LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This monumental case will change the way business is done in many institutions. People will not shield predators any longer.”
Seth Williams, the Philadelphia district attorney, on the conviction of Monsignor William Lynn of covering up child-sexual abuses by priests under his supervision Article, this page
License lost over abortion referrals
TOPEKA, Kan. - Kansas regulators on Friday revoked the medical license of a doctor accused of performing inadequate mental-health exams on young patients she then referred to the late Dr. George Tiller for late-term abortions.
The State Board of Healing Arts ratified an administrative judge’s earlier decision to strip Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus of her license. Neuhaus provided second opinions that Tiller needed under Kansas law to perform some late-term abortions at his Wichita clinic.
Tiller, one of a few U.S. physicians known to perform abortions in the final weeks of pregnancy, was shot to death in May 2009 by a man professing strong anti-abortion views.
The administrative judge concluded in February that Neuhaus performed inadequate mental-health exams in 2003 on 11 patients, aged 10 to 18.
Neuhaus said she’ll ask the state’s courts to overturn the board’s decision.
Moroccan admits D.C.-bomb-plot guilt
ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Moroccan man pleaded guilty Friday to trying to conduct a suicide bomb attack against the U.S. Capitol.
Amine El Khalifi, 29, an illegal alien from Morocco living in Alexandria, Va., admitted in U.S. District Court that he plotted with men he thought were al-Qaida operatives to attack the Capitol. In reality, El Khalifi was the target of an undercover FBI operation. Officials have said the public was never in danger.
He was arrested in February in a parking garage near the Capitol, wearing what he thought was an explosive-laden suicide vest. The vest, provided by undercover operatives, was actually inert. A gun he planned to use to shoot his way past security in the building was also inoperable.
Friday’s plea deal requires the judge to sentence El Khalifi to a term of between 25 years and 30 years when the sentencing is held Sept. 14. In the plea deal, prosecutors state they will ask for a 30-year sentence.
Bribery of judge voids OK for libel suit
AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Supreme Court has overturned the approval of a libel suit against two Texas newspapers because the trial judge in the case admitted taking bribes.
Four men sued the Brownsville Herald and the Valley Morning Star over a 2008 campaign ad for Cameron County district attorney. The ad identified them as people arrested but never prosecuted on allegations of child abuse.
District Judge Abel Limas rejected the newspapers’ attempt to block the lawsuit but later admitted taking $8,000 to rule against them. Limas awaits sentencing on federal racketeering charges.
The state Supreme Court said Friday that taking the bribe meant Limas did not rule on the merits of the case and his decision was invalid. The Supreme Court didn’t rule on the merits of the original lawsuit, which has not gone to trial.
Ex-principal charged in fatal rampage
LEALMAN, Fla. - A former Tampa Bay-area middle school principal who lost his job over a drug arrest five years ago went on a rampage Friday, stabbing several people - killing at least two - and then driving his car into a crowded porch before attacking two others at a motel, authorities said.
Anthony Giancola, 45, was taken into custody Friday afternoon and charged hours later with two counts of first degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, the Pinellas County sheriff’s office reported. Authorities said there were 11 victims in all, and several were being treated for injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said Giancola told his mother in the morning that he was “going to kill all the drug dealers.”
The crime rampage began shortly before 11 a.m. in Lealman, a small city in Pinellas County, about 20 miles west of Tampa.
Pinellas County sheriff’s spokesman Cecelia Barreda said officers were still piecing together the timeline.
“It appears at this moment, this is all random,” said Barreda, stressing that the details of the story could change throughout the evening.
Front Section, Pages 5 on 06/23/2012