News For Monday Jul 21, 2008 News For Monday Jul 21, 2008

U.S. U.S.

Police weigh charging womb-slash suspect's sister - Added 6 weeks ago

The sister of a woman accused of killing a pregnant woman and cutting a baby from her womb led police to the wrong unit when they went to search the suspect's apartment, authorities said Monday. Officials were deciding...

Man convicted of hate crime for accosting Wiesel - Added 6 weeks ago

A New Jersey man who once claimed insanity was convicted Monday of a hate crime for accosting Nazi death camp survivor and scholar Elie Wiesel in a hotel elevator. Eric Hunt, 24, was convicted in San Francisco Superior...

Planes in Ky., Wis. diverted over pressure issues - Added 6 weeks ago

A US Airways Group Inc. spokeswoman says a flight from Louisville, Ky., was diverted to Lexington when the regional jet's cabin didn't properly pressurize. The passengers on Flight 2212 to Charlotte, N.C., were put on...

Possible shutdown of Navajo Internet pushed back - Added 6 weeks ago

The Navajo Nation has temporarily averted having its Internet services shut down, a tribal official said Monday. SES Americom, which provides bandwidth for the services, had threatened to halt service by noon Tuesday...

Grandma says mom knows who has missing Fla. girl - Added 6 weeks ago

The grandmother of a 2-year-old girl missing since early June said Monday the girl's mother, jailed after police said she failed to report the disappearance for more than a month, knows who has the toddler. A lawyer...

Driver arrested in crash that killed 6 immigrants - Added 6 weeks ago

A Mexican citizen accused of driving more than 20 illegal immigrants in a vehicle that plunged into a canal, killing six of them, has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling, federal authorities said Monday. The crash...

Dancer shot after jumping ship, attacking officer - Added 6 weeks ago

A cruise ship dancer who jumped 30 feet off a deck into San Diego Bay last weekend was killed by police after attacking an officer who had helped pull him onto a rescue boat, officials said Monday. Steven Hirschfield,...

Men sentenced for setting friend's crotch ablaze - Added 6 weeks ago

Two practical jokers are behind bars for setting their passed-out drinking buddy's crotch ablaze while boozing in Grover Beach. Matthew Craig Pillers and Jack Brent Nicholas Keiffer pleaded no contest to a felony great...

Pastor gets into motorcycle crash - during service - Added 6 weeks ago

A pastor brought out a dirt bike during a church service to demonstrate the concept of unity. Now he's demonstrating the concept of healing. Jeff Harlow, the senior pastor at Crossroads Community Church, broke his...

Fired worker accused of trying to cut boss' power - Added 6 weeks ago

Plainville police have arrested a Portland woman, accusing her of trying to retaliate against her former boss by having electricity cut off to his home. Police say a 33-year-old woman was fired June 25 from her job at a...

Fish pedicures: Carp rid human feet of scaly skin - Added 6 weeks ago

Ready for the latest in spa pampering? Prepare to dunk your tootsies in a tank of water and let tiny carp nibble away. Fish pedicures are creating something of a splash in the D.C. area, where a northern Virginia spa...

Cable repairman taken for ride in cherry picker - Added 6 weeks ago

A cable repairman fixing overhead lines in a cherry picker truck got a lift he wasn't expecting. Police said a Bakersfield man stole the Brighthouse Networks truck on Saturday while 50-year-old Curtis Bartell was...

Child porn charge for N.D. expert on sex offenders - Added 6 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:NDFAR101-0721080337 -->A former psychologist who evaluated sex offenders at North Dakota's state mental hospital faces federal charges of possession of child pornography. Joseph Belanger, 61, pleaded not...

Museum is plan for home run slugger's Ala. home - Added 6 weeks ago

The childhood home of former baseball home run king Hank Aaron will be donated to the city where he grew up and will become a museum operated by the city's minor-league team. The home is expected to be moved in October...

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 476 - Added 6 weeks ago

As of Monday, July 21, 2008, at least 476 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department....

Bush gives US Olympians a rousing send-off - Added 6 weeks ago

President Bush gave U.S. Olympians a rousing White House send-off to next month's games in Beijing, urging them Monday to "compete swifter, higher and stronger" but also be mindful they will be "ambassadors of liberty"...

