MINNESOTA
Parents OK chemo for boy with cancer
NEW ULM— The parents of a Minnesota boy who refused chemotherapy for his cancer told a judge Tuesday they now agree to the medical treatment, and the judge ruled their son can stay with them.
Daniel Hauser, 13, has Hodgkin's lymphoma. He and his mother missed a court appearance last week and left the state to avoid chemo-therapy and seek alternative treatments. Colleen and Anthony Hauser told a Brown County District judge they now understand their son needs chemotherapy.
When Judge John Rodenberg asked an emotional Colleen Hauser if she now believes chemotherapy is necessary to save her son's life, she replied, "Yes, I do."
Daniel is scheduled for a round of chemotherapy Thursday at Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota.
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Daniel and Colleen returned to Minnesota on Monday after almost a week on the run.
NEW YORK
D.C. grand jury indicts ex-police commissioner
NEW YORK — Former New York City police Commissioner Bernard Kerik has been indicted on charges of making false statements to White House officials vetting him for the position of Department of Homeland Security secretary.
The indictment was handed up Tuesday by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C. It means Kerik will face trials in New York and Washington.
Similar false-statement charges were brought as part of a larger case in New York but were dismissed and transferred to Washington, where prosecutors say the crimes occurred.
The indictment alleges Kerik falsely denied that as a public official he had any financial dealings with contractors seeking to do business with the city. Prosecutors say the contractors spent more than $255,000 renovating Kerik's apartment.
Wal-Mart may be fined
$7K in trampling death
GARDEN CITY — The death of a temporary employee who was crushed in a stampede of post-Thanksgiving shoppers at a Wal-Mart store could have been prevented, federal officials said Tuesday as they proposed fining the world's largest retailer $7,000 — as much money as it makes in about 18 seconds.
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it was citing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. for inadequate crowd management following the Nov. 28, 2008, death of Jdimytai Damour at a Long Island store.
The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Damour had been on the job for about a week when a crowd estimated at 2,000 strong broke down the Valley Stream store's doors in search of predawn bargains, trapping him in a vestibule. The 34-year-old Queens man died of asphyxiation.
"Effective planning and crowd management could have prevented this incident and its grave consequences," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. The retailer has 15 days to respond to the allegations, which could lead to a fine of $7,000, Kulick said.
The fine is the maximum allowed, OSHA said.
'Jon & Kate Plus 8' draws huge audience
NEW YORK — "Jon & Kate Plus 8" drew a huge audience for its fifth-season premiere, according to Nielsen Media Research.
Boosted by scandal and a media siege, the TLC reality series attracted 9.8 million viewers Monday night — more than double the audience for its fourth-season finale several weeks ago.
"Jon & Kate Plus 8" was already TLC's most popular show as it chronicled the challenges of raising eight young children. But there were newcomers watching Monday who may never have heard of the show until the recent rash of magazine covers and online bulletins.
Jon and Kate Gosselin, the parents of twins and sextuplets, have recently been swamped by media coverage that alleged they had cheated on each other.
The couple continued to deny the allegations on Monday's episode.
TEXAS
Toxic smoke from fire clears out small town
DALLAS — Toxic smoke from a blaze in an acre-size heap of old tires forced the evacuation of a small East Texas town and closed its schools Tuesday.
Firefighters did not have enough water and foam to extinguish the fire, so they dug a ditch to get dirt to smother the flames. Morning rain aided their efforts, but the fire was still burning late Tuesday, more than 20 hours after it started. No injuries were reported.
Heavy equipment was being used to smother the fire. Firefighters were expected to work overnight to quell the blaze by this morning, said Eric Delgado, the Environmental Protection Agency's on-scene coordinator.
Wood County Emergency Management Coordinator Randy Selman said the lot contains millions of tires but only about 150,000 were burning. The tires were supposed to be removed years ago, prompting an investigation by state regulators.
Most residents of Hawkins, a town of about 1,500 people about 100 miles east of Dallas, were urged to leave. The fire was being investigated as arson.
DNA exonerates man serving life sentence
DALLAS — The Dallas County district attorney says a man who has spent nearly 23 years in prison on a sexual assault conviction is set to be exonerated by DNA testing.
District Attorney Craig Watkins said Tuesday that post-conviction tests have proved Jerry Lee Evans is innocent. The 47-year-old Evans was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 after being convicted of aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon.
Evans was picked by the victim out of a photo lineup one year after the assault near downtown Dallas. A hearing was scheduled today to enter the DNA test results in court.
CALIFORNIA
Man accused of killing rapper gets lower bail
LOS ANGELES — A judge has lowered bail for an Atlanta man accused of murdering rapper Dolla at a Los Angeles shopping mall.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Terry Bork reduced Aubrey Berry's bail from $5 million to $2.1 million on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old Berry is accused of gunning down Dolla in the valet parking area of the Beverly Center. Berry's attorney, Howard Price, says his client was acting in self-defense.
The 21-year-old rapper, whose real name was Roderick Anthony Burton II, was a protégé of Akon and recently released two songs with the hip-hop star.
NEVADA
Obama raising money for troubled Reid
LAS VEGAS — Hours after exercising a cherished presidential right Tuesday — naming a Supreme Court nominee — President Obama engaged in one of the office's grubbier traditions: raising money for an embattled lawmaker.
The president launched a two-day, three-stop Western trip that will devote more time to fundraising than to public policy.
At Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Obama was scheduled to headline an evening fundraiser for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat whose home-state popularity has sagged in recent polls. Tickets started at $50, but donors giving the $29,600 maximum were allowed to shake the president's hand at a more exclusive reception.
After an 80-minute visit to a photovoltaic facility today at Nevada's Nellis Air Force Base, Obama plans to host a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. He flies back to Washington early Thursday.
OREGON
Mother is charged in boy's drowning
PORTLAND — A woman accused of throwing her two children off a bridge in Portland, Ore., has been charged in the drowning death of her son.
Amanda Stott-Smith was arraigned Tuesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Her 4-year-old son died when he fell 75 feet into the Willamette River on Saturday.
Her 7-year-old daughter survived and is expected to recover. Both children were pulled from the water by residents.
NEBRASKA
Beer carton serves as robber's mask
LINCOLN— Police are looking for a man who stole cigarettes while disguising himself with a beer carton on his head.
Lincoln police Capt. Bob Kawamoto said the man walked into a Kwik Shop convenience store before dawn Monday wearing an empty Bud Light box on his head as a mask.
Kawamoto said the man also had wrapped something around one of his hands, suggesting he was armed. But the man never showed a weapon.
Police said the bandit left with nine packs of smokes valued at nearly $50.
Police spokeswoman Katie Flood said Tuesday morning that the robbery was captured on video. She said the man also dropped the empty 12-pack box as he fled, and it will be checked for fingerprints.
The Associated Press
