By: DIRK LAMMERS - Associated Press | Monday, March 20, 2006 6:08 PM PST ∞

Vaughn firefighter Jim Nelson walks past a crashed pickup and camper on Interstate 15 in Vaughnm north of Great Falls, Mont., on Sunday. A woman and child with minor injuries were taken to the hospital by a passerby after the pickup and camper rolled on the icy road.
Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- A powerful storm dumped more than a foot of snow in the Plains, closing schools and roads and forcing residents to man shovels Monday during the first day of spring.

Hundreds of schools were closed in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and South Dakota, and at least four deaths were blamed on the storm. Spring officially began at 1:26 p.m. EST.

Myron Williams, who raises livestock near Wall, was busy shoveling a foot of snow from gates and feedlots on his property. The rancher said the work was hard but the precipitation was welcome.

"We're glad to have the moisture," Williams said. "Nothing's free, so you've got to pay for everything."

The National Weather Service was still compiling snowfall totals Monday, but South Dakota got up to 18 inches. Parts of Nebraska had 15 inches, northeast Colorado had at least a foot, and northwest Kansas had up to 10 inches.

"We could be looking at over 20 inches by the time this is done," said Kyle Carstens, a meteorologist with the weather service's Rapid City office.

Several stretches of Interstate 80 were closed in Nebraska, the State Patrol said. Parts of Interstate 70 were closed in western Kansas, and in Colorado more than 150 miles of the highway were shut down.

In South Dakota, a stretch of about 200 miles of I-90 was reopened Monday. The highway had been closed from Rapid City to Chamberlain because of the heavy snow and tractor-trailers that had gotten stuck.

The storm postponed the final day of the South Dakota Legislature's 2006 session, and forced Nebraska's Legislature to cancel its Tuesday meeting.

Farther south, heavy rain during the weekend soaked parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.

Up to 8 inches of rain was reported in northern Texas, causing weekend flooding around the Dallas area. Waters subsided Monday, and the storms may have eased chronic drought in the area.

"It is definitely going to help with the drought, but it is not going to reverse it," said weather service meteorologist Stacie Hanes.

In Dallas, the body of a woman was recovered from a creek. Officials believe high water swept her car off a road Sunday night.

In Colorado, one person was killed Sunday in a traffic accident on a slush-covered road, the State Patrol said. Two motorists died on an icy highway in southwest Nebraska on Sunday, authorities said.

Australian government responds quickly to storm emergency

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- The emergencies were startlingly similar: a huge, swirling storm bearing down on coastal areas with frightening inevitability.

Within a few hours of the most powerful cyclone in decades hitting Australia's northeastern coast Monday, state and federal governments had declared a state of emergency, prepared Black Hawk helicopters to run rescue missions and announced cash payouts for victims.

Emergency relief officials said they had studied the response to Hurricane Katrina last year -- and learned what not to do.

The storms -- hurricanes are called cyclones in the region -- looked and felt the same, down to naming rights. This one was called Larry.

But the scale of destruction didn't compare with that of Katrina when it slammed into the Gulf Coast last August, flooding New Orleans and leaving tens of thousands of people stranded for days.

Larry roared ashore at 180 mph on a coastal belt where one-pub towns have sprung up between sugar and banana plantations. The crops were flattened at a cost to farmers of millions, local officials said. Innisfail, a town of fewer than 10,000 people, suffered most with roofs lifted from scores of homes.

But there was no offshore oil industry to be disrupted, as happened on the Gulf Coast. And the region's biggest draw, the diving mecca of the Great Barrier Reef, escaped largely undamaged. And -- remarkably, officials said -- there were no deaths and only minor injuries.

Australian officials were leaving no room for the outcry about a lack of preparedness and lackluster response that engulfed the White House in the weeks after Katrina, which sent President Bush's approval ratings plummeting.

The Queensland State Emergency Service began issuing public warnings Saturday, and stepped up the effort throughout the weekend, spokesman Ben Creagh said.

After daybreak, Queensland state leader Peter Beattie declared a state of emergency, allowing federal authorities to get involved.

Prime Minister John Howard sent aides to meet with emergency relief officials, military chiefs and government lawyers to plot a rescue and cleanup strategy.

By Monday afternoon, the Australian Defense Force had announced helicopters were standing by near Innisfail to fly in a medical team and rescue missions to bring victims out, if necessary. Soldiers were ready to purify water supplies and clear roads.

