MOSSY HEAD, Fla. (AP) - A Florida Panhandle woman was flown to the hospital after being clawed by a wild emu she was trying to corral. The woman, who was not identified, purportedly wanted to take it to an animal shelter. An emergency responder said the incident didn't seem like an attack - the animal was just trying to protect itself.

The woman was treated for a cut on the arm and released Sunday evening.

Police Say Off-Duty Officer Was At Beaches Open MRI With Her Mom

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. –– An off-duty Jacksonville Sheriff's Office deputy was hurt Wednesday when her hand was trapped between her police-issued Glock handgun and the powerful magnet inside an MRI machine.

Police said Joy Smith was in the MRI room with her mother when she apparently forgot about her gun, which was pulled by the magnetic force of the machine, trapping her hand between the gun and the MRI.

Smith was able to free herself, but the gun remained stuck for hours while the machine was powered down, which takes 24 hours. Jacksonville Beach police said Smith's hand was injured and she had difficulty bending her thumb, but it was not known if she sought medical treatment.

"It's a huge magnet. The whole thing just has a plastic case around it," said Beth Ratliff, who operates the MRI machines at Shands.

More than 30 patients a day go through Shands' machines, and there are strict rules for patients and visitors to follow.

Ratliff doesn't work at the Beaches office were the gun got stuck, but she helped explain how it happened.

"The magnet is pulling the gun, so the mass of the gun and the velocity of the magnet gets together and makes it a lot stronger," Ratliff said.

She also explained how the MRI works.

"We use regular waves," she said. "It hits the magnet, the magnet turns and it causes the molecules in your body to turn around, and we get a picture."

Beaches MRI had to close for the rest of the day and a MRI technician had to be flown in to fix the machine. Channel 4's Adam Landau was told that between repairs and lost revenue, the incident cost the center $150,000.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) - No one expects a zombie apocalypse. But the University of Florida is making sure officials are ready for a night of the living dead, just in case. The school has a plan for responding to the undead on its Web site among outlines for dealing with hurricanes and pandemics.

The exercise lays out how university officials would respond to attacks by "flesh-eating, apparently life impaired individuals." It notes that a zombie outbreak might include "documentation of lots of strange moaning."

A University of Florida spokesman says the exercise was written by an employee at the school's academic technology office.

STUART, Fla. (AP) - A Florida man is facing charges after authorities said he was naked and covered in feces when he broke into a resident's backyard and jumped into the pool. A Martin County Sheriff's Office report shows 21-year-old Robert Stark Higgins was charged with burglary to an occupied dwelling, disorderly conduct and misdemeanor theft.

The resident told deputies he heard Higgins crash through the screen of his pool and take a splash Saturday night. Authorities said Higgins took a towel and fled. Deputies used a K-9 to track Higgins to a home. Higgins told deputies he had been drinking.

He was being held at the Martin County Jail on $10,500 bail. Jail officials said he did not immediately have an attorney

SUNTREE — A 37-year-old woman was arrested on a child-neglect charge Friday afternoon after a tow truck driver told police the woman offered to sell her child in exchange for gas money, Melbourne police said. Marcy Pappalardo faces a charge of child neglect in connection with the report. Police are continuing their investigation.



Sgt. Michael Casey of Melbourne police said officers learned of a 9-1-1 call about 3 p.m. from a tow truck driver who said a woman had tried to sell him her 6-year-old boy in exchange for gas money at a gas station near U.S. 1 and Lake Washington Road.



The driver refused, Melbourne police said, and then followed the mother who was in a white sedan with her child and another woman as he called police.



“He rolled up his window and followed her. They drove all across north Melbourne,” Casey said.



The white sedan was pulled over in Suntree by police. Pappalardo was questioned and arrested. Her 6-year-old boy sat on the trunk of the car and cried as his mother was led away.



Roy Baijnath, the tow-truck driver who lives in Palm Bay, said he was concerned about the child’s safety.



“You know, I have mixed feelings. To see the kid crying like that on TV was tough. I caused that upon him and I have a kid of my own,” Baijnath said Friday night. “But had it been the other way, where would the child be?”



Mallory Acker, who was in the car with Pappalardo, told police the tow truck driver requested sex with the woman in exchange for gas money.



“When she refused, he made up this story for police,” Acker said.



No other arrests were made.



Baijnath said Friday night that there was no mention of sex in the conversation.



The child is in the care of his father, police said.

RALEIGH –– North Carolina is poised to become only the second state to impose a fat fee on its state employees by placing them in a more expensive health insurance plan if they're obese.

Smokers will feel the drag of higher costs, too, as North Carolina state employees who use tobacco are slated to pay more for health insurance next year.

North Carolina officials, coping with a steady uptick in health-care costs for state employees each year, are aiming to improve state workers' health, which saves money in medical expenses.

"Tobacco use and poor nutrition and inactivity are the leading causes of preventable deaths in our state," said Anne Rogers, director of integrated health management with the N.C. State Employees Health Plan. "We need a healthy workforce in this state. We're trying to encourage individuals to adopt healthy lifestyles."

State workers who don't cut out the Marlboros and Big Macs will end up paying more for health care. Tobacco users get placed in a more expensive insurance plan starting in July and, for those who qualify as obese, in July 2011.

Some state employees, though, are criticizing the planned changes. The State Employees Association of North Carolina opposes the tobacco and obesity differentials as invasive steps that could have been avoided if the legislature had fixed the plan.

'An invasion of privacy'

"It's my understanding they're talking about testing [for tobacco use] in the workplace which, to me, would create a hostile environment," said Kim Martin, a sergeant at Piedmont Correctional Institution in Salisbury. "And it's an invasion of privacy. This is America, the land of the free. I don't think [body mass index is] a very good measure. I know some folks who would have a high body mass index because they're muscular."

The health plan covers more than 600,000 state employees, retirees and teachers at a total cost last year of $2.6 billion. Last spring, the legislature bailed out the plan with an infusion of $250million to pay the bills after rising costs and inaccurate projections left little money for claims. Over the next two years, the state general fund will pump about $408 million into the health plan.


Alabama was out front on weight testing. Starting in January, state workers will have their blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose andbody mass index checked by a nurse. If they're in a risk category, such as a body mass index of 35 or greater or a blood pressure of 160/100 or greater, they are charged an extra $25 per month on their insurance premium. If they go to a health screening, either offered by the state or by their personal physician, then the $25 is subtracted, according to Gary Matthews, chief operating officer for the Alabama State Employees Insurance Board.

The NYPD is amassing a database of cell phone users, instructing cops to log serial numbers from suspects' phones in hopes of connecting them to past or future crimes.

In the era of disposable, anonymous cell phones, the file could be a treasure-trove for detectives investigating drug rings and other criminal enterprises, police sources say.

"It's used to help build cases," one source said of the new initiative.

"It doesn't replace the human element, like debriefing prisoners, but it's another tool to use that we didn't have in the past."

A recent internal memo says that when cops make an arrest, they should remove the suspect's cell phone battery to avoid leakage - then jot down the International Mobile Equipment Identity number.

The IMEI number is registered with the service provider whenever a call is made.

And that data could allow a detective to match, for example, a cell phone used by one suspect to a phone used by another.

There are limits to the data's usefulness - all Chinese-made cells sold in India have the same number and some overseas cells are embedded with fake numbers.

Still, civil libertarians are alarmed by the new policy since normally a warrant is needed to obtain information such as calls made or numbers in an address book.

New York Civil Liberties Union associate legal director Christopher Dunn said it appears the NYPD is "taking phones apart to get information" without warrants.

"It's hard to believe they feel there's a real need to take out the battery to prevent leakage," he said. "Instead, it looks like they're doing this to circumvent the warrant process."

The cell phone information joins another database of more than 20 million 911 callers that the NYPD has been building. It has paid off.

In one case involving a 911 call, detectives solved a burglary pattern after the suspect left a slip of paper with his cell number on it at a crime scene, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said.

The phone was disposable so no owner information was available, but police were able to track it to the suspect because he had used it to make a 911 call after he was assaulted.

The NYPD started collecting 911 data for incidents involving a police response in 2003. Four years ago, it began putting the information into its new computer nerve center, the Real Time Crime Center.

LANSINGBURGH –– High school senior Matthew Whalen is the kind of student any parent would want.

He's an Eagle Scout, on the honor roll, taking Advanced Placement classes, and never been in trouble with the law.  He's received commendations from the City of Troy and the Boy Scouts of America for saving a woman's life, and this past summer, he completed Army basic training.  All of it was accomplished before the age of 17.

"I'm just trying to do what I can while I can," Matthew says.

His goal is to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a dream since he was in grade school.

"I have a first-grade yearbook that says I want to be driving tanks in the Army," Matthew says.  "I mean, this is something that I know I've always wanted to do."

But the dream could be in jeopardy, thanks to a two-inch pocket knife that officials at Lansingburgh Senior High School found in Matthew's locked car last month.  The pocket knife was a gift from his grandfather, Robert Whalen, who's the Hoosick Falls Police Chief.  Matthew says he kept the knife in a side compartment and never tried showing it off or threatening anyone with it.  Instead it was a part of the survival kit that was his car.

"My car is designed in a way that if I ever broke down, I'd be OK," Whalen explains.  "I have a sleeping bag.  I have bottled water.  I have an MRE.  I believe it's better to be prepared and not need it than need it and not have it."

Matthew says school officials approached him on Sept. 21, asking if he had a weapon on him.  When Matthew answered he did not, he says the officials asked if he had a knife in his car.  Matthew said it was a pocket knife, and took officials to his car when asked.  He also turned over the pocket knife when asked.

The Lansingburgh Central School District has a zero-tolerance policy on weapons.  According to the district's Codes of Conduct, students are not allowed to have "a weapon of any kind" on school grounds.  Even though a pocket knife is not considered a weapon under New York State penal code, the district also prohibits students from possessing anything "that reasonably can be considered a weapon."

According to Matthew, the school suspended him for five days, during which time a Superintendent's hearing was held to determine the extent of his punishment.  Matthew's family contends only the high school's principal and athletic director were present, not the Superintendent or the assistant principal who initially suspended Matthew.  And despite a letter from Matthew's Scout Master explaining how a pocket knife is a common tool for scouts to have, the district suspended Matthew for another 15 days.  The Whalens say they received no explanation as to why, and they claim there was no opportunity to ask.

"I want him to have fair treatment based on his character," says Matthew's father, Bryan Whalen.  "It just totally baffles me that they would go after this when they have much bigger fish to fry."

The Whalens say during the Superintendent's hearing, officials admitted that Matthew cooperated fully, didn't have the pocket knife on him, had no intention of using it, and never threatened anyone with it.  "They'd already made their decision," Whalen's father says.

In a statement to NEWS10, Superintendent George J. Goodwin says, "We do not comment on discipline related to an individual student.  Our policies are clear that weapons are not permitted on school premises and subject to disciplinary consequences."

Legal expert Thomas Carr, of Tully Rinckey PLLC, says school districts are within their rights to impose and enforce safety policies, even if a pocket knife is not considered a weapon under New York State penal law.  But he also says such school rules can quickly become so-called "gray areas" that leave the meaning of what's considered a weapon open ended.

"If this 17-year-old is driving his car to school," Carr says, "let's face it, the tire iron in the trunk to change the wheel is much more of a deadly weapon than a one-and-a-half inch blade knife."

Carr also says the Whalens might have grounds to pursue legal action against the district if Matthew felt he had no choice but to allow school officials to search his car.

At this point, the Whalens are not sure when or if they will sue the district.  Instead, they want the district to reinstate Matthew immediately and remove this from his official student record.

"He needs to be doing the application for his admission to West Point right now," Bryan Whalen says.  "They're delaying that, and that could be very costly for him."

Matthew says he wants to follow in the military footsteps of his father and grandfather.  His grandfather, Robert Whalen, received two Purple Hearts for his service in the Vietnam War.  Bryan Whalen served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and at Ground Zero, as his unit was on the scene by the evening of Sept. 11, 2001.  He's also received the Soldier's Medal from the U.S. Army, and he pulled survivors from a burning helicopter that had crashed at the Stratton Air National Guard Base during an air show crash in 1991.

Matthew guesses a student must have told school officials, but he doesn't know who did it or why.  His father thinks it might have been a prank to see Matthew get a little heat from administrators and that the intent was for it to never get this far.

"It's just plain wrong of what they've done," he says.  "It isn't a weapon!"

But the family feels the district overreacted, if not for suspending Matthew in the first place, then for adding an additional 15 days to the original suspension.

"If they had told me, 'Take this out of your car,' I would have said alright, and it never would have been an issue," Matthew says.  "I was upset with it, but I can understand that.  They have the zero-tolerance rule."

The district provides a tutor for Matthew for 90 minutes every day; he's banned from stepping on school grounds for any reason whatsoever, including assignments and sporting events.  Matthew says it's hard to cram more than six hours of work into his tutor time, and he says his work is not being graded until he returns to school.  All he wants is to return to class.

"The rest of my life could be affected by this," he says.

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. —  A man who thought there was an intruder in his house shot and killed his fiancee the day before they were to be married, police said Friday.

"Right now everything points to a tragic accident," Police Chief Kevin Brunelle told The Associated Press, adding investigators were awaiting forensic results.

John Tabutt, 62, told investigators he got his gun when he thought he heard an intruder, then fired at a figure in the hallway, according to Brunelle. It was Tabutt's live-in fiancee, 62-year-old Nancy Dinsmore, who family members say he was going to marry Saturday. Tabutt told authorities he thought she was next to him in bed the whole time.

A message left for a phone number listed for the house was not returned.

Brunelle said no charges have been filed against Tabutt, adding the information he provided has been verified and he appeared "very distraught."

Tabutt was "very concerned about her well-being," standing by while she was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, Brunelle added.

The couple planned to wed in a small ceremony Saturday at St. Stephen Catholic Church in Winter Springs, Dinsmore's son-in-law Scott Sposato, of Vero Beach, told the Orlando Sentinel.

"They loved each other," he said. "It was quite apparent."

Tabutt called 911 shortly after 2:30 a.m. Friday, moaning and sobbing, the newspaper reported.

"I thought I had an intruder in the house," he told the emergency dispatcher. "Honest to God, she looks dead."

He then thought he heard her take a breath.

"Hang in there, Honey. Hang in there," he said.

Winter Springs is about 15 miles north of Orlando.

Speaking to a respected Hispanic leader in KCK, Dennis Moore reportedly called decorated and disabled Marine Veteran and Congressional Opponent "White Trash" in a recent (recorded) telephone conversation. The KCK leader, who has formally supported the incumbent congressman, is supporting Daniel Gilyeat's candidacy for the Kansas 3rd District Congressional seat. Dennis Moore called the KCK man after hearing the Hispanic community leader's support had changed. Dennis Moore said he had $7 million for the campaign and could not believe the naturalized citizen was supporting "White Trash" over Moore.

Daniel Gilyeat is running against Moore in Kansas and was serving his second term in Iraq when he lost his leg to an IED. "I lost my leg but found my voice," Gilyeat said to a crowd Saturday at the Veteran's memorial. Gilyeat did not comment about Moore's description of him other than to smile and say he had heard of the comment from the man Moore was speaking to.

"Moore's comment has serious implications," Theresa Benefield, owner Sequoia Logistics LLC, said. "Dennis Moore is telling Hispanics they owe him their votes by bringing up the threat of $7 million. He is telling all 3rd District voters he will buy the election." Benefield said she wondered where he was getting his money. "It is not in his FEC reports, but then again, Rangle, Franks, and now Moore have trouble reporting what is and is not theirs. That is a lot of money from someone who places his worth at just under $1 million. For a job that pays over $200,000, one might speculate on why a congressman would spend more on running in the 3rd District than he has brought into the district over the past two years, she said.

Zachary Christie, 6, was happy about joining the Cub Scouts and was excited about a new camping utensil that functions as a spoon, fork and knife –– so excited that he took the tool to school to use it at lunch.
But the Newark, Del., boy's enthusiasm got him kicked out of school for violating a zero-tolerance policy on weapons, The New York Times reported.

The first-grader faces 45 days in reform school after officials determined the camping utensil violated the Christina School District's ban on knives. His mother is home-schooling him while his family appeals the punishment.

A New York bicycle cabbie who last year used his Web site to mock the beheading of journalist Daniel Pearl posted a prayer calling for the murder of Jews and exhorting Muslims to “throw liquid drain cleaner in their faces." And there's nothing authorities can do about it.

Yousef al-Khattab, who runs RevolutionMuslim.com and pedals a pedicab in New York City, insists the words he has posted on his Web site are a prayer, and not a threat — and that his hatred is protected by the First Amendment.

"If it was a threat, I'd be in jail," the 41-year-old al-Khattab told Foxnews.com from his home in Queens. "I'm asking my God, that's what it is. Every supporter of Israel is an enemy combatant and the immune system is not anti-Semitic for resisting disease."

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) announced Tuesday that she will vote for health care reform legislation before the Senate Finance Committee, becoming the only Republican to back the bill and virtually assuring passage.

Snowe's support was the most sought-after Republican vote by Democrats for months. The Maine Republican could be the only member of her party to vote for health care reform, though she cautioned Tuesday that support for the committee bill does not guarantee support for a final product.

"When history calls, history calls," she said, even though she had some criticism of the bill.

She was among several key senators still on the fence over the pivotal package going into deliberations Tuesday, even though leadership aides said they were confident the bill would win enough backers.

With 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans on the committee, the lone Republican vote helps Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Montana, hedge against any Democratic defections as well as claim some semblance of bipartisan support.

But two previously undecided Democrats announced their support Tuesday, bolstering Baucus' majority on the panel.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said Tuesday afternoon he would support the bill, despite concerns that it could increase costs for families with mandates to obtain coverage and inadequate subsidies.

Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Arkansas, also announced her support, though adding the same warning that her backing is not guaranteed down the road. Lincoln had been concerned about the cost of the 10-year, $829-billion plan and has voted many times with Republicans to reduce taxes and penalties. She is a moderate Democrat in a red state staring at a potential conservative primary challenger.

Only Sen. Jay Rockefeller's vote is unknown. The liberal Democrat from West Virginia wants nothing short of a government-run insurance plan in the bill, and he thinks the Finance Committee's "co-op" system is not sufficient. He now says he knows how he'll vote, but did not give details.

The road to the  Tuesday vote, however, has been paved with bickering and complaints. At the start of discussion, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee said that he's still concerned about the potential for more government control over health care.

Sen. Charles Grassley's (R-Iowa) comments, and those of other Republicans, aired the lingering partisan divisions on the panel, even as Baucus stressed that his bill is a "balanced plan" that should win bipartisan support and eventually pass the full Senate.

"With this markup nearing its conclusion, we can now see clearly that the bill continues its march leftward," Grassley,  said.

But Baucus urged his colleagues to "make history" by sending his comprehensive overhaul to the floor of the Senate and one big step closer to the president's desk.

"Now it's time to get the job done," chairman Baucus, D-Montana., said. "My colleagues, this is our opportunity to make history."

The panel is the last of five to act on health legislation and has been the center of attention in deliberations for months. Tuesday's vote could mark the biggest advance so far toward health care reform, as the committee's legislation is considered the best building block for a compromise plan in the full Senate.

Other Democrats defended Baucus' efforts at reaching a middle-of-the-road compromise, and blasted the insurance industry for releasing a critical report on the bill just hours before the committee convened.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts., said the move was a "disgrace" and was a sign that a government-run insurance plan should eventually be enacted to keep the insurance industry in check.

"It's a powerful argument for the attitude of an industry toward this effort," Kerry said.

If the Finance Committee bill passes, President Obama's (D-Illinois) top domestic priority will have advanced farther than former President Bill Clinton's (D-Arkansas) effort ever did. The Clinton health plan never made it through all the congressional committees with jurisdiction.

The final days before Tuesday's long-anticipated vote were rocky. After playing nice for months, the health insurance industry released a report contending that the legislation would cause hefty increases in health insurance premiums.

Democrats and their allies scrambled Monday to knock it down. "Distorted and flawed," said White House spokeswoman Linda Douglass. AARP's senior policy strategist, John Rother, called it "fundamentally dishonest."

The drama threatened to overshadow the vote on the plan that Baucus has touted as the sensible solution to America's problems of high medical costs and too many uninsured.

The bill includes consumer protections such as limits on copays and deductibles and relies on federal subsidies to help lower-income families purchase coverage. Insurance companies would have to take all comers, and people could shop for insurance within new state marketplaces called exchanges.

Medicaid would be expanded, and though employers wouldn't be required to cover their workers, they'd have to pay a penalty for each employee who sought insurance with government subsidies. The bill is paid for by cuts to Medicare providers and new taxes on insurance companies and others.

Unlike the other health care bills in Congress, Baucus' would not allow the government to sell insurance in competition with private companies, a divisive element sought by liberals.

Last-minute changes made subsidies more generous and softened the penalties for those who don't comply with a proposed new mandate for everyone to buy insurance. The latter change drew the ire of the health insurance industry, which said that without a strong and enforceable requirement not enough people would get insured, and premiums would jump for everyone else.

America's Health Insurance Plans commissioned a study to prove just that, alleging the bill would add thousands of dollars to a typical policy. It was timed just ahead of the vote on Baucus' bill but the industry was already looking ahead to negotiations on a final package to bring to the Senate floor.

Once the Finance Committee has acted, the dealmaking can begin in earnest with Reid, D-Nev., working with White House staff, Baucus and others to blend the Finance bill with a more liberal version passed by the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

A major question mark is whether Reid will include some version of a so-called public plan in the merged bill. Across the Capitol, House Democratic leaders are working to finalize their bill, which does contain a public plan, and floor action is expected in both chambers in coming weeks.

