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Nation in brief

Settlement finalized in Bryant suit

By wire services
Published March 4, 2005

DENVER - A federal judge signed an order Thursday that officially dismisses a 20-year-old woman's lawsuit against Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant. Terms were not given when attorneys announced Wednesday that a settlement had been reached.

"They will never be who they were before this happened," said victims' advocate Krista Flannigan, a former spokeswoman for the prosecutors who charged Bryant with felony sexual assault. "It's redefining the normal and redefining their lives to accommodate what has happened."

The settlement was filed seven months ago, just before prosecutors dropped a criminal charge against Bryant because the woman did not want to go ahead with a trial.

The settlement allowed Bryant to avoid being questioned under oath about his encounter with the woman in June 2003 at a Vail, Colo.-area resort where she worked, near her hometown of Eagle.

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The teenage sister of Michael Jackson's accuser told jurors Thursday about a series of unusual events that unfolded around the time of the alleged abuse, including a sudden trip in which the family was whisked away to Miami on a private jet.

The sister also described a drinking party with Jackson, changes in her brother's behavior and claims of death threats against her family. The testimony was elicited to support allegations the singer conspired to hold the accuser's family captive and get them to rebut a February 2003 documentary in which Jackson said he allowed boys to sleep in his bed.

The sister did not mention witnessing any molestation of her brother, a cancer survivor. She was to continue testifying today.

Prosecutors allege the boy was molested twice by Jackson after the program aired.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Yale University increased its financial aid for lower-income families Thursday, the latest move by the Ivy League to attract students who had seen the schools as out of their price range.

Beginning next year, families making less than $45,000 will no longer have to pay tuition for their children, and those earning between $45,000 and $60,000 will see their required contributions drop an average of 50 percent, Yale said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A 37-year-old middle school teacher is accused of having sex with four children under age 16.

Police in central West Virginia filed eight charges of third-degree sexual assault against Toni Lynn Woods. A criminal complaint said she had confessed, but did not give genders or specific ages of the students.

Woods, who taught sixth grade at Braxton County Middle School, has resigned and surrendered her teaching certificate, said prosecutor William C. Martin.

State Police spokesman Sgt. Jay Powers said "there could be a possibility there are more victims out there."

Woods was being held on $100,000 bail. No date was set for a preliminary hearing.

[Last modified March 4, 2005, 00:31:15]