Howard also announced a cash payment of $720 for each adult and $400 for each child who lost their homes -- an initial response that was expected to burgeon quickly to millions of dollars in aid.

On the Gulf Coast, the response was similar, though far from what was needed.

New Orleans undertook the largest evacuation in its history in a mostly orderly fashion. The National Guard in the coastal states put troops, relief supplies and equipment into position before Katrina hit. Power companies sent in trucks to repair damaged power grids. Relief agencies like the American Red Cross and federal emergency planners moved food, gasoline and first-aid into the hurricane zone.

The problem for the Gulf Coast was the response did not match the unprecedented needs after flood walls and levees that defend New Orleans broke. With more than 70,000 people stranded in the city, resources were stretched to the breaking point and relief could not get in fast enough.

The flooding of New Orleans revealed shortcomings in the nation's ability to deal with a major catastrophe in a metropolitan area. It also has prompted soul-searching among business and political leaders who hope to avoid a repeat of the devastation of Katrina, which killed more than 1,300 people.

Creagh conceded it was difficult to compare Australia's cyclone with Katrina, citing flooding as one big difference.

"Everyone here studied Katrina and took a lot of messages away, a lot of lessons," Creagh said. "There was absolutely no complacency at the planning level at all, and I think that shows."

One person dead in retirement community fire in Walnut Creek


WALNUT CREEK, Calif.hters responded and were able to largely contain the blaze by 2:30 a.m., but crews remained at the scene throughout the morning monitoring hot spots. - Damage to the building was estimated at $1.5 million, and all four apartments were determined to be uninhabitable, said Kevin Nieland, battalion chief with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District.

The name of the victim wasn't released and an autopsy was scheduled for Monday, officials said.

At least a half-dozen neighbors were evacuated and there were no other reported injuries.

Plane crashes in Branson, Mo., killing four


BRANSON, Mo. (AP) -- A twin-engine plane crashed and burned Monday in a cluster of theaters near the heart of this resort city, not far from the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, killing all four people aboard. - The plane narrowly missed restaurants and attractions along the city's main entertainment strip after taking off from Point Lookout, Mo., for Lubbock, Texas, FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said.

The pilot reported some kind of difficultly and tried to return to the airport, Molinaro said.

Terry Ware, who works for a plumbing company near the crash site, said the plane sounded as if it had engine trouble as it passed over her office.

"My boss saw it in the air, and he said it was making some very erratic movements," said Ware, who ran to the scene but could not get close because of the intense fire.

"You could hear the people screaming," she said. "You couldn't get close enough to help them before the fuel went off."

The plane crashed into a self-storage complex near the nightclubs, theaters and music halls that are home to Andy Williams, Bobby Vinton and other entertainers.

Branson Police Chief Caroll McCulough said there was no way to tell if the pilot deliberately avoided those structures.

The strip was packed with midday traffic at the time, although the city was about two weeks away from the start of its tourist season, and many attractions and shows were closed.

"The plane shook my house when it hit," said Mike Willett, manager of the storage facility, who also lives on the property.

The tail of the plane was the only part of the wreckage that could be seen on a short tour led by fire officials. Smoke rose from the wreckage of the storage facility, and the building's contents were scattered over the site.

Witnesses said they heard what sounded like gunfire at the scene, which they speculated was probably ammunition going off in one of the storage units.

The fire was under control by mid-afternoon, but the victims' bodies were still trapped in the wreckage. Their names were not released.

Skies in the area were overcast, but there were no storms or unusual weather at the time of the crash, the National Weather Service said.

The aircraft was flying under instrument flight rules and was registered to a dentist, according to Greg Martin, another FAA spokesman.

Branson, about 185 miles southeast of Kansas City, is a popular tourist destination in the Ozark Mountains, featuring scores of nightclubs and theaters.

Judge delays Andrea Yates trial until June to allow time for defense witnesses to testify


HOUSTON (AP) -- A judge Monday postponed Andrea Yates' murder retrial until June because of a scheduling conflict, setting a new trial date that comes just days after the fifth anniversary of her children's drowning deaths. - Jury selection had been set to begin Monday, but Yates' attorneys told the judge that two defense experts wouldn't be able to testify in time. Attorneys George Parnham and Wendell Odom said the psychiatrists were extremely important to their defense and that trying Yates without them would "deny her a fair trial."