If passed, the legislation would then go to a conference committee to reconcile differences.

Yes votes

MAX BAUCUS, MT
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, WV
KENT CONRAD, ND
JEFF BINGAMAN, NM
JOHN F. KERRY, MA
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, AR
RON WYDEN, OR
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, NY
DEBBIE STABENOW, MI
MARIA CANTWELL, WA
BILL NELSON, FL
ROBERT MENENDEZ, NJ
THOMAS CARPER, DE
OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, ME

No votes:

CHUCK GRASSLEY, IA
ORRIN G. HATCH, UT
JON KYL, AZ
JIM BUNNING, KY
MIKE CRAPO, ID
PAT ROBERTS, KS
JOHN ENSIGN, NV
MIKE ENZI, WY
JOHN CORNYN, TX

Mayor Greg Nickels says guns will be prohibited at designated Seattle Parks and Recreation facilities where children and youth are likely to be present, such as playgrounds, community and environmental learning centers, sports fields and courts, swimming beaches, pools, water play areas, skateparks, and golf courses.

Anyone who enters one of the posted facilities with a gun will be asked by Parks personnel or Seattle police officers to leave the area. If they refuse, they could be cited or arrested by police for trespassing.

After a man shot and injured three people at the 2008 Folklife Festival, Nickels directed city departments to evaluate rules, policies and leases related to guns. The suspect in last year's shooting had a concealed weapons permit and a history of mental health problems.

The rule won't go into effect at a specific facility until signs are posted outside notifying people of the gun ban. The signs will be posted in phases –– the first going up Friday –– with all signs in place by Dec. 1.

Officials with the Second Amendment Foundation have said the rule is illegal and planned to sue the city once the law went into effect. But Nickels doesn't believe the city is acting beyond its power, saying he is asserting the same rights private property owners have.

COLUMBUS, Ohio —  A woman being driven around in a rented limousine pulled up at a coat store and announced she'd won the lottery and would pay for everyone's purchases, police said, but she ended up causing a riot when customers realized it was a hoax.

Angry customers threw merchandise around and looted, leaving the store looking as though a hurricane had passed through it, police said.

Linda Brown was arrested Tuesday after an hours-long shopping spree that began when she hired a stretch Hummer limousine to drop her off at a Burlington Coat Factory store, police Sgt. Lt. Michael Deakins said. Brown walked to a cash register and loudly announced she had won the lottery and would pay for each person's merchandise up to $500, he said.

"Well, of course, people like to hear that," Deakins said. "Apparently they were in line calling relatives who were not at the store and told them to come."

People flooded the registers as cashiers began ringing up purchase after purchase, but Brown had not yet paid the bill, Deakins said. At least 500 people filled the aisles and another 1,000 were outside trying to get in, he said.

"She was telling people she won $1.5 million," Deakins said. "But it ends up she didn't win anything. She had no money to pay for anything."

About an hour later, Brown had the limousine driver take her to a bank to withdraw money, but she returned empty-handed, police Detective Steven Nace said. By then, store employees had called in two dozen police officers to handle the crowds.

Shopper Candace Jordan said she told Brown she didn't need clothes, she needed help paying her rent.

"And she said, 'How much is it?"' Jordan told WBNS-TV. "And she promptly wrote out a check."

By the time employees realized Brown didn't have any cash to pay, police said, she already had taken off in the limo.

That's when angry customers, realizing they weren't getting free coats, began throwing merchandise on the floor and grabbing clothes without paying for them, Nace said.

"Everybody was like, 'I still want my free stuff,' and that started the riot," he said. "It looks like (Hurricane) Katrina went through the store."

Police said they have no way of tracking down the customers who stole items and fled, but they're reviewing surveillance video.

When the limousine driver realized he wasn't going to be paid the $900 Brown owed him for the day's rental, he turned her in to police, Deakins said.

Brown, 44, was arrested on three outstanding warrants for aggravated menacing, misuse of a 911 system and causing false alarms. She was jailed late Wednesday, but no charges had been filed against her related to the coat store chaos pending a mental health evaluation.

Police said they didn't know if Brown had a lawyer. No telephone number was listed under her name, and no one answered repeated phone calls at the Franklin County Jail.

A spokeswoman for Burlington Coat Factory, which is based in Burlington, N.J., and has more than 300 stores across the country, said late Wednesday she couldn't comment on the incident.

CHESTER, Pa. — A Chester City firefighter was suspended without pay yesterday for refusing to remove an American flag sticker from his locker.

James Krapf, an 11-year veteran of the department, could face more days of suspension if he does not remove the sticker, Fire Commissioner James Johnson said.

Krapf removed a union sticker and a picture of a truck, but refused to scrape off the flag, a one-inch-square sticker that has adorned his locker for a couple of years, he said.

"Anybody who finds the American flag offensive shouldn't be working there," Krapf said yesterday.

"I said, 'No disrespect, Chief, but I'm not scraping that sticker off my locker.' He said, 'OK. Go home.' "

Banning all materials from locker doors was the simplest way to avoid bickering among the staff, Johnson said.

"How do we know what offends who?" he said. "I have to play Solomon here."

Johnson said Krapf would face a two-day suspension if he did not remove the sticker today. Next would come a three-day suspension, and then the matter would go before the mayor and council and could go to arbitration, officials said.

Walter Miles Jr., the city councilman who oversees public safety, said he did not know all the specifics of the incident. "I strongly back my fire commissioner," he said. "A directive is a directive."

The Chester City Fire Department has worked without a contract since 2007. Johnson said the handful of firefighters making a fuss over the stickers were trying to gain sympathy from the public during contract negotiations, an allegation Krapf denied.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - San Antonio police are investigating the wounding of a man after his elderly father allegedly opened fire when the victim refused to stop drumming. Police said the son, in his 50s, suffered a non-life threatening head wound early Friday while at the home the men share. Police said his 83-year-old father was detained on an aggravated assault charge.

Police said the son, who was grazed in the head, ran down the block to call for help.

BIG SANDY, Texas (AP) - A 45-year-old Texas woman has been committed for mental evaluation after authorities say she lived in an apartment for a week with her dead boyfriend's body. The Tyler Morning Telegraph reported Big Sandy police were flagged down by a man Friday who reported a stench coming from his sister's apartment.

Once inside, police found 50-year-old William Drake dead on a couch. From the condition of the corpse, police believe he had been dead about a week.

According to police Lt. Van Burr, the woman said Drake "didn't want to leave the apartment."

Burr said Drake died of natural causes and had recently stopped his dialysis treatments. He said Drake had lived for 10 years with the woman, who had been hospitalized for mental illness before. Burr declined to reveal her name.

Big Sandy is about 100 miles east of Dallas.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) - A woman is accused of showing a pornographic video out the window of her Grand Forks home near an elementary school. Police said 37-year-old Nicole Altendorf bit an officer's arm and kicked him several times in the groin as he tried arrest her Friday. In the squad car, she allegedly spit in the officer's face.

Altendorf faces felony charges of simple assault, contact by bodily fluids and preventing arrest, along with misdemeanor charges of possessing drug paraphernalia and disorderly conduct.