Ex-con sues AmEx, says it aided search for him - Added 6 weeks ago

A disbarred Manhattan lawyer who pleaded guilty to statutory rape has sued the American Express Co. for giving police credit card information he says led to his capture. James Colliton was arrested in February 2006...

9/11 relative fights N.Y. co-op board to keep flag - Added 6 weeks ago

A relative of a Sept. 11 victim is fighting his co-op board, which wants him to remove a magnetized American flag from his door. Vincent Romano said Monday he put the flag on the door right after the attacks in 2001 to...

Wrestler arrested in restaurant in NYC suburb - Added 6 weeks ago

A gathering for professional wrestlers at a suburban New York City restaurant ended with the arrest of a wrestler known as "The Sandman." Yonkers police say that when officers arrived at the restaurant Sunday night,...

Reid confronts GOP antagonist with 40-bill package - Added 6 weeks ago

Most lawmakers dream of getting their names linked to legislation. That won't be so when the Senate takes up what is unofficially being called the "Coburn Omnibus." It's a package of about 40 bills that have in many...

Police say soldier's husband stabbed, raped her - Added 6 weeks ago

A Fort Bliss soldier's husband kicked her in the face, stabbed her and raped her before abducting her from her off-post apartment last week and taking her to Las Vegas, police said Monday. The soldier, who turned up...

Feds to propose rules for squeezing oil from rock - Added 6 weeks ago

The Bush administration wants to set the stage before leaving office for developing oil shale, rocky deposits in the western U.S. that could eventually yield 800 billion barrels of oil, according to government...

Deadly Tolls: Sick truckers causing fatal wrecks - Added 6 weeks ago

Tractor-trailer and bus drivers in the United States have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells behind the wheel that led to deadly crashes on highways. Hundreds of thousands of drivers carry commercial...

St. Louis-area firefighter dies in apparent ambush - Added 6 weeks ago

Firefighters became victims of what appeared to be an ambush Monday when they were fired upon from a house as they worked to put out a vehicle fire across the street, police said. One young firefighter was killed, two...

SC mom sentenced for setting 4 house fires - Added 6 weeks ago

Friends said Kimberly Wooten was the kind of person who would watch the church nursery on a moment's notice and beam with pride as she described her sons' accomplishments. But they never saw the suburban mother's...

Blackwater plans shift from security business - Added 6 weeks ago

Blackwater Worldwide said Monday that it planned a shift away from the security contracting business that earned it millions of dollars and made it a flash point in the debate over the use of security contractors in war...

Louisiana asks court to reopen child rape case - Added 6 weeks ago

Louisiana prosecutors asked the Supreme Court on Monday to revisit its recent decision outlawing the death penalty for people convicted of raping children. The unusual request is based on the failure of anyone involved...

N.Y. AG pushes Comcast to block child-porn access - Added 6 weeks ago

New York's attorney general notified Comcast Corp. on Monday that the state will take legal action if the company _ the nation's second-largest Internet service provider _ doesn't agree to eliminate access to child...

Feds: Philly ex-anchor hacked colleague's e-mail - Added 6 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:PAPHN501-0924031758 -->!!-- pobj:PX101-0721081309 -->!!-- pobj:PX102-0721081325 -->A fired TV newscaster was charged Monday with hacking into the e-mail of his glamorous younger co-anchor hundreds of times for...

Gates questions combat training by contractors - Added 6 weeks ago

Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to know why his military uses private contractors for combat and security training, and how widespread the practice is. He's asking for answers from the Pentagon's top military...

FEMA delivers incomplete disaster housing strategy - Added 6 weeks ago

A year overdue, the Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a draft disaster housing strategy Monday, which leaves it largely up to the next administration to figure out a way to avoid Hurricane Katrina-like problems...

Government opposes more privileges for Hinckley - Added 6 weeks ago

Federal prosecutors argued Monday against a request by a mental hospital to allow would-be presidential assassin John Hinckley Jr. expanded visits to his family in Virginia. Hinckley has been committed to St....

GAO: Indian health agency lost millions in goods - Added 6 weeks ago

The Indian Health Service has lost at least $15.8 million worth of equipment and later falsified documents to cover up some of those losses, according to congressional investigators. The 5,000 pieces of lost or stolen...

Government opposes more privileges for Hinckley - Added 6 weeks ago

Federal prosecutors argued Monday against a request by a mental hospital to allow would-be presidential assassin John Hinckley Jr. expanded visits with his family in Virginia. Hinckley has been committed to St....

Social Security unveils new earnings calculator - Added 6 weeks ago

People planning for retirement got a new tool this week: a fast and easy online estimator for their Social Security benefits. The Social Security Administration unveiled its new retirement estimator on its Web site...

Bush urges more support for Kosovo independence - Added 6 weeks ago

President Bush pledged Monday to seek broader international support for Kosovo's independence from Serbia and said the United States opposes any partition of the poor Balkan nation. Bush met in the Oval Office with...

Fugitive mother charged with escaping Mich. prison - Added 6 weeks ago

A California mother of three arrested 32 years after she fled a Michigan prison on a drug conviction was charged Monday with escape. Susan LeFevre, 53, is already back in Michigan serving at least 5 1/2 years of her...

Suspected mail bomb in Savannah was harmlesss - Added 6 weeks ago

Authorities say a suspected mail bomb that forced the evacuation of a Savannah, Ga., courthouse turned out to be a harmless package. After the package was found Monday, the Chatham County Courthouse was evacuated and...

Rice says Iran not serious at weekend nuke talks - Added 6 weeks ago

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice accused Iran on Monday of not being serious at weekend talks about its disputed nuclear program despite the presence of a senior U.S. diplomat, and warned it may soon face new...

Mukasey: Congress should set rules for detainees - Added 6 weeks ago

Congress, not judges, should decide how to give Guantanamo Bay detainees their day in court, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Monday in calling for new laws governing how foreign terror suspects seek their release....

Pool company president charged in boy's drowning - Added 6 weeks ago

A swimming pool company president was charged Monday with second-degree manslaughter in connection with the drowning of a 6-year-old boy whose arm was trapped by the suction of a powerful drain pump. Shoreline Pools...

Gov't wants Ky. widow's suit over VA death tossed - Added 6 weeks ago

The U.S. government has asked a federal judge to throw out one of two lawsuits filed by Kentucky women who claim that surgical care at a southern Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital killed their husbands. In court...

US ready to meet with Syrians - Added 6 weeks ago

The State Department says the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East will meet with Syrian officials traveling to Washington, if requested. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos told reporters Monday it was...

Break-in suspects found asleep on stolen goods - Added 6 weeks ago

Police say a trail of pillows and backpacks led to two sleeping men who were arrested after a department store break-in. Twenty-five-year-old Kyle Burress and 27-year-old Allen Pierce have been charged with...

Storm hits Iowa with 100 mph wind, causes blackout - Added 6 weeks ago

Thunderstorms battered Iowa with winds as high as 100 mph early Monday, knocking down trees and power lines and blacking out more than 200,000 homes and businesses across much of the state. No injuries were reported,...

Man flees police in underwear after traffic stop - Added 6 weeks ago

A western New York man who police say tore off his off clothes and fled after being pulled over in a routine traffic stop is now wearing a jail uniform. The Erie County Sheriff's Office said a 27-year-old man was...

Child of bride-to-be dies in car on wedding day - Added 6 weeks ago

Authorities in Florida are investigating why the child of a bride-to-be was left to die in a hot car on his mother's wedding day. The Palm Beach County Medical Examiner said Monday the 4-year-old boy's body temperature...

911 call released in killings of 2 Okla. girls - Added 6 weeks ago

Hoping to prick someone's conscience in the unsolved murders of two young girls, authorities on Monday released a 911 recording in which the grandmother of one victim screams in agony, "My babies, babies, babies!" ...

World Santa Claus Congress meets in Copenhagen - Added 6 weeks ago

It's July _ and the Christmas tree is lit, bells are jingling and jolly elves are doing "yula-hoops" on stage. What else could it be but the annual World Santa Claus Congress _ filling a Danish amusement park with...

Boston lightning strike injures 10 at soccer match - Added 6 weeks ago

Authorities say a lightning strike has injured 10 people taking shelter under a tree during a thunderstorm at a soccer game. Boston EMS officials say the victims were taken to various hospitals after Sunday's incident...