On Monday, state District Judge Belinda Hill set jury selection for June 22, with testimony to begin June 26. Prosecutor Alan Curry said the state could also use the time to better prepare its case.

Yates was convicted of murder in 2002, but the conviction was overturned because a forensic psychiatrist gave false testimony. She again pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity for her second trial. Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty.

The new trial date will be just days after the fifth anniversary of the killings. Yates called police to her Houston home on June 20, 2001, and an officer found the bodies of her four youngest children -- John, 5; Paul, 3; Luke, 2 and Mary, 6-months -- laid out on a bed. The oldest, 7-year-old Noah, was floating face-down in the tub.

Parnham said he worries about Yates' mental state around the anniversary of the deaths. "Sometimes it is good. Sometimes it is not so good," he said of her reaction.

To prove insanity, Yates must show she suffered from a severe mental disease or defect and didn't know her actions were wrong.

Psychiatrists in her first trial testified she suffered from schizophrenia and postpartum depression, but expert witnesses disagreed over the severity of her illness and whether it prevented her from knowing that drowning the children was wrong.

Her former husband, Rusty Yates, divorced her in March 2005, three years after she was sentenced to life in prison.

Rusty Yates married Laura Arnold, 41, during a private ceremony Saturday at the church where they met. The minister said Yates chose to move on with his life while resisting temptation to pity himself.

Parnham said it likely wasn't easy for his client during the weekend when her former husband remarried.

However, Rusty Yates had told her months ago that the wedding was planned, and she was chatty -- talking with her attorneys, her mother and others -- before Monday's brief court hearing.

"I'm holding up," Yates told Betsy Schwartz, the executive director of the Mental Health Association of Greater Houston, who approached Yates as she sat at the defense table. "It is good to see you."

Yates' mental state has been under constant monitoring while she has been at the Rusk State Hospital.

Ancient coffin with scenes from Homer's poems unearthed in Cyprus


NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) -- A 2,500-year-old sarcophagus with vivid color illustrations from Homer's epics has been discovered in western Cyprus, archaeologists said Monday.

Construction workers found the limestone sarcophagus last week in a tomb near the village of Kouklia, in the coastal Paphos area. The tomb, which probably belonged to an ancient warrior, had been looted during antiquity.

"The style of the decoration is unique, not so much from an artistic point of view, but for the subject and the colors used," said Pavlos Flourentzos, director of the island's antiquities department.

Only two similar sarcophagi have ever been discovered in Cyprus before. One is housed in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art and the other in the British Museum in London, but their colors are more faded, Flourentzos said.

Flourentzos said the coffin -- painted in red, black and blue on a white background -- dated to 500 B.C., when Greek cultural influence was gaining a firm hold on the eastern Mediterranean island. Pottery discovered in the tomb is expected to provide a precise date.

Experts believe the ornate decoration features the hero Ulysses in scenes from Homer's Iliad and Odyssey -- both hugely popular throughout the Greek world.

In one large painting, Ulysses and his comrades escape from the blind Cyclops Polyphemos' cave, hidden under a flock of sheep. Another depicts a battle between Greeks and Trojans from the Iliad.

Archeologists think the scenes hint at the status of the coffin's occupant.

"Why else take these two pieces from Homer and why deal with Ulysses? Maybe this represents the dead person's character -- who possibly was a warrior," Flourentzos said.

Other drawings depict a figure carrying a seriously injured or dead man and a lion fighting a wild boar under a tree. These are not believed to be linked with Homer's poems.

Reflecting a long oral tradition loosely based on historic events, Homer's epics were probably composed around 800 B.C. and written down in the 6th century B.C.

The tomb was found in an area containing several ancient cemeteries which belonged to the nearby town of Palaepaphos, 11 miles inland from modern Paphos.

First settled around 2800 B.C., Palaepaphos was the site of a temple of Aphrodite -- the ancient goddess of beauty who, according to mythology, was born in the sea off Paphos.

Las Vegas police to pay man arrested for planted drugs


LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Las Vegas police have agreed to pay $24,999 to a man who claimed police planted drugs on him in an exercise to train drug-sniffing dogs and then arrested him for possession. - Mark Lilly had sought $50,000 in a suit backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada for being unjustly charged in July 2004 with possession of cocaine.

"I am heartened that Mr. Lilly got some measure of justice," said ACLU of Nevada executive director Gary Peck. "I am very disappointed the officers who I believe were not truthful in a criminal proceeding remain on the force."

Lilly had been detained for trying to sell fake drugs to undercover officers. Then canine officer David Newton placed real drugs in Lilly's car as a training exercise for his dog, but forgot to retrieve the packet of cocaine, police said.

Other officers who later searched his vehicle arrested Lilly for possession of illegal drugs.

Newton later discovered the mistake and tried to correct it by sending a notice to a prosecutor, but internal affairs investigators concluded the notice never reached the prosecutor.

The drug possession charge eventually was dropped and Lilly pleaded guilty to selling fake drugs.

The ACLU said it was concerned that when police officers David Parker and Kevin Collmar testified in court at Lilly's preliminary hearing, they didn't mention that the possession charge should have been dropped.

"Lies of omission are every bit as bad as lies of commission," Peck said.

A panel of the Metropolitan Police Department's Citizen Review Board recommended in 2005 that Parker and Collmar be fired and that Newton be suspended for four months without pay.

Instead, the three officers were suspended without pay for undisclosed periods of time.

Clark County Sheriff Bill Young ended the long-standing practice of placing narcotics inside the vehicles of law-abiding motorists as a training exercise for drug-sniffing dogs in April 2005.

Thousands throng Mexican ruins for vernal equinox


TEOTIHUACAN, Mexico (AP) -- Thousands of pilgrims arrived here in a pre-dawn haze Monday to climb Mexico's towering Pyramid of the Sun and pay homage to the first day of spring. - The vernal equinox, the halfway point between winter and summer, arrived shortly after noon to the pyramids of Teotihuacan, a sprawling pre-Hispanic ghost town 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Mexico City.

Mexicans from across the country make an annual pilgrimage to the ruins, climbing the tallest structure, the Pyramid of the Sun, and throwing their arms skyward. Others stream to the Moon Pyramid, which is not as high, but is older.

The thousands of visitors who arrive here believe the pyramids hold a special energy on the equinox that can be transmitted to human beings, especially those who dress in white.

Even larger crowds are expected at Teotihuacan on Tuesday, the first full day of spring, which this year falls on a national holiday commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of revolutionary hero Benito Juarez.

Authorities are expecting so many revelers that they will charge 45 pesos (US$4, euro3.30) for entry into the ruins, which are normally free on holidays. More than 1,500 federal agents will be assigned to the area to keep order.

The equinox also is an important event at Chichen Itza, the most famous of Mayan ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula. There, thousands turn out to watch a serpent-shaped shadow slither down the Temple of Kukulkan at daybreak.

Teotihuacan emerged about two centuries before the birth of Christ and included as many as 200,000 people at its peak. But the city began declining sharply around 650 A.D., and was almost completely abandoned around 750 A.D., for unknown reasons.

German man turns himself in after leaving wife's severed head at gas station


HAMBURG, Germany (AP) -- A 40-year-old German man who claimed he was mentally ill decapitated his wife and then showed up at a gas station on Monday carrying her severed head, police said. - Officers went to the man's nearby home, where they found the rest of the woman's body and their two young daughters.

The man, whom police did not identify, had left the head in the snow by the Hamburg gas station in the working-class suburb of Harburg, police spokeswoman Karina Sadowsky said. He then asked an attendant to call the police, and confessed to the killing, she said.

"The 40-year-old appeared confused and said that he had killed his wife," Sadowsky said.

A motive was not immediately known, Sadowsky said, adding that the man did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

The man told police he was mentally ill, said another police spokeswoman, Christiane Leven.

After taking the man into custody at the station, police went to his home and followed a bloody trail upstairs to his fourth-floor apartment. Inside, they found his 39-year-old wife's headless body and the knife likely used in the crime, Sadowsky said.

The couple's daughters were found at the scene and were taken into state custody. A neighbor described one as preschool age and the other as being in elementary school.

Couple accused of making children sleep in cages lose custody


NORWALK, Ohio (AP) -- A couple charged with abuse for forcing some of their 11 adopted children to sleep in cages were stripped of custody Monday, six months after a social worker discovered the enclosures. - Juvenile Judge Timothy Cardwell said there was a good chance Michael and Sharen Gravelle would mistreat the children again, citing a history of sexual abuse allegations against the father.

