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Nation in brief
Compiled from Times wires Sniper suspect goes to closed hearingGREENBELT, Md. -- The 17-year-old sniper suspect appeared before a federal judge for a closed juvenile hearing Monday as investigators looked into whether two more shootings are linked to a rampage that left 10 dead. Police around the country have been reviewing unsolved shootings to see if they are connected to John Muhammad, 41, and John Malvo, 17, who were arrested Oct. 24 in Maryland. The wounding of two people in separate holdups, one outside a liquor store and the other outside a restaurant, could be connected with the string of sniper attacks that terrorized the region, Prince George's County police said. Both shootings took place in Clinton, the same Washington suburb where Muhammad's ex-wife lives. Alaska pipeline being inspected after quakeANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Engineers inspected the Alaska pipeline to determine the extent of the damage Monday after one of the most powerful earthquakes ever recorded in the United States knocked out some of its supports and forced a shutdown in the flow of oil. Sunday's magnitude-7.9 quake was so strong that it opened cracks 6 feet wide in roads and rocked boats on lakes as far away as Louisiana. However, only one minor injury was reported: a woman who broke her arm in a fall when she fled her home. The pipeline, which carries crude from the North Slope oil fields, was shut down as a precaution, and Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. spokesman Mike Heatwole said Monday that it was too soon to know when pumping would resume. The giant conduit, about 60 miles from the quake's epicenter, was not ruptured, but some brackets were damaged, leaving sections of the 48-inch-diameter pipe suspended without support, officials said. Crews began work on temporary supports. Jewish Defense League leader attempts suicideLOS ANGELES -- Jewish Defense League leader Irv Rubin, jailed after being accused of plotting to bomb a mosque and an Arab-American congressman's office, was hospitalized Monday after trying to kill himself, a U.S. Marshal's Service spokesman said. Rubin, 57, used a razor blade in the 6 a.m. suicide attempt and was in critical condition after undergoing surgery at an undisclosed hospital, spokesman Bill Woolsey said. His attorney, Peter Morris, said that Rubin was on life support and that his wife and two sons had been called to his bedside. Study: To aid emergency rooms, send many homePHILADELPHIA -- Many people with inadequate or no health insurance are going to emergency rooms with ordinary aches and pains, and many of them could safely be sent home instead and told to return for treatment the next day at a hospital clinic, researchers said. The study, published in today's issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, found that patients with nonacute ailments suffered no ill effects after being told to come back the next day. The researchers suggested that giving some patients the option of next-day care might help ease crowding and cut costs in overburdened emergency rooms. The study was done at the 500-bed Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, an inner-city public hospital with 91,000 visits to its emergency room each year. RecallFORD FOCUS: Ford Motor Co.; 2000 and 2001 models. Cause: Bolt in front suspension assembly may be loose. Also, battery cable routing problems in models with Zetec engines could lead to smoke, wire melting or a fire. Action: Follow mailed notification; return to dealer.
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From the Times wire desk
From the AP |
