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Siblings
confess to starting fire at elementary school
(AP)
A 15-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother who admitted killing
their 6-year-old brother have been in trouble before.
In
1998, they confessed to starting a fire at an elementary school.
The siblings were taken into custody early Tuesday and detained
on murder charges, Lewisville police investigator Eddie Barrett
said. They appeared at a detention hearing Wednesday morning, but
Assistant District Attorney Lee Ann Breading would not release details
of the proceeding.
“The
judge has asked that all parties involved not discuss any of the
facts of the case since it still involves all juveniles,” Breading
said. “There is nothing I can tell you.”
The
body of Jackson Carr, with a puncture wound in the neck, was found
Tuesday in a shallow grave about 100 yards behind the family’s
Lewisville home. His sister led police to the grave after authorities
and neighbors spent hours searching for the boy.
After
the two older children confessed to setting the fire at Shorehaven
Elementary School on Nov. 25, 1998, an arson report by the Garland
Fire Department’s juvenile fire-setter program recommended
psychotherapy for the girl.
Merrill
Balanciere, a spokeswoman for the fire department, said no charges
were filed against the two in the arson case. School was out on
the day the fire was set, and damage was light— between $400
and $600, authorities said.
FBI
agent criticized during McVeigh trial retires
(AP)
Danny Defenbaugh, the special agent in charge of the Dallas FBI
office who was heavily criticized in a report last month for withholding
information in the Timothy McVeigh trial, announced his retirement
Wednesday.
The
32-year FBI veteran said he would step down at the end of April.
“It’s
been a long time,” he said, declining to comment further.
Defenbaugh,
51, was named head of the Dallas FBI office in 1998, after leading
the Oklahoma City bombing investigation.
In
a March 19 report, the Justice Department recommended Defenbaugh
and three other agents be disciplined for the FBI’s failure
to turn over thousands of pages of documents to McVeigh’s lawyers
until days before his scheduled execution.
Defenbaugh
was not pressured to step down as a result of the report, FBI spokeswoman
Lori Bailey said.
Department
of Public Safety seizes 74 pounds of heroin
(AP)
The seizure of 74 pounds of heroin worth $3.3 million is the largest
heroin seizure ever for the Texas Department of Public Safety, the
department announced Wednesday.
Jourdanton
Trooper Martin Soward last week stopped a pickup truck for driving
erratically on northbound Interstate 37 in Atascosa County and became
suspicious of oversized tires.
Soward
inspected the tires and found bundles of brown heroin concealed
by metal containers that were welded to the truck’s four tire
rims.
A 53-year-old
Mexican national was arrested and faces federal drug charges.
Arlington school bus crashes into drainage ditch
(AP)
A school bus crashed into a drainage ditch Wednesday, injuring 10
students and three adults from an alternative education high school.
None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
The
bus is believed to have been on its way to Turning Point High School
in Arlington, according to KXAS-TV in Dallas.
Authorities
would not immediately indicate what caused the accident, which happened
about 9:30 a.m. A minivan, also involved in the crash, was partially
underneath the bus.
The
injured students were transported to local hospitals.
Squirrels
cause power outage across U of Alabama
TUSCALOOSA,
Ala. (U-WIRE) — Call it Squirrel Wars: Episode II — Attack
of the Squirrels.
For
the second time this semester, a squirrel grilled itself via a University
of Alabama power substation, rendering lights, computers and air
conditioning units inoperable around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, according
to Alabama Power spokeswoman Pam Collins.
Power
was restored around campus by 1 p.m., said University spokeswoman
Cathy Andreen.
Andreen
added that classes were not officially canceled during the power
outage. Andreen said she was not sure how many buildings lost power
across campus.
Another
squirrel tangled with a transformer on Jan. 29 at the other substation
on Campus Drive, cutting power to 21 buildings for several hours
and canceling night classes.
That
squirrel did not survive the incident.
Though
many students seem to be amused by the repeated suicide squirrel
attacks, others are not as entertained.
Heather
Harvie, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said action
should be taken to prevent a third Tuscaloosa squirrel from perishing
inside a transformer this year.
“I’m
a vegan, and I really love animals. I feel really bad for the squirrel,
and I wish there was something we could do about it, since this
is the second time this year,” Harvie said.
Student
threatens to burn flag in class on freedom
SALT
LAKE CITY (U-WIRE) —“Today, we are going to burn a flag
in class,”" said Michael Martin at the beginning of David
Vergobbi’s Freedom of Expression class on Tuesday.
In
front of a class of 30, Martin stood behind a propane burner, a
dozen U.S. flags, a fire extinguisher and a metal garbage can placed
on a table.
A University
of Utah senior studying political science, he admitted to knowing
that such actions were illegal, but smiled as if he enjoyed defying
the law. One student borrowed Martin’s cell phone threatening
to notify the police once he ignited the flag.
Students
opened windows to vent the smoke as Martin lit the propane burner
and moved it closer to the flag.
Students
began questioning Martin’s actions asking, “Why are you
doing this?”
He
didn’t answer.
But
when Martin held the burner in one hand and threatened to precede,
classmate David Reichner ran to the front of class and snatched
the flags away from Martin saying, he could not let him burn the
U.S. flag in class.
Turns
out Martin never planned on following through with his threats.
Martin was just one of four students involved in a class presentation
to discuss the difference between words and actions.
The
students’ presentation was based on ideas presented in articles
written by Franklyn Haiman, former president of American Civil Liberties
Union.
Columbus
police work to prevent off-campus riots
COLUMBUS,
Ohio (U-WIRE) — Approximately 50 people were arrested and charged
by the Columbus Division of Police for violations ranging from illegal
possession, consumption, sale or furnishing of alcohol to minors
last weekend.
Columbus,
Ohio, police have been working to stay proactive and help prevent
off-campus riots. Last weekend they conducted an operation around
campus focusing on underage drinking.
The
lack of bars around Ohio State University’s campus has become
the biggest contributing factor for spring riots, said Sgt. Earl
Smith of the Columbus police. The campus area has undergone huge
changes, and there are fewer places to go.
Columbus
police will be out again this weekend, but if there are no incidents
reported they will not waste their time looking for problems, Smith
said.
Osama bin Laden picture taped
inside airplane
McALLEN
(AP) — Federal officials are trying to figure out who taped
a picture of Osama bin Laden inside the overhead bin of an airplane,
delaying a flight and prompting a search of the terminal.
Transportation
Safety Administration spokesman John Clabes said Wednesday that
the agency is investigating the Saturday incident, which stalled
the departure of a flight to Dallas and resulted in the search of
the McAllen-Miller International Airport terminal building.
Clabes
said the plane was preparing for takeoff when the photo was found.
Passengers were deplaned and the checkpoint was closed while officials
searched.
An
airport supervisor told McAllen police that the blue tape used to
hang the picture of bin Laden is used by a cleaning crew that cleans
the plane’s carpet. The picture was found inside the door of
the overhead luggage bin, according to police reports.
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