Nation in brief

Vaccine for flu was 50% effective

ATLANTA - Last season's flu shot was effective only about half the time, confirming the concerns many experts had since the vaccine was not an exact match for one of the flu strains making many Americans sick, the government said Thursday.

Even so, "the vaccine still provided some protection and substantial health benefits," said Dr. Carolyn Bridges, an epidemiologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

When the flu vaccine is a closer match to the type of flu circulating, it is can be up to 90 percent effective in healthy adults, according to the CDC.

JACKSONVILLE - A California teenager left paralyzed in a gun accident a decade ago failed Thursday in his bid to buy the company that produced the Saturday night special that changed his life.

Brandon Maxfield's final bid of $505,000 to buy Bryco Arms, one of the nation's leading makers of inexpensive guns known as Saturday night specials, fell short. He had wanted to acquire it in order to shut it down.

Paul Jimenez, Bryco's former foreman, bought the company for $510,000, in spirited bidding that increased by $5,000 increments from the opening bid of $175,000.

Last year, Maxfield won a $24-million judgment against the company, its distribution arm and its owner, Bruce Jennings.

Days after the verdict, Jennings moved across the country and bought a $500,000 annuity and a $900,000 home and hangar in Daytona Beach. He filed for bankruptcy for himself and the company in Florida because state law allows debtors to keep their houses.

McKINNEY, Texas - A woman accused of capital murder in the bathtub drownings of her two young daughters last year was found not guilty by reason of insanity Thursday in one of the deaths.

An indictment is pending against Lisa Ann Diaz, 33, in the second death. The district attorney's office was reviewing its options, a spokeswoman said.

Diaz's husband, Angel Diaz, came home from work in September to find Kamryn, 3, and Briana, 5, lying naked on a bed in the family's three-bedroom home in Plano.

In the garage he found his wife looking pale, with "a glazed look on her face," he testified.

COLUMBINE DIARIES PUBLIC?: An appeals court ruled Thursday that tapes and diaries made by the two teenagers who killed 13 people at Columbine High School can be made public. But the Colorado Court of Appeals left open the possibility the materials will remain sealed, noting that state law allows authorities to withhold documents if the release would be "contrary to the public interest."

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES: A wildfire destroyed at least 64 homes in a subdivision near Shasta Lake, Calif., and forced hundreds of people to flee, officials said Thursday. The blaze, started by sparks from a lawn mower, has scorched 3,000 acres, said Kevin Colburn of the state forestry department. The fire was 40 percent contained, but a shift in the wind overnight pushed the fire southward, he said.

World and national headlines

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright