LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY

“It may be necessary to partially shut down the government in order to secure the long term fiscal well-being of our country, rather than plod along the path of Greece, Italy and Spain.”

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on coming congressional debates about the debt limit, tax overhauls and spending cuts Article, this page

Icelandair restrains unruly passenger

NEW YORK - Icelandair said it had to restrain a passenger on a flight from Reykjavik to New York City because he was hitting people, screaming profanities and spitting.

Thursday’s flight was getting media attention after a photograph began circulating on the Internet purporting to show the passenger tied to his seat with tape and plastic restraints.

The man who posted the picture to his Tumblr, Andy Ellwood, said it was taken by a friend on the flight.

Icelandair spokesman Gudjon Arngrimsson said the man was bound after his behavior became “unruly and threatening.”

He said he couldn’t validate the photo’s authenticity but said airlines commonly carry plastic handcuffs and tape to restrain potentially dangerous passengers.

The airline said police took the man off the plane when it landed at Kennedy Airport.

Ron Marsico, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the airport, told reporters that police took the 46-year-old man to a hospital after determining that he was drunk. No charges were filed, he said. The passenger’s name wasn’t released.

Rape ruling overturned on 1870s law

LOS ANGELES - An appellate court ruling overturning a rape conviction because the victim wasn’t married prompted anger Friday from women’s groups and a state legislator who plans to introduce a bill that would close the legal provision.

In its ruling, California’s 2nd District Court of Appeals reluctantly concluded that Julio Morales hadn’t raped an 18-year-old because a state law crafted in the 1870s says a person who gets consent for sex by pretending to be someone else is only guilty of rape if the victim is married and the perpetrator is pretending to be the spouse. In this case, Morales apparently pretended to be the teen’s boyfriend, and she didn’t recognize otherwise until seeing him in the light.

The court urged the Legislature to update the law, and state Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian, R-San Luis Obispo, said Friday that he would introduce a bill.

Microsoft, AT&T give to inauguration

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama will have some major corporations such as Microsoft and AT&T to thank for the festivities surrounding his inauguration later this month, according to a list of event donors released Friday evening.

Obama banned corporate donations for his 2009 inauguration and the Democratic convention last year in Charlotte, N.C., but the president announced after his re-election in November that he was removing his objections for this year’s swearing-in ceremony and surrounding events.

So far, however, Obama has received little in return for the policy change. Fewer than a dozen corporations have donated to the official Presidential Inaugural Committee, compared with more than 400 individuals who have given $200 or more. Contribution amounts were not released.

Other corporate donors include Genentech, a biotechnology company owned by Swiss drug maker Roche;

Stream Line Circle, run by billionaire Obama backer and gay-rights activist Jon Stryker; and the Centene, a Medicaid administration company and one of the major beneficiaries of the president’s signature health-care law.

Chicago jail escapee in federal court

CHICAGO - In chains and a wheelchair, a bank robber who was captured more than two weeks after his daring Chicago jailbreak has been taken to federal court.

Kenneth Conley was largely silent at Saturday’s hearing, speaking only to acknowledge he understood he could face an additional five years behind bars if convicted in the escape.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Conley was wearing a medical brace on a badly swollen left foot, which was apparently injured during his capture Friday in suburban Palos Hills.

Conley escaped from a high-rise lockup Dec. 18 along with cellmate and fellow bank robber Joseph “Jose” Banks apparently by smashing a hole in a narrow cell window and climbing down 20 stories using a rope fashioned from bed sheets. Banks was caught Dec. 20.

Front Section, Pages 4 on 01/06/2013