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Nation in brief

Four found dead at Ind. home; man in custody

By wire services
Published December 14, 2005

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - A man who was found standing on the front porch of a home that contained four bodies was being held without bail Tuesday as police investigated the slayings of a woman and three children.

Simon Rios, 33, who lived at the address where the bodies were discovered, was being held on preliminary charges of murder. He was scheduled to be arraigned today. Officers responding to a report of suicide threats arrived before dawn at Rios' home to find him standing on the front porch. Police then entered the one-story residence and found the bodies.

The victims are thought to be related, but that could not be confirmed until the bodies are identified.

NEW YORK - A judge Tuesday issued an injunction barring New York's bus and subway workers from striking if they fail to reach a new contract later this week.

State Justice Theodore Jones ruled after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority warned of the disruption that would result for the more than 7-million daily riders on the nation's largest transit system.

Subway and bus workers voted over the weekend to give the Transport Workers Union board the authority to call a strike at 12:01 a.m. Friday if necessary. The sticking points include wages, health benefits and pensions.

Any strike would be illegal under state law, which bans public employee walkouts and spells out hefty fines for violators.

BERGENFIELD, N.J. - An explosion and fire ripped through an apartment complex Tuesday after construction workers hit a gas line, authorities said. Two people were killed and five were injured.

The 9:30 a.m. blast blew out windows, lifted nearby residents off their feet and sparked a fire that sent up plumes of smoke visible 10 miles away.

Several residents who fled the 24-unit building said they heard an elderly woman screaming for help because her husband was trapped inside the apartment closest to the blast. It was not known if the man was one of the two people killed.

WASHINGTON - A young woman dubbed the "cell phone bandit" pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that could put her behind bars for the rest of her life.

Candice R. Martinez, 19, stood before a U.S. District Court judge in suburban Alexandria, Va., and entered guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy to commit bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Sentencing was set for March 3.

Martinez admitted conspiring with her boyfriend to rob four northern Virginia banks.

In one of the robberies, a surveillance video captured her calmly talking on her cell phone while waiting for money to be handed over. The tape was played on TV worldwide.

[Last modified December 14, 2005, 00:15:15]