The couple have pleaded not guilty to several charges, including child endangerment, in a separate criminal case. They deny abusing the children, ages 2 to 15, and say the cages were necessary to protect the youngsters, who suffered from psychological and behavioral problems.

"They love their children. They want them back. They are truly devastated," said the couple's attorney, Kenneth Myers. He said they will appeal the ruling.

Sharen Gravelle testified that she met her husband in 1986 at a potluck dinner for a child sex abuse support group. She said her biological daughter had been molested by a previous husband, and Michael Gravelle was there because he was accused by his biological daughter of inappropriate touching. Michael Gravelle denies the accusation.

Prosecutors accuse the couple of locking the children in cages to discipline them. One child testified that he was forced to sleep in a bathtub as punishment for wetting the bed.

The children were removed from the home in September and placed with several foster families. Prosecutor Russ Leffler said the ruling stripping the Gravelles of custody "allows the children to be placed with good adoptive families."

Sharen Gravelle testified at an earlier custody hearing that she and her husband built bunk beds for the children and eventually added wire enclosures and alarms to help prevent them from wandering at night and getting dangerous kitchen utensils.

At least one killed when roof collapses at Texas eatery


LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) -- A roof collapsed at a restaurant during lunch hour Monday, killing a woman and injuring nine other people, authorities said. - The cause of the accident at the single-story brick building was not immediately known, Fire Capt. Doyce Ewing said. But wind gusts in town reached 61 mph.

Nine people were hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening, authorities said.

"At this time we believe we have all people accounted for," Ewing said.

Teen charged in fire death of her father, an off-duty Philadelphia police officer


PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The 13-year-old daughter of a police officer has been charged with his murder, accused of setting a house fire that killed him while he searched for her in the smoke, police said. - Tyrone Talington, 32, was found dead in the dining room of his home after a fire broke out in a row house in northeast Philadelphia early Sunday, authorities said.

Police Commissioner Sylvester Johnson said Talington's daughter apparently set the fire after a dispute with the officer. Investigators believe she poured "some kind of liquid" over clothes and paper and set it alight, he said.

The teen, seen running from the blaze, faces murder and arson charges, and will be charged as an adult, Johnson said. Police believe Talington was searching the house for the girl when he died.

"It's a very, very sad and tragic situation," Johnson said.

The one-alarm fire was declared under control in 11 minutes. Smoke detectors in the home were not working, fire investigators said.

Pamela Anderson buys Las Vegas condo unit near Strip


By:LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Pamela Anderson is the latest celebrity to buy a condo at a $1 billion luxury high-rise under construction just west of the Strip, its developer said Monday. - The former "Baywatch" star bought a 2-bedroom penthouse unit with more than 2,000 square feet and views of the Strip facing north, south and east, said Laurence Hallier, chairman of Hallier Properties LLC, which is developing Panorama Towers. Similar units sell for more than $2 million, he said.

"Spiderman" actor Tobey Maguire and "The Aviator" star Leonardo DiCaprio also are reported to have bought into the development, the first tower of which is expected to be complete by midsummer.

Hallier said confidentiality clauses prevented him from disclosing his list of celebrity clients, although Anderson did not impose such a restriction.

Anderson, who visits Las Vegas about six to eight times a year, bought a unit in Tower 4, which won't be ready until late 2008, Hallier said.

"She lives in Malibu. So for now she's fine," he said.

The stink of spring? Annapolis welcomes the season with a sock-burning ceremony


ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Is that spring in the air -- or an old gym sock on fire? - In sailing-crazy Annapolis, boaters celebrate the first day of spring with a ceremonial Burning of the Socks, signifying it will soon be warm enough to wear boat shoes without socks.

"It's our connection to the Chesapeake Bay that makes us special. You couldn't do this in Indianapolis," said Jeff Holland, director of the Annapolis Maritime Museum.

The tradition began in the mid-1980s, when an employee at Annapolis Yacht Yard tired of his winter days doing engine maintenance on yachts and power boats. He stripped off his stinky socks, put them in a paint can with some lighter fluid and drank a longneck beer while looking forward to warmer days ahead.

"There's a whole industry of people who work all winter long on people's boats so that they'll be in shape for their owners to go out and play all summer," Holland said.

But the sock-burning ritual -- expected to attract about 100 people Monday evening -- now draws more than boatyard workers.

Even wealthy sailboat owners delight in throwing tube socks and panty hose on the flames in this town, whose residents have a special disdain for socks. Waterfront restaurants that serve big crab feasts draw men wearing leather loafers sans socks, and bare ankles are a mark of pride even at work.

