DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
White House makes list of visitors public
Reversing a policy embraced by previous presidents of both parties, the Obama administration will make public a listing of visitors to the White House.
The White House said the move was another step in making the administration more open.
Under the policy, the Obama administration will post online the names of White House visitors from the previous 90 to 120 days.
The only names withheld under the policy would be people being considered for high-level appointments, such as Supreme Court candidates. Visitors whose known presence at the White House would pose a national security risk also are exempted under the policy, the White House said.
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GEORGIA
911 caller charged with killing 8 people
BRUNSWICK — A man who told authorities "My whole family's dead!" in a frantic 911 call was charged Friday with killing the eight people attacked in his family's mobile home.
Guy Heinze Jr., 22, was arrested Friday on eight counts of first-degree murder in the slayings last weekend at a mobile home park a few miles north of Brunswick. Among those killed were seven of Heinze's relatives.
In the call to emergency dispatchers Aug. 29, Heinze said he'd come home to find the bodies and that it appeared the victims had been beaten to death. Seven were found dead, and an eighth died at a hospital.
Police haven't released causes of death for the victims.
WASHINGTON
Cougar sightings close Seattle's largest park
SEATTLE — With a cougar possibly on the prowl, Seattle's largest park remained off-limits to holiday weekend revelers as state wildlife agents tried to trap the elusive animal.
On Friday, wildlife agents set a second trap while most people obeyed orders to stay out of the urban retreat.
In the past week, at least four people have made credible reports of cougar sightings in or near Discovery Park, a 534-acre preserve northwest of the city's downtown.
Though no tracks have been found, possibly because of the warm and dry weather, and no pictures have been taken, officials closed the park Thursday as they tried to capture the animal.
Radio towers toppled in act of sabotage
SEATTLE — Two radio station towers near Seattle that have generated intense local opposition were toppled early Friday in an act of sabotage that bore the initials of the radical Earth Liberation Front.
The towers for KRKO-AM — one of which was 349 feet tall — were torn down because of health and environmental concerns, said an e-mail from the North American ELF Press Office, which has represented the shadowy group in the past.
The ELF is a loose collection of radical environmentalists that has claimed responsibility for dozens of attacks since the 1990s. A banner that bore the initials of the ELF was left at the scene, authorities said.
The FBI has taken over as lead investigator in Friday's incident, and agent Marty Prewett said authorities haven't found any evidence that other individuals or groups besides the ELF were involved.
PENNSYLVANIA
Ex-legislator, aide face trial in corruption case
HARRISBURG — A judge has ruled that a former Pennsylvania legislative power broker and his one-time aide should stand trial on corruption charges.
Harrisburg District Judge William Wenner's ruling Friday was a serious setback for Mike Veon, the former Democratic House whip, and co-defendant Annamarie Perretta-Rosepink. A previous judge had dismissed the charges but prosecutors refiled some of them.
In the current charges, prosecutors allege that Veon and Perretta-Rosepink illegally diverted millions of taxpayer dollars through a nonprofit that Veon controlled — the Beaver Initiative for Growth — to hire consultants who did little or no work, rented office space that the nonprofit hardly used and performed political and legislative tasks.
2-pound cannonball puts hole in house
UNIONTOWN — A Pennsylvania history buff who re-creates firearms from old wars accidentally fired a 2-pound cannonball through a house's wall.
William Maser, 54, fired a cannonball Wednesday evening outside his home in Georges Township that ricocheted and hit a house 400 yards away.
The cannonball, about 2 inches in diameter, smashed through a window and a wall before landing in a closet. Authorities say nobody was hurt.
State police charged Maser with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
ALASKA
Palin's resignation estimated at $40,000
ANCHORAGE — Early estimates put the cost of Sarah Palin's midterm resignation as Alaska governor at a minimum of $40,000, not including a special legislative session partly linked to her departure.
The preliminary figures obtained by The Associated Press show it cost the state almost $14,100 for the July 26 swearing-in ceremony of new Gov. Sean Parnell.
The price tag for moving Palin — the former GOP vice presidential candidate — and her family from the governor's mansion in Juneau amounted to roughly $3,328.
Palin's spokeswoman, Meghan Stapleton, says suggesting the resignation cost the state is "incredibly misleading." She says the resignation ceremony was added to a previously scheduled governor's picnic and was organized by the lieutenant governor's office.
The tally doesn't include the estimated $100,000 it cost for a one-day special session last month in which lawmakers approved Palin's pick to replace Parnell as lieutenant governor, and overrode her veto of federal stimulus funds.
NEVADA
High court denies bail to O.J. Simpson
LAS VEGAS — The Nevada Supreme Court denied O.J. Simpson's request Friday to be let out of prison pending a decision on the appeal of his conviction in a gunpoint heist in a Las Vegas hotel room.
A three-judge panel that heard oral arguments Aug. 3 concluded Simpson and convicted co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart didn't meet what the court called the "heavy burden" required to be allowed to post bail.
NEW YORK
Cop is charged with hiring hit on ex-wife
NEW YORK — A New York City police officer has been charged with hiring a grifter to kill his ex-wife, who survived after a screwdriver was plunged into her neck.
Anthony Battisti was held without bail after pleading not guilty Friday. He was charged with first-degree attempted murder, conspiracy and assault in the Jan. 23 attack on Patricia Battisti. He has been suspended from the police force.
Prosecutors say Battisti paid $5,000 to Timothy Gersbeck to carry out the attack. Gersbeck has pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder.
