News For Wednesday Oct 15, 2008 News For Wednesday Oct 15, 2008

U.S. U.S.

Mexican workers in US during WWII can get back pay - Added 10 minutes ago

Ramon Ibarra remembers his backbreaking days repairing railroads in the Southwest, a contract job for which he left Mexico in 1942 as part of a guest worker program. More than 60 years later, he's looking forward to the...

Hurricane Omar reaches Cat. 2; 105 mph winds - Added 14 minutes ago

Forecasters say Omar has grown to a fierce Category 2 hurricane with top winds of 105 mph as it barrels toward the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Schools, businesses and a large oil refinery have closed Wednesday on...

Ex-NY lawmaker quits parole board after sex sting - Added 17 minutes ago

!!-- pobj:NYMG101-0208051155 -->!!-- pobj:NYMG102-1014081407 -->!!-- pobj:NYMG103-1014081407 -->!!-- pobj:NYMG104-1014081407 -->!!-- pobj:NYMG105-1014080207 -->A member of the state parole board accused of using the...

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Forecasters: Omar grows to Category 2 hurricane with winds near 105 mph in Caribbean . ...

Gov't offices close, shelters open in Caribbean - Added 29 minutes ago

Heavy rains and gusty winds pummeled St. Croix on Wednesday as the outer edge of Hurricane Omar drenched the island, stranding motorists on flooded roads. Hours earlier, workers shut down a giant oil refinery. In...

Law experts: Fla. conviction possible without body - Added 45 minutes ago

!!-- AUDIO:107,104 -->Prosecutors have DNA tests and hair samples. They have testimony about "the smell of death" in the trunk of the suspect's car. What they do not have is a body. Prosecutors building a case against...

One-time MLK lieutenant gets 15 years for incest - Added 45 minutes ago

A one-time top lieutenant to Martin Luther King Jr. was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison for having sex more than a decade ago with his then-teenage daughter. The Rev. James L. Bevel, 71, a key architect of...

Nancy Reagan hospitalized with broken pelvis - Added 45 minutes ago

Nancy Reagan suffered a broken pelvis in a fall at her home and will be hospitalized for several days, her spokeswoman said Wednesday. The 87-year-old former first lady fell last week, spokeswoman Joanne Drake said. She...

NYC prosecutors: Man said boredom led him to kill - Added 52 minutes ago

Prosecutors say a homeless man told them he killed a New York City college student because he was bored. Prosecutors filed a signed statement in court in which Jeromie (jehr-uh-MEE') Cancel (kan-SEL') admits killing...

Residents file back in as LA fire fears diminish - Added 53 minutes ago

Residents of the San Fernando Valley breathed air free of smoke and ash for the first time in four days Wednesday under brilliant blue skies. Gone were the convulsive winds that at times reached gale force. Nowhere...

Grain prices slide back, but uncertainties loom - Added 1 hour ago

World grain prices have been tumbling back down the steep slope they climbed early this year, but from Manila's food stalls to London's supermarkets, everyday consumers aren't seeing it yet. The experts worry,...

Mo. gov to give media free copies of old e-mails - Added 1 hour ago

Gov. Matt Blunt agreed Wednesday to give thousands of old e-mails for free to several media outlets who had sued his administration after initially being told the information would cost more than $23,000. Under a legal...

Philadelphia police cleared in New Year's shooting - Added 1 hour ago

!!-- pobj:PX106-0101070926 -->!!-- pobj:PX105-0101070932 -->A city police officer was cleared of wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of an unarmed man fleeing a New Year's party as police and multiple suspects exchanged...

Guard planes not yet equipped to fight wildfires - Added 1 hour ago

Despite pressure from elected officials and the military, the Bush administration has yet to equip some California National Guard planes for firefighting _ a delay that could have grave implications during the worst of...

ACLU: Federal death row inmates denied health care - Added 1 hour ago

Death row inmates at the federal prison in Terre Haute are routinely denied access to medical, dental and mental health care, the American Civil Liberties Union said Wednesday in a letter to a governmental official. ...

1st day of deliberations ends in NYC beating trial - Added 1 hour ago

A jury has ended its first day of deliberations in the case of a New York City woman accused of allegedly standing by as her husband beat her 7-year-old daughter to death. Nixzaliz Santiago is charged with...