Annapolis resident Michael Busch, the speaker of the Maryland House, jokes that socks constitute formal wear around here. The most hard-core sock haters refuse to wear them from the spring equinox until the first day of winter.

"The uniform is deck shoes and khaki pants in winter. The uniform is deck shoes and khaki shorts in summer," Holland said with a laugh.

The sock bonfire, he said, is a way of remembering Annapolis' bygone days of working-class watermen who brought in crabs in the summer and scraped the paint off wooden vessels in the winter.

These days, waterfront lots go for millions, and the bonfire revelers retire for crab cakes and oysters after burning their socks.

Prudent sailors might want to hold on to a few pairs of socks: Snow showers are forecast Tuesday in Annapolis, with highs only in the mid-30s.

On the Net:


Eastport Yacht Club: http://www.eastportyc.org

Annapolis Maritime Museum: www.annapolismaritimemuseum.org

Accused Reno school shooter denies allegations, ordered held


By:RENO, Nev. (AP) -- The 14-year-old accused of wounding two classmates in a shooting at a Reno middle school last week denied the allegations at his initial hearing Monday before a juvenile court judge. - The judge agreed with the prosecutor's claim that James Scott Newman, 14, represents a danger to society and ordered the eighth-grader held at a youth detention center pending a psychiatric review.

Newman is being held on suspicion of two counts of battery with a deadly weapon and use of a firearm by a minor. He's accused of opening fire March 14 at Pine Middle School, where one boy was wounded in the arm and chest and a girl was grazed by a bullet that ricocheted off the floor. The boy was treated at a hospital and released the same day.

Newman's parents attended Monday's hearing in a small room in the juvenile detention center.

One of his lawyer said the hearing was similar to entering a plea in adult court and gave Newman an opportunity to admit or deny the allegations.

"Naturally, he denied it," Reno attorney David Houston said.

The district attorney's office has until the end of the week to file formal charges.

Washoe County Deputy District Attorney JoLee Wickes told Juvenile Court Master Janet Schmuck that Newman represented a danger to society and should continue to be detained. Wickes also asked the judge to order a psychological evaluation. She refused additional comment after the hearing.

Tom Qualls, another Reno lawyer for Newman, did not oppose the prosecutor's recommendation to detain Newman, but asked to have the issue reconsidered after the teen is evaluated by a defense-hired psychologist for possible pretrial release.

Newman initially was booked last week as an adult on attempted murder charges, but Washoe District Attorney Richard Gammick announced Friday that he had determined the evidence did not support charging Newman as an adult.

"It's unusual to have a case come back from adult to juvenile," Houston said.

Mother of girl abducted in front of camera is sentenced to jail for prostitution


CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) -- The mother of the 11-year-old girl whose abduction was captured by a security camera two years ago pleaded no contest Monday to drug and prostitution charges and was sentenced to 90 days in jail. - Susan Schorpen has said she acknowledged problems with drug addiction and depression since the slaying of her daughter, Carlie Brucia, in February 2004.

Schorpen, 36, was sentenced to 90 days in jail for the felony drug charge and 25 days on the misdemeanor count of facilitating prostitution -- which means the officer suspected her of prostitution although she did not offer sex for money.

The terms will run concurrently, and she was given credit for time served since her January arrest.

Joseph Smith, convicted of raping and killing Carlie after grabbing her behind a car wash in Sarasota, was sentenced to death last week.

Cuban smugglers get 10 years in prison for child's death


MIAMI (AP) -- Two men were sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison -- well above federal sentencing guidelines -- for organizing a Cuban immigrant smuggling trip that ended when their speedboat capsized and a 6-year-old boy drowned. - U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore said he was imposing the long sentence because of a marked increase in dangerous pursuits between U.S. authorities and smugglers on the open ocean. Moore also said the two men should pay an extra penalty for playing a role in the boy's death.

Sentences imposed under federal guidelines are "not providing an adequate deterrent for this kind of criminal conduct," Moore said.

Alexander Gil Rodriguez, 25, and Luis Manuel Taboada Cabrera, 28, had faced a maximum of just under six years in prison under the advisory guidelines, which included an enhancement of 2.5 years for the death of 6-year-old Julian Villasuso on Oct. 12, about 45 miles south of Key West.

