion of debris and dust."
Michael Jenkins said Janklow's aide asked him for candy for Janklow. Jenkins said he didn't have any but he asked a paramedic, who did, and gave some to Janklow.
Evans said during his opening statements that Janklow had a low blood sugar level at the time of the crash, which caused him to become disoriented.
If convicted of manslaughter, the maximum punishment is 10 years in prison. It would also prompt the House ethics committee to investigate.
The committee's rules say representatives who plead guilty or are convicted of a crime that carries two or more years in prison should refrain from voting or taking part in committee meetings in the chamber until his or her record is cleared or until re-elected.
Judge denies motion to free Jack Kevorkian because of health problems
DETROIT -- A request for assisted-suicide proponent Jack Kevorkian to be released from prison because of health problems has been denied, according to a decision released Tuesday.
Kevorkian, 75, was sentenced to 10 to 25 years in prison for the 1998 death of Thomas Youk, who was afflicted with Lou Gehrig's disease and was shown on CBS' "60 Minutes" receiving a lethal dose of potassium chloride.
Kevorkian's attorney has said he suffers from a variety of medical problems, including hepatitis C, high blood pressure and hernias.
Judge Rae Lee Chabot said in the decision released Tuesday that Kevorkian's health problems aren't enough to trump state law.
A message left for Geoffrey Fieger, Kevorkian's attorney, was not immediately returned Tuesday evening.
A federal judge recently denied a separate petition asking that Kevorkian be released because, among other things, he got ineffective legal advice during his trial. Kevorkian represented himself and was advised by an attorney.
Kevorkian has said he assisted in at least 130 deaths. He is eligible for parole in 2007.
Mexican officials report raids against counterfeit music, videos
MEXICO CITY -- Federal officials said Tuesday that agents have halted several counterfeiting operations in Mexico City and raided marketplaces in two other states, part of a series of sweeps over the past month in which hundreds of thousands of forged audio and video products have been seized.
The raids reported Tuesday by the federal attorney general's office were aimed at operations in the area around Mexico City's Tepito market, a centuries-old bazaar famed for cheap counterfeit and contraband goods.
Recording industry officials say that Mexico remains a hotbed of music, video and software counterfeiting despite massive and repeated raids.
Counterfeit compact disks and videos are sold openly on sidewalks and in markets throughout the country and account for a majority of music sold in some parts of Mexico.
During the Mexico City raids, which took place over three days, officials said that some 30 federal agents and 90 city police seized 60 compact disc recorders, 30,000 music CDs and 300,000 false labels.
In a separate raid, officials said they found 500,000 cigarettes with phony labels.
On Saturday, the attorney general's office reported that other actions in the Tepito area had led to seizure of 28 CD recorders and 25,000 counterfeit CDs.
And on Nov. 23, they reported that more than 120 agents took part in raids on three other Tepito-area sites, seizing 70 CD recorders, 30,000 films, 70,000 music discs and 200,000 false labels.
The attorney general's office also said Tuesday that raids on marketplaces in the north-central cities of Guadalajara, Celaya, Irapuato, Romita, San Miguel de Allende and Leon led to seizure of 138,000 counterfeit recordings and the discovery of a small, clandestine workshop with four CD recorders.
On Nov. 30, the attorney general's office reported the largest such raids of the year in the state of Mexico, which borders Mexico City. It said police seized 360,000 counterfeit products in 15 simultaneous raids.
Officials also have tried to attack the booming market in counterfeit software. On Nov. 19, they reported seizing hundreds of illegal copies of programs during a raid on the Plaza of Computation, a bazaar in central Mexico City.
Early last month, Deputy Attorney General Carlos Javier Vega said agents attached to his office had carried out more than 2,700 anti-counterfeiting operations since the start of 2001 and had seized 72 million counterfeit goods.
Former Mexican police commander flees arrest warrant
ACAPULCO, Mexico -- A former police commander has become a fugitive after a judge ordered his arrest on suspicion of kidnapping alleged leftists during Mexico's Dirty War of the 1970s.
Defense attorney Roberto Vazquez said late Monday that the former state Judicial Police commander, Isidro Galeana, had been declared formally a fugitive.
Galeana is accused of overseeing the 1974 seizure and disappearance of Jacob Najera Hernandez, a schoolteacher who allegedly was linked to communist guerrilla leader Lucio Cabanas. In most such "disappearances," victims were apparently arrested, tortured and then killed, with no word on their fate to courts or relatives.
The arrest warrant issued Nov. 26 was the first against former officials targeted by recent government investigations into the disappearances of the 1960s and 1970s.
Vazquez said he is preparing to ask a court for an injunction to block the arrest of his client.
He said he does not know the whereabouts of the 65-year-old former policeman, who has been living in Acapulco.
Vazquez argued that the statute of limitations has expired on the alleged crime so that an arrest would violate Mexico's constitution.
