The nation in brief

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I’m very, very sorry.And I want to apologize to all the rescue workers out there, and the people that got involved in the community.”

Richard Heene,

sentenced to jail in the balloon boy hoax Article, 3A

6 injured in crash at LA train tracks

LOS ANGELES - A Metrolink commuter train struck a pickup that flew into its path after crashing into a car that had stopped for a passing ambulance, authorities said. Six people were treated for injuries, including two in critical condition.

The chain-reaction crash occurred around 7 a.m. Wednesday in the eastern San Fernando Valley where train tracks parallel a major road.

Four people in the two vehicles were injured and two were taken to hospitals in critical condition, including a 2-year-old boy, said fire Capt. Steve Ruda. The child, his mother and a man were in one of the vehicles, while a 40-year-old man, also in critical condition, was in the truck, he said.

Eight of the 39 passengers aboard the train complained of injuries, but only two were taken to hospitals for treatment of minor injuries, authorities said.

Ruda said the accident occurred when the car pulled to the side of the road for an ambulance traveling in the opposite direction. The pickup slammed into the back of the car and flipped over before coming to rest 40 feet to 50 feet away on the railroad tracks, where the train struck it.

Doctor-sex case victims called many

GEORGETOWN, Del. - A Delaware official said Wednesday that there could be more than 100 potential victims of a pediatrician accused of sexually abusing patients.

Alexis Slutsky, a deputy attorney general assigned to the state’s Child Predator Task Force, said the volume of evidence seized from Dr. Earl Bradley’s practice and home, including videotapes of the alleged attacks and computer files, makes it difficult to estimate the number of victims.

“I’m comfortable in saying probably well over 100 potential victims,” she said at a news conference with Attorney General Beau Biden and other law-enforcement officials.

Slutsky said the investigation is focusing on cases between 1998 and the present.

Bradley, 56, was arrested last week and is being held in prison in lieu of $2.9 million bond. He has been charged with 33 felony counts relating to seven alleged victims.

A preliminary hearing Wednesday was postponed until Jan. 14. His attorney, Eugene Maurer, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Study logs no improper ACORN voters

WASHINGTON - The Congressional Research Service said in a new report that it couldn’t find any instances in which people improperly registered to vote by ACORN showed up at the polls on Election Day.

The report was commissioned by House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers of Michigan and Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank of Massachusetts, both Democrats, in response to criticism of the activist group.

ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) also is being investigated by the Government Accountability Office, Congress’ investigative arm.

Republicans have accused the group of voter fraud.

ACORN Chief Executive Officer Bertha Lewis has said that while some phony registrations were discovered, the group was required by law to submit them to local election boards.

The research service report said it found no instances where someone registered by ACORN under a phony name tried to vote.

The report also found no instances in the past five years of ACORN misusing federal funds.

HUD funds $1.4 billion for homeless

WASHINGTON - The Housing and Urban Development Department announced Wednesday nearly $1.4 billion in grants to help fund a record number of programs for the homeless.

The grants will assist 6,445 existing programs around the country, up from $1.2 billion to fund 5,825 ongoing projects last year. This includes more than $733 million for 3,200 programs that serve families with children.

“We all know that this has been an extraordinarily difficult year for families,” HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a conference call with reporters.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 12/24/2009

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