Their boat carried 29 migrants, including Julian and his parents, and the two smugglers who pleaded guilty in November to migrant smuggling conspiracy charges.

Their attorney, Steven Amster, argued that the lower penalty was sufficient punishment, in part because the smuggling trip was not organized for profit.

Taboada apologized to the judge and accepted responsibility for his actions.

"I want to say that I'm really repentant about what happened," Taboada said in Spanish through an interpreter. Gil did not address the court.

Amster said he would appeal the sentence.

The boy was buried in Florida and his parents were permitted to enter the United States, while the other migrants were returned to Cuba. Under U.S. immigration policy, most Cubans who reach U.S. soil are allowed to remain while those intercepted at sea are normally returned to their homeland.

At least 20 parked cars vandalized in Oakland teenage after-party melee


OAKLAND (AP) -- Teenagers swung crowbars and smashed the windshields of at least 20 parked vehicles along one north Oakland block in an after-party vandalism spree, authorities said. - About 30 people, boys and girls 14 to 18 years old, roamed the area Saturday night, laughing and hollering as at least a dozen of them broke windshields, witnesses said.

At least three youths had crowbars, said neighbor Kristin Personett, 28.

When police arrived, about 20 youths watched from a nearby intersection, "laughing, talking and bragging" as neighbors and investigators inspected damaged vehicles, Personett said.

One juvenile was arrested in connection with the vandalism, police said.

Nothing was taken from any of the vehicles.

Hollywood private eye wants to act as own lawyer in wiretap case


By:LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Imprisoned private investigator Anthony Pellicano said Monday he wants to act as his own lawyer in a case charging that he orchestrated an illegal wiretapping scheme targeting Hollywood celebrities and executives. - During a court hearing, Pellicano spoke at length for the first time since he was indicted last month. He said he wanted to know the results of the government's 3.5-year investigation into his activities.

"I have a lot of questions to see what they have been doing all this time," Pellicano told U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer. "I'm best suited to represent myself."

Pellicano was shackled and wore a prison-issued green windbreaker and blue pants. He previously pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors contend that Pellicano illegally wiretapped the phones of Hollywood stars such as Sylvester Stallone and bribed police officers to run the names of more than 60 people, including comedians Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon, through government databases.

Pellicano allegedly sought damaging information on his clients' rivals. He then used the details for threats, blackmail and in some cases to secure an advantage in court for his clients, according to a 112-count indictment.

A total of 13 people have been charged in the case. Four have pleaded guilty to a variety of charges, including wire fraud and conspiracy.

Pellicano said he doesn't have any problems with his attorney, Steven Gruel. Outside court, Gruel said his client simply "wants to go to trial as soon as possible."

Gruel will continue to be Pellicano's attorney until the judge decides whether the shamus is competent to represent himself.

Meanwhile, federal prosecutors provided the judge with snippets of their case scheduled to go to trial next month. The proceedings could be delayed.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Saunders said another indictment would be handed down in early April. He didn't say whether the indictment would name more defendants or only add allegations.

Saunders also said he had given some defense attorneys more than 2,000 pages of evidence as well as dozens of digital audio files as part of the discovery process.

He also revealed the government has evidence of some 15,000 computer "runs" by former Los Angeles police Sgt. Mark Arneson, who has pleaded not guilty to charges related to using confidential police databases to search for information for Pellicano.

"They contain some kind of personal information," Saunders said of the computer inquiries.

Prosecutors are seeking a protective order to prevent key evidence from becoming public before trial. Fischer didn't sign an order Monday but said there would be a protective order of some kind.

Saunders said three search warrant affidavits connected to raids on Pellicano's offices in 2002 would be unsealed later this week. FBI agents found illegal explosives and seized documents and computers during the searches, authorities said.

Pellicano served a 2.5-year sentence on explosive-related charges and is awaiting trial in a separate case for allegedly hiring a man to threaten a former Los Angeles Times reporter working on a story about actor Steven Seagal and possible links to the Mafia.

Gruel filed a motion Monday revisiting the legality of the search warrants. Pellicano has maintained that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated because the search was allegedly a ruse to get into his office to look for other suspected wrongdoing. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 in June that the search was legitimate and FBI agents acted in good faith.

"The Pellicano defense seeks discovery that will show that the FBI knew and expected to find a lot more than what they represented to or sought from the magistrate judge," according to the motion.