However, the nation's Supreme Court found earlier in another case that in the case of disappearances, the crime continues until the victim or body is located.
Investigators say that Galeana arrested Najera on Sept, 24, 1974, and turned him over to soldiers. He was never seen again by friends or family.
Lawyer: Jackson accuser not seriously ill
LOS ANGELES -- The attorney for the father of Michael Jackson's accuser said Tuesday that reports that the boy is seriously ill are unfounded.
Attorney Russell Halpern said that someone who had spoken to the boy Monday night told him the boy was doing as well as he was six months ago, when he appeared healthy. The boy has been battling cancer.
Comedy club owner Jamie Masada, who says he introduced Jackson and the boy, reported on Thanksgiving Day that he had seen the boy days earlier and that his remaining kidney was failing. Masada said the boy's other kidney and spleen had been removed along with a large tumor in his stomach.
Halpern said the person who gave him information about the boy's condition was "far more reliable than the comedy club guy."
Asked why Masada would call a news conference to provide false information, Halpern said, "I don't know, ask him."
Masada did not return a call for comment Tuesday. He said last week that Jackson and the boy first came into contact about two years ago, soon after doctors gave the boy three weeks to live. Masada said he asked Jackson's people to have the singer call the boy and try to cheer him up.
Also Tuesday, Halpern said the boy's father will seek custody of the boy, his brother, and his sister. Halpern said his client has been considering seeking custody for weeks because Jackson and the boy have shared Jackson's bed.
Halpern said that showed the boy's mother was negligent, whether or not the molestation allegations are true. Jackson has acknowledged letting many children sleep in his bed, but said it was not sexual.
When the boy's parents were divorcing, the mother alleged that the father abused her for years.
In 2002, the boy's father was charged with four counts of child cruelty, and one count each of injuring a child, making a threat and false imprisonment. He pleaded no contest to one count of child cruelty but it was unclear from court records which of his children was involved. The other charges were dismissed.
The father also pleaded no contest to spousal abuse in 2001.
Halpern said his client only pleaded no contest to avoid going to trial on the charges.
A secretary for Michael E. Manning, the mother's attorney, said the mother has asked him not to speak to reporters.
The Associated Press does not identify alleged victims of sexual abuse. The child's mother has an unlisted number and could not be located for comment.
Jackson has said the allegations against him are "predicated on a big lie." He surrendered to Santa Barbara County authorities Nov. 20 on an arrest warrant alleging he committed lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, and was released on $3 million bail.
Authorities say they expect to file charges sometime after Dec. 15.
Suspect in custody, but search goes on for missing college student
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- The arrest of a convicted rapist in the disappearance of a college student produced no immediate breakthrough in the search for the young woman Tuesday, but the police chief vowed: "Dru, we will find you."
Alfonso Rodriguez Jr., 50, was arrested Monday night in nearby Crookston, Minn., and charged with kidnapping University of North Dakota student Dru Sjodin, 22. Sjodin has been missing since Nov. 22, when she left her job at the Victoria's Secret at a mall in Grand Forks.
Her fate was not immediately known.
"This investigation has only reached the 50-yard line," Grand Forks Police Chief John Packett said. "We will not be satisfied or comforted until such time as we find Dru."
Prosecutor Peter Welte said police believe Rodriguez was in the mall parking lot the night Sjodin disappeared.
Authorities would not say exactly how they connected Rodriguez to the case, though they said it is routine to look at sex offenders in the area when investigating such crimes.
Rodriguez has convictions for rape, attempted kidnapping and aggravated assault, and has used a weapon in at least one assault, according to a Minnesota Corrections Department.
Because of his record, Rodriguez was required to register as a predatory offender -- the classification for those who are believed to pose the greatest risk of committing another sex crime.
Rodriguez was released from prison in May after serving 23 years for an attempted abduction in Crookston in 1979. Wayne Swanson, the prosecutor in that case, said Rodriguez tried to abduct a woman off the street, and stabbed her when she fought back. The woman got away, and Rodriguez was later arrested with the help of a sketch the woman made.
Officials said that near the end of his prison term in 2001, Rodriguez was considered for civil commitment -- which could have kept him in custody indefinitely. But a psychologist who examined him decided against the recommendation, and a special board concurred.
In St. Paul, Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he would call for adoption of the death penalty in cases involving sexual assault and murder or attempted murder. Minnesota is one of 12 states without capital punishment.
Meanwhile, authorities released photographs of the suspect's car, a four-door, red 2002 Mercury Sable, and asked that anyone who may have spotted the car around the time of Sjodin's disappearance to call police.
"Our entire focus on this is in finding Dru," Welte said. "This is by no means the end. This is a marathon and not a sprint."
Volunteers were to resume their search Wednesday. A similar search drew 1,300 volunteers for one day last week.
"Honey, we will find you," said Sjodin's father, Allan.
Her brother, Sven, added: "I know we are just around the corner from you right now. We love you. Keep strong." He fought tears as he backed away from news microphones, and his father put his arm around him and squeezed his shoulder.
Neighbors said Rodriguez lived with his mother, Dolores. No one answered the door at his home Tuesday.
In Cross Lake, Minn., Sjodin's mother, Linda Walker, directed a plea to Rodriguez: "Please cooperate with authorities and lead us to Dru."
On the Net:
Prolific TV director Earl Bellamy dead at 86
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Earl Bellamy, who directed scores of popular TV shows in a prolific career that began with the birth of commercial television and continued well into the 1980s, has died of a heart attack at age 86.
Bellamy died Sunday at a hospital in Albuquerque. He had lived in Rio Rancho, N.M., since 1991.
The director, who was particularly adept at Westerns, had credits on almost every popular show of that genre, including "The Lone Ranger," "Rawhide," "Laredo," "Wagon Train," "Daniel Boone," "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon," "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin," "The Monroes" and "The Virginian."
He was awarded the prestigious Golden Boot Award last year by the Motion Picture and Television Fund for his contributions to the craft.
He was equally skilled at handling situation comedies and dramas, however, and his credits in those areas included "M..A..S..H," "I Spy," "Leave it to Beaver," "The Donna Reed Show," "Bachelor Father," "CHipS," "Starsky and Hutch," "Lassie," "Perry Mason," "The Andy Griffith Show," "The Munsters," "Fantasy Island," "Eight Is Enough," "The Mod Squad" "My Three Sons" and "The Love Boat."
"He did a lot of everything; he was a workhorse," said Boyd Magers, a friend who publishes Western Clippings, a Western film publication.
Bellamy also directed nearly two dozen feature films, beginning with the George Raft Western "Seminole Uprising" in 1955.
But television, he acknowledged, was his first love.
Other credits in that field included "Hart to Hart," "Trapper John, M.D.," "The Doris Day Show" and "Get Smart."
"It was wonderful working with him because he made everything so enjoyable," said Ernest Borgnine, who worked with Bellamy when he starred in the 1960s comedy "McHale's Navy."
The son of a railroad engineer, Bellamy moved to Hollywood with his family from Minneapolis in 1920.
He went to work as a messenger for Columbia Studios after graduating from Hollywood High School in 1935, working his way up to assistant director on such films as "A Star is Born," "The Talk of the Town," starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur, and "Kiss and Tell" with Shirley Temple. He retired in 1986.
America's oldest man gets a year older
BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. -- At his age, Fred Hale Sr. doesn't mind getting a year older.
Hale, recognized as the oldest man in America, celebrated his 113th birthday Monday quietly with four generations of descendants at his side.
"It was just a small, quiet party. He cut the cake," Fred Hale Jr., his 83-year-old son, said Tuesday.
Hale Jr. and seven other family members, including three great-grandchildren, gathered at the Syracuse Home Association, giving the elder Hale a robe as a present.
"He doesn't like big parties. But he loves having the children there," Hale Jr. said.
Hale became a celebrity of sorts in 1995 when Guinness World Records named him the world's oldest licensed driver at age 107.
The Gerontology Research Group at the UCLA School of Medicine, a group that documents people over 100, lists Hale as the world's ninth-oldest human and second-oldest man behind Joan Riudavets Moll of Spain, who turns 114 on Dec. 15.
The world's oldest person is Charlotte Benkner of North Lima, Ohio, who turned 114 on Nov. 16, according to the California-based group.
Rocker Alice Cooper gets star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
LOS ANGELES -- Rock star Alice Cooper showed up in full makeup Tuesday to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
About 300 fans greeted Cooper at the ceremony in front of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard.
Cooper, 55, signed autographs and posed for pictures with a fan's pet python around his neck.
The rocker recounted his early days in Hollywood when he and his band members didn't have enough money to shell out $1.29 for steak and eggs.
"We would walk over the names of Vincent Price, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, never, ever thinking that our names would ever be on the Walk of Fame," Cooper said. "That is really quite a privilege to be here."
The showman is known for shocking audiences with gruesome concert performances featuring such acts as guillotines lopping off heads, simulating hangings and infant dolls gushing blood.
Classic Cooper albums include 1972's "Killer," "Welcome to my Nightmare," and the recently released, "The Eyes of Alice Cooper."
Cooper's star is the 2,243rd on the Walk of Fame and sits between those of Gene Autry and Hugh Hefner.
"I promise every time I walk down this street I will polish that little star," Cooper said.
Actress Geena Davis expecting twins
LOS ANGELES -- Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis is pregnant with twins, her publicist said Tuesday.
Davis is healthy and looking forward to the twins' birth next spring, said publicist Samantha Mast.
The 46-year-old actress and her husband, Dr. Reza Jarrahy, have a daughter, Alizeh, who was born last year.
She has been "concentrating on being a mom," but is scheduled to shoot a guest appearance on "Will & Grace" soon, Mast said.
Davis won a supporting actress Oscar in 1989 for playing the kooky dog trainer in "The Accidental Tourist." She received an Oscar nomination for her role in 1991's "Thelma & Louise."
Singer Glen Campbell formally charged with drunken driving, assault
PHOENIX -- Glen Campbell has been charged with assault and drunken driving in a hit-and-run collision near his Phoenix home last month.
Campbell was formally charged with aggravated assault, drunken driving, extreme drunken driving and leaving the scene of an accident, the Maricopa County Attorney's office said Tuesday.
The criminal complaint was filed last week against Campbell, who was arrested Nov. 24 at his home after he allegedly struck another car and left the scene. Nobody was hurt.
Calls to Campbell's publicist and lawyer weren't immediately returned Tuesday.
Extreme drunken driving applies to a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent or higher. Breath tests on Campbell showed he had a 0.20 blood-alcohol level, according to court documents. The legal limit for Arizona drivers is 0.08 percent.
While in custody, police said Campbell became angry and kneed an officer, who was not injured. He was freed on $2,000 bail.
The 67-year-old singer apologized last week and blamed the arrest on the accidental mixing of alcohol and a prescription anti-anxiety drug.
Campbell, who has lived in Arizona for 22 years and has no prior convictions, was hugely successful in the 1960s and early '70s with a string of hits on the pop and country charts, including "Rhinestone Cowboy," "Galveston," "Gentle on My Mind" and the Grammy-winning "By the Time I Get to Phoenix."
Oncologist punished for discussing case of ex-Beatle George Harrison
ALBANY, N.Y. -- The state Health Department reprimanded a cancer specialist for talking to the media about his patient George Harrison without the ex-Beatle's consent.
Harrison, 58, died in Los Angeles on Nov. 29, 2001, after battling lung cancer and a brain tumor.
Dr. Gilbert Lederman signed an order last month with the department's Board for Professional Medical Conduct, accepting his censure, reprimand and $5,000 fine, documents show. The documents don't mention Harrison by name but say that the patient died on Nov. 29, 2001, and that Lederman discussed his case in the media.
The radiation oncologist at Staten Island University Hospital treated Harrison shortly before he died. He had told The New York Post that Harrison was "quiet and dignified" and that "he believed death was a part of life. He was not fearful of death." He also said Harrison stayed on Staten Island for two weeks getting outpatient treatment after checking out of the hospital.
The board said Lederman "revealed to news agencies, magazines and television, personally identifiable facts ... obtained in his professional capacity."
Lederman's attorney Anthony Scher declined to confirm the state's action involved Harrison's case. But he said it was "a very very mild penalty for what the Health Department recognized was a relatively minor mistake."
"Dr. Lederman mentioned information about a patient which he thought was very positive information, nothing the patient would not want said," Scher said. "But from a very technical point of view, it was prohibited."
State Health Department spokeswoman Kristine Smith declined to comment on the case.
Lederman uses a medical technique known as fractionated sterotactic radiosurgery, which attacks large, advanced tumors with high doses of radiation while leaving surrounding tissues intact.
Ray Charles recovers from hip surgery
LOS ANGELES -- Ray Charles is recovering in his Beverly Hills home after undergoing a hip replacement last week.
"I feel terrific and am so thankful to the good Lord that all is going well for me," Charles said in a statement Tuesday. "I can't wait to get back on the road, which is my second home."
Acute discomfort in his left hip forced the 73-year-old singer in August to cancel his remaining 2003 tour dates. It was the first time Charles had canceled a tour in 53 years.
Charles is undergoing physical therapy and expects to start a national tour again in March, spokesman Jerry Digney said.
While hospitalized in November, Charles donated $1 million to Dillard University in New Orleans for the creation of a program about black culture. He's also been working on a duets album at his private studio, Digney said.
Charles, who was seven when he lost his eyesight, has won 13 Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award for recording classic songs such as "Georgia on My Mind" and "What'd I Say." He also was one of the original inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.
A movie based on his life story, "Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Story," and starring Jamie Foxx, recently finished filming.
On the Net:
http://www.raycharles.com/
Polish co-producer of 'The Pianist,' 'Schindler's List' on trial charged with influence peddling
WARSAW, Poland -- The Polish co-producer of the Oscar-winning films "The Pianist" and "Schindler's List" went on trial Tuesday on charges of influence peddling, a bribery scandal that has gripped the nation and embarrassed Prime Minister Leszek Miller.
Prosecutors say Lew Rywin, 58, solicited a bribe of $17.5 million from Agora SA, the publisher of the Gazeta Wyborcza newspaper, in exchange for his lobbying the government for favorable media laws that would allow Agora to buy a nationwide broadcaster.
Prosecutors say Rywin -- who pleaded innocent -- claimed to have been acting on the behalf of the prime minister. He could face up to three years in prison if convicted.
"In the course of this trial I want to prove that I have fallen victim of an intrigue organized by other people," said a brief statement from the film producer, who was unable to attend this year's Academy Award's because his passport has been confiscated.