Rescue group leaves Baghdad without puppy - Added 1 hour ago

An animal rescue group left Baghdad on Wednesday without a puppy whose cause has been championed by thousands of people from around the world. But the group said the U.S. military had cleared the dog to leave and was...

EPA faulted on waterway pollution from sprawl - Added 1 hour ago

The Environmental Protection Agency is failing to stem the pollution washing into waterways from cities and suburbs, the National Academy of Sciences reported Wednesday. The report's authors urged "radical changes" in...

Md. murder case unravels, man freed after 21 years - Added 1 hour ago

A man convicted of killing his neighbor was freed on Wednesday after serving 21 years in prison because prosecutors said they didn't have enough evidence to retry him. James L. Owens, 43, and a co-defendant had been...

'Casino' movie inspiration Rosenthal dead at 79 - Added 2 hours ago

Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal _ sports handicapper extraordinaire, Las Vegas gaming executive and the inspiration for the blockbuster movie "Casino" _ died Monday. He was 79. He died from a heart attack in his Miami Beach...

Black employees accuse US Marshals Service of bias - Added 2 hours ago

Black employees of the U.S. Marshals Service filed a racial discrimination lawsuit Wednesday, saying they have been denied promotions by managers who belittled them as lazy. The suit in U.S. District Court seeks broad...

Okla. mayor nixes plan to help fund Jesus statue - Added 2 hours ago

The mayor of this conservative Oklahoma City suburb on Wednesday retreated from a board's decision to help buy a bronze sculpture depicting Jesus Christ and said a private group will buy out the city's commitment. ...

Feds: 5 missing Afghan scholars turn up in Canada - Added 2 hours ago

Five visiting scholars from Afghanistan who disappeared from the University of Washington were found Wednesday morning in Canada after crossing the border separately over the past several days, a U.S. immigration...

Thou Shalt Not Steal may have been a better topic - Added 2 hours ago

Authorities are looking for two people who allegedly stole a preacher's wallet and went on a shopping spree while he was giving a sermon about showing mercy to others. The Rev. Rob Hamby was the guest preacher at Fort...

Son of Ill. rep. gets jail for sex with inmates - Added 2 hours ago

!!-- pobj:CX101-1015081430 -->The son of progressive Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush has been sentenced in Illinois to 180 days in jail for sexual contact with female inmates at a state corrections facility where he worked. ...

Note to self: Taser no good on wild boars - Added 2 hours ago

While normally effective on people, a Hernando deputy learned the hard way that Taser stun guns do not work very well on wild boars. The sheriff's office reported that Deputy Joseph Tibor responded to complaints of an...

Cheney treated successfully for abnormal heartbeat - Added 3 hours ago

Vice President Dick Cheney was treated "without complication" Wednesday for an abnormal heartbeat, his office said, making a short visit to a hospital to restore his normal rhythm with an electric shock. It was the...

Sheriff: Family cremated mom on BBQ, kept benefits - Added 3 hours ago

!!-- pobj:FX101-1015081106 -->The family of a dead elderly woman cremated her remains on a makeshift barbecue and continued collecting her retirement checks amounting to more than $25,000, authorities in Northern...

Rockefeller: WH stonewalling interrogation probe - Added 3 hours ago

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee accused the White House on Wednesday of withholding documents showing it authorized the CIA to use waterboarding and other tough interrogation tactics on suspected...

Recalls: toy speedboats, camera battery chargers - Added 3 hours ago

The following recalls have been announced: _About 200,000 battery-operated toy speed boats, manufactured in China and imported by Dollar General Merchandising Inc., because the battery terminals can come into contact...

Dozens get gas in Wis. for 35 cents after mistake - Added 3 hours ago

Sure, gas prices have come down lately. But to 34.9 cents a gallon? That's what Kelly Joosten and dozens of other motorists paid at a Citgo station Monday. The sign advertised $3.43 for a gallon of premium fuel, but the...

Pa. town allows pole dancing studio to open - Added 3 hours ago

A Pittsburgh suburb will allow a pole dancing studio to open, ending a federal lawsuit that accused the town of violating the owner's First Amendment rights. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit in August...

Mass. man on trial in death of Mormon-devoted wife - Added 3 hours ago

Carla Souza was a dutiful member of the Mormon church, hosting dinner meetings at her house, taking care of children in the nursery school and going out with missionaries to spread the word about her faith. Her...

In many US airports, guns are OK outside security - Added 3 hours ago

Flying in the U.S. has been transformed since Sept. 11, with passengers forced to remove their shoes, take out their laptop computers and put liquids and gels in clear plastic bags. Yet it's perfectly legal to take a...

Atlantic City's casino smoking ban now in effect - Added 3 hours ago

Gamblers were barred from lighting up Wednesday when a blanket smoking ban went into effect over the objections of the casino industry. The ban is due to last for at least 12 days but could then be put on hold for a...

Friend denies saying Stevens didn't want bills - Added 3 hours ago

A close friend of Sen. Ted Stevens on Wednesday denied ever telling a crooked businessman that the Republican icon didn't expect to pay for his home renovations, a key charge in the Alaska senator's federal corruption...

Americans are too afraid to visit bloody Juarez - Added 3 hours ago

Mexican officials are trying to persuade Americans to visit Ciudad Juarez, touting the city in a new billboard campaign as a "land of encounters." But on this side of the border, that sounds like a cruel joke. More...

Keeneland to handle Curlin sale - Added 4 hours ago

Keeneland says it has been picked to handle the sale of a minority share of Curlin, the richest American racehorse of all time. The deadline is Nov. 5 for potential buyers to submit a sealed bid for the 20 percent...

Finding God at a beer festival - Added 4 hours ago

In the beginning, there was a long line for Judgment Day ale. Shortly after the doors opened on the 27th Great American Beer Festival, a crowd congregated at the booth offering that and other pours from The Lost Abbey...

Navy to review case of missing Gulf War pilot - Added 4 hours ago

The Navy is once again reviewing the long-running case of Capt. Michael "Scott" Speicher, the fighter pilot shot down during the first Gulf war and listed as "missing/captured," U.S. officials said Wednesday. Navy...

Bush: Federal intervention in banks is `temporary' - Added 4 hours ago

!!-- AUDIO:198,197,196,195,194 -->President Bush said Wednesday he's against government taking part ownership in private businesses, but that it's necessary this time _ for a while. "In the long run it's not good for...

Pampered pumpkin picked as plumpest of them all - Added 4 hours ago

Thad Starr's giant pumpkin really began putting on weight in August _ a lot of weight. The pumpkin gained about 30 pounds a day on its way to victory Monday at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off in Half...

FBI's 'Donnie Brasco' won't testify for ex-agent - Added 4 hours ago

The FBI undercover agent who infiltrated the Mafia as "Donnie Brasco" refused Wednesday to testify in a fellow former agent's murder trial because he could be photographed and filmed on the witness stand. Miami-Dade...

Widow says husband's slaying not Army's fault - Added 5 hours ago

A month after the Army told Brandi Durbin her husband was killed in Iraq by a soldier in his own unit, she carries a framed photo of him everywhere she goes. It's one way of keeping him close to soothe her grief. ...

Suit against God thrown out over lack of address - Added 5 hours ago

A judge has thrown out a Nebraska legislator's lawsuit against God, saying the Almighty wasn't properly served due to his unlisted home address. State Sen. Ernie Chambers filed the lawsuit last year seeking a permanent...

Former NM senator pleads guilty in corruption case - Added 6 hours ago

A once powerful New Mexico politician, former Sen. Manny Aragon, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy and mail fraud in a corruption case centered on construction of a courthouse. Aragon, 61, the former Senate...

Govt wants kids to buckle up on small school buses - Added 7 hours ago

Smaller school buses will have to be equipped with lap-and-shoulder seat belts for the first time under a government rule drafted following the deaths of four Alabama students on a school bus that nose-dived off an...

14 accused of sending illegal profits to Mideast - Added 7 hours ago

Fourteen people have been indicted on charges of using convenience stores to trade in stolen goods and contraband cigarettes, sending the profits to groups in the Palestinian territories. Five stores were raided...

Editorial Roundup: Excerpts From Editorials - Added 8 hours ago

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad: Oct. 15 Los Angeles Times, on the government investing in U.S. banks as part of an economic rescue package: Washington's...

Ike may have dealt blow to endangered turtles - Added 9 hours ago

Hurricane Ike may have dealt a blow to the world's most endangered sea turtle. The storm erased nesting areas for Kemp's Ridley turtles by washing away dunes and beaches on battered Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston...