LITTLE ROCK — FCC to unveil new Net traffic rules
The head of the FCC plans to propose new rules that would prohibit Internet service providers from interfering with the free flow of information and certain applications over their networks, according to reports published Saturday.
The reports said Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski will announce the proposed rules in a speech Monday at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
The proposals would uphold a pledge Barack Obama made during the presidential campaign to support Internet neutrality - the equal treatment of Internet traffic.
That would bar Internet service providers such as Verizon Communications Inc., Comcast Corp. or AT&T Inc. from slowing or blocking certain services or content flowing through their vast networks.
The proposed rules were reported by The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Suspect in 4 killings halted at airport
FARMVILLE, Va. - A 20-year-old man suspected of killing four people in central Virginia was arrested at an airport Saturday, where he apparently tried to catch a flight to California, authorities said.
Richard Alden Samuel McCroskey III was arrested by Richmond International Airport police officers who found him asleep in the baggage claim area, said airport spokesman Troy Bell.
Farmville police found the bodies Friday afternoon in the home of Debra Kelley, an associate professor of sociology and criminal justice studies at Longwood University, school spokesman Gina Caldwell said Saturday.
Investigator Andy Ellington said authorities are awaiting identification of the bodies from the state medical examiner's office, but that probably would not happen until Monday.
Insane killer's escape stirs up union
SEATTLE - Two days after an insane killer escaped from a field trip organized by his mental hospital, the union that represents mental hospital workers said it had become concerned about the type of patients allowed to participate in such outings.
Police continued to search Saturday for 47-year-old Phillip Arnold Paul, who walked away from the Spokane County Fair during an outing Thursday with 30 other Eastern State Hospital patients.
Paul had been committed after he was acquitted by reason of insanity in the 1987 slaying of an elderly woman, whose body he soaked in gasoline to throw off search dogs.
Greg Davis, president of Washington Federation of State Employees Local 782, said the union has expressed concerns about public outings to hospital management during official and unofficial meetings.
"Under older policy, a patient [like Paul] would not have been included in that outing," he said. "That outing is for the best of the best ... patients with years of compliance and excellent behavior, people who the courts agree are ready to re-enter society."
20 in band suspended over hazing
JACKSON, Miss. - Jackson State University officials say about 20 members of the school's marching band are accused of being involved in hazing and have been suspended.
University spokesman Anthony Dean said the rest of the 300-member Sonic Boom of the South band would perform Saturday at JSU's football game against Grambling State.
In 2007, university officials had initially barred the entire band from performing at a football game against Southern University because section leaders made musicians do push-ups or crunches if they didn't perform correctly. However, the order was overturned two days later.
No one was disciplined, but officials limited the responsibilities of section leaders and began educating band members about hazing.
Front Section, Pages 6 on 09/20/2009