He did not specify whom he was accusing.
About 20 spectators inside the court building chanted "Rywin to jail" before the trial opened.
The scandal erupted when Gazeta Wyborcza went public last December with allegations that Rywin solicited the bribe from its chief editor, claiming he represented a group that included Miller.
Prosecutor Katarzyna Kwiatkowska said the plan was to transfer the money to the bank account of Miller's party, the Democratic Left Alliance, via that of Rywin's Heritage Films.
"Even when a person claiming influence on certain institutions in return for profits doesn't really possess it, a crime is still committed," she said.
Miller has denied any involvement in the alleged scheme. Rywin himself has denied acting on Miller's behalf.
Prosecutors have dropped an separate investigation into why Miller failed to notify authorities when he learned of the alleged bribe attempt, saying there is no evidence of illegal conduct.
However, a special parliamentary commission has been investigating the scandal since February. Its sessions, broadcast live, have had Poles glued to their TV sets.
Some 1.5 million viewers in the nation of 38 million tuned in to watch Adam Michnik, the Gazeta Wyborcza editor, testify when the hearings began.
Rywin appeared before that panel but shed little light on the case, denying he acted on Miller's behalf but refusing to answer questions.
Miller is to appear as a witness at Rywin's trial though no date has been set for his appearance. It is unclear how long the proceedings will last.
At the time Agora was considering the purchase of the national Polsat channel, the government had proposed a media law that would have prevented national newspaper publishers owning any nationwide broadcaster. The government withdrew the draft law in July, and Miller asked his culture minister to revise it.
The murky scandal has contributed to the government's declining popularity, which has plunged as a result of Poland's economic woes and unemployment that earlier this year rose to nearly 19 percent -- its highest level since communism ended in 1989.
Heritage Films co-produced Roman Polanski's "The Pianist," which won three Academy Awards this year, and co-produced Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List," winner of the 1993 Oscar for best film. Both movies are about the Holocaust and were partly filmed in Poland.
R&B star R. Kelly's lawyers fight child pornography charges with motions
CHICAGO -- Attorneys defending R&B star R. Kelly against child pornography charges have filed a host of motions, including one contending the alleged victim could have been old enough to legally consent to sex.
Also included in the 11 motions Kelly's attorneys filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court is the argument that the case should be dismissed because prosecutors failed to specify the date of the alleged crime in their indictment against Kelly, 36.
Kelly, whose first name is Robert, was arrested in June 2002 after a videotape surfaced that allegedly showed the Grammy winner having sex with a girl.
Further, they argue, such a large window of time makes it impossible for Kelly to mount a fair defense.
"It's no secret that Mr. Kelly is a well-known musician, who frequently travels," the motion states. "By failing to narrow the date of the charged defense, Mr. Kelly is wholly deprived of the opportunity to bring an alibi defense."
The attorneys also raised questions about the law that allows for a man to have sex with girls 17 and older but illegal to videotape such acts with girls 17 and younger.
"It is illogical, irrational and disproportionate to subject one to a criminal conviction for taking pictures of conduct that does not otherwise violate the law," they said.
Defense attorney Edward Genson said he could argue the motions as early as Kelly's next scheduled court appearance on Feb. 6. Prosecutors have declined to comment on any of the motions.
Russian ballerina returns to Bolshoi Theater after winning legal battle but may not perform
MOSCOW -- Ballerina Anastasia Volochkova triumphantly returned to the Bolshoi Theater on Tuesday after a more than two-month-long legal battle to be reinstated in the ballet troupe.
A Moscow court last week ordered the renowned theater to reinstate the 27-year-old ballet dancer, who was fired in a contract dispute in September amid allegations that she was too heavy.
Flanked by her lawyer and a body guard driver, Volochkova, occasionally looking teary-eyed, collected all the necessary documents from the theater administration to allow her to return to work.
Volochkova told the Russian news agency ITAR-Tass that she plans to begin rehearsing the ballet "Giselle" immediately.
But it was not clear if she will be seen dancing on stage. Culture Minister Mikhail Shvydkoi said last month that resuming Volochkova's employment did not necessarily mean she would perform.
Her dismissal occurred amid allegations that her weight made it difficult for the Bolshoi to find partners for the star ballerina.
Volochkova, who weighs about 110 pounds and is 5 feet 6 inches tall, has called talk of her weight "humiliating and absurd for Russian ballet."
Pickup truck hits school bus on Florida highway, 12 elementary school pupils injured
ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. -- A pickup truck that may have run a stop sign rammed a school bus Tuesday, knocking it over and injuring 12 youngsters inside. The driver of the truck was killed and a passenger seriously injured.
The bus was bound for Chester Taylor Elementary School when the collision happened about 30 miles north of downtown Tampa.
Jim Aiman, who helped pull some of the children from the wreckage, said there was a strong smell of fuel and he was worried that a fire would break out.