Her bail was set Friday at $4,000. Her attorney did not return a phone message seeking comment.

I love this place. It is so unique. Have you been to a museam boring, this is so much more original that those educational sanctuaries

I visited Barney Smith, famed Texas toilet seat artist, in early January 2002. His museum collection now encompasses 612 seats and he shows no signs of slowing down, even though he is rapidly closing in on 81 years of age. Barney started to modify toilet seats about 30 years ago. It all started when he needed a place to mount a set of small deer antlers. Apparently the toilet seat lid was just about the right shape, and he stuck the antlers on the lid. And so it began.  

FLORISSANT, Colo. - A woman called a deer and tried to pet it, but the deer lowered its head and charged her instead, according to the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

The 63-year-old woman was at her sister's house Monday evening when the attack happened. The sister's family had seen the deer at their home several times.

A passing motorist saw the attack and tried to stop the deer. The person was able to scare the animal away.

The Teller County Sheriff's Office responded and while medical workers were helping the woman the animal kept coming back to the area.

One of them said, "We had to constantly harass it away from us."

The woman, Joan Nutt, was transported to Pikes Peak Regional Medical Center in Woodland Park where she was treated for cuts and bruises.

Nutt says she had grabbed hold of an antler of the animal and tried to fend it off, but it knocked her down.

Wildlife Officer Aarno Flohrs says the animal walked right up to him when he arrived at the scene. The animal was tranquilized and later euthanized because it was "deemed a threat to human safety."

"There was no direct evidence Nutt was feeding the animal, but this deer's behavior was a clear indication that someone in the area had tried to domesticate a wild deer and treat it as a pet," Flohrs said.

Nutt's brother-in-law, Ervin Stohl, told the DOW this particular buck came to their house every afternoon. He says there is usually a bunch of females nearby.

Stohl said, "There were no does today and the buck was angry."

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Police said a would-be robber was in jail after losing his wallet during the attempted robbery then phoning the victim and asking for it to be returned. Little Rock police said the 23-year-old man was arrested on robbery charges Tuesday.

Police said the man tried to rob a man at gunpoint at his home but fled and dropped his wallet then later called and told the man to return the wallet at a service station in North Little Rock.

Little Rock police were interviewing the victim when the call came and notified North Little Rock police who found the suspect outside the service station and arrested him after a short foot chase.

CARTERSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Officials say a drunk father and son burglarized a home and were caught after the son was found passed out under the invalid homeowner's bed. DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris said Wednesday that a 37-year-old man and his 19-year-old son were arrested Sunday.

Harris said they broke into the home around 2 a.m. Sunday and took car keys, medication, about $200 in cash and $100 worth of jewelry. They were about to leave when one of the residents woke up, and they hid.

The father sneaked out but Harris said the son apparently passed out in his hiding place under the homeowner's bed.

The homeowner's wife found him around dawn and called a neighbor and police.

The neighbor turned out to be the son's grandfather. He turned the young man over to police.

Police officers usually wear bullet-proof vests, but there is no protection for a pillow, especially if it might be covered with enough germs to make it a "biohazardious material."

Erik John Batty, 40, of Edgewater, faces a charge of battery on a law enforcement officer stemming from the thrown pillow.

Edgewater police were called to the Driftwood Mobile Home Park Sunday afternoon by George Batty, 62, who was worried that his son may have taken some pills and was trying to hurt himself.

Officer Myles J. Lawler said he determined Erik Batty had not taken too many pills, but that the man refused treatment for an injury to his forehead that was bleeding.

Using profanity, Erik Batty told Lawler to get out of his room and then threw the pillow, which the officer deflected before it hit him, according to an arrest affidavit. Because the man has several diseases, "I felt the pillow was biohazardious material and could contain hazards," Lawler said in the report.

HOUSTON (AP) - A Houston man found asleep with a corpse inside a closet of a vacant home has been charged with misdemeanor drug offenses, authorities said Monday. Cody Jean Plant, 21, was discovered Sunday after the owner of the house reported hearing voices and seeing signs of forced entry at the home in Cypress, about 25 miles northwest of Houston, according to a Harris County Precinct 4 Constable official. Authorities did not immediately release the dead man's identity.

"There were two guys in the closet. They appeared to be sleeping, one was snoring and the other was deceased," said Assistant Chief Deputy Mark Herman. "It appeared that they were doing some sort of narcotics, at least the one that they woke up."

Plant was charged with one count of possession of a dangerous drug and two counts of possession of a controlled substance of more than three grams and less than 28 grams. All are punishable by up to a year in jail. It was not immediately clear what kind of drugs Plant allegedly had in his possession.

Plant also had been charged with abuse of a corpse after prosecutors alleged he treated the body "in an offensive manner," but that charge was dropped Monday during a probable cause hearing.

Plant remained in the Harris County Jail in lieu of $15,000 bail Monday. Jail officials did not know Monday night whether Plant had an attorney.

VERNON, Conn. – Vernon police said they arrested a man who was dressed as a ninja and waving nunchucks while yelling about wanting to beat up U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman.

The man, 30, was charged Sunday with breach of peace. Police said he was brought to Rockville General Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and later released.

Authorities said they received several emergency calls about the man, who witnesses say was standing at the corner of Route 83 and Regan Road at about 11 a.m.

Officers said they pulled out bean bag and taser guns, and the man became polite and cooperative.

The man couldn't be reached Monday. He has no public phone listing, and it's not clear whether he has a lawyer.

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. –– Florida could soon become the first state in the nation to ban disposable paper and plastic bags, a move that would benefit the environment but could cost residents money, Miami television station WPLG reported.

Eliminating disposable bags would benefit the environment and reduce oil consumption because plastic bags are made from petroleum products. People in Florida use more than 5 billion disposable paper and plastic bags each year.

The Department of Environmental Protection produced a draft of a "Retail Bags Report," released earlier this month, after investigating the necessity and efficacy of regulation on the bags.

In the report, environmental officials said they recommend a "five-year progressive phase-out" of the paper and plastic bags, starting with public education, graduated fees and then a total ban on the bags at all retail outlets in the state.

"The greatest concern I have as how it would relate to that would be how it would impact our environment," said Gov. Charlie Crist. "It's hard to grow up in Florida and not care about our beauty."

The governor’s office said Crist has not yet decided if he supports the ban. He is waiting for public input on the issue.

The ban would not apply to all plastic bags. People would still be allowed the smaller, thinner bags used for daily newspapers, produce at grocery stores and carryout food such as sub sandwiches. Bubble plastic to pack in boxes also would be allowed.

Public hearings on the measure begin next month.

A scientist who worked for the Defense Department, a White House space council and other agencies was arrested Monday on charges of attempting to pass along classified information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer.

Stewart David Nozette, 52, of Chevy Chase, Md., was charged in a criminal complaint with attempting to communicate, deliver and transmit classified information, the Justice Department said. The complaint does not allege that the government of Israel or anyone acting on its behalf violated U.S. law.

Nozette worked in varying jobs for the Energy Department, NASA and — in 1989 and 1990 — the National Space Council in the president's office. He developed the Clementine bi-static radar experiment that purportedly discovered water on the south pole of the moon. He worked at the Energy Department's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he designed highly advanced technology, from approximately 1990 to 1999.

At Energy, Nozette held a special security clearance equivalent to the Defense Department's top secret and "critical nuclear weapon design information" clearances. DOE clearances apply to access to information specifically relating to atomic or nuclear-related materials.

Nozette was captured on videotape leaving a manila envelope in the post office box. The next day, agents retrieved the sealed envelope and found, among other things, a one-page document containing answers to the questions and an encrypted computer thumb drive.

One answer contained information classified as secret, which concerned capabilities of a prototype overhead collection system. Nozette allegedly offered to reveal additional classified information that directly concerned nuclear weaponry, military spacecraft or satellites, and other major weapons systems.

A spokesman for the Tennessee Department of Children's Services says the 5-year-old is living with another family member. This was a voluntary move suggested by the family and DCS. The 2-year-old is now in state custody even though he's at Le Bonheur. Attorney General has declined to press charges in this time. The case will be presented to a grand jury.

FAST FACTS:

* One toddler dies in house fire, other in critical
* Aunt sees nothing wrong with leaving kids alone, worries about food stamp card
* Mother could be charged

Wilson says she has no idea how the flames erupted. She just kept repeating this, "I really need to get in here and see if my purse burned up, because I had my food stamps card in there.

A 27-year-old Massachusetts man has been charged with conspiring with others to support and plan violent jihad in and outside the United States, including terror plots to attack U.S. shopping malls and U.S. military in Iraq.

Federal officials in Boston say Tarek Mehanna of Sudbury worked with others from 2001 to May of 2008 to provide support and resources in a conspiracy to "kill, kidnap, main or injure" people in foreign countries and to kill prominent U.S. politicians.

Federal prosecutors say Mehanna and his conspirators planned the logistics of a mall attack — including the possibility of attacking emergency responders. However, authorities say the plot was not carried out because they could not get automatic weapons.

"Mehanna and the co-conspirators had multiple conversations about obtaining automatic weapons and randomly shooting people in a shopping mall, and that the conversations went so far as to discuss the logistics of a mall attack, including coordination, weapons needed and the possibility of attacking emergency responders," the Justice Department said.

The case, titled Ned Comer, et al. v. Murphy Oil USA, et al. [pdf], involves a group of residents and landowners along the Mississippi Gulf Coast who suffered severe property damage during Hurricane Katrina. They allege that the defendants –– energy, fossil fuels and chemical companies –– emitted greenhouse gases that contributed to global warming, which in turn caused a rise in sea levels that increased the storm's ferocity.

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi originally sided with the defendants, who argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing and said their claims presented political questions that did not properly belong in court. The plaintiffs appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which itself suffered damage in Katrina and had to temporarily move its operations to Houston.

CALDWELL, Idaho —  Police say an Idaho woman who made a false 911 call to lure paramedics out of their station made a real emergency call minutes later when she got trapped under the station's garage door.

Melissa R. Farris died Oct. 2 of injuries suffered when she was crushed by the closing garage door at the Canyon County station.

Farris, a former paramedic at the station, had been trying to crawl under the door after the ambulance left to respond to a nonexistent traffic accident she'd called in a few minutes earlier.

Caldwell Police Chief Chris Allgood says it may never be known why Farris was trying to gain access to the station

But according to a police report obtained by KBCI-TV, her sister told investigators that Farris may have been going after prescription medication stored in the station.

SUGAR LAND, Texas - The father who Sugar Land police believe may have stabbed his 1-week-old baby is also being investigated by Rosenberg police on allegations he had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student who attends the high school where he teaches.

Anthony Gilbert was placed on administrative leave Thursday after a 16-year-old junior at B.F. Terry High School, where Gilbert teaches English, told another teacher about their alleged relationship, a spokesperson from Lamar-Consolidated ISD said.

On Friday morning, Gilbert's one-week-old son was stabbed several times in his neck and chest, and Gilbert is the only suspect in the attack, police said.

Gilbert had been a teacher at B.F. Terry High School for only two months before the allegations surfaced, the school district's spokesperson said.

He's now charged with sexual assault of a child, and his bond has been set at $100,000, according to a Rosenberg Police Department statement.  

CANTON, N.C. (October 13, 2009)—The Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Canton, N.C. will celebrate Halloween by burning Bibles that aren’t the King James Version, as well as music and books and anything else Pastor Marc Grizzard says is a satanic influence.

Among the authors whose books Grizzard plans to burn are well known ministers Rick Warren and Billy Graham because he says they have occasionally used Bibles other than the King James Version, which is the sole biblical source he considers infallible.

According to the church’s Web site, members will also burn “Satan's music such as country, rap, rock, pop, heavy metal, western, soft and easy, southern gospel, contemporary Christian, jazz, soul (and) oldies.

“We will also be burning Satan's popular books written by heretics like Billy Graham, Rick Warren, Bill Hybels, John McArthur, James Dobson, Charles Swindoll, John Piper, Chuck Colson, Tony Evans, Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swagart, Mark Driskol, Franklin Graham, Bill Bright, Tim Lahaye, Paula White, T.D. Jakes, Benny Hinn, Joyce Myers, Brian McLaren, Robert Schuller, Mother Teresa, The Pope, Rob Bell, Erwin McManus, Donald Miller, Shane Claiborne, Brennan Manning (and) William Young.

During the book burning, according to the Web site, barbecued chicken fried chicken and “all the sides” will be served.

Pepsi may have received some unintentional branding boost last week when a Flint, Michigan man used a soda bottle to ward off an attacker. Pat Gillespie was unloading groceries from his car at his home on Thursday when he was approached by a man who attempted to mug him at gunpoint. But instead of emptying his pockets, Gillespie, 77, beat up his attacker — with a 2-liter bottle of Pepsi. Even after the gunman shot him in the groin, Gillespie kept on with his assault, and the gunman and his accomplice eventually fled. Gillespie explained his reaction as “instinct.” “I don’t like people trying to take my stuff. I’m not a fighter but I don’t need any b.s. from anybody,” he said.

It was a law no one ever wanted to see put to the test.

Two years ago, the Tennessee legislature put into statute what most people assumed should go without saying - it is illegal to have sex with an animal in this state.

But prosecutors across Middle Tennessee have cause to be glad that someone spelled that felony out. No less than three bestiality cases have come up in separate counties in recent months.

Three people stand accused of engaging in sex acts with farm animals in Maury County. In Humphreys County, a youth football coach was already under investigation for child rape when police reportedly found images of bestiality on his cell phone.

And in Nashville, police charged a man and a woman under the new statute after a tipster turned over photos of them having sexual contact with a dog.

Plenty of people cracked jokes about the bestiality bill when it came up in the legislature in 2007.

But District Attorney General Mike Bottoms, who is prosecuting the Maury County case, said he's not sure what he could have charged the Maury County defendants with if the statute hadn't been on the books.

"There are laws against cruelty to animals, but they dealt more into the neglect of the animals, which wasn't the case here," Bottoms said.

The Maury County case revolves around 58-year-old James Tait. Audiences who watched the critically acclaimed documentary Zoo a few years ago heard Tait's voice, narrating his part in the story of a Washington State man who died of internal injuries after a sexual encounter with a horse.

It was Tait who videotaped the fatal encounter and later drove the dying man to the hospital. The case prompted Washington State to criminalize bestiality after frustrated law enforcement officials were unable to charge Tait with anything more than trespassing in a stable.

Maury County investigators found photographic and video evidence of similar activity at the farm on Double Branch Road.

