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National briefs: Plea deal hinted in shooting case
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CHARDON, Ohio -- An attorney for a teenager charged with killing three students at an Ohio high school says negotiations are under way for a possible plea deal.
Attorney Ian Friedman confirmed the negotiations Friday but wouldn't offer details.
He says if a plea for defendant T.J. Lane occurs, it could happen at his next court date Feb. 26.
Mr. Lane, 18, is charged in adult court with fatally shooting three students in February 2012 at Chardon High School, east of Cleveland.
A judge has ordered psychiatric testing for Mr. Lane. Attorneys for both sides want the testing to determine if he is competent to stand trial.
Prosecutors say Mr. Lane fired 10 shots at a group of students in a cafeteria. He was at the school waiting for a bus to his alternative school.
Passengers tell of ordeal
MOBILE, Ala. -- The cruise ship Carnival Triumph, which lost power on Sunday, arrived in Mobile Friday.
Passengers told stories of forging bonds as they coped with the wretched conditions aboard the ship.
As ship conditions deteriorated after an engine fire, travelers formed Bible study groups, shared or traded precious supplies and even welcomed strangers into their private cabins.
Many of the more than 4,200 people aboard were bused to New Orleans Friday to catch a flight home or to the ship's home port in Galveston.
Prom would exclude gays
SULLIVAN, Ind. -- A quiet Indiana community known for its parks and corn festival has become the latest setting for the debate over gay rights and bullying after several area residents, including some high schoolers, proposed holding a non-school sanctioned "traditional" prom that would ban gay students.
School officials and many residents of Sullivan, a city of about 4,200 near the Illinois border, have scrambled to distance themselves from the controversy caused by the group's plans and some strong, anti-gay remarks made by one of its members.
David Springer, the principal of Suillivan High School, said the school's official prom is the only prom the school supports and that it doesn't exclude anybody, including gay couples.
Plan to aid high risk groups
WASHINGTON -- Tens of thousands of Americans who can't get health insurance due to pre-existing medical problems will be blocked from a program designed to help them because funding for the measure is running low.
Obama administration officials said Friday that the state-based "high risk pools" set up under the 2010 health care law will be closed to new applicants as soon as today and no later than March 2, depending on the state.
However, they stressed that coverage for about 100,000 people who are currently enrolled in the high risk pools won't be affected.
Jesse Jackson Jr. charged
WASHINGTON -- Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. took part in a conspiracy to misuse approximately $750,000 in campaign funds, according to court papers filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington.
The then-congressman made direct expenditures from the campaign's accounts of $57,792.83 for personal expenses, according to court documents. He and a co-conspirator used a campaign credit card to make $582,772.58 of purchases for their own use, according to the papers.
Mr. Jackson was charged with conspiracy, making false statements, mail fraud, wire fraud, and criminal forfeiture.
-- Compiled from news services
First Published February 16, 2013 12:00 am