The children "were very, very upset," he said. "None of them were pinned from what I could see."
The 45-year-old woman driving the pickup truck was killed and a young passenger in her vehicle was gravely injured, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Two children in the school bus and the truck passenger were airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. The hospital had no information on the truck passenger's condition; the other two had injuries that were described as not life-threatening.
Another child was taken by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital and then treated and released. The other nine injured children, some with cuts and bruises, were taken by ambulance to Pasco Medical Center.
There were 32 students and the bus driver on board when the crash happened shortly after 9 a.m., highway patrol Lt. Sterling King said. He said it appeared the pickup ran a stop sign, but the investigation was continuing.
California girl dies in Sierra ski accident near Tahoe
TAHOE CITY -- A 13-year-old California girl died from injuries she suffered in a skiing accident at a resort near Lake Tahoe, the first fatality of the new ski season in the Sierra.
Bridgette Clement of Millbrae died Sunday from head and neck injuries she suffered when she hit a tree Friday on an intermediate run at Alpine Meadows, Washoe County Coroner Vernon McCarty said.
Clement was skiing with friends the day after Thanksgiving, a clear, sunny day, down a groomed track called the Weasel Run, said Rachael Woods, spokeswoman for the ski resort. She was wearing a helmet.
Clement was airlifted by Care Flight to Washoe Medical Center in Reno, Nev., where she died, Woods said.
"It's just devastating, absolutely devastating," Woods said. "This is a case where something that is supposed to be fun turns into an absolute nightmare.
Sundance announces 2004 festival lineup and opening night films
SALT LAKE CITY -- Surfing the big waves will replace riding on snow for one January night in the ski town of Park City, Utah.
The 2004 Sundance Film Festival will open Jan. 15 with a screening of "Riding Giants," the story of big-wave surfing pioneers directed by Stacy Peralta, who brought skateboarding documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys" to the festival two years ago.
"I'm stoked," said festival director Geoffrey Gillmore. "It's going to be a lot of fun, it's a film that I think represents independent filmmaking. There might be one or two guys who get some sponsorship from (surfing), that's in some sense what independent film is."
The film is also the right fit for the festival's first opening night in Park City, Gillmore said.
"These are the guys who come up and snowboard and in the summers they're on the waves. I think it was a perfect choice for us," he said.
The movie will also be the first time the festival has opened with a documentary.
In the past, the festival's Thursday opening night gala would be held in Salt Lake City with Park City's opening night film shown Friday night. This year those dates will swap. The move is due to logistics, said Patrick Hubley, Sundance spokesman.
Those attending the festival would often fly into Salt Lake City, drive up the canyon to Park City for their accommodations and then back down for the opening night gala, he said.
In addition to making things easier for the out-of-towners Thursday night, the feedback the festival has received shows that locals would prefer the Salt Lake City premier to be Friday night, Hubley said.
Salt Lake City's opening night Jan. 16 will feature "Edge of America," the story of an African American high school teacher coaching an American Indian girls' basketball team. The film is directed by Chris Eyre, who directed "Smoke Signals" the 1998 Sundance film based on short stories by Sherman Alexie.
"It's such a wonderful drama. Chris Eyre ... is just getting better and better," Gillmore said. "And it was shot in Utah, which is one of the reasons that we're showing it on opening night."
Also announced Tuesday are the films that will appear in the categories of "Premiere," "Native Forum," "Frontier," "Park City at Midnight," "World Cinema" and "World Documentary."
The two opening night films will have their world premiere at the festival along with dozens of others including:
On Monday, the festival announced the films in dramatic, documentary and "American Spectrum" categories of the festival. Short films appearing at the festival will be announced Dec. 8.
The 2004 Sundance Film Festival runs Jan. 15-25 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Sundance and Ogden, Utah.
On the Net:
Sundance Film Festival: http://www.sundance.org
Mudslide cuts natural gas supply to Prince Rupert
PRINCE RUPERT, British Columbia -- Residents of this northern British Columbia port and fishing town have been told they face another week without natural gas because of a mudslide.
About 4,000 homes and businesses in Prince Rupert and nearby Port Edward have been without gas for heating since a pipeline was severed in the slide about 35 miles east of town during a snowstorm late Thursday.
Highway officials said a 660-foot-wide wall of trees, rocks and mud rolled 1,000 feet across the valley bottom and blocked the Khyex River about two miles north of Highway 16.
"It's a massive mudslide. The Khyex River is not a small river and it's completely blocked," said Greg Weeres, vice president of operations for Pacific Northern Gas.
Since the slide, residents have turned to electric heaters, stayed with relatives, taken hotel rooms or moved into emergency quarters at Charles Hays Secondary School.
"It's been nuts," said Tyee Building Supplies manager Terry Hodam. "We actually ran out of (electric) heaters. We're air freighting in more."
Many restaurants that rely on natural gas stoves have been closed.
The Prince Rupert Regional Hospital has switched from natural gas to a backup oil system and some elective surgeries have been canceled.
Nor will the heat come back on all at once. Pacific Northern Gas crews must visit each customer to check furnace and stove pilot lights before resuming the flow of gas, officials said.
Justice Department: No death penalty for five accused in smuggling ring deaths in Texas
HOUSTON -- The federal Justice Department has decided not to seek the death penalty against five people charged in an immigrant smuggling attempt in which 19 died in a truck abandoned in hot weather.
More than 70 immigrants from Mexico, Central America and the Dominican Republic were being transported by truck last May from the Rio Grande Valley to Houston.
The trailer was found abandoned at a truck stop in Victoria, 100 miles southwest of Houston. Seventeen people were found dead in the trailer and two others died later of dehydration, hyperthermia and suffocation. One victim was a 5-year-old boy.
The decision not to seek the death penalty, announced Monday by Attorney General John Ashcroft, "in no way lessens the seriousness of the criminal acts alleged against each of these five defendants," said U.S. Attorney Michael Shelby.
The five are scheduled for trial in June. They face up to life in prison if convicted.
A decision on the death penalty is still pending for five other people who are fugitives and for the truck's driver, U.S. attorney's office spokeswoman Nancy Hererra said.
UN announces human rights awards
UNITED NATIONS -- Former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Sergio Vieira de Mello, killed in the August bombing of the U.N. headquarters in the Iraqi capital, was among six individuals and groups named Tuesday as winners of this year's U.N. prize for human rights.
The winners also included a West African women's peace network, a Jordanian group fighting domestic violence, a Chinese advocate for the rights of the disabled, the head of the Argentine group that searched for children who disappeared during military rule and an American who founded a group that promotes human rights worldwide, said U.N. General Assembly President Julian Hunte, who headed the selection committee.
The awards, given every five years, will be presented on Dec. 10 at U.N. headquarters in New York. They are honorary and do not include a cash prize.
Normally, no more than five winners are selected. However, this year the General Assembly chose to recognize Vieira de Mello posthumously for his 30 years of work as U.N. High Commissioner, envoy to Iraq and in other U.N. roles. He was killed, along with 21 other U.N. staff members, in the Aug. 19 bomb attack on the U.N. offices in Baghdad.
Also honored were:
The team of seven men and five women both from government and non-governmental organizations developed a model for curbing domestic violence in other Arab and Islamic countries, the U.N. statement said.
"As a result of his efforts, the living standards and status of persons with disabilities in China has significantly improved in recent decades," the U.N. statement said. Deng's achievements include the China Welfare Fund for the Handicapped, which now aids 15 million people, and the passage of China's first law protecting the rights of disabled persons.
The group, which she joined in search of two of her grandchildren, has located missing and kidnapped children and returned them to their families. The fates of more than 400 abducted children remain unknown, the statement said.
"Her vision has been to create a worldwide corps of human rights educators who will serve as role models and catalysts for human rights learning in their communities," the U.N. announcement said. Her Human Rights Cities project, which receives U.N. Development Program funds, will train 500 young people in 30 cities in order to foster a new generation of political leaders who protect and promote human rights.
Odds and ends
CANBERRA, Australia -- Plain old water may no longer be good enough for pampered dogs, now that they have the choice of the bottled stuff in flavors like chicken and corn, liver and bacon, or beef.
Australian Andrew Larkey launched the purified Dog Plus K-9 water Tuesday, which sells for a little more $2 a bottle.
"It's like a sports drink for dogs," Larkey said. "Dogs get bored with plain water -- they deserve variety just as much as people."
Larkey plans a similar line of drinks for cats, in roast chicken and pork flavors early next year.
People can safely drink it as well, he said, but it probably won't be a hit with humans.
"I've actually developed a bit of a taste for it myself, but I think most people's first reaction is to be a little suspicious," he said.
NEW YORK -- Auto thieves be warned: New York police won't give up the chase -- even if it takes 20 years.
On Monday, police said they arrested Scott Kenny, 46, in connection with the May 1983 theft of an automobile.
Twenty years ago, the 1968 Mercury Cougar was reported stolen from a home. Fast forward two decades to Nov. 19, 2003, when a Newsday ad appeared advertising the car.
A retired New York City police sergeant saw the ad and went to check the auto out, taking pictures to send to a retired detective who's a Mercury Cougar enthusiast.
The retired detective saw the car's vehicle identification number in one of the photos and matched it to the registration of a car he once lost to auto thieves 20 years ago: a 1968 Mercury Cougar.
City police do not close auto theft cases until the cars are recovered, so Kenny, who said he got the car from a family member, was arrested when police were notified.
"The statute of limitations is up on grand larceny," said Officer Jennara Everleth, a police spokeswoman. She said all Kenny can be charged with is criminal possession of stolen property.
Everleth said the car is sitting at a pound, waiting for its original owner, and is still in good condition, though it might need a paint job.