"We had no idea this sort of thing was happening," said Maury County Detective Terry Chandler. "This goes on. These people live all across the United States, and they know each other."

Washington State is considering a new law that would add bestiality offenses to the sexual offender registry, and Chandler said he would like to see a similar law in Tennessee.

Along with Tait, deputies arrested his housemate, Kenny Thomason, 44, and 35-year-old Christy Morris. All three remain in jail, awaiting a grand jury hearing in early November.

Officers wanted law

It was Rep. Debra Maggart, R-Hendersonville, who pushed to get a bestiality bill on the books. The law makes it a class E felony to engage in sexual activity with an animal, or to help someone else do so, or to allow it to happen on one's property, or to take or possess pictures or videos of such activities, or to advertise, organize or promote that sort of behavior. The law makes exceptions for commercial animal husbandry activities.

"You can imagine all the remarks I got," Maggart said. "It sounds funny, until you know what's going on."

Maggart and groups like the Humane Society of the United States point to studies that show the high correlation between sexual abuse of animals and sexual abuse of children. She said she sponsored the bill at the urging of local law enforcement officials.

One study, linked on the Humane Society Web page, found that 96 percent of juveniles who engaged in sexual abuse of animals also admitted to sex offenses against humans. In another study, some 37 percent of sexually violent juvenile offenders were found to have a history of animal sexual assault. An FBI study found that serial killers have a high rate of animal sexual abuse as well.

The Humphreys County case is still under investigation, and no charges have been filed, but the initial warrant cited photos of bestiality found on the coach's cell phone during the investigation. A local parent had accused the coach of drugging and raping a boy during a slumber party.

For the first year the new law was on the books, the Administrative Office of the Courts has no record of anyone in Tennessee being charged with bestiality. That changed in May, when Nashville police got a tip that led them to a couple who had images on their computer of the two of them performing sex acts on a dog.

The woman was given a suspended sentence. The man, who told police he met his girlfriend "on the Internet and she is into bestiality," is still awaiting trial.

DALLAS —  A 1970s-era Texas law that allows parents to show "harmful material" to their children has come under fire after a prosecutor said he couldn't file charges against a man accused of forcing his 8- and 9-year-old daughters to watch hardcore online pornography.

Randall County District Attorney James Farren has asked the Texas attorney general's office to review his decision not to pursue charges in the case, which has prompted at least one lawmaker to vow to change the state's public indecency law.

"Our hands are tied. It's not our fault. I have to follow the law," Farren said Thursday. "The mother of the victims in this case was less than happy with this decision, which I understand. We were less than happy with the statute."

Farren said police reported the incident to his office after one of the girls told a counselor in June that her father made them watch adults having group sex and various other acts at his home in Amarillo. The parents of the girls, and their 7-year-old sister, are divorced and share custody.

The girls' mother, Crystal Buckner, wants her ex-husband to be jailed. She said she was stunned to hear from prosecutors and police that nothing can be done.

"I said, 'Are you kidding me?' There's no way. This can't be right," said Buckner, a 30-year-old stay-at-home mother.

The Texas attorney general's office said Thursday that it would be months before an opinion is issued and declined further comment.

The American Meat Institute (AMI) is urging Baltimore Public Schools to reconsider its decision to hold “Meatless Mondays”.

Baltimore’s school system is the first in the nation to adopt the initiative, which means the system’s 80-thousand students will have no meat option in school meals on Mondays.

In a letter to school officials, AMI stressed that meat and poultry products are an essential part of a balanced diet and urged them to let children and their parents decide what is appropriate for their diets.

The meat industry group also urged officials to do more research on the real motives of the organization behind the “Meatless Mondays” initiative.  The initiative is sponsored by the Grace Spira Project at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.  The name Spira refers to animal rights activist Henry Spira, founder of Animal Rights International.

Authorities in Ohio were digging for more bodies Saturday at the home of a convicted sex offender after the possible remains of six people were found inside and outside his house.

Cleveland police went to check on Anthony Sowell Thursday after they received reports of a rape. During their search of the premises, they found two badly decomposed bodies on the third floor.

A third body was discovered Friday afternoon in a shallow grave in the basement of the house. The possible remains of three more people were found in Sowell's house and backyard, according to WJW-TV in Cleveland.

"[Sowell] is the most wanted man in Cleveland right now," police Lt. Thomas Stacho told The Plain Dealer.

Autopsies were done Friday, but because of the level of decomposition it will take time to determine the age, gender, race and identity of the victims and how they died.

Sowell is wanted on felony rape and assault charges. Police say he had spent 15 years in prison for a 1989 rape.

The Cleveland Police Department is offering a $12,000 reward for Sowell's capture.  

In a case decided last week, the superior court upheld a state law saying that nobody may possess "any handgun" without obtaining law enforcement approval and permission in advance.

That outcome might seem like something of a surprise, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year in the D.C. v. Heller case that the Second Amendment guarantees "the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation."

But New Jersey Appellate Division Judge Stephen Skillman wrote on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel that Heller "has no impact upon the constitutionality of" the state law.

Look for the Supreme Court to revisit this question in a few months when it hears a case called McDonald v. Chicago. It's a constitutional challenge to Chicago's restrictive gun laws, which prohibit anyone from possessing firearms –– even in their homes –– "unless such person is the holder of a valid registration certificate for such firearm."

New Jersey's laws are similar. They say: "No person shall sell, give, transfer, assign or otherwise dispose of, nor receive, purchase, or otherwise acquire a handgun unless the purchaser, assignee, donee, receiver or holder... has first secured a permit to purchase a handgun as provided by this section."

WILLIAMSTON, S.C. —  Authorities say bug spray that produces a fog to kill insects may be to blame for the death of a 10-month-old South Carolina boy and his critically injured 2-year-old brother.

Anderson County Deputy Coroner Don McCown said the boys' mother had been using foggers because of an insect problem. Elizabeth Whitfield called 911 on Sunday to report her youngest boy was having trouble breathing. Paramedics took all three to a hospital, where Jacob Whitfield died.

Kenneth Whitfield remained in critical condition, and Elizabeth Whitfield returned to the ER with breathing problems.

McCown says investigators found seven fogger containers in the single-wide mobile home. He says a single fogger is typically used to treat 6,000 cubic feet.

Yuma, Ariz. —  A 22-year-old man accused of posing as a student at two Arizona high schools told authorities that he wanted to play basketball and hoped to get a college scholarship.

Anthony M. Avalos was arrested Wednesday on charges of forgery and sexual conduct with a minor. He remained jailed on more than $110,000 bond.

Police say he attended Kofa High School and Vista Alternative School in Yuma beginning September 2008 and was a center on Kofa's basketball team. Court records show Avalos graduated in 2005 from Crestview High School in Florida.

They also say he admitted to creating a fake birth certificate and used it to enroll in the Yuma schools.

They say Avalos also admitted to having sex with a girl that he knew was under age 18 on at least three different occasions.

SALEM, Ore. - Oregon police have charged a man with drunk driving after he called 911 to report his marijuana as stolen but the dispatcher couldn't understand him because he was vomiting while on the road.

Marion County sheriff's deputies say 21-year-old Calvin Hoover, of Salem, told dispatchers early Tuesday that someone had broken into his truck and stolen cash, a jacket and a small amount of marijuana while he was at a tavern in Salem.

