Daily Report - Free Stories

Clayton County wants protection from sheriff

Fri, 9 May 2008 11:02 EST

ATLANTA (AP) � A suburban Atlanta county is seeking protection from its sheriff.Court papers filed Thursday in federal court by attorneys for Clayton County accuse Sheriff Victor Hill of objectionable actions, policies and practices.The filing seeks to protect the co....

Judge recommends suppression motion be denied

Fri, 9 May 2008 11:01 EST

ATLANTA (AP) � A federal magistrate judge has recommended that a motion to suppress evidence obtained in a terrorism probe be denied.Syed Ahmed and Ehsanul Sadequee are charged with providing material support to terrorists and related conspiracy counts. No trial date has....

Jury selection set to begin in R. Kelly pornography trial

Fri, 9 May 2008 11:00 EST

CHICAGO (AP) � Jury selection was set to start Friday in the long-delayed trial of one of urban music's biggest stars.Grammy-winning R&B singer R. Kelly faces child pornography charges, prompted by a videotape allegedly showing him having sex with a girl as young as 13. ....

Marvell Technology paying $10M to settle case

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:35 EST

WASHINGTON (AP) � Semiconductor maker Marvell Technology Group Ltd. on Thursday agreed to pay a $10 million civil fine to settle regulators' allegations of improper backdating of stock options.The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement with the Silic....

Court weighs whether to restrict 'business method' patents

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:35 EST

WASHINGTON (AP) � Is a baseball pitcher's method for throwing a curveball patentable? How about a chiropractor's techniques?A federal appeals court wrestled with those kinds of questions Thursday when it considered placing restrictions on patent protections for business ....

Appeals court rules against peanut farmers in drought case

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:34 EST

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) � Peanut farmers in seven states whose crops were devastated by the 2002 drought are entitled to only a little more than half the $30 million in insurance payments ordered by a lower court, a federal appeals panel ruled Thursday.A three-judge panel of ....

State Farm reaches out-of-court settlement in Katrina cases

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:33 EST

NEW ORLEANS (AP) � The nation's largest insurance company has settled out of court with more than a dozen Mississippi policyholders whose lawyers were barred from representing them in lawsuits against the insurer over Hurricane Katrina damage, according to court filings Thur....

SEC freezes assets of Michigan man for alleged Web fraud

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:33 EST

WASHINGTON (AP) � Federal regulators have won a court order freezing the assets of a Michigan man they accuse of bilking $72 million over the Internet from more than 3,000 investors around the world.Gregory McKnight sold unregistered securities, promising investors retur....

Facebook, states set bullying, predator safeguards

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:32 EST

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) � Facebook, the world's second-largest social networking Web site, is adding more than 40 new safeguards to protect young users from sexual predators and cyberbullies under an agreement with officials nationwide that was announced Thursday.The measur....

Wrongful-death lawsuit filed in Indiana mining accident

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:32 EST

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) � The family of a man who plunged more than 500 feet in a coal mine's air shaft filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Thursday against a company he helped found that was building the shaft.The lawsuit alleges Frontier-Kemper Constructors Inc. was negligent....

Clayton County grand jury re-indicts woman in fire

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:31 EST

JONESBORO, Ga. (AP) � A Clayton County grand jury has re-indicted a homeless woman accused of setting a fire that killed five family members at a motel in Riverdale.The grand jury re-indicted Sheree Murphy on Wednesday in connection with the fire June 7th, 2007, at the B....

UPS shareholders elect board, approve auditor

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:31 EST

ATLANTA (AP) � UPS, the world's largest shipping carrier, says 10 members of its board of directors have been elected to a one-year term and its independent auditor has been approved by shareholders.The shareholder votes were cast at the Atlanta-based company's annual me....

Church records offer rare look inside polygamist families

Fri, 9 May 2008 09:30 EST

SAN ANTONIO (AP) � Hand-scrawled records taken from a polygamist sect are helping untangle the spider-web network of family relationships at the Yearning For Zion ranch, where some husbands had more than a dozen wives.The church records offer a peek into an intricate cul....

'Speed Racer' comes in last place

Thu, 8 May 2008 17:39 EST

The only word for �Speed Racer� is punishing.Years from now, when parents want to discipline their children, they'll send them to their rooms and make them watch �Speed Racer.� All grueling two hours and 10 minutes of it.Some of you may remember the story about th....

Northwest and Delta pilots to meet next week

Thu, 8 May 2008 17:38 EST

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) � Pilots at Northwest Airlines Corp. say they'll meet with Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots for two days next week to begin working out a joint contract.The pilot groups tried but failed to resolve their differences before the airlines announced last month pl....

Top 3 air carriers boost fuel charge by $20 roundtrip

Thu, 8 May 2008 17:38 EST

NEW YORK (AP) � The three biggest U.S. carriers said Thursday they have again raised ticket prices, this time by $20 roundtrip, to recoup rapidly rising fuel costs.The increases by American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines affect the carriers' fuel surcharge....

Sarkozy blows his chance to revive French economy

Thu, 8 May 2008 17:38 EST

So what happened to the �rupture,� the decisive break with the past that Nicolas Sarkozy promised France when he campaigned for the presidency last year? This month, he celebrates his first year in charge and few people should feel like toasting the occasion. Sarkozy has....

GM may break up SUV-truck marriage to cut fuel use

Thu, 8 May 2008 17:38 EST

General Motors Corp. may be forced to break up a seven-decade marriage of pickups and large sport- utility vehicles as Americans restrict the fossil-fuel diet of their transportation. Under pressure to produce a more fuel-efficient and cleaner-running line of vehicles, GM ....

Ruling scores a win for fair play

Thu, 8 May 2008 17:38 EST

Fair Play scored a major victory last week when the Fulton County Superior Court ruled unconstitutional Georgia's ceiling on what judges and juries can award for pain, anguish and other �non-economic� damages inflicted by medical negligence.Georgia's $350,000 ceiling on da....

Role reversal: Bodiford takes the stand

Thu, 8 May 2008 17:37 EST

Lawyers for accused Fulton County Courthouse shooter Brian G. Nichols faced skepticism Thursday as they argued to have the judge in the case removed over comments he made expressing friendship with one of the victims.Judge Daniel M. Coursey Jr. of DeKalb County Superior Co....