COVINGTON, Ga. -- These little cops can't seem to keep their heads on straight, but don't call them bumbling -- bobbling is more like it.
The Covington Police Department is selling bobbleheads -- complete with serious faces and shiny blue uniforms -- of its officers to raise money for its Police Who Care Fund to help needy families.
In a limited run, 1,000 dolls were manufactured by a bobblehead company.
The bobbleheads are being sold for $10 at the police headquarters, the Covington/Newton County D.A.R.E. office and a Wal-Mart in Covington, east of Atlanta.
The bobbleheads are supposed to depict all officers although one officer, D.J. Seals, did pose for the manufacturer, said D.A.R.E. officer Lt. Ken Malcom.
"He's kind of excited about it, while at the same time he's embarrassed because of all the grief he's gotten from the other officers," Malcom said.
In past years, the department has sold toy patrol cars and police trading cards to raise money. Malcom said he hopes the bobblehead dolls go over just as well.
If sales go well, bobbleheads of a S.W.A.T. officer and a canine officer could be produced in coming years, Malcom said.
WEST BURLINGTON, Iowa -- A pair of National Guard soldiers were married among the plastic smiling snowmen, lighted reindeer and holiday poinsettias of the Wal-Mart store where they worked, met and fell in love.
Brett Hamilton and Erin Sapp were married last week after the bride-to-be received orders signaling a likely deployment to the Middle East.
"This wasn't what we would have wanted for them," said Sapp's mother, Sheila. "But I told them we'd support them any way we can."
Hamilton, who planned to ask Sapp to marry him this summer, moved up his plans after she received orders to report for training Dec. 1. Sapp said deployment to the Middle East is likely after training is completed.
Hamilton, who works in the Wal-Mart car care department, and Sapp, a floral department employee, are members of the National Guard's 224th Engineering Battalion.
They hastily arranged the ceremony with Dan Davis, the store manager.
Dozens of Wal-Mart employees wearing blue vests emblazoned with "How Can I Help You?" wept, cheered and smiled the two were married. The bride and groom wore their dress Army uniforms.
Hamilton and Sapp have planned a larger wedding celebration when she returns home.
Names in the news
LONDON -- After months of uncertainty, Mick Jagger has managed to fit Queen Elizabeth II into his busy schedule.
The Rolling Stones singer said Tuesday that he'll go to Buckingham Palace Dec. 12 to accept his knighthood.
After difficulties caused by his touring schedule, Jagger was initially scheduled to be knighted on Dec. 10, the same day rugby star Jonny Wilkinson will be made a Member of the Order of the British Empire, or MBE. But Jagger didn't want to detract attention from the man who led England to the rugby World Cup title last month.
"Mick is delighted that a date has been agreed for the investiture after spending over a year touring the world with the Rolling Stones," a Jagger spokesman said.
"He would also like to express his gratitude to Buckingham Palace for their understanding of his other commitments over the last 18 months."
The spokesman said the singer's 90-year-old father, Joe, will join him for the big day.
The Stones have played 114 shows worldwide over the past 15 months.
ATLANTA -- U2 lead singer Bono will be recognized for his humanitarian work at an awards dinner hosted by the family of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The Irish rock band's lead singer will be honored at the 2004 King Center "Salute to Greatness" awards dinner Jan. 17 in Atlanta.
"We are fortunate this year to honor Bono for exemplifying many of the qualities that my husband, Martin, indicated were imperative to moving our society into the beloved community of which he so often spoke," said Coretta Scott King, King's widow and the founder of the King Center.
Mrs. King pointed out Bono's work on behalf of Third World debt relief and on focusing attention on the AIDS crisis in Africa.
"He has focused mass public attention on the world's poorest continent and lobbied politicians around the globe to take action," she said in a statement.
On Saturday, Bono participated in a World AIDS day concert hosted by Nelson Mandela in Capetown, South Africa.
ZURICH, Switzerland -- Marilyn Manson is the target of a criminal inquiry in Switzerland after a religious group made a formal complaint about his stage act.
Zurich District Prosecutor Michael Scherrer told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the singer was under investigation for allegedly breaching Swiss law protecting religion as well as making incitements to violence during a concert in the city in February 2001.
Scherrer said he had yet to decide whether to charge Manson.
The 34-year-old performer -- whose real name is Brian Warner -- also uses the sobriquet "Antichrist Superstar," and is known for his ghastly, cadaverous look and macabre lyrics.
Baptized as a Satanist and an honorary priest in the Church of Satan, Manson has ripped a Bible during previous stage shows.
His act has made him the target of religious and conservative groups around the world, including the Swiss-based Christians For Truth, which lodged the complaint.
Scherrer said he interviewed Manson before a sold-out concert Sunday at a Zurich stadium, part of the artist's ongoing European tour. Christian groups and lawmakers in Zurich had tried to have the show banned on grounds that Manson's views were offensive to a major