He then called 911 again to complain that deputies had not arrived, but the dispatcher had trouble understanding Hoover because he was driving and stopping several times to vomit.

He was arrested on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants.

A Salem phone number listed for a Calvin Hoover had been disconnected.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - Workers are altering part of the Vigo County jail to fix a design flaw that allowed inmates to crawl through the ceiling to visit other cells. Eight pods in the 7-year-old addition to the original jail are getting sturdier ceiling panels to prevent excursions by inmates under a settlement with the original architect.

Sheriff Jon Marvel said the $500,000 ceiling upgrade should be complete by early December.

He said the design flaw allowed inmates in a top bunk to kick and bend perforated metal ceiling panels, stripping out screws so they could lift the panel.

Once a panel was lifted far enough, inmates could slip through the gap and roam around in the space above the cells to visit other inmates.

ALOHA, Ore. (AP) - A 20-year-old man who called 911 to get his fast-food order straightened out has been told to pay a $300 fine. Washington County, Ore., sheriff's deputies said Raibin Raof Osman called the emergency line to complain that a McDonald's in Aloha had left out a box of orange juice from his drive-through order. A restaurant employee later called 911 to report that Osman and others who were with him were blocking the lane, knocking on restaurant windows and intimidating employees.

Deputies tried to explain to Osman that refereeing such disputes is not what they do. They said he insisted he had the legal right to call police. He was taken to jail.

The Oregonian said Osman pleaded guilty recently to improper use of 911 and has been ordered to pay the fine.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - An appeals court has ruled Pennsylvania State Police botched a prostitution investigation in which troopers gave an informant money to pay for sex four times at a massage parlor, along with a total of $180 for the man's trouble.

The Superior Court opinion issued Thursday upheld a Lehigh County judge's ruling that threw out prostitution charges against Sun Cha Chon in suburban Allentown on the grounds that the government had acted outrageously.

The appeals court ruling described how the man first approached state police to say he had been solicited for sex at the Shiatsu Spa. Troopers then supplied the unnamed man with government money and sent him back four times to engage in what the county judge called "a smorgasbord of sexual activity" during June and July 2006.

Lehigh County Judge Robert L. Steinberg said the man's subsequent visits did not advance the police investigation. He was given $360 total to pay for the services that allegedly involved Chon and another woman, plus the extra $180 for his time.

"The outrageous nature is it went beyond what was necessary to prove the prostitution charge," said Chon's lawyer, Maureen Coggins.

The Superior Court opinion recounted how police and the informant were recorded laughing about the sexual encounters.

"We expect more from the police, and demand that they conduct their investigations and utilize their resources without resorting to such embarrassing investigative techniques," Steinberg said in a written opinion that the appeals court cited at length.

"No adequate supervisory guidance was provided, no standards existed for this type of investigation, and some of the behavior by the participants was sophomoric," Steinberg wrote.

The lead investigator said the informant contacted police because he had been offended by the offer of sex, according to the Superior Court ruling.

"It is difficult to imagine how this informant could have been so offended, and yet proceed to engage in oral and sexual intercourse with the two women in this case and laugh about it with the investigating troopers after each occasion," wrote Judge John T. Bender for the three-judge Superior Court panel.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said officers sent the informant back repeatedly to help them determine the scope of the organization. He said he was concerned about the precedent the ruling might set and plans to seek review by the state Supreme Court.

"Is it outrageous police conduct if it's done in a drug setting or if it's done in an investigation into weapons sales?" Martin said. "That's an important consideration."

He described the extra cash payments to the informant as a necessary evil and common practice.

State police spokeswoman Lt. Myra Taylor said department policy prohibits undercover officers from engaging in any sexual act, but she also said the informant's behavior did not conform with state police standards. She said the troopers' conduct has been addressed internally.

BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore mayor Sheila Dixon is about to put her political future in the hands of a jury.

Dixon goes on trial Monday on theft charges. She's accused of hitting up her wealthy developer pals to donate thousands of dollars' worth of gift cards to needy families. Prosecutors say she used those gift cards for her personal shopping instead.

A plea deal would do Dixon no good. Under state law, she would be tossed out of office if convicted of any felony or misdemeanor related to her official duties.

Dixon answered a handful of questions about her trial in a meeting with reporters this week but declined additional interview requests. She says she has not given any thought to stepping down.  

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. –– Clarksville police said they arrested a woman on Wednesday morning after she repeatedly made non-emergency calls to the city's 911 system.

Hee Orama, 34, was arrested after police said she recently made frequent calls to 911 complaining about a man lying to her about marrying her.

Police said they responded to two calls from Orama and explained that this was not an emergency situation and to stop calling.

Orama then called again and was cited by police and told she would be arrested if she kept calling them with non-emergencies.

Police said the woman then called a 911 dispatcher a few minutes later but would not say why she called. Police then arrested Orama and took her to the Montgomery County Jail.

Orama's bond was set at $250.

Police said Orama's calls cost city workers many hours addressing the situation. 911 supervisor Julie Vogle said they receive non-emergency calls frequently, which often forces two or three officers to respond.

"If the officers are running emergency traffic, that's putting several lives in danger, including the citizens," said Vogle.

Police said they also arrested Orama last week for repeatedly calling 911 because she couldn't find her car.

PINELLAS PARK - As Xuan-Nuong Lam Tran pulled her Mercedes ML 350 into a parking spot at a post office, another customer flung open her own car door, causing minor damage.

Tran, a travel agent, might have received a ticket forcareless driving that day in July and gone on her way. But she was handcuffed and taken to the Pinellas County Jail, feeling humiliated.

Her crime?

Ten days earlier, according to court records, she failed to answer a charge she had watered her lawn on the wrong day.

At the jail, Tran rolled her fingers in black ink, and her mug shot appeared on the jail's Web site along with those of suspected murderers, drug dealers and child molesters.

Two months later, a man was driving along Central Avenue, without violating any traffic laws, when a St. Petersburg police officer checked his license plate number and found there was a warrant for his arrest.

Like Tran, Glenn Bell, 28, was taken to jail for failing to address a lawn-watering fine.

The two are among an increasing number of people in Pinellas County who find themselves entangled in thecriminal justice system because they have failed to pay a $188 fine for watering their lawns on the wrong days.

An end to warnings

Only two people were arrested last year, from January through September, in connection with a lawn-watering violation, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. But during the same period this year, the number jumped to 22 - an 11-fold increase.

That's because Pinellas County Utilities and municipalities no longer issue warnings for watering offenses in the midst of what the Southwest Florida Water Management District calls an extreme water shortage, said Terrie Grace, who oversees the water restriction enforcement program for the county utility.

Before Nov. 14, 2008, homeowners and business owners were given a warning the first time an enforcement officer saw the sprinkler system activated on the wrong day, Grace said. After that date, they were slapped with a citation and fine.

That strict stance resulted in the number of citations skyrocketing. From January through September last year, 38 citations were issued by Pinellas County Utilities.

Once the warnings disappeared, however, the number of citations soared, to 1,015 from January through September this year, Grace said.

It wasn't that more people were watering their lawns on the wrong days. The number of violations was virtually the same for the two nine-month stretches - 1,046 violations in 2008 compared with 1,069 violations in 2009, Grace said. In 2008, the majority of violations didn't result in citations because property owners followed watering